Epilogue

“Mm… Mmm, stop…”

“Just a little more, can’t I?”

“No, even if I say that… Haa… You’ll do as you please…”

“If you say you don’t want it, of course I’ll stop.”

She muttered, “Yeah right,” but Alexa didn’t actually say stop. The truth was, she didn’t hate it. If she did, she would have kicked him off the bed ages ago. Reinhardt, knowing she’d never push him away, chuckled softly and began kissing her neck again.

Reinhardt especially liked kissing Alexa’s nape and back. When she asked why he was so obsessed with those spots, he said, “Because no one else can see them but me.” She didn’t really understand the answer, but he often left marks where her clothes wouldn’t easily cover.

One day, when a colleague asked, “Did a bug bite you?” Alexa, her face red as a beet, went straight to Reinhardt. She threatened that if he did it again, he’d never share her bed again. He took her warning to heart.

Anyway, Reinhardt’s fixation on her neck and back continued today, as he showered kisses on her shoulder blades and shoulders. Sinking into the languor after their lovemaking, Alexa happily accepted his lingering affection, then suddenly spoke up as if she’d remembered something.

“By the way, Her Highness the Princess… um, is doing well.”

“Mm.”

“Hm, ah, it tickles. Bianca said, huff, she’s like someone who’s lived there for years…”

“Mmm.”

“Are you listening?”

“No.”

“Ah…!”

Before she could complain about him not listening, Reinhardt suddenly pushed inside, making Alexa moan and bury her face in the pillow. The fluffy goose-down pillow crumpled under her movements. Reinhardt, slowly but firmly pressing himself deep into her, whispered,

“Don’t talk about other people.”

“Princess… Her Highness… I was just—ah!”

“I don’t care at all.”

He murmured as he nibbled Alexa’s earlobe. She wanted to tell him to care about other people too, but Alexa couldn’t continue speaking.

He’d already driven her to the brink of fainting earlier—how could he possibly have the energy for more? As his movements grew more intense, Alexa was swept away again. The sea of pleasure, which had seemed to calm, surged up and swallowed her whole.

Her mind blurred again and again. Only after being wracked by climax so many times that her whole body stiffened did Alexa finally escape Reinhardt’s embrace.

Sweaty and sprawled out, Alexa gazed at the ceiling with hazy, pleasure-dazed eyes. She traced the familiar pattern of Reinhardt’s bedroom ceiling with her gaze, until his face suddenly appeared above her.

“What are you thinking?”

“I can’t think about anything.”

‘Because you wore me out.’

At her exhausted voice, Reinhardt chuckled and kissed her cheek. Then, in a mock-serious tone, he pretended to scold her.

“Dame Alexandra Lindau, you should work on your stamina.”

“Ha… Isn’t it your stamina that’s weird, Captain?”

Reinhardt laughed even brighter at that.

“Mmm, I could still go for more.”

“Stop! I’ll waste away at this rate!”

Alexa tried to push his annoying face away, but he grabbed her hand instead. Watching him kiss her palm again, Alexa thought, “Who would have guessed this upright, stoic Reinhardt was actually a beast obsessed with s*x?”

The day Alexa threw the glove out of anger over the rumors about Princess Theresia, Reinhardt led her straight to the ducal residence. Passing by the frozen servants, shocked that the Duke had brought a woman home, Alexa had to cry herself hoarse in his bedroom that day—not from pain or sorrow, but from overwhelming pleasure.

‘Jealous Alexa, you’re so adorable.’

‘You didn’t believe me when I said there’s no one but you?’

‘Then let’s keep going until you do.’

‘Alexa, I love you.’

Reinhardt mixed their bodies together over and over, to a nearly insane degree. Alexa learned for the first time that when pushed past her limits, she could drip with arousal like water. The bedsheets became so soaked they couldn’t roll around anymore; the two of them clung together until they were spent.

After passing out and waking up, she found the bed fresh again. Even though she’d been stripped and covered in fluids, she woke up clean. Her clothes were tidied and hung on the torso.

And right beside her, Reinhardt slept, hugging her tightly.

Staring at his handsome, sulky face, Alexa pinched his nose to wake him and finally heard the whole story.

So, because Queen Mother Lariette opposed it, Princess Theresia couldn’t go to the Mage Tower and was stuck in the palace practicing magic. As soon as marriage rumors spread, she came to Reinhardt. She had no intention of marrying; she just wanted to go to the Mage Tower.

