Chapter 1 – Shall We Pretend It Never Happened? (Part 2)

At the door of the drawing room, which was only opened for esteemed guests, stood two Knights in full uniform. They were standing at attention, staring straight ahead, when they noticed the approaching young lady mumbling to herself and informed Karcian inside of her arrival.

Through the doors opened by the Knights, Anasha could see a man sitting on the sofa enjoying his tea. The boy who should have been in her memories had disappeared, replaced by a strangely familiar man who had grown significantly. Anasha paused for a moment in her steps.

Karcian licked his lips, moist from the tea. His large, plump lips glistened with moisture, causing Anasha to blush. His hot tongue, which had been sucking on her below and nibbling her clitoris, and his lips stained with her fluids, were vividly imprinted in her mind.

“Haah…! Karcian, hngh! Ah, ugh….”

The sensation of his thick tongue suddenly invading the wrinkled insides was still clear. The sensation of his sticky tongue pushing in all the way to the root, and the hot flesh roaming inside, licking up all the fluids as if to devour them, was not fading but becoming even more vivid in her mind.

‘Get a hold of yourself, Anasha!’

Overwhelmed by the resurfacing memories, Anasha shook her head with all her might. Karcian’s lips, which had been clinging to her thighs and sucking the fluids, now curved into a clear smile in this very place. Clearing her throat, Anasha approached him with a slightly trembling voice and gently lifted the hem of her skirt.

“Anasha Lialli Roymond, young lady of the Earl. I greet you.”

“Why the sudden formality?”

His innocent expression, as if he didn’t understand, almost made Anasha burst into laughter. As if the previous night had never happened. As if the 6-year gap had never existed.

Anasha felt a bit relieved by Karcian’s attitude of treating her as just a childhood friend. The heat that had been rising within her finally settled down. 

Did he also wish to pretend that night never happened?

‘Why the sudden formality?’

Isn’t it obvious? 

Anasha couldn’t lose here, so she raised her voice nonchalantly.

“I’ve had my debutante, so won’t I have a fiancé soon?”

So she was merely trying to show the appropriate demeanor from now on. 

You and I will each have our own fiancés and inherit our respective families, so as the future heir of the Earldom, I’ll gladly show respect to you, the future Duke. That’s the idea, right? So, it’s a hint that I’m drawing a line with you.

“Ah, really? But isn’t it going to be a bit… difficult?”

Was it a mistake to hear it as, ‘Your fiancé will be me anyway’? Anasha forced a smile, holding back the twitching of her lips, and sighed deeply

“Aren’t you busy, Young Master? Let me see you out. Leave.”

“Is it already time to send guests away?”

“Oh? Why would you say something so obvious?”

“Ah…. Are you feeling well?”

“You…!”

Swallowing the curse that rose in her throat at his suggestive question, Anasha wondered if he didn’t want to pretend that night never happened after all.

‘Or?’

What exactly does he want to do with me? Surely not dating? With whom? With me?

“That’s absolutely not happening!”

“Huh?”

“Oh! Um! Anyway! Are you leaving or not?”

“Uh…. Yeah, if you say so. But I’d like to take a walk first.”

Since when were we the kind of people who enjoyed leisurely strolls together?

Anasha cheerfully raised her middle finger and laughed it off. As she was about to ignore him and leave, the cold wind tapping at the window caught her eye. The windows lined up on one side of the drawing room were shivering from the cold.

‘Is it early spring now?’

It was the time just before winter, jealous of spring, retreated, stubbornly driving cold winds. Moreover, it was late afternoon, a time when the sunless land gradually began to cool. Anasha’s eyes lit up with a brilliant idea that flashed through her mind.

“Fine! Let’s go. But I get to choose the place for the walk, okay?”

“Sure.”

As always, like a cub following its mother, Karcian followed her without any questions. His mind was filled with thoughts of every moment he would spend with Anasha. Wandering around, chatting amiably, and finally even holding hands—everything.

***  

Wearing Karcian’s coat, Anasha headed to the lakeside within the Earl’s estate. With the weather being cool and dark, she didn’t want to walk for long, so she decided to execute her plan quickly. Glancing sideways at Karcian walking behind her, she posed a subtle question.

“Karcian, do you still catch colds easily?”  

“Why do you ask?”  

“Just worried, you know? Don’t you know worry?”

“Hmm—”  

At her sharp response, Karcian let out a nasal sound and tilted his head. 

What kind of silly plan is she concocting with that little head of hers? 

Karcian quietly observed her actions.  

‘Colds, colds.’  

When was it? 

He recalled the old days, which had become a distant memory.  

“Karcian, if you stay in bed all the time, you’ll become a sickly chicken.”  

“But it’s cold…. Look outside. It’s snowing.”

“That’s why you should go out! Build a snowman and have a snowball fight.”  

“No…. What if I catch a cold?”  

“You coward! Karcian, what if God takes your thingy away because you’re such a scaredy-cat?”

“Aaah!”  

