4.

There was a man holding his exhausted, drooling wife in his arms with a satisfied smile. He ran his fingers through her hair while watching the sunlight stream through the window. It was the beautiful start of a day.

“Why are you getting hard again!”

How many times had it been? Lenore, who had been fooled by ‘just one more time,’ was terrified and said she couldn’t take it anymore. Daniel really wanted to do it just one last time.

But he knew if he ignored her and pushed forward now, it would be a repeat of their wedding night. He couldn’t bear another 4 months of abstinence after getting elbowed.

Seeing her angry eyes, he realized it was already dangerous then too. It seemed like she might forbid him from touching her for a while.

Daniel backed off, saying he wouldn’t do it anymore while reading her mood. Lenore glared at him suspiciously before finally relaxing her eyes. In truth, she was too exhausted to even maintain her anger.

Knowing Lenore had no strength left to resist, Daniel embraced her.

“Again!”

“No, I just want to hold you.”

Daniel kissed Lenore’s forehead repeatedly as she startled, and held her with one arm. Though Lenore seemed concerned about his still-aroused member, she soon relaxed and rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes.

It didn’t even take a minute before her breathing became heavy. And she had been sleeping soundly in his arms until now.

Daniel glanced at her nestled in his arms. He felt satisfaction to his fingertips, as if he was holding not just a small woman but the entire world in his arms.

“Finally, I’ve achieved the married life I wanted.”

Daniel nuzzled his lips against his wife’s head — lovely but having caused him such heartache until now. As he kissed her repeatedly and played with her ear, Lenore shook her head and woke up.

She blinked her eyes and looked to see who had touched her ear, then after confirming it was Daniel, she burrowed back into his arms.

“What are you doing… Stop it.”

Her words slurred with sleep. Daniel played with her ear again. While her sleeping face was cute, he hoped his wife would wake up and play with him since the sun was high in the sky.

They could have a late meal, or lie in bed having a cozy chat. Of course, physical conversation would be welcome too.

“Lenore.”

“Mmhmm.”

“It’s time to wake up, Lenore. You’ve slept enough.”

As Daniel kept disturbing her sleep when she was drowsy, Lenore’s brow furrowed.

“Daniel, how long are you going to stay in my bedroom?”

Daniel’s hand, which had been playing with his wife’s ear, paused. Asking how long he would stay was essentially telling him to leave.

Not wanting to be kicked out, Daniel wracked his brain.

“Lenore, promise me one thing.”

“What?”

Lenore asked with a long yawn. Her voice, heavy with sleepiness, indicated she was still drowsy. Daniel thought this was the perfect opportunity to negotiate. She wouldn’t be able to judge clearly when she was sleepy.

Underhanded? Well, negotiating when you have the upper hand isn’t really something to be criticized for.

Though no one had said anything, Daniel made excuses to himself, feeling guilty.

“You separated our bedrooms because you were uncomfortable sleeping with someone else, right?”

“Yes…”

“You seem much more used to it now, so how about we combine our bedrooms?”

Lenore, who had been blinking sleepily, suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“Recently, I’ve been sleeping alone because my husband left without a word and there’s been no news of him, you know?”

“I-I sent someone to let you know I wouldn’t be able to return for a while. I left without saying anything because it was too early in the morning.”

Daniel, who expected to get her permission easily, was flustered. It wasn’t an excuse — he really thought he could return quickly. If he had known it would take this long, he wouldn’t have done that.

Lenore snorted, letting his excuses go in one ear and out the other.

“Lenore.”

“……”

“Lenore, come to my bedroom. I’ll make you feel so good you’ll scream every day.”

When she pretended not to hear, Daniel tried using Count Tivonne’s manner of speaking. Usually, he wasn’t sure if she really liked this way of talking, but seeing how she had tightened around him last night, she seemed to like it.

“It’s much better to have me touch you than to suffer alone, moaning by yourself.”

Lenore jerked her head up to look at him. With a bright red face, she stammered in shock, unable to make a sound.

“I-I’ve never done such a thing as m-moaning alone!”

Strong denial is strong affirmation, they say. Lenore’s reaction was extremely suspicious.

“Did you do it alone?”

“I said I didn’t!”

Lenore, now completely awake, sat up and shook her head vigorously. But she couldn’t meet his eyes, and after showing an uneasy expression, she changed the subject, saying she needed to wash up.

Daniel grabbed her waist and pulled her back to bed. He sat her down and pinned her legs with his own when she tried to escape.

“Tell me, wife. What did you do by yourself?”

Daniel’s gaze moved between her thighs, which were swollen from his thrusting all night. Lenore screamed not to look and closed her legs tightly.

“Did you touch yourself?”

Daniel stroked her thigh with a smirk. Though Lenore denied it, her words were muffled as she bit her lip.

“I wonder how you touched yourself. Like this?”

Daniel’s hand suddenly delved between her legs. His fingers found her sensitive bud among her intimate folds. Even with just a light touch, Lenore, who had become extremely sensitive, showed an immediate reaction.

“S-stop. I’m tired. I really can’t do it anymore.”

“Choose, Lenore. Either show me how you did it, or we combine our bedrooms.”

Lenore had no choice but to agree to combine their bedrooms while crying.

* * *

After sharing the same bedroom, Daniel seemed extremely pleased. Though he never directly said he was ‘happy,’ it was so obvious that such words weren’t necessary. One could tell just by looking at his face.

The man whose impression that seemed cold even under strong afternoon sunlight now looked like spring when snow melts gently. Lenore frowned every time he smiled brightly, finding it dazzling.

“Wife? What’s wrong?”

Daniel, the person in question, seemed unaware of how much he had changed and tilted his head. Then he kissed her furrowed brow repeatedly, saying her frowning expression was cute.

Was she wearing rose-colored glasses?

Lenore wondered if she was the only one seeing his radiance. But she stopped wondering after hearing what the servants were saying about the Count’s recent appearance.

“Don’t you think the Count has changed lately? In a good way, I mean.”

“You noticed too! I’ve been thinking about it!”

“Is it because of that? Now that he’s sharing a bedroom with the Madam instead of sleeping separately?”

“He seemed like he wouldn’t care about such things, but I guess the Count is still a man after all.”

They giggled and chattered, not realizing their Madam was listening.

Lenore was relieved to know that his radiance wasn’t just her imagination but rather an objective fact. But still, even if he’s happy, this is too much. How can he be so obvious that everyone notices? While it’s flattering to be loved so much, isn’t it embarrassing?

“You seem to be in a good mood lately.”

She brought it up to warn him to show some restraint in front of others. The man, who had been smiling throughout their tea time, suddenly blushed.

“H-how did you know… Is it that obvious that I’m happy?”

How could it not be obvious? When he’s walking around grinning every day? The servants are gossiping about what kind of amazing nights the Countess must be giving him to make him so happy!

Lenore meant to tell him clearly. To stop showing his happiness so much. That because of him, people were misunderstanding as if she possessed some kind of lewd skill.

“These days, I’m so happy that even if I try to hide it, joy keeps leaking out.”

But then Daniel confessed while covering her hand that held the teacup. The words that had reached Lenore’s throat retreated.

Well, if he’s so happy he can’t contain it, you can’t tell him not to be happy.

It was difficult dealing with this lustful man every day. So when Lenore refused, she showed her refusal clearly. By placing pillows between them.

The moment Daniel entered the bedroom and saw the pillow placed as a barrier, he glared at Lenore. Each time, Lenore pretended not to notice and turned her back, soon hearing him throwing away all the pillows.

‘Did you think mere pillows could stop me?’