Chapter 4

“Ahh! Mm! Ahh!”

“Hoo… So this was it.”

Satisfied by her reaction, he growled and sped up his movements. Their joining grew wetter as her arousal flowed out. The more intense his movements, the hotter their bodies became.

“Mm! Mm! Mm, Terence. Mm!”

Pleasure she’d never known easily overwhelmed Elina. Her hips jerked, her toes curled. She didn’t even realize she was scratching his back, leaving marks, as she moaned uncontrollably.

Tears ran from her reddened eyes, soaking into her mask. Elina clung to him tightly as she reached her climax.

“Ahh!”

“Haa, mm…”

Her slick inner walls gripped his manhood tightly. Unable to hold back, Terence withdrew and stroked himself, releasing a huge amount of s*men from the tip.

Seeing Elina’s private area covered in his release, he wiped his face as if pained, then brought a wet towel and gently cleaned her.

“I… mm, I can do it…”

Still trembling from the aftershocks, Elina curled up shyly. But the arm she reached out to stop him was easily caught, leaving her unable to move.

With her face flushed, she quietly accepted his touch, feeling her eyelids grow heavier.

‘I shouldn’t fall asleep here…’

He might try to sneak off her mask. She didn’t want her identity revealed so easily.

Elina, gathering her last bit of strength, reached out to Terence, who was dressing her in a robe.

“Hold me.”

“…Are you trying to tempt me now?”

Terence’s ears reddened as he finished tying her robe. As he spoke in a low voice, Elina quickly shook her head and pulled him close.

“It’s not that. Just… stay by my side until I fall asleep.”

“I was going to, even if you didn’t want me to.”

With a hint of regret, Terence finished tying her robe and lay down, holding her gently.

Elina’s heart fluttered at his actions, but she also felt heavy, imagining him being this gentle to every partner he spent a night with.

Terence, unaware of her turmoil, seemed to think she was uncomfortable and hugged her small body tightly.

As she buried her face in his chest, his scent—like trees in a misty forest, or the chill of a winter lake—filled her senses. Only then did the reality of spending the night with him sink in.

But this would be the first and last time. Trying to swallow her bitter feelings, she exhaled slowly, then closed her eyes and whispered a spell so quietly he couldn’t hear.

Soon, his gentle caresses slowed, and the comforting weight of his body disappeared. Watching Terence’s face fall into sleep under her sleep magic, Elina quietly slipped out of his arms and got off the bed.

Her hair, falling to her chest, was starting to return to gold from the ends as the potion’s effect wore off. Any more delay and her identity would have been revealed.

Elina hurriedly dressed and left the ballroom. Her whole body ached, her lower belly sore. She longed to return and rest.

Outside the Earldom, carriages lined up, waiting for their uncertain owners. Elina found the carriage she’d come in with Daisy and asked to be taken to the Grand Ducal estate, then leaned weakly against the seat, gazing blankly out the brightening window.

Before she knew it, the carriage had passed through the warp gate to the Grand Ducal estate, cutting through the cool air toward the castle.

As the sun rose higher, lighting everything, and the pale leaves shimmered and brushed against each other, the events of last night felt like a dream. Tears fell from her lowered eyes.

With a small sigh, Elina decided to finally sort out her feelings.

“Now I’ll really forget.”

Her small murmur faded quietly inside the carriage.

* * *

Elina first met Terence on a summer day when she had just turned nine. At the orphanage, where things weren’t well-off, they held joint birthday parties for all the children born that month.

That day was Elina’s birthday party. As the only child left in June, she had the luxury of a party all to herself. The party was simple: a reused party hat and a hard fruit cake as a gift.

After dusting off her faded beige dress and finishing her preparations, Elina saw the orphanage director hurrying down the hallway and approached.

“Director?”

“Elina, come here. There’s a guest looking for you.”

A guest? Looking for her? Was she being adopted? Her green eyes sparkled with hope like summer leaves.

