Chapter 16 – Back to the North (Part 3)

Entering the bedroom, Tartenon practically threw Reubellina onto the bed and pressed her down with his body. His warmth enveloped her pleasantly. Reubellina smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as Tartenon took a deep breath.

Reubellina initiated the contact. She caressed Tartenon’s cheek, pulled his neck closer, and pressed her lips against his. As her warmth transferred to Tartenon, his heat also enveloped her. The intense heat from their touching bodies made Reubellina shiver under his weight.

Though they had been married for a long time, tonight was their first true night together.

Her hand stroked his straight spine, feeling the muscles through the thin shirt. She stroked his back as he nuzzled his face into her neck. The heat from his body spread through her in an instant.

‘Should I be grateful?’

Reubellina thought as she caressed Tartenon’s body.

She was grateful that Tartenon Speraum, the Grand Duke and ruler of the North, was her man. As her hand moved near his waist, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

With a ripping sound, Tartenon tore her dress. His hand moved slowly, caressing her exposed skin.

“Haa.”

Reubellina’s sigh-like moan made Tartenon’s heart race. He gripped her body and kissed her face all over. He completely removed her half-torn dress and unbuttoned his shirt.

As each button came undone, revealing Tartenon’s firm chest, Reubellina couldn’t take her eyes off him. He looked even more muscular than the time she had secretly watched him in the training yard.

Breathing heavily, Reubellina sat up and pressed her lips to his exposed chest. As her lips touched his skin, Tartenon bit his lip.

When her eyes, reflected in the flickering light, met his, he could no longer hold back. As her tongue licked his neck, his lower body heated up.

Tartenon urgently pressed her down, and Reubellina embraced him with a laugh. That was the beginning.

His gradually increasing weight pressed against Reubellina’s thigh. The part of him that touched her grew hotter, but Reubellina, though blushing, did not avoid his gaze.

His blue eyes, glistening with desire, met her golden eyes. For a moment, his eyes seemed to blur, and then she felt pain in her neck.

“Hng!”

Unable to stifle her moan, a thin cry escaped Reubellina’s lips. Tartenon’s tongue was gently licking the bite mark on her neck. As something warm and wet moved as if it were alive, Reubellina’s hand crumpled the bedsheet. She twisted her waist in small resistance, but Tartenon’s firm thighs didn’t budge.

“Stay still.”

His warning that she might get hurt if she didn’t stay still made Reubellina stop moving. His size, even at a glance, was intimidating.

“Th-that… Ah!”

Trying to say something, Reubellina was interrupted by Tartenon sucking on her chest. Her lips moved, but only faint moans escaped.

Tartenon grabbed her soft br*ast and lightly bit the tip. As he teased her n*pple with his tongue, Reubellina’s mind was overwhelmed with pleasure.

She couldn’t think of anything. All she could do was pant and wait for Tartenon to do something more.

Her body grew hotter, and wetness flowed from inside, soaking the bedsheet. Tartenon’s thick and long p*nis rubbed against her thigh, leaving white marks from the fluid at its tip.

When Tartenon, who had been persistently sucking her br*ast, lifted his face, his lips glistened with saliva. As he licked his glistening lips while looking down at her, Reubellina felt an irresistible wave of pleasure.

Seeing Tartenon, the arrogant ruler of the North, looking down at her with eyes full of passion was incredibly stimulating. She couldn’t move under his gaze but instead smiled. As her lips curved up, Tartenon’s mesmerized gaze followed. Enjoying his gaze, Reubellina slowly spread her legs.

“Are you seducing me?”

“If I am, what will you do?”

Tartenon’s lustful gaze fell on Reubellina’s wet lower region. She felt the heat where his eyes landed but pretended not to notice. She exposed her trembling lower self to him.

“Hng!”

One of his thick, long fingers entered, parting her wet petals. His rough touch inside her was mixed with urgency. But her already sufficiently wet lower part easily accepted his finger. When another finger entered, her hips jerked up from the stimulation.

