Elhardt seemed slightly surprised.
“Are you sure?”
After all, I had pushed him away when things reached this point just last night.
It was difficult to clearly explain what had changed inside me.
“…I told you to stop asking.”
So I simply brushed the question aside.
There were plenty of reasons.
Revealing my identity, the Crown Prince’s threat, our plan for a fake marriage, and more.
Elhardt’s confession that it didn’t matter who I was, along with Kay’s advice, probably played a part as well.
I don’t know. But….
Wrapped in Elhardt’s warm mana scent as he held me close, I thought,
If it’s you, I don’t think I’ll regret whatever I do.
…Actually, I regretted pushing him away last night.
I had thought that perhaps I should have gone a little further.
“Then, if that’s what you want.”
He whispered softly as he slid his lips toward my ear and stroked my waist.
The intention behind his touch was unmistakable.
That tickles, but it feels different somehow.
All my senses became focused on that spot.
“Ah….”
A sensual moan escaped me involuntarily.
I was startled that the sound had really come from me.
One thing was certain: I didn’t want him to stop.
I wanted him to keep going…
To keep going like this.
“Mm….”
He nibbled lightly at my collarbone, then hesitated, unable to undress me.
Noticing this, I undid the tie of my nightclothes without hesitation.
I had already decided to do this when I washed and changed, so underneath my nightclothes, I was wearing only a thin undergarment.
Elhardt inhaled sharply when he saw my exposed body.
“You can see quite a few scars, can’t you?”
There had been countless days when I simply wrapped a bandage around an injury and continued fighting.
Those days had left behind numerous small marks on my body.
I could ask Carthaeus to erase them even now, but I hadn’t thought of it.
Just as I began to feel a little self-conscious, his answer came.
“…Because they’re beautiful.”
His voice sounded choked.
“Very beautiful.”
“Th-They are?”
Feeling embarrassed all of a sudden, I instinctively tried to pull my clothes back together, but Elhardt caught my wrist.
“Just a little….”
His manner was so urgent and desperate that I blinked and looked at him.
“Let me look a little longer.”
If he wanted to look, he could keep looking.
Why was he taking it so seriously…?
“All right. Do whatever you want.”
When I smiled and nodded, Elhardt’s expression brightened.
Then his lips curved into a wide, rounded smile.
“Do whatever you want. I’m happy as long as it’s you.”
Still smiling happily, Elhardt threw off his nightclothes.
Then he wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed himself against me.
The moment our bare skin touched, I could directly feel the intense heat that had only reached me through our clothes before.
That firmness and elasticity….
I traced the muscles of his back with my fingertips, unable to hide my admiration, but suddenly I froze.
Elhardt had buried his face against my chest.
“Ah….”
My body tensed instinctively.
My waist trembled.
It was the first time I realized this part of my body was so sensitive.
A tingling sensation spread relentlessly through me, as if I had been struck by lightning magic.
“Ser….”
He exhaled roughly without lifting his lips from my chest.
His scorching breath seeped into my skin, heating it further.
Unable to bear the strange sensation, I hurriedly grabbed his shoulders.
Hot… and strange….
I wanted to curl up, but his large body was blocking the space between my legs.
All I could do was squeeze his sides with my knees and twist my body.
Whenever the hand touching me tightened, the flesh shifting beneath his touch felt as though it didn’t even belong to me.
“Hnng, Elhardt….”
As I struggled against the unfamiliar stimulation, his hand slowly traveled down my waist.
He gently caressed the soft flesh along my inner thigh, lightly kneading it as if telling me to relax.
Why?
I was strangely restless.
The place he touched was clearly somewhere else, yet all the heat seemed to gather in my lower abdomen.
Even without touching me there, it throbbed inside as though he had.
“Wait….”
My toes curled tightly at the precarious sensation.
“…Is this not okay?”
His eyes were clouded with heat as he looked at me and asked.
If I said no, he would stop immediately.
And perhaps he would never touch me again.
“It’s not… that it’s not okay….”
I managed to continue between ragged breaths.
“It’s strange. The sensation….”
“Hmm….”
His hand immediately changed its movements.
