Chapter 2.3

“Ha…”  

Even as she exhaled, Adele thought something absurd.  

Thank goodness.  

The rumors about Chereph’s prowess at night weren’t lies.  

Otherwise, how could someone like Adele, who knew almost nothing about intimacy, feel her body tremble with every movement of his lips and curl her toes with every touch of his hands?  

So Chereph must be doing well.  

She suddenly felt nervous.  

She remembered the whispers she had heard in social circles.  

‘The first time… it’s dry and painful.’  

Most people had said so in unison.  

What would tonight be like?  

At that moment, Chereph’s thick fingers slid into her undergarments.  

“You’re impatient.”

Chereph whispered, his fingertips already exploring the dampness below.  

The wet sound echoed in the storage room.  

“I wonder if you just got wet now or…”

His hand slipped further in.  

“…if you were wet from the moment you laid eyes on me.”

“Ah…!”  

At the low whisper, as if asking a question, Adele’s face flushed red with shame.

But she didn’t push him away.

Because this was better. This was the better choice.

‘I have a request.’  

She was the one who had asked for this.

Every time his fingers stretched and searched within her, Adele clung to his shoulders as if they were a lifeline.

—Creak.

“Who in the knight order would have ever imagined that the ice-cold Adele Limier could make such sounds?”

His low voice resonated in the old storage room. 

She wanted to cover her ears against the messy sounds below, but it was no use.  

Even as she tried to steady her trembling legs, it was futile.  

The man she had chosen had exceeded her expectations.

“……!”  

When Adele deliberately suppressed a moan, the corners of the man’s mouth twisted.  

“You’re the one who asked for this.”  

The fingers inside her spread apart, opening her heated core.  

There was a tool called a speculum that midwives used during childbirth. It could open the lower parts so wide that one could even look inside. It felt as though such a tool had been inserted into her.  

The fingers stretching her there, a place she had never imagined putting anything in her entire life, made her ache as if it would tear. Closing her legs was useless. Her already spread lower parts oozed thick liquid along the fingers that pried her open like a speculum.  

“But when you act like I’m forcing myself on you…”  

He deliberately stirred inside her in a circular motion, scraping out the wetness before withdrawing his fingers. The fluid that had been flowing endlessly from Chereph’s hand now seemed to trickle down her thighs.  

“…then I, who am kindly obliging your request, come across as trash, don’t I? Hm?”

At his whispered words, Adele bit her lip. The man leaned in and kissed her.  

“Mmph…!”

As her breath was taken away to the point of dizziness, the man’s voice reached her.  

“So enjoy it a little more. This is your wish, after all.”  

His hand pushed up the blouse of her uniform to just below her chest. Instead of cold air, heat touched her skin.  

“You said you wanted to spend the night with me.”  

There was nowhere to run or retreat. Trapped between Chereph and the cold wall of the storage room, Adele was defenseless. The man’s crimson eyes gleamed ominously, even in the dark.  

“Hmm?”  

The man parted his lips again.

Before he could say anything more, Adele hastily pressed her lips against his.

Chereph chuckled. The way she clumsily rubbed her lips against his, as if desperately trying to keep him from speaking, was rather endearing. 

It seemed she thought this pathetic kiss would put an end to everything.

But he had no intention of stopping.  

“Haah…”  

Still, he let her have her way for a brief moment. Adele tensed her trembling legs, as though she was ready to bolt at any moment.  

Sensing her intentions like a predator, Chereph slipped his thigh between hers.  

“Where do you think you’re going?”  

“…Please stop.” 

Adele’s trembling voice pleaded.  

“This much indulgence… I think it’s enough.”

“Enough?”

The man chuckled silently.  

So, you’re saying your wish has been fulfilled?”  

Adele nodded desperately. For a moment, it seemed like the man might let her go, as he put some distance between them. But it was only enough to feel his breath on her skin.  

The slight gap allowed Adele to see the change in his expression. His lips, curved into a faint smile, hardened into a cold sneer.  

“Then what about my wish?”

“What…!”  

His leg pushed further between hers, pressing deeper. As Adele’s body tensed momentarily, the man let out a low chuckle.

He didn’t mind that his pants were getting wet. Adele’s face twisted in distress.

As she tried to turn her head away, the man’s large hand moved to grip her chin and neck, holding her in place. Tears streamed down her face, following the curve of her eyes and dripping onto his fingers.  

“My wish isn’t over yet, Adele Limier.”  

He had no intention of letting this night pass under the excuse of alcohol. Perhaps at first, but not now.  

As his thigh moved slowly, Adele, who had been moaning intermittently like a plea, whispered in a tearful voice.  

“Please…!”  