Hearing the squelching sound, Reubellina breathed heavily and lowered her eyes in embarrassment. But that was a mistake. Looking down, she could see Tartenon’s fingers moving more clearly. She chose to close her eyes instead.

“Haa!”

“Open your eyes.”

Tartenon whispered, not allowing her to look away. His low voice, licking her ear and nibbling her earlobe, was irresistible. As her eyelids fluttered and revealed her eyes, Tartenon lowered his face as if he had been waiting.

“Tartenon, not there, ugh, no, haah!”

His tongue parted her folds and licked the pearl hidden inside. Reubellina’s waist trembled, and liquid gushed from where Tartenon’s hand was. As he nibbled and sucked on the swollen pearl, the pleasure rising to her head was overwhelming.

“Ugh, faster, ha, hng!”

Whimpering and pleading, Reubellina spoke, and Tartenon straightened up. Grasping her legs, he positioned his large member at her entrance. He circled the tip around her parted folds before slowly pushing in.

“Hng, it’s too, ugh!”

“Ugh! Relax.”

As Tartenon pushed into the tight entrance, he let out a faint moan. Reubellina’s parted slit barely managed to swallow the tip, stretching wide. Grimacing, Reubellina reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Just do it.”

“Why…?”

“Wouldn’t it be less painful if you just put it all in at once?”

Reubellina’s softly spoken words nearly made Tartenon lose his sanity. As his p*nis grew harder and larger, she widened her eyes in surprise.

“Why is it getting bigger…!”

“Reubellina.”

Tartenon’s voice, resonating deeply in his throat, sounded more like that of a beast than a man. Feeling a sense of danger from his growl, Reubellina tried to pull her hips back, but Tartenon thrust his p*nis forcefully upward.

“Haa!”

The sharp pain that shot through her below made Reubellina unable to breathe properly as she accepted him. Tartenon pressed his lips to her furrowed brow. Sweat from his temple dripped onto her face, and his fingers gently grasped her br*ast.

As he pinched and rubbed the saliva-soaked peak between his thumb and forefinger, heat rose from that spot. Her lower body involuntarily tightened, and as her tense body relaxed a bit, Tartenon’s p*nis slowly moved back and then thrust forward powerfully.

“Hng!”

The sensation of him slowly withdrawing and then driving in forcefully made Reubellina dizzy. Flicking her swollen n*pple with his fingers, Tartenon whispered.

“Here, it’s swollen.”

“That’s because you keep touching it, ah!”

Reubellina couldn’t escape Tartenon’s hand as he teased her swollen peak without letting go. When his p*nis rubbed against a particular spot deep inside her, her mind went blank, and her eyelids fluttered.

As her mouth opened wider and a high-pitched moan escaped, Reubellina, startled by her own voice, raised her hand to cover her mouth.

“Ah!”

“Make noise.”

Biting her n*pple gently and raising her hand above her head, Tartenon lifted his face from her chest. The saliva glistening on his red lips made them look even more vivid. As the hot stimulation surged from below, Reubellina couldn’t hold back her moan. Tartenon, watching her br*asts move up and down with each of his thrusts, whispered in her ear.

“Beautiful.”

“No, wait… ah!”

Reubellina’s plea for him to stop for a moment was ignored, and Tartenon’s p*nis moved even more vigorously. The sound of his balls slapping against her and the wet squelching filled the bedroom, where moans continued until the red sun rose.

***

Reubellina groaned from the intense pain rising from her waist. She felt Tartenon’s hand soothing her waist, but she sharply slapped his hand away. The sound echoed, but Tartenon’s hand didn’t move.

As his hand moved suggestively, Reubellina turned to protest, but he captured her lips.

By the time she regained her senses, it was too late. Tartenon’s hand was already caressing her body, and her loosened body began to heat up again. She stifled a moan as his hand moved suggestively.

“Haa, no more… ah!”

“Think about me too.”

