Chapter 1.5

“Who is your fiancé?”

Even the soft voice that had been mesmerizing until now turned cold. It felt like a sudden cold snap had come in this warm spring. Pressed by his momentum, she unknowingly hid behind Selly and answered with only her head peeking out.

“Marquis O-Oditolium’s son, Felix.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized she’d made a mistake. She regretted telling him unnecessarily, as he would soon leave, and blamed herself internally. But then, the man made a strange expression.

“…I understand it’s only a marriage proposal.”

“Well, then he’s a prospective fiancé, you could say. But how did you know…? Has it already been announced?”

“When you do this kind of work, you’re quick with news. But haven’t other young masters also given marriage proposals?”

“Um…”

Had they…? 

She furrowed her brows, trying to recall. Her father had mentioned there were others besides Felix, but her mind went blank. Now that she thought about it, she remembered her father had given her documents, even suggesting she look at portraits.

Where did I put them in the drawer?

“…Anyway, I’ll be marrying Felix, so that’s not important.”

Forcing herself to think of another man made her feel unwell, so she spoke roughly. Then he stared at her intently.

“You’re surprisingly assertive.”

“Me?”

She blinked several times at the unexpected words from him. Then he slightly turned his head and covered his mouth with one hand, as if hiding his expression.

‘Could he be laughing?’

She squinted her eyes, trying to see his expression. But he soon straightened his head and smiled prettily as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, were you looking for a teacher to teach seduction techniques?”

“No!”

Seduction! She had never thought about that. She hastily waved her hands and continued speaking.

“I just like Felix…”

No, why was I explaining?

“Anyway, I can’t cheat on Felix.”

“Miss, you’re really pure.”

“Huh?”

The man smiled. At that moment, it seemed like petals were scattering in a vision. She almost mistook it for an angel descending and almost bowed immediately.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one; Selly was frozen, her mouth agape. When she pinched Selly’s arm, Selly shivered and snapped out of it.

The man looked at them amusingly and continued speaking.

“Miss, engagements are as easily broken as they are formed. So, in fact, you could say you’re nothing with your marriage proposal partner. To keep your purity for such a partner… Of course, if you are a pre-marital purity advocate, I won’t go all the way either. But Miss, are you confident you won’t be shocked the first time you see a man’s lower part?”

“Well…”

“Someone who’s never encountered a male organ may be shocked by its appearance.”

Her eyes shook. He was right. She didn’t know if it applied to everyone, but at least she had been shocked as a child and could only nod.

“And if you can’t handle the shock and run away during your first experience… It can be quite traumatic for the man. You don’t intend to give your beloved trauma, do you?”

“Trauma…?”

Trauma. She gasped. She knew the pain of trauma better than anyone. She absolutely didn’t want Felix to feel the same pain as her.

“So wouldn’t it be better to quickly get used to men before your fiancé is decided, so you’re not surprised during your first experience?”

The man finished speaking and took a step closer to her. As the distance narrowed to less than a meter, she didn’t know where to look. Her heart pounded fiercely, as if her body would touch his at any moment. She tried to retreat using Selly as a shield, but he whispered quietly in her ear, only audible to her.

“Honestly, aren’t you curious?”

“……”

“What it looks like, what it feels like to touch, what it feels like to put it inside.”

She got goosebumps. As soon as he raised his head, she covered her ears with her hands. His lips hadn’t touched her ear, but his breath slightly entered her ear, making her face flush.

‘W-What is this…?’

It was strange. Usually, when she got that close to a man, she would spring up as if having a seizure, but… Despite the confusion, it wasn’t unpleasant. Only her heart was startled, pounding.

Could this man be okay? 

She mumbled in confusion, and he spoke.

“It’s not scary. You just need to slowly get used to my body first. Then you’ll naturally get used to your future fiancé’s too.”

“…How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m a capable teacher.”

There was something irresistible in the man’s voice. Just listening to him made it seem like bread would appear while sleeping.

She mentally pulled her hair out. Normally, without hesitation, she would have insisted, “I absolutely prefer a female teacher. Please just leave.” However, as the man sparkled his eyes, implying no other teacher could match him, she was gradually being swayed.

As he mentioned, learning directly from a male teacher seemed like the fastest way to overcome her phobia. A female teacher couldn’t show her a male body after all…

After much deliberation, she finally accepted him.

“Instead, you must never touch my body until I give you permission.”

“I understand. Are there any other conditions?”

“Nothing else. But what should I call you?”

He raised the corners of his lips and tucked his hair behind his ear again.

“Just call me Teacher.”

* * *

“I didn’t expect you to actually go through with it.”

Selly looked at her with eyes full of surprise. She herself didn’t know what she had done. Hiring a man as a teacher to teach her about the bedroom.

“Was I enchanted by an angel?”

“…What?”

No, it might be a lustful demon. Surely, he had hidden his true identity to seduce her completely.

“…What am I going to do?”

“As you know, I was just standing by! You signed the contract!”

“I must be crazy. Why did I do that?”

The male teacher had even brought a contract, which she signed. She read it carefully to make sure there were no strange conditions, but the anxiety about the future remained.

“Now that it’s come to this, you might as well enjoy it.”

“E-enjoy what?!”

As she stammered, Selly gave her a sly look and flared her nostrils.

“When will you ever get to… be with such a handsome man? If it were Miss Diana, she would have jumped on him the moment she saw him.”

“Selly, that’s a crime.”

“That’s how incredibly sexy and handsome he is. Ah, I’m suddenly envious.”

“Stop drooling…”

“Oh dear, anyway, congratulations, Miss. You’ve found a good bedroom teacher.”

Selly clapped her hands with a “wow.”

The first lesson was starting tomorrow. 

Was this really the right decision? 

She couldn’t predict what would happen next. The bedroom teacher never even revealed his name.

She recalled the brief contact with his fine fingers while exchanging the contract.

Was it because of his angelic appearance? He was definitely different from ordinary men. Normally, she would have been so startled in such a situation that she would have thrown the contract paper away. It was as if her phobia was cured, she felt so at ease.

She rubbed her ear with the hand that had touched his. Recalling the moment he whispered to her, her heart began to race again.

Perhaps the lessons with the teacher wouldn’t be so bad.

She thought, maybe she could get used to his body and eventually even engage in intimate acts.

She considered it for just a moment.

Of course, she wouldn’t go all the way before her first experience with Felix.