‘So that day, we went to the office together and told His Majesty our true intentions.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?’

‘His Majesty, after hearing the whole story, agreed to help… but ordered us to keep it absolutely secret in case the Queen Mother found out. Still, I should have told you. I didn’t think you’d be so anxious…’

‘What?’

‘Well…’

Alexa, glaring daggers, soon had her anger softened by Reinhardt’s next words.

‘I thought… you didn’t like me that much yet. Since you wanted to start as friends, I thought telling you I wasn’t marrying the Princess would just… make you think I was being ridiculous.’

He said he was afraid she’d say, “How deep are we, anyway?”—his embarrassed laugh made Alexa unable to stay angry.

In any case, it was good the misunderstanding was cleared up, but the aftermath was huge. The duel and its reason spread quickly through the entire capital. The knights were just surprised, impressed, and congratulatory. But among the nobility, especially unmarried noblewomen, it was almost shocking.

But Reinhardt, remembering the unpleasant incident Alexa had faced before, spoke up first.

‘I was the one who loved her first and always kept her in my heart. If anyone has complaints, speak to me. If you want to blame someone, blame me.’

With Duke Odenwald stepping forward, no one dared say anything to Alexa, though some wept into their handkerchiefs.

So, once they became an official couple, Reinhardt ‘invited’ Alexa to his home almost every day. Since they weren’t married, she couldn’t stay at the ducal residence. Reinhardt kept looking for a chance to bring up marriage, but Alexa desperately pretended not to notice.

She just wasn’t ready. And if she became the Duchess, what would happen to her position as a knight? She wasn’t even sure she could keep her job. When she asked Bianca and her friends, she found that no noblewoman had ever been a knight before. It was even rare for a commoner.

Maybe sensing her anxiety, Reinhardt didn’t push her. Even though there must be pressure within his family, he didn’t force her. Alexa was grateful, and also felt a bit guilty.

So, even as she spent another night at the ducal residence, part of her heart felt uneasy.

Alexa squirmed and turned to her side. Reinhardt, who had been nibbling and sucking her fingertips, lay facing her. He kept teasing her, but stopped when her expression turned serious.

“Why do you look like that?”

“Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

‘Because you’re here.’

Reinhardt laughed, half joking and half serious, and Alexa smiled too. She slipped her fingers between his. His hands were big and warm. Alexa couldn’t look straight at him, and mumbled,

“Just… staying like this, um… as lovers.”

“I’m not worried.”

He lifted Alexa’s chin with his other hand. He even moved her head a bit to meet her gaze, which she found endearing, so she straightened her eyes. In his warm green eyes, Alexa saw herself reflected. Reinhardt smiled gently.

“I like it whenever you say you like it.”

“…What if I keep hesitating? What then?”

“That’s fine, Alexa.”

He lifted their clasped hands and gently bit her ring finger. As a red mark appeared, Reinhardt kissed it and answered with certainty,

“Even if we don’t marry, you’ll always be the only one beside me.”

“A wife… or children? Will your family just accept that?”

“Who would dare?”

He was the King’s most trusted duke and greatest supporter. Besides, he was one of only two people who could use aura—there were hardly any who could oppose him. At his confident words, Alexa couldn’t help but laugh.

“And Alexa, you too. Do whatever you want, no matter what anyone says. If you want to be both Duchess and knight, that’s fine. But if you only want to be a knight, that’s fine too.”

“…How can you say that?”

“I’m just grateful you’re by my side at all. After all the times I lost you, after all my mistakes, you still chose to stay… How could I ask for anything more?”

His words were so soft and warm that Alexa felt she might cry. She bit her lip, but her flushed eyes couldn’t be hidden.

She leaned over and pressed her lips to Reinhardt’s. Like a child, she just held her lips there for a moment before pulling away. Even that made her feel surprisingly full inside. With their foreheads together, Alexa closed her eyes.

“It might be late.”

“Yes.”

“I might make things hard for you.”

“Mm.”

“But just a little longer…”

She didn’t need to say more. Reinhardt gently embraced her. Held in his arms, Alexa recalled the thought she’d had when she first saw Reinhardt as a child.

Like a prince.

She was glad that, in her romance story, the prince was Reinhardt.

Carefully imagining how their relationship might change in the near future, Alexa hugged her beloved close.

She was certain that the end of their story would be, “They lived happily ever after.”