“What happened?”

“……”

“What is it?”

“Is Beriel your first woman?”

Raiden’s face immediately hardened.

“Is she?”

“…… Where did you hear that?”

“Answer me. Is she your first woman?”

“…… Yes.”

She had expected it, but hearing the answer directly from his mouth was much more painful and shocking. She slowly closed her eyes and opened them again, trying to suppress the stormy negative emotions that were raging through her.

“Hana.”

Rihana turned around. Raiden quickly grabbed her arm.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to be alone.”

“Hana.”

“It won’t take long. I need time to think by myself.”

“I think there might be some misunderstanding……”

“Later. I’m not being rational right now. So let’s talk about it again later.”

Rihana shook off Raiden’s arm and went outside. Raiden stood there blankly until she disappeared outside, then pressed his forehead with one hand and shouted, “D*mn it!”

* * *

Raiden stormed into the office with a furious expression and immediately asked Beriel if it was her.

“Was it you?”

“……”

“Did those words come from your mouth?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Your Highness.”

“Tarecus customs!”

“……”

“Did you tell Rihana!”

“Yes.”

“What’s your reason?”

“It was a fact she would find out anyway, and I thought it would be better to tell her myself rather than have her hear it from various young ladies at tea parties and misunderstand.”

“I didn’t ask to hear such d*mn excuses!”

“It’s the truth and something she would find out anyway! What difference would it make that she found out a little early!”

“Beriel Taniaran!”

“I didn’t lie or say anything I shouldn’t have! D*mn excuses! How can Your Highness speak to me like that!”

Beriel shouted with a face ready to cry, and Raiden continued to growl and rage at her. Beriel knew Raiden would be angry but didn’t expect him to curse at her, so she felt wronged, and Raiden had been tolerating Beriel’s continuous line-crossing, but when she crossed the line this far, his patience finally exploded.

Felton, who was working at a desk on one side, organized his documents amid their shouting and quietly got up to leave the office.

He managed to find Rihana sitting blankly on a bench in the west palace garden and walked toward her without hesitation.

“May I sit for a moment, Lady Ariella?”

“…… Ah.”

She wanted to say she wanted to be alone, but Felton sat down next to her before hearing an answer, so she couldn’t continue speaking.

“Royal family members of Tarecus who are born with magical power are precious.”

Felton began speaking calmly while gazing into the distance.

“So a custom developed among Tarecus royalty, which is to have royal family members sleep with a suitable partner as soon as they become adults.”

Rihana turned her head to look at Felton. Realizing that Beriel hadn’t told her that much, Felton continued.

“This act is to confirm whether the royal family member has the ability to produce offspring, and also to confirm whether the suitable partner has the ability to bear royal seed.”

“……”

“As precedent, though it was a very low probability, there were cases where royal children were born on the very first night. Of course, this was only possible when the royal family member had consumed the fruit of blessing.”

“……”

“Anyway, even so, that’s literally just a very low probability. Situations where two young men and women who just became adults are brought together by custom rarely flow smoothly.”

“……”

“His Highness and Miss Beriel were also the latter case. Both were forced into one room by custom as soon as they became adults, and it was an act accomplished only out of duty, so it has no meaning.”

“……”

“I don’t know if first experiences are important in the Kadelai Empire, but they’re not particularly important in the Tarecus Kingdom.”

“…… But Miss Beriel…… I heard she’s liked Rai…… His Highness for a long time.”

“I can’t deny that. It’s a rumor known throughout the entire kingdom.”

“……”

“But His Highness never gave her any opening. For all that time, not even once.”

“……”

“He didn’t show even the slightest gap. Miss Beriel knows this too. Knowing but being unable to let go is old emotion and greed, but His Highness shouldn’t be unhappy because of her feelings and greed.”

Rihana’s eyes trembled slightly at Felton’s words.

“I can swear on everything I have that His Highness Raiden never gave Miss Beriel even the slightest opening.”

“……”

“And that the woman His Highness Raiden has in his heart, before and after, is only you, Lady Ariella.”

* * *

After talking with Felton and returning to Raiden’s bedroom, Rihana’s nose tingled seeing Raiden, who had been standing by the window with a hardened face, immediately show relief upon seeing her.

“Hana.”

Raiden’s eyes, who came to Rihana with long strides, were shaking precariously.

