“Good job.”

Ah, this was driving him crazy.

When he praised her, Ariel looked pleased and the corners of her mouth turned up. A slight pang of guilt washed over him about whether he should be touching such an innocent woman, but he had already told her—Latnon Harkshien was a man who didn’t know how to refuse. 

Besides, his anticipation of what this innocent and noble young lady would look like when disheveled was greater than any guilt.

As Ariel’s tongue peeked out, he also extended his own tongue to lick hers. He could feel Ariel’s confusion at the sensation she had never experienced before, but he didn’t stop—instead, he lightly bit her tongue with his lips and sucked it in. Not satisfied with that, he gently grasped Ariel’s chin to open it and pushed his tongue between her teeth.

Ariel could do nothing but stiffen and grip his arms, letting his thick tongue ravage her mouth.

The tongue that had been thoroughly exploring between her teeth entwined with Ariel’s tongue again, occasionally licking even the roof of her mouth. Then when his tongue touched somewhere beneath her tongue, a defenseless moan escaped through Ariel’s teeth.

“Haah!”

At the breathy voice that came from her mouth—one she couldn’t believe was her own—a startled Ariel urgently pushed him away.

“I-it’s hard to breathe.”

“Breathe through your nose.”

He pulled her toward him again, while staring down at her lips. Ariel cautiously opened her mouth. Smiling, he entwined her tongue again and poked with his tongue at the spot where Ariel’s voice had leaked out earlier.

Ariel held back tightly, worried that such a voice might escape again. Even though she was spending the night with him, letting him hear such sounds was too embarrassing. 

But strangely, her breathing became labored and heat rose in her body. At the same time, strength seemed to drain from her body—this sensation she had never felt even once was so unfamiliar.

“Are you okay?”

When Ariel’s legs finally gave out and she swayed, the marquis caught her. Ariel had no idea what this sensation was, and she was too busy catching her ragged breath to think, but she answered the question mechanically.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

Unlike the flustered Ariel, he leisurely lifted her in his arms and walked to the bed. Only then did Ariel see her surroundings and easily deduce that this was a guest room. It was a room slightly smaller than what typical nobles used, and there wasn’t a single item that reflected the personality of whoever used the room. 

A guest room organized so it could be used even if someone suddenly barged in—she could tell how often Marquis Harkshien brought in ‘guests.’

The marquis set Ariel down on the bed and immediately buried his face in her nape. He lightly sucked with his lips and licked with his tongue the tender skin that surely no one had ever touched. Meanwhile, his hands busily worked to untie the knots securing Ariel’s dress.

“What perfume do you use?”

“L-lily.”

“Not that.”

“I don’t use anything besides lily perfume.”

“Then is this your natural scent?”

“Even if you ask me that…”

What occasion would she have to smell her own natural scent? The marquis didn’t seem to attach much meaning to it either, as he filled his nostrils with her scent while leaving marks densely across Ariel’s nape and chest.

“This will leave visible marks…”

“I’m doing it on purpose. To show people.”

“Why?”

“In case they think I’m all talk, like you thought.”

Actually, he had just gotten carried away satisfying his own desires and ended up leaving too many marks. Perhaps it was also expressing a sense of conquest over the woman who had treated him coldly, or maybe it was to show Maximus Roysel, who had abandoned her.

Having no way to know his thoughts, Ariel just made a small sound of admiration, going “Ooh.” She seemed to think this was indeed very much like Marquis Harkshien.

‘Well, enough playing around.’

It was time to confirm whether this self-proclaimed and widely-acknowledged lifeless stone, who seemed to know nothing, was truly a lifeless stone. He skillfully kissed Ariel while stripping off her dress. 

When the dress came down to her waist, he put his weight on her to lay Ariel down on the bed. Since one hand was enough to remove the dress, he used his other hand to cup her round br*ast.

“Ah!”

Since no one had ever touched Ariel’s br*asts before, she was startled by the unexpected contact and a sound almost escaped, but it was muffled and couldn’t flow out properly because of the man’s lips.