He became so careful that it only made me more restless.
In the end, I changed my mind shortly afterward.
“Just… do it harder.”
He froze at my request.
He released the breast he had been sucking and lifted his head, looking uncertain about what he should do.
“I don’t think I should do it too hard.”
Was… that so…?
Come to think of it, I had no idea what “hard” meant to Elhardt, either.
“Tell me how good it feels.”
With that, Elhardt took my hand and placed it over his.
Then he applied a little pressure and began rubbing.
“How about this?”
“Ah…!”
The dizzying sensation had now transformed into unmistakable pleasure.
I like it….
Even without saying it aloud, he seemed to realize.
He seemed to know exactly how much I was feeling.
His gaze was so intense it felt as though it might burn me alive.
Or swallow me whole in one bite.
Perhaps it wasn’t just my imagination, because a moment later, when he pressed his lips against mine, he acted as though he intended to devour me.
“Hng…!”
His tongue delved deep inside, roughly exploring my mouth.
His movements were so passionate that the base of my tongue tingled, and saliva I hadn’t managed to swallow trickled down my chin.
“You’re so hot. I feel like I’m going to melt.”
He whispered softly.
At some point, he had stopped kissing me and was staring into my face from so close that our foreheads nearly touched.
His eyes seemed intent on memorizing every reaction, every sensation I experienced from his touch.
I wanted to look away, yet somehow found myself gazing even deeper into his eyes.
The desire boiling within those golden irises was both beautiful and dangerous.
My breathing kept growing uneven.
Just his gaze was enough to make my lower abdomen throb.
It felt as though my mind were melting.
Between swallowing ragged breaths and rubbing our tongues together, I was so overwhelmed that I could no longer control my body.
“Ser….”
He repeatedly kissed my face and lips as he pulled me into his arms.
Somewhere between our tightly pressed bodies, I could feel the heavy pounding of a heartbeat.
It was probably his.
Unlike the hand gently stroking my back as if to calm me, the part of his body pressed against my lower abdomen was only growing firmer.
It’s not fair if I’m the only one enjoying this.
I blinked as my vision slowly came back into focus.
Elhardt needs to experience something pleasurable, too. Otherwise, he won’t want to do this again.
I deliberately ignored the reason I was already thinking about doing something this incredible with Elhardt again and simply pondered it blankly.
“I’m going to… touch you, too.”
Hearing my almost-muttered words, he asked,
“Do you really mean that?”
I nodded.
After a brief silence, he let out a low laugh.
“I’m satisfied.”
He lightly kissed the bridge of my nose before answering.
“Huh…? Satisfied?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“From the beginning, this was supposed to be practice. It helped me plenty.”
I stared at him, speechless.
Practice?
He called this practice?
After we had gone this far?
I glanced down at his lower body.
His arousal was plainly visible, as though he were desperately starved.
Was he really satisfied in that state?
“You’re lying.”
I muttered the words, and a faint crease appeared between his brows.
“Why would I lie about that?”
“But you’re not satisfied at all.”
Perhaps my question itself had provoked him.
He let out a low groan and called my name in warning.
“Ser.”
He reached out and picked up his nightclothes.
Then he put them back on, as if to conceal the lingering heat in his body.
“That’s enough for tonight.”
“…Why?”
I watched as he firmly tied the waist cord.
“This is my first time.”
“Mine too….”
My voice trailed off, and he slowly stroked my cheek.
“Yes, I know.”
His touch was incredibly gentle, but there wasn’t the slightest hint of a smile in his eyes.
“But you don’t have feelings for me.”
“That’s….”
“I never knew it would feel like this to press my body against the woman I’m in love with.”
He smiled bitterly, almost as though he were mocking himself.
“I never imagined I’d become this aroused.”
Huh…?
“If we continue like this, I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.”
His voice sank low.
Only then did I look directly into his eyes.
My belief that he had been calm was nothing but an illusion.
“I don’t think I can stop myself from breaking you.”
For the first time since meeting him, I felt a chill run through me.
His gaze as he looked at me was that deep and dark.
I had the feeling that if he lost even a little of his reason here, things would turn out exactly as he had said.
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