“Look at the man who you asked to fulfill your wish.”  

The man whispered as he bit her ear.  

“Who am I?”  

“…”  

Even as she clamped her lips shut, Chereph knew exactly how to make her speak.  

He turned her shoulder, pressing her more firmly against the wall.  

“!”  

Adele froze in surprise. His hand slid down her smooth waist, moving toward the wet source.  

The fluid on his hand smeared onto her b*ttocks. The simultaneous touch of cold air and heat sent shivers of pleasure through her.  

“Mm…!”  

He whispered again.  

“Say it.”  

Even as she tried to keep her mouth shut, it was futile.  

The man, holding her waist tightly with one hand, completely pulled down her skirt.  

—Thud.  

The sound of her clothes falling to the floor felt heavy. Just as Adele tried to move, something pressed against her lower back.  

Hot and thick.  

The tingling sensation rising from her waist instinctively told her what it was.  

No way.  

She didn’t know much about what happened between men and women, but she understood the outcome. That was why she unconsciously murmured the answer.

“Duke Chereph Riat…”  

But perhaps that wasn’t the answer he wanted. The man’s hardness rubbed against her more firmly. His lips curled upward.  

“I don’t like it when you call me so formally while spending the night with me.”  

“…Chereph.”  

Finally, hearing the name he wanted, Chereph smiled silently.  

Calling him Chereph instead of “Duke” wasn’t as bad as she thought. No, it wasn’t just not bad—it felt surprisingly natural.  

As she pleaded for him to stop, her lips parted, and Chereph slid his tongue inside.  

With a wet sound, his tongue explored her mouth, scraping against the roof of her mouth as it greedily roamed.  

“Hah.”  

Adele panted heavily.  

Chereph was determined to fulfill her “wish” completely.  

“Just as you wanted.”  

He whispered in a low voice.  

“Your first time is all mine.”  

Every time Adele shook her head to catch her breath, Chereph only deepened the kiss.  

Even though she had been the one to bring him into this rarely visited storage room, it was now Chereph who dominated her body and this moment.  

The sensation of his lips brushing against her neck and ears, combined with his heated breath, sent shivers down her spine.  

His fingers, which had been tracing her neck, gripped her chest over her clothes. Startled, she twisted her body, but escaping Chereph was impossible.  

“It might hurt a little since it’s your first time. But that’s what makes it better.”  

The weighty presence against her back suddenly disappeared. As if to keep her from collapsing, Chereph wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, his lips curling into a cruel smile.

Even though two fingers had been enough to fill her completely, Chereph pressed the rounded, crimson tip of his hardness against her entrance, rubbing it there.  

“I have a feeling you’ll pretend this never happened. And you’d do it so skillfully too.”  

His voice was low and rough, like he was scraping it from deep within his throat.

Adele gasped. The searing heat and bluntness of what rubbed against her made her think it couldn’t possibly fit inside her.  

“Mm…”  

Chereph’s voice reached her, but she couldn’t fully understand it.  

Looking down at Adele, who seemed dazed with fear and excitement, Chereph removed the ring he always wore on his thumb and slid it onto her left ring finger.  

It was an impulsive act, but he was satisfied with the decision. The loose ring adjusted itself to fit snugly on Adele’s finger.  

Even amidst the chaos, Adele noticed the oddity and tried to look at the ring.  

It can’t be.

Chereph pushed himself into her.  

“Ah…!”  

Even though her thin scream echoed, Chereph didn’t stop.  

Her entrance stretched painfully to accommodate him, and tears streamed down her face.  

It felt like something inside her was splitting apart.  

For a fleeting moment, she thought she would never return to the state she had been in before Chereph entered her. That thought was quickly drowned out by pain.  

Though it wasn’t just pain, for now, it consumed her entirely.  

“It’s not even all the way in yet.”  

Adele shivered as Chereph’s warm breath spilled directly onto her neck. Each time the solid object pushed into her, an indescribable sensation accompanied by pain coursed through her.  

“Shh, good girl.”  

One of Adele’s legs was lifted. The leg barely supporting her trembling lower body shook uncontrollably. As the man’s length pierced deeper, more completely, Adele’s cries suddenly peaked.  

“Ahh…!”  

“Shh.”  

Chereph’s large hand covered her mouth.  

“Listen.”  

At his whisper, Adele’s mind became alert. She heard footsteps. For a moment, she had forgotten, but this was within the Knight Order’s premises. While it was often neglected, patrols were not entirely absent.  

Someone began to grumble.  

“Who would even come to a place like this?”  

“It’s an order. What choice do we have? Do we really need to check the storage room too?”  

The sound of on-duty knights approaching grew louder.