In the end, this man had done nothing wrong. A young man who had just become an adult, who knew nothing, had to perform an unwanted act for the kingdom’s customs, so it would have been more painful for him than anyone. 

Felton’s words that if the act had been even slightly pleasant, his relationship with Beriel surely wouldn’t have remained the same, finally made her believe in Raiden’s innocence.

Rihana stared up at Raiden, who was looking down at her dejectedly like an abandoned large dog. She could see that he was being very careful, not knowing what to say. Indeed, the fact that this man truly loved her was being conveyed so well that it was impossible not to know.

“Hana, I’ll explain properly. I’ll explain everything……”

“I know. I heard from Sir Felton.”

“……”

“Sorry, I was rash when I had no right to be angry.”

“Don’t say that. You can do anything.”

“You keep doing this, so I’m getting spoiled. I had no reason to be angry in the first place, right?”

“……”

“If you think about it, I’m more…… Anyway, I was even engaged, and I really liked Casian. For me to get angry just because you shared your first experience with Miss Beriel……”

“But I took your first.”

Raiden took Rihana’s hand and kissed the back of her hand as he continued.

“And you love me. I love you too.”

“……”

“So there are plenty of reasons.”

This foolish man who did nothing wrong was saying she could get even angrier, so Rihana couldn’t help but laugh. She embraced Raiden’s neck and let out a laugh mixed with a sigh.

“I love you, Rai.”

Without anyone going first, they sought each other’s lips. Two tongues collided and licked each other’s teeth before entangling like they had made a promise. 

Rihana’s arms tightly embraced Raiden’s neck, and Raiden’s hands cupped Rihana’s small head. When Raiden moved his head and pushed his tongue deep into Rihana’s mouth, a soft moan flowed from her lips.

When he twisted his jaw to make them entangle more deeply and pushed his tongue in so deep it seemed to pierce her uvula, Rihana’s body swayed. Raiden’s breathing was rough as he tightly embraced her waist and pressed their bodies together.

He soon began pouring out devouring kisses, and at those rough and somewhat urgent kisses, Rihana continuously moaned and melted in his arms. Raiden lifted her up and headed toward the bed. 

Throughout the walk, he didn’t stop continuing the devouring kisses while twisting his jaw. Unlike those thirsty kisses, his hands laying Rihana on the bed were very careful and affectionate.

Without stopping the kisses, Raiden climbed on top of her and began quickly removing their clothes. Soon he gently traced her n*ked body and moved downward. When his hand reached her private parts and his middle finger began rubbing her wet entrance like stroking it, Rihana’s heated moans flowed between their pressed lips.

Still persistently entangling tongues while pushing his middle finger into her vaginal opening, the heated moans quickly turned to cries. Raiden’s finger began moving like rubbing her inner walls and released their entangled tongues. When their lips separated, the lacking air rushed in all at once, making Rihana’s chest heave rapidly.

Raiden continued cute kisses on her lips like a bird pecking at feed while beginning to move his fingers. The number of fingers going in and out increased, and each time those fingers moved back and forth, Rihana’s heated moans also grew louder.

Soon her loosened interior flowed with plenty of love juice, making Raiden’s palm wet. He kissed Rihana’s face here and there while using the hand he pulled from inside her to stroke up his p*nis. 

The sight of Rihana’s love juice being spread thickly on Raiden’s p*nis looked thrillingly lewd. Raiden grabbed his frighteningly swollen member and began slowly rubbing it against her vaginal opening.

“Mmh……”

When the tip of his gl*ns slowly rubbed her vaginal opening, Rihana’s waist suddenly bounced up. Raiden licked up her nape while slowly moving his hips.

“Ahh!”

When the hot and massive pillar entered, splitting her inner walls, she felt like her whole body was being torn apart. Even after doing it so much, the pain of insertion was still painful and overwhelming. 

Like he knew this, Raiden always didn’t push his p*nis more than halfway in on the first insertion. She had learned about this consideration quite late and had been moved in a way, but in the end, that emotion quickly disappeared when his member was thrust deep enough to make her lower belly bulge.

“Mmh……! Ah, ha, hmm……!”

Rihana trembled at the sensation mixing pleasure and pain. Her v*gina convulsed and bit down tightly on his p*nis, causing a low moan to flow from Raiden’s mouth.

“Relax, Hana.”