Chapter 7

“Then I’ll just have to make you look if you refuse to see.”

His fingertips brushed along her slender waistline, trailing down to her hips. He couldn’t help but marvel at her perfect figure.

Her flushed skin glistened with the wetness of her arousal.

“You’re so beautiful down here.”

As he spread her legs wider and glanced at her most intimate place, she gasped in shock.

[Don’t look. I said don’t look!]

He grabbed her firm br*asts, molding them into a triangular shape. When he bit the tip of one, she arched her back and opened her mouth.

“Ah…!”

The hot breath she let out only intensified the heated atmosphere in the room.

She desperately wanted his stiff, er*ect member to fill her insides.

“Even if you say no, it’s useless. I’ve already decided to do as I please from now on.”

His beast-like eyes darkened with intent, as if they had locked onto their target.

“I won’t just talk anymore. So… you’ll have to take responsibility for it.”

He thrust into her wet and loosened core. Spreading her thighs apart, he gazed at her soft inner flesh. The slick wetness gleamed as her fluids coated her skin.

As he pushed in with a heavy motion, Rivera’s moans overflowed uncontrollably. With every thrust, her lower belly bulged slightly.

Lost in the pleasure, Rivera panted heavily. When she looked down at her stomach, she tilted her head back in overwhelming sensation.

His movements were both tender and rough.

When he reached the deepest parts of her, widening her insides, he too exhaled the breath he’d been holding back. The heat was so intense it felt as though his reason was melting away, and yet it was filled with love.

Feeling an overwhelming desire to possess her completely, he bit down on her neck.

“Ah!”

Rivera’s pupils shook momentarily.

[Why… why did you bite me?]

Adrian felt like he was going to go crazy with laughter. Rivera, clearly not expecting the bite, looked startled, and the rumors about Duke Bartman being a man-eater crossed her mind.

[Could it be… am I actually going to be eaten?]

As he suppressed his laughter, biting his lower lip, Adrian planted a soft kiss on her neck with a radiant smile.

“You’re just so beautiful, I couldn’t help but want to bite you.”

It was like the way one might want to nibble on an adorable child.

Rivera’s face turned bright red as though it would explode. She raised her arms to cover her face.

“Look at me properly.”

“…No.”

He wanted to tell her.

“I’ve liked you for a long time.”

He brushed away the sweat from her forehead and met her gaze. Seeing her surprised expression, he pushed toward the end.

As his movements became more urgent, she replayed his words in her mind.

He liked me?

Rivera couldn’t believe it, but the pleasure rising from below made it impossible to think of anything else.

Thrust!

The large amount of s*men he had been holding back poured out. Seeing her pink flesh now filled with his essence, Adrian felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.

Looking at the exhausted Rivera, he spoke.

“I really like you. A lot.”

It was a confession he had kept in his heart for over ten years.

* * *

The next morning, Rivera woke up to the sound of chirping birds. Her stomach churned, and her throat felt dry with thirst.

‘Ugh… my head. How much did I drink yesterday?’

She held her throbbing head and searched for water. With her eyes barely open, she reached out and spotted a bottle of cool water on the bedside table.

Without even thinking to pour it into a glass, she drank straight from the bottle. As she gulped down the water, a strange feeling crept over her. While stretching her stiff body and ruffling her hair, Rivera froze, mid-motion, as she swallowed the water.

Gulp, gulp.

There was a man lying next to her.

Still drinking the water, she glanced toward the blanket covering the man’s lower body. Beneath the shadowy fabric, something large and dark bulged prominently.

‘Wow… how big must it be for me to notice it even while he’s sleeping?’

It was her first time seeing a man’s member in person. Stopping mid-drink, Rivera became curious about the man’s identity.

‘He’s quite tall, isn’t he?’

His upper body was covered in long scars, as if from a sword.

Her gaze slowly traveled upward. She saw his firm muscles, his prominent Adam’s apple, and his face, which was obscured by long hair.

His hair was black and thick, cascading down to his waist.

“Hm?”

Rivera found the man’s hair color strangely familiar.

‘Where have I seen this before?’

Putting down the bottle, she reached out to touch his hair.

Pitch-black, jet-black hair. It was soft and glossy, as though it had been treated with oil.

“Ah! That’s right.”

She suddenly realized where she had seen this hair color before. It was the same as Adrian’s. His hair was also as black and long as this man’s.

“……?!”

Adrian?!!

Rivera nearly screamed but quickly covered her mouth with both hands. Her body jolted, and she almost fell off the bed, but she managed to hold herself steady by tensing her stomach muscles.