Tartenon whispered as he licked her earlobe. The dizzying sensation took over her mind, and excitement surged. Her body, tamed by him over the past day, continued to crave him. Looking down at the moaning Reubellina, he spoke softly.

“I’ve held back for three years.”

“What do you mean, held back… ah!”

“So let me have this.”

As his hand kneaded her more firmly, Reubellina rested her face on his shoulder and exhaled shallow breaths.

“Haa.”

Tartenon responded to her heated breaths with more force. The two, lost in passion, didn’t leave the bedroom until the sun set.

Embracing the exhausted and sleeping Reubellina, Tartenon gently stroked her red hair. Her hair, both luxurious and elegant, looked especially beautiful in the moonlight, Tartenon thought.

‘You don’t know my feelings yet.’

She was someone he had finally gotten after a long time of effort and care. Though their relationship began as a contract, it ended with shared feelings.

Even now, he had no intention of changing his thoughts about cherishing and caring for her, who had come to him after such a long journey.

As always, Tartenon grasped her hair, inhaled its scent, and pressed his lips to it. The action, almost reverent, was like a ritual. His own ritual for asking her to give him her heart someday.

Now that his wish had come true, he wondered if he should wish for something else. Reubellina would be shocked if she knew his thoughts, but what did it matter? She was his now.

Smiling, Tartenon whispered softly into her ear.

“I love you.”

“Mmm… I love you too.”

Hearing her response made him feel like he had the whole world.

Tartenon, unable to hide his smile, pulled her closer. How could he not love someone who naturally came into his arms when he reached out?

The faces of the northern people were filled with vitality and happiness.

“All of this happened because you came to me.”

Tartenon’s quiet voice echoed through the bedroom. Though it was Reubellina who had taken his hand, it was she who had given him the golden opportunity. The beginning was his, but the end was Reubellina’s.

Tartenon didn’t take his eyes off the sleeping Reubellina.

He wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t met her at the imperial palace. If that moment had been missed, he wondered what would have become of them.

‘Such pointless thoughts.’

What would have happened? Naturally, they would have met again.

Tartenon answered his own question. He could never have given up on Reubellina, so he would have sought another opportunity to approach her and win her heart.

Tartenon’s gaze, filled with affection, was fixed on Reubellina. Though she was asleep and unaware, he had no desire to wake her. While he did want to leave more marks on her already marked body, he cherished this quiet moment.

He loved having his beloved by his side, sharing feelings, and being alone together. Tartenon’s unwavering blue eyes never left Reubellina. His gaze traced her face, then her white neck, and finally her rounded shoulders.

She was his beloved person. So precious that he couldn’t even speak of her carelessly. He remembered everything he had done to obtain this person.

For Tartenon, these were unforgettable memories. He had done his best to win the one person he desired so much.

There was only one person in his life whom he had wanted so passionately. Just watching her sleep made his heart race, so how much more when she looked at him with shining eyes and spoke to him? The smile never left Tartenon’s lips.

Moonlight streamed in through the slightly open window. The moonlight that fell beside him brushed past him and touched Reubellina. The moonlight settled on her red hair, making it sparkle. Afraid that the light wrapping around her might take her away, he instinctively held her tighter. Seeing that she still hadn’t woken, Tartenon chuckled.

To be cautious even of moonlight—it was a strange feeling. He wondered if he had fallen under the spell of the night.

His heart pounded, and his face felt hot. Who would have thought that the conqueror of the North’s greatest fear was Reubellina leaving him?

He was happy. This moment, holding Reubellina in his arms, made him so happy that it hurt.

“I love you.”

The sudden words carried his earnest feelings. When Reubellina mumbled back reflexively that she loved him too, he hugged her even tighter.

There was a name for the most ordinary thing he held in his hands. It was happiness.

Reubellina was the one who had shown him the simple, everyday happiness that he hadn’t even realized was his. Every moment she was with him was both happy and ordinary.

Tartenon pressed his lips to Reubellina’s cheek, vowing to do anything to protect this ordinary happiness.