Of course, he had no intention of going easy on Ariel, who was surprised by just being cupped in his hand, so he pressed her n*pple firmly with his fingertip before releasing it, stoking the heat. 

But that was only until he had completely removed her dress. Once he had stripped off all her dress, he bit the end of the glove he was wearing and spat it out beyond the bed.

His bare hand touched Ariel’s intimate area, and his lips, which had been on her lips, moved down slightly to explore her br*ast.

“Ah, Marquis…!”

Ariel, who had never experienced anything like this, didn’t know what to do and called out to try to stop him. But hadn’t he already said several times? That there was no turning back.

“Latnon. Call me Latnon. I don’t want to hear ‘Marquis’ on the bed.”

“L-Latnon.”

“Yes, Ariel. It’s okay to call you Ariel, isn’t it, Ariel?”

It was strange how he asked permission while already calling her by name. At his gentle coercion that seemed not to consider her refusal, Ariel nodded.

“It’s fine, Latnon.”

Latnon chuckled at Ariel’s reaction of deliberately using his name. The way she thoroughly used his name just because he told her to call him by name was very much like Ariel Naiad.

More than that, Latnon intended to teach Ariel one by one what pleasure was. Though Maximus Roysel, who had supposedly spent the night with her, had called her a lifeless stone, her reactions were extremely sensitive. Sensitive enough to accept very well the pleasure he would teach her.

‘So who exactly is the lifeless stone? I already knew that rumors floating around society weren’t trustworthy.’

Latnon’s hand removed the undergarments covering her intimate area and parted the plump flesh to find the cl*toris hidden there. Seeing that the intimate area of someone called a lifeless stone was slightly wet made him laugh. Latnon sat up and positioned himself between Ariel’s legs.

“Ariel.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t they call you a lifeless stone?”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Not at all.”

“That’s a relief.”

Ariel was genuinely relieved. Though she had been extremely desperate, she had been inwardly concerned about asking someone else to lie for her.

There was also the fact that Ariel needed to manage her expression, and she smiled bashfully. Though it was cute, Latnon’s preference was really for a more disheveled appearance than this. 

Latnon rubbed Ariel’s cl*toris with his hand while licking the outside of her narrow entrance with his tongue.

“Ah! L-Latnon! What are you doing right now… Haah!”

She tried to reach down and push away Latnon’s head, but instead her fingers tangled in his hair stimulated him. Like asking for greater pleasure. Of course, that wasn’t what Ariel intended.

Latnon’s wet tongue licked around her narrow opening in a circle, and when her intimate area twitched, he pointed his tongue sharply and pushed it inside. When something warm and moist entered, a cry of pleasure burst from Ariel’s throat.

“Haah, ah! Latnon… ah!”

She tried to follow the Naiad teaching to never lose dignity anywhere, anytime, but she couldn’t help but crumble at Latnon’s slightest movements. Ariel struggled not to lose herself. 

The teachings she had learned from the Naiad family over her lifetime wouldn’t disappear in a single moment. And Latnon, who had been with many women, immediately noticed her efforts.

“Ariel.”

“Y-yes?”

“Leave it to me, it’s okay to let go.”

“…”

“Tonight I’m your lover, aren’t I, Ariel?”

The word ‘lover’ caught Ariel’s heart. To her, the word ‘lover’ was the same as fiancé. The Naiad family had given her s*x education when she and Maximus got engaged. 

What she learned then was ‘leave what happens at night quietly to your husband.’ Though she had been broken up with by Maximus after that…

“I understand, Latnon.”

Ariel relaxed her body. More precisely, she consciously tried to relax, and she felt her stiffened body become more comfortable than before.

Latnon took that opportunity to push his finger into her intimate area. Though it was just his middle finger, it was so tight that he wanted to ask if she had really never slept with Maximus. 

If she said she had, then Maximus Roysel’s member must be smaller than a child’s. At this rate, inserting his own would be not just nearly impossible, but simply impossible. So Latnon continued licking her cl*toris while drawing circles with his finger to gradually widen the inside.

“Aah! Ah! Latnon, please!”