Eventually, he was dragged out and buried in the snow. He ended up sick in bed for ten days after that. Once, he went to pick berries in the mountains and fell from a tree, ending up sick. Another time, in the steamy summer, he wanted to eat roasted sweet potatoes, so he made a fire and ended up sick with a fever.

Thanks to that little girl, he often fell sick, but it wasn’t entirely Anasha’s fault. Karcian had been weak since birth and frequently suffered from fevers.

The Duke and Duchess, always busy, couldn’t often visit their only son, who was constantly falling ill. So, it was Anasha, not his parents, who always stayed by Karcian’s side when he was sick. Young Anasha once voiced her feelings to the Duke and Duchess.

“You’re not like a dad, you’re more like a Duke!”

Isn’t it strange? After that, the Duke and Duchess visited Karcian a bit more often. Anasha probably will never know why he left her side for six years to enter the Academy.

Astria Academy.

It was the gateway that those aspiring to become knights had to pass through.

“I like you, Anasha!”

“Yikes! No! I don’t like men who are weaker than me!”

The shock from that time still occasionally resurfaced as a nightmare. Hearing that she didn’t like men weaker than herself, Karcian wanted to become stronger. He wanted to be at least as healthy as an average man. So, he stayed in the capital even during vacations, swinging his sword. He didn’t even think of sending letters to Anasha. If he received a reply written by her own hand, he’d want to rush to her immediately.

Every day, he ran around the training grounds and sought out all sorts of health-boosting foods. As he dedicated himself to training, scraping every bit of his nonexistent stamina, he had come to be nicknamed “Mud Boy.” Of course, being a Young Master, no one dared to call him that to his face.

“…”

Having barely evolved from a weakling to a human, Karcian silently observed Anasha’s back as she walked ahead.

“Karcian! Look at that flower over there! Isn’t it pretty?”

Anasha turned around, pointing at some wildflowers. Her eyes, fresh as newly sprouted buds, sparkled beautifully. Blinded by their brilliant radiance, Karcian awkwardly scratched his cheek and averted his gaze.

‘You’re prettier.’

While Karcian was scratching his cheek, Anasha, who was adept at teasing him, swiftly approached the lakeside. Pretending to be engrossed in the flowers, she exclaimed, “Oh my, how pretty,” as she moved closer to the lake. Her gaze, which had been watching Karcian’s reactions, now focused on the flowers that had come into clearer view.

‘Huh?’

Among the long, thin leaves, a particularly slender green stem stood out. At its tip bloomed a plump, yellow, trumpet-shaped petal.

As soon as Anasha saw the flower, all her attention was captured. It was as if she was enchanted by a ghost attached to the flower. And no wonder, for such vibrant foliage blooming alone in this desolate lakeside was indeed precious.

‘Why is there a freesia here?’

Where did it come from? Did someone plant it?

Curiosity filled Anasha, who walked forward without watching her step.

“Shasha?”

Only when Anasha reached the edge of the lake did Karcian realize she hadn’t seen the mound beneath her feet. It was a small hill, about a handspan high, and it had rained all night. The ground was still damp, which he could feel with the tip of his toes. Karcian hurriedly reached out to stop her, but Anasha had already slipped.

“Shasha!”

“Uh-oh?”

As Anasha felt the sensation of quickly being pulled into the water, she instinctively turned her body. At the end of her increasingly tilted view, the pale surface of the lake stretched out. Just as the icy water touched her shoulder, Karcian’s face, grim and tense, flashed before her eyes.

“Anasha!”

Splash-!

The chilling cold struck her entire body, and with the overwhelming sensation of being submerged, Anasha gasped for air. Soon after, she heard the sound of something else diving into the water. At the end of that sound, she instinctively wrapped her arms around the large figure embracing her.

After that, everything went dark.

***

“Eh, eh…! Achoo!”

Wrapped in a blanket and seated in front of the stove, Anasha shivered from the cold.

“Darn it…. This wasn’t the plan.”

She had intended to push Karcian into the lake, not fall in with him. In fact, even if she had pushed, she doubted his large frame would have been moved much, so she had only planned to get his feet a little wet.

‘But who would have thought I’d fall in completely?’

Moreover, Karcian, who had jumped in to save her, ended up bedridden with a fever.

‘I didn’t mean for him to fall in completely….’

Karcian had often suffered from fevers since childhood. Knowing this, Anasha felt guilty for having dunked him in the lake and absentmindedly scratched her head. She was fine, being quite robust from living with her three younger brothers, but the originally delicate Karcian was not.

‘But he didn’t seem that delicate?’

Anasha tilted her head, recalling the debutante night that flashed through her mind. Where had that relentless stamina gone? Karcian had been vigorously thrusting with his massive member, leaving no time for rest. Toward the end, the mixture of fluids made things so slippery that his member slid in and out without any resistance. It was so overwhelming that she ended up crying profusely. How perverted he seemed, licking it all up as if it were delicious.

‘What am I thinking!’

Anasha shook her head to rid herself of the memories of that night that surfaced whenever she let her guard down. 

Could I ever meet another man like this? What if I could never escape from Karcian?

Consumed by creeping anxiety, she spent the night wrestling with her thoughts.