Chapter 1 (Part 26)

Each syllable dripped with possessiveness, twisting their hearts at the fact that they couldn’t have her undivided attention.

Meanwhile, outside the reception room, Ria arrived at her bedroom door and grasped the handle. If someone’s shadow didn’t loom behind her, if an arm didn’t extend beside her face, she would have opened the door and entered her room right away.

Even without turning around, Ria felt like she knew who was casting such a large shadow over her.

“Lady.”

It was Kahin, as expected.

“Lady Ria.”

Kahin called out to her with earnestness in his voice.

He knew well enough how inappropriate his actions were at the moment. Despite holding the title of Count and possessing the honor of being the Empire’s top swordsman, he was nothing more than a mere bodyguard now. Not just any bodyguard, but one who guarded a lady favored by a higher-ranking duke. Any ordinary noble would have chastised a mere bodyguard for blocking their path for no reason.

But the lady before him wasn’t like those nobles, and there was no other way for him but this.

Kahin, who had briefly admired the delicate shoulders of the lady without fully embracing her, withdrew his arms and kneeled down. The sound of him dropping to his knees made Ria turn her body around. Her flared skirt spun around as she turned to face him, her gaze meeting his lowered head.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault for using the handkerchief you kindly gave me in such a manner and for making you uncomfortable. I dared to do such a thing without knowing my place.”

Ria couldn’t find words to respond to his apology as he knelt before her. The situation itself was bewildering, and amidst it, she found it somewhat comical to recognize his sincere acknowledgment of fault and apology. With a sigh, she clenched the hem of her dress and said, 

“Please, get up for now.”

“…….”

“Why are you still kneeling? Please.”

Unable to ignore her request, Kahin pushed himself to his feet, and the distance between them closed. Not surprising, since they had been close even before he knelt down.

However, for the two of them, this closeness was not natural. The distance permitted to Kahin had never been so close before; observing from behind or standing side by side occasionally was all he had been allowed. Ria had never even considered closing the gap further, so the distance remained unchanged.

Suddenly, she noticed how tall he was. Her gaze rested just around his chest area. It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling.

Trying to ignore the scent of his body that had begun to linger on the tip of her nose, Ria squeezed her eyes shut and spoke a little impatiently.

“Give me some time to think, please.”

“Lady.”

“I really don’t know what to do… that’s why. Please.”

Her words, neither rejection nor acceptance but rather a request to put things on hold, made Kahin’s eyes, which had been looking down at her from above, dangerously brighten.

I should plead a little more.

From the beginning, revealing his arousal to her had been partly his intention.

At first, he hadn’t expected her to come to his room herself. He had merely assumed that, as a naturally affectionate person towards others, she would worry about him and his hand. 

That’s why he had tried to soothe his arousal, aroused by the scent emanating from the handkerchief. But then, at some point, he sensed someone approaching before reaching his climax.

Even in the throes of pleasure, there was no way he, a knight of great skill, could fail to notice the small steps of a woman, especially from a woman he was in love with. And in this duchy, she was the only one who could have owned the sound of those faint steps.

Kahin thought for a moment.

Should I pull the covers over my head and pretend to sleep, or… should I take advantage of the opportunity?

The deliberation didn’t last long. There was nothing to suppress the desire that continued to grow within him.

He adjusted his position slightly so that his p*nis was clearly visible through the doorway, which luckily wasn’t completely closed. Soon he felt her gaze on him. A thrill ran through him at the thought of those clear, hazel eyes holding his own, disheveled with desire for her. After he cl*maxed, he felt a faint sense of satisfaction as he stared at the doorway where she stood.

For a while, he was sure that he would be the only thing on her mind.

That was his intention all along. To intentionally fill Ria’s mind with thoughts of him.

As expected, she blushed and avoided him, which was a clear indication of her consciousness of him.

But even that was only good for a day or two. While he was still satisfied with the fact that he continued to occupy her mind, the fact that she avoided even leaving her room to avoid him brought about a slight sense of guilt and once again ignited his thirst. He longed to see her face, to see those hazel eyes looking right back at him.

His impatience and thirst grew to such a pitch that he began to think it would be better to face the outcome, even if it meant being rejected, scolded, or begging to win her heart.

So he followed the lady leaving the reception room and apologized, waiting for her response. Contrary to what he had expected, he received an ambiguous response. It was an opportunity for him, as he had thought of only two options: refusal or acceptance.

The thought that he should stop because she was his master’s lady had disappeared long ago from his mind when he had already shown her his m*sturbation. Or, more accurately, since he realized that she had accepted the Duke of Carlisle, whom his master hated so much.

Now that it had come to this, Kahin decided to plead more desperately.