As she trembled and gasped for breath, Rivera’s hands shook as she reached out to confirm the man’s face. She gently brushed aside the hair covering his face, and then froze as if time had stopped.

‘I’m screwed.’

Clenching her eyes shut, she opened them again and carefully restored his hair to its original position. Then, she covered her face with both hands. She needed time to think.

‘What on earth happened!!’

She screamed silently, her mind racing so fast that even her hangover was forgotten.

Something huge must have happened last night, but her memory was completely blank as if the film had been cut. As she tried her best to piece things together, fragmented images began to surface.

‘Let’s think calmly. I definitely drank and went to Adrian’s mansion.’

The heartbreak from her recent rejection had been worse than she expected, so she had spent days drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Eventually, Trisha refused to sell her any more drinks.

Even though she offered to pay, Trisha kicked her out, telling her to go home. Unable to take it anymore, Rivera tried other taverns but was turned away again. That’s when she thought of Adrian’s mansion. In the capital, no one dared sell her alcohol because of Trisha’s influence. In the end, the easiest option was her long-time friend Adrian.

His mansion was filled with rare, exotic liquors he had received as gifts. Stealing a few bottles to drink wouldn’t cause any problems—as long as she drank them secretly while he wasn’t there.

‘So I snuck in through the small hole I’d found before, but I got caught by the butler….’

Normally, the butler would have sent her away immediately, warning her that the Duke would be furious. But this time, he simply lit a fire in the fireplace and invited her inside to drink.

‘I think he mentioned that the Duke would be coming back…?’

After that, she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she remembered was waking up in this state.

‘What are these purple bruises all over my body? And why are my clothes gone?’

The dress she had worn yesterday was crumpled on the floor. This surreal situation felt like a dream to Rivera.

‘I need to get home.’

Wrapping herself in the blanket, Rivera cautiously got out of bed.

‘Please… please don’t wake up.’

The thought of facing Adrian while she was n*ked was unbearable. Rivera tiptoed carefully, picking up her dress from the floor and slipping out of the room.

A moment later, the chiffon curtains fluttered in the breeze blowing through the window.

The sunlight illuminated his skin, making it glisten like polished pearls. Stretching out with a satisfied smile, Adrian ran his hand through his hair.

“Mm…”

The muscles of his body shifted as he stretched, and the bulge beneath the blanket became even more prominent. The desire he had suppressed for years wasn’t something that could be sated in just one night.

Feeling refreshed after a deep sleep, Adrian glanced out the window.

“…What time is it?”

Judging by the position of the sun, it was still early. Deciding to sleep a little longer, he lay back down. It would have been even better if Rivera had still been by his side.

Realizing she had left, Adrian hugged the pillow she had used.

‘I’ve seen her all night, but I already want to see her again.’

He knew he could chase after her and catch her if he left now, but he decided against acting too hastily.

‘Let’s take it slow.’

He didn’t want to lose the chance he had finally gotten. Rushing things could ruin everything.

Since the matter with the barbarians was now resolved, there weren’t any urgent tasks to attend to. He had plenty of time to think things through.

That is, if she remembered their night together.

* * *

Bang, bang, bang!

Early in the morning, someone pounded on the door of a closed shop, waking the person sleeping inside. Annoyed, they opened the door.

“Who’s knocking at this hour…?”

As soon as the door opened, a woman rushed past them without so much as a greeting. The guard rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“Lady Rivera?”

Why was she here at this hour?

Though puzzled, the guard figured it was fine since it was Rivera and returned to his room.

Rivera headed straight to one place: Trisha’s room, the owner of Royal Charlotte.

As the guard had expected, Rivera began causing a commotion outside Trisha’s door.

“Sis, I’m screwed… Mmmpf!”

Truger, the escort knight, quickly covered her mouth, cutting off her words.

“How many times have I told you to watch your language?”

“Mmmph!!”

Rivera protested, signaling that this wasn’t the time to worry about such things. When Trisha, who had been awake, stepped out of her room, Rivera became even more agitated.

Because of her job, Trisha usually slept during the day, but since it was still early morning, she hadn’t gone to bed yet.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

Seeing Rivera’s state, Trisha immediately knew it was a man-related issue. The hickey on Rivera’s neck was proof enough.

‘Who could it be this time, leaving such a bold mark of ownership?’

As someone who needed to report this to a certain someone, Trisha was already beginning to worry.

Rivera took a deep breath and exclaimed,

“I slept with Adrian.”

“…What?”

“What do I do now?”

“Who did you say you slept with?”

“Adrian.”

“…Oh my.”