Chapter 1.4

Kaiden lay on the sofa where Pin had laid out the blanket, looking up at the ceiling. 

Splash, splash. The sound of water flowed from beyond the wall covered by a single cloth, piercing through the heavy rain and into his ears.

He desperately tried to focus only on his sight, fixing his gaze on the ceiling with its distinct wood grain. The dimly flickering yellow light of the candle. The shimmering light from the hearth, which served as both a cooking utensil and a stove.

The house was cozy yet somewhat dim. In such a place, reading even a single letter at night would be difficult. Though commoners had no reason to read books anyway.

Kaiden suddenly thought of the oil lamp he left at the royal castle. The servants had fussed over the luxurious and beautiful porcelain oil lamp recently bestowed by His Majesty the King.

He should have brought it. It would suit Rian’s house well….

“Phew….”

Rian would never know. That he had seen her from the hill and fallen for her at first sight, lingering around.

He tried not to impose on her in his own way. Pretending to train his body on the hill path everyone used, he would pause and watch her with excitement when he happened to spot her tending the garden from afar.

But even that might be enough to frighten and threaten a delicate woman….

“Hmm.”

He turned his body to the side and hugged the blanket.

How should he seduce a woman? He had only watched until now, but she was a woman without a husband, so was it alright for him to seduce her?

But rejecting a noble is not easy. How burdensome is it to face someone you fear to refuse, even if you want to….

Trying to shake off his gloom, he hugged her blanket and deeply inhaled the scent of well-dried fibers in the sunlight. Warmth seeped into his chest.

Ah, just like the scent from Rian.

“Haaa….”

His lower body, left er*ect for a long time, ached stiffly. If the front of his pants stretched, it would be unsightly….

No, he shouldn’t. Damaging someone else’s clothes. Compensation isn’t the issue, but wasn’t it the ceremonial attire left by Rian’s father? It might have special meaning to her.

He reluctantly loosened the string of his breeches to ease the front.

His member, suppressed, sprang up. Despite being high-waisted pants, the massive thing stuck its head out over the top.

Splash, splash. The sound of water splashing again pierced through the rain, tormenting him.

He was envious of the bathwater embracing her body.

‘Kaiden, your imagination is so uselessly abundant that if you hadn’t become a knight, you could have lived well as a third-rate minstrel.’

The words of a fellow who often teased him echoed self-deprecatingly in his ears.

“Rian….”

Transparent fluid dripped from the tip of the thick flesh column. From the moment he impulsively grasped it, there was no stopping.

He closed his eyes and panted, moving his hand. Listening to the sound of water beyond the screen, imagining her soft fingers wrapping around his flesh column.

“Huh, ugh, uh….”

He tightened his hips until his b*ttocks hardened like stones, shaking his waist. The wet member made lewd sounds in his grip.

In his closed eyes, the unknown space between Rian’s widely spread legs was drawn.

To feed her the stake-like thing without pain, he had to suck it gently until it softened….

“Ugh.”

But having never seen a woman’s private parts up close, even in imagination, it remained vague.

He gave up and focused solely on the sensation in his lower body. It wasn’t a time to leisurely enjoy. He had to finish before she completed her bath.

As the urge to climax surged, he gritted his teeth to endure and pulled his pants down to his knees. He couldn’t dirty the clothes. His heart pounded at the thought of her pulling back the screen.

He moved his hand more roughly. Praying that the friction sound of skin colliding and low moans would be masked by the rain. He vigorously shook his arm, veins bulging thick and strong.

“Rian. Rian, uh….”

Finally, he uttered her name, reaching the peak. Hastily cupping the head with his hand, a handful of s*men had already splattered on the living room floor.

“Damn.”

Should he be glad that the clothes weren’t dirtied thanks to the vigorous spray reaching far? The amount of s*men staining the floor was like he had urinated.

He wiped his hand and the floor with a towel, then slumped onto the sofa. He clutched his head, overwhelmed by self-reproach.

“…….”

He sensed movement after he had sighed five times in succession with his head bowed.

“…Have you finished your bath?”

Kaiden swallowed dryly, feigning nonchalance as he asked.

Rian, wrapped in a large towel, crossed the living room quietly and paused with a start.

“Ah, yes…. Um, you’ll need to add more water from the pot as it’s cooled.”

She mumbled, her lips stained a deep crimson. Her cheeks and lips, nicely flushed, resembled blooming spring flowers. She awkwardly smiled, trying to cover her exposed chest with her hand over the towel.

“I’ll quickly prepare a meal while you bathe, Sir.”

Her shoulders and arms glistened with moisture, her calves smoothly exposed under the long towel….

In front of such a sight that could drive one to madness, Kaiden miraculously maintained his sanity.

Even showing such a figure to a strange man, instead of being startled, the shallow dimples on her cheeks were so endearing.

“No, it’s fine.”

Kaiden shook his head coldly to shake off dangerous urges.

“But aren’t you hungry? You just need to heat the soup. It will warm you up more.”

“A bath is enough. I’m not hungry, so I’ll eat in the morning.”

Though he unconsciously offered considerate words, he couldn’t suppress the gaze persistently following her lips and chest.

If he slightly shifted the towel, he could see her n*pples. Passing by him in such a provocative outfit. And smiling.

Could it be that she doesn’t mind me watching?

His heart thumped wildly.

“Sir….”

Should I say I want to see? That I want to see her n*ked body. That I wants to suck her br*asts.

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

Rian shrank back slightly, seeming troubled by his intense gaze. She looked frightened.

Kaiden quickly averted his gaze.

“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”

A lie. Lost in thought, my foot. 

He was thinking of Rian.

Dirty thoughts, wanting to strip the towel and do filthy things.

“It’s alright. Then have a comfortable bath.”

She whispered and opened the door.

Thud, the sound of the door closing seemed harshly cold.

Get a grip. Rian had spent a tiring day managing this house alone, and you made her even more exhausted, yet she’s only being kind because you’re a noble.

“…Good night, Rian.”

He left a belated farewell and headed towards the bath, swinging his arms. The house was filled with her sweet scent everywhere. Forgetting her words to add more warm water, he dipped his legs into the lukewarm bath. And at that moment, he felt as if he was bathing with her, causing his lower body to stand er*ect again.

It hasn’t even been long since I released so much. Fool. Trash. h*rny dog.

“Ugh….”

Splash, splash, the sound of water swirled faster. Despite cursing himself with self-loathing, he panted heavily in the water that seemed infused with her scent, reaching a second climax.

* * *

The thunder shook the earth, disturbing those asleep in the deep of night.

Rian trembled as she opened her eyes.

“Gasp….”

It wasn’t that she feared thunder like a child. She was just anxious about the possibility of lightning striking near the hill and causing an accident. Ferindale was a place with few natural disasters, but occasionally she heard such stories from neighboring villages.

“Is Sir Kaiden alright….”

However, strangely, the thought that a strong knight was sleeping in the house with her made her anxious heart settle comfortably.

Is he sleeping well?

Rian blinked her sleepy eyes, staring at the door. Thinking of the handsome and sturdy man lying under her blanket on the other side made her heart flutter.

…He smelled nice. His torso looked so broad and thick. What would it feel like to be held in such a chest? Surely it would feel cozy and safe. Wrapped up like that, even the loud thunder outside would fade away.

Rian hid her flushed face under the blanket as if someone might see her.

But her gaze continued to linger beyond the door for a while.