The unfamiliar sensations were so overwhelming that, even through my hazy consciousness, I could recognize the pleasure as something dangerously foreign.
Whenever something—whether a thigh or a knee, I couldn’t tell—rubbed against me down below, my hips moved of their own accord.
‘Stop… I have to stop….’
I had never realized I was so vulnerable to pleasure.
I had easily resisted the Demon King of Incubi’s temptations, so why couldn’t I stop myself now?
“Haah, Ser….”
His voice, mingled with languid breaths, sent a pleasant shiver through me.
I could feel that he desired only me, that I was the one making him excited.
Our kisses were beginning to take a different direction.
Elhardt had been kissing my chin and cheeks repeatedly, but now he began trailing his lips down my neck.
I wasn’t so innocent that I couldn’t understand what this meant.
‘N-no….’
At this rate, we would really cross the line.
If I succumbed to pleasure and accidentally spent the night with him, Elhardt would try to marry me no matter what.
Without even knowing that I was from more than three hundred years ago…!
‘Get a grip.’
I barely managed to tap his shoulder.
“Elhardt.”
At my call, he lifted his head from where he had been licking my collarbone.
His eyes, hazy and unfocused with ecstasy, turned toward me.
His lips parted slightly as he blinked slowly.
“Ah….”
His face, which had already been flushed, turned bright red in an instant.
He hurriedly raised his upper body, took in my disheveled appearance, and held his breath.
“I think… my cold is all better now.”
Keeping my gaze on his lips, glistening with saliva, I whispered.
“So come here.”
I patted the space beside me.
Elhardt lay down next to me with such unnatural slowness that it was almost comical.
“Do you still want to sleep together?”
At my question, he answered as though it were obvious.
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you losing sleep because of me?”
Half a joke, half serious.
“…I can’t sleep anyway.”
“Hm…?”
What did he mean by that?
Noticing my puzzled expression, Elhardt immediately explained.
“I couldn’t sleep because I was afraid you’d disappear if I fell asleep.”
Did that mean he had been staying awake for the past few days without getting any sleep at all?
“No, but you still need to sleep.”
I said it in disbelief, but he shook his head as though it didn’t matter.
His tightly pressed lips conveyed a strong determination to hold on to me, even if it meant giving up sleep.
‘Well, I suppose I have no choice.’
He wouldn’t feel reassured unless I made it clear.
“I’m not leaving.”
I had agreed to work as his maid. I had no intention of disappearing without a word.
“Of course, there may come a day when I leave your side… but I won’t go without telling you.”
“Really?”
“I promise on my name.”
“……!”
His eyes widened.
It was strange that I would stake my very name just to reassure someone, but seeing him smile with relief made me think it didn’t really matter.
“Then… have you always been lying on your side facing me so you could keep an eye on me?”
He blinked a couple of times before giving a slight nod.
“Do you usually sleep on your back?”
“I used to.”
He was answering everything I asked so readily.
Had the kiss satisfied him enough that his guard was down?
Suddenly, I remembered the snow leopard that Mikhail and I used to feed back when Bardia was founded.
It considered itself a fierce predator and normally wouldn’t even let us touch it. But when it had eaten its fill and was drowsy and full, it would stretch out lazily and let us pet it as much as we pleased.
Hmm… In that case.
“Would you mind if I touched your hair?”
“…As much as you want.”
Just as I expected, he gave me permission.
I reached out and gently ran my fingers through Elhardt’s hair, which I had always wanted to touch.
His hair, tinged with the deep blue of the night sky, was much softer than I had imagined.
The sensation of it winding around my fingers was so addictive that it was difficult to pull my hand away.
Meanwhile, Elhardt gently wrapped his hand around mine, which rested nearby.
With his eyes half closed, I felt him let out a long breath.
His earlobes were still red, showing no sign of returning to their usual color, but the rise and fall of his chest seemed to have slowed a little.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Sure.”
“Do you have a lover…? A fiancé, or someone you have feelings for?”
I couldn’t help laughing at how absurd the question was.
“Isn’t that a little too soon to ask?”
“That… is true.”
It was funny how readily he admitted it.
“So, what’s your answer?”
He watched my lips in silence, looking a little nervous.
“Not really?”
Thinking back on the fact that I had never been in a relationship, not even once, made me feel a little… something.
“…I wasn’t in a position to pursue that sort of thing.”
Even so, I remembered the faces of the founding heroes who had managed to date, marry, and even have children during Bardia’s early days. But hadn’t Mikhail and I been especially busy?
‘Right. I wasn’t the only one who never dated.’
That guy had been alone, too.
That meant there was nothing wrong with me.
“That’s a relief.”
This time, a genuinely satisfied smile spread across his lips.
“…What about you?”
I assumed he was acting this way because he didn’t have anyone, but I asked just in case.
“I wasn’t in a position to pursue that sort of thing either.”
Well, he had practically lived on the battlefield, after all.
So there was someone else like me besides Mikhail.
“What? We’re exactly the same.”
I burst out laughing without meaning to.
After that, we continued chatting about a few more pointless things.
Our personal hobbies, the things we liked, and the things we disliked.
We asked and answered questions that weren’t particularly important.
“You like sour things? I’ve never met anyone who eats lemons as a snack.”
“Really? I find you even more unusual. You like cinnamon?”
“Cakes made with cinnamon are delicious. You should try one.”
“Is there any food you dislike?”
“Wyvern stew with scallions?”
“…That’s a real dish?”
I was simply curious about those things. And it seemed he was, too.
The stillness of the quiet night created the illusion that the two of us were the only ones left in the world.
It was a strange feeling.
A faint lingering excitement coexisted with a sense of peace.
It was a series of peculiar moments I had never experienced before.
Reflected in his eyes, I was smiling.
As though even the most trivial conversation brought me immense joy.
“……”
Even when, at some point, we stopped talking and simply gazed at each other.
And then, at some point, I must have fallen asleep.
Just as we were, holding hands and facing each other.
***
Until late into the night, brilliant lights and music continued to spill from the banquet hall.
By contrast, Princess Bellonia’s chambers were suffocatingly quiet.
The mood of their mistress, who had only made a brief appearance before returning, was terribly low.
“Why…? Why on earth…?”
Bellonia paced frantically around the room, biting her lip, until she stopped at the sound of two knocks.
She whipped around.
The door stood wide open.
She hadn’t heard a sound, much less noticed who had opened it or when.
A man who had been standing in the shadows of the dim corridor stepped inside.
A pristine white formal outfit embroidered with silver, and a face so expressionless it was chilling.
It was Crown Prince Auriel.
“O-Older Brother…?”
Auriel slowly walked into the room.
The door quietly closed behind him, leaving only Bellonia and Auriel inside.
“So it was you after all. You’re the one who took what belonged to me.”
His voice belonged to someone who had already confirmed the truth.
“Where is it?”
“What do you mean…? I don’t know anything….”
Auriel took a step toward Bellonia.
“It’s not something you should use recklessly.”
His voice was low and gentle.
There was neither anger nor reproach.
And that frightened Bellonia even more.
She instinctively stepped backward.
“I only wanted to… for your sake, Brother….”
“No.”
His firm voice cut her off.
“You’ve never acted for my sake. You act only to satisfy your own greed.”
Auriel walked past her and stopped in front of the dressing table.
Without the slightest hesitation, he opened a small jewelry box and took out a silver vial.
“Half of it is gone.”
He tilted the vial to inspect its contents and murmured quietly.
“Brother….”
Bellonia’s face turned deathly pale.
“Who were you planning to use it on?”
Comments (0)