Chapter 2.1 – The Er*tic Situation of the Newlyweds

As a result, Tina didn’t get an answer from Cherilian.

“Tina, there’ll be another way. Trust me.”

Tina protested, but…

“I don’t want to disappoint you.”

How could she push further when he said that? Seeing Cherilian looking more distressed than herself, Tina kissed his cheek.

* * *

Congratulations gifts from the vassal families under the Biente Duchy arrived one after another.

Most were items for children. Come to think of it, the Biente family rarely had children.

Regardless of the fact that Tina and Cherilian married for love, their marriage was also a contract between noble houses.

Tina recalled a trial presided over by her father, who served as judge in their small domain.

It was a divorce trial requested by a woman, and she remembered sneaking in to watch as a child, hiding from her nanny.

‘Right, what reason is there to break a lawfully conducted marriage, protected by the state religion?’

‘Honored Lord! Please listen to my grievance and deliver a fair judgment!’

Summing up the woman’s desperate plea:

‘My husband is unsatisfactory in bed!’

‘…Hmm.’

It might sound like a trivial reason, but it was actually a very important cause for divorce.

A child born to a domain resident was a new future labor force. So, the woman was granted a divorce by the viscount of the Damsel family and the priest overseeing marriage law in the domain.

‘According to the marriage law of the Kingdom of Velia, if the first night isn’t consummated, the marriage is considered incomplete.’

By this logic, Tina and Cherilian’s marriage was not yet whole.

With a heavy heart, Tina wandered inside the castle.

Drawn by a noisy commotion, she found the training grounds. As expected, the Biente knights were there.

They were sparring in light attire.

She’d heard that the knights here were often lower-ranking children of minor noble families or commoners.

More like a mercenary group than a knight order, they shared strong bonds of trust with Cherilian after fighting monsters together. They seemed more comfortable calling him ‘Captain’ than ‘Your Grace’.

Tina, who’d befriended some knights on her journey from Damsel Castle to Biente, watched their sparring from a corner of the training grounds.

Everyone was so focused on sparring that no one noticed Tina in the shaded corner.

The match was quite exciting. They’d toss aside their wooden swords and suddenly start punching and kicking, making it look more like a street brawl than a formal duel.

The winning knight boasted loudly,

“Take care of those shriveled nuts of yours, before you lose what’s left!”

As soon as he finished, laughter burst out everywhere. Though the words were mocking, it seemed to be a routine joke among them.

“What are you talking about, a useless boar is worse than a seedless watermelon.”

Tina found their rough language awkward, but knowing there was no malice, she wasn’t surprised.

A knight finally noticed the Duchess and gasped.

“Madam!”

Taking advantage of the attention, Tina waved her hand.

The knights who had made the jokes covered their mouths with both hands, looking mortified. Wondering why they reacted so strongly, Tina soon understood when one of them whispered,

“Please, Madam, don’t tell the Captain—or, I mean, His Grace—about this.”

“About what? That you cheated in the duel?”

Tina replied slyly, making the knight in front of her blush. Even with his bold character, it seemed hard to explain those words to a refined lady.

“I—I meant, the… um, the comment about… you know, nuts and such….”

Why was that a problem? Tina tilted her head, and the knight scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Captain really hates lowbrow dirty jokes.”

“That’s right. He won’t even let us joke! If he catches us, we’re in for it!”

“But when he does that, he really looks the part of a true knight—protecting kings and noble ladies.”

“What, does that make me a fake?”

As Tina listened to the knights bicker, a sudden realization flashed through her mind.

‘Could it be…?’

She told the knights, who tried to strike up a conversation, that she was busy and left the training grounds.

Tina confidently headed to the Duke’s office.

Inside, Cherilian, wearing glasses, was hard at work with his aide.

Tina had never visited his office before, not wanting to disturb his work. Cherilian, knowing this, looked surprised.

“Tina?”

Tina smiled at the confused aide approaching her.

“I need to see Cherry. Could you leave for a moment?”

“Madam, I’m sorry, but it’s work hours. Is it urgent?”

“I’m about to have my first marital quarrel—want to join?”

“Ah! I’ll leave for today!”

The aide quickly greeted the Duke and Duchess and hurried out of the office.

Satisfied, Tina firmly closed the door and circled the desk.

She neatly stacked the papers so her hips wouldn’t touch them, slipped off her silk shoes, and perched on the desk.

“Tina? What do you mean by a marital quarrel?”

“Oh, don’t mind. Just wanted to get him out.”

“……?”

Cherilian looked at her in confusion. As he rattled his chair to stand up, Tina blocked it with her stocking-clad foot.

Cherilian’s legs, trapped between Tina’s feet, came together demurely. Tina watched Cherilian’s flustered look with amusement.

The one thing that always broke Cherilian Biente’s calm and composed exterior was Tina Damsel Biente.

Tina rested her elbows on her thighs, propping up her chin, and admired her husband’s appearance with glasses.

“You’re wearing glasses. They suit you… No, that’s not it.”

Cherilian watched her nervously, worried she might fall forward and get hurt, though he’d catch her if she did.

“I think I figured it out.”

Cherilian, distracted by her precarious posture, reacted late to her secretive whisper.

“…Figured out what?”

Tina’s sky-blue eyes sparkled mischievously—the same look she’d give when climbing trees and making Cherilian nervous.

“Cherilian Biente.”

“……!”

Cherilian’s broad shoulders flinched.

Since they began their friendship, Tina had never called him by his full name. He was always just Cherry to her.

His handsome brow furrowed in discomfort.

“Tina, why are you calling me—”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

“Like a useless boar, worse than a seedless watermelon.”

“…Huh?”

Cherilian let out a dazed sound. His glasses sat crooked.

Tina, smiling with her angelic face, had never hurled such insults at anyone—maybe ‘silly’ or ‘foolish’ at most.

He stared blankly at her pretty lips, wondering what he’d just heard.

As Cherilian tried to straighten his glasses, he suddenly felt a physical reaction he shouldn’t have felt at a time like this.

“I was right.”

Tina slid off the desk and pushed against his chest. One hand wasn’t enough, so she used both to move his heavy body.

Widening the distance between them, Tina looked down at him with a triumphant face.

Cherilian, seeing his trousers bulge with an er*ction, muttered in embarrassment.

“Why is this…?”

“Why else? Because I said something naughty and dirty.”

Even Tina herself blushed deeply, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She clung to Cherilian like he was a wall. His broad chest barely moved, as if his breath had stopped.

“So this was the kind of insult you didn’t want from the woman you love. Cherry, you’re so innocent.”

Tina pretended to be skilled at this, but her mind was spinning. She’d figured out Cherilian’s hidden solution.

But what to do next, no one had ever taught her. From here on, it was all up to Tina Damsel Biente’s wit and quick thinking.

‘Is it okay to do this in broad daylight? It should be fine.’

She’d succeeded in getting him aroused. Feeling a small sense of accomplishment, Tina boldly reached for his waistband.

“Wait—”

Cherilian, coming to his senses, removed his hand from the armrest.

Tina glared at him with a threatening look and spoke low.

“Oh, don’t say no. You useless boar!”

“…….”

Is this right? She wasn’t sure, but it seemed fine even if she stuttered a bit.

Though she tried to sound harsh, Tina’s voice was naturally gentle and soft.

It probably didn’t sound scary, but Cherilian seemed deeply shocked.