She tried to speak with excitement, but the director was too busy rushing her, quickly opening the office door. Inside, Elina’s eyes widened at the sight of a beautiful lady sitting with her maid.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Your Grace. This is the child you mentioned, Elina. Go on, greet her.”

“Uh… Hello. I’m Elina. I turned nine today.”

Blinking, Elina knelt and greeted the noblewoman at the director’s urging. Her small head was filled with thoughts.

Someone so beautiful, dressed so elegantly, wouldn’t adopt her, would she? Then why had she come here?

“So you’re Elina. Nice to meet you.”

The noblewoman, her glossy golden-brown hair pinned up, approached Elina, who stood awkwardly.

Elina quietly accepted the gentle touch on her cheek, still unable to guess what was happening.

Unaware of Elina’s tangled thoughts, the noblewoman, eyes glistening with tears, stroked her endlessly.

“You look just like your mother. She was as beautiful as you.”

“You know my mother?”

At the mention of her mother, Elina’s green eyes sparkled with curiosity. Duchess Priscilla hugged the child tightly, her expression filled with longing.

“Your mother and I were the closest of friends.”

Before she became Duchess Priscilla, she was the daughter of an Earl, and her closest friend as a maid was Elina’s mother, May.

Having been frail since childhood, Priscilla could only stay inside the Earldom, and May, the only girl her age, became her inseparable friend, sometimes bickering like sisters, sharing joyful childhood days.

After marrying and as Terence grew up and her health improved, Priscilla suddenly remembered May and sought news of her, only to be shocked.

May had died of illness a few years after having her child, and her husband had disappeared after a while. In her dismay, Priscilla tried to find the child and rushed over upon hearing of a girl believed to be May’s daughter.

Thus she met May’s daughter. Priscilla resolved to care for her, at least for the sake of her late friend.

“You’re friends with my mother?”

Unaware of Priscilla’s resolve, Elina gazed at her with curious eyes.

She could only faintly remember her mother. But this person claimed to know her mother? Moreover, the words flowing from this beautiful lady made Elina’s round eyes grow even wider.

“Elina. Would you like to come with me?”

“Are you adopting me?”

The expectation on the child’s face was impossible to hide. Priscilla tried to erase her bitter expression as she stroked Elina’s bright golden hair.

“I’m sorry, but that might be difficult. It’s not something I can decide on my own. Instead, let’s do this.”

Adopting a child as a Duchess came with many obstacles. Not only was there opposition from the collateral lines of the Grand Ducal family, who were sensitive about succession, but it was also impossible to predict how her husband and Terence would react to the sudden addition of a family member.

There was no guarantee that Elina, a commoner who would become part of the Grand Duchy, could remain happy in the face of such strong opposition and jealousy. Priscilla paused for a moment, as if catching her breath, then smiled at Elina. 

“I heard you have a talent for magic. Is that true?”

“Um. I’m not sure. But I can do this.”

Elina hesitated, her eyebrows furrowing, as she reached out her hand. Her small hands moved through the air as if drawing a ball, and soon a sphere of light formed between her palms and rose upward. The adults in the director’s office let out low exclamations at the mysterious sight.

“She already knows how to manipulate magic circuits—she truly is talented!”

The maid standing behind the Duchess spoke in an admiring tone. The orphanage director also nodded at Elina with a pleased face, as if looking at a prized pupil.

Embarrassed, Elina made the sphere disappear and hid her hands behind her back. Priscilla knelt to meet the child’s eyes and spoke.

“Elina. I’ll sponsor you. If you want, I’ll even arrange a tutor for you, and if you wish to attend the academy, I can send you there. Would you like to come with me? I’ll prepare a big room just for you.”

At the mention of sponsorship, Elina’s green eyes grew bigger. She’d seen other talented children at the orphanage find sponsors early on.

But now she was the main character!

“Really?”

“Yes. I promise.”

She glanced at the Director, who smiled and nodded.

Elina shyly nodded and took Priscilla’s outstretched hand. For Elina, she was the best birthday present she’d ever received.