Latnon put a sweet candy that was placed beside the medicine in his mouth. Though he had to take the medicine out of necessity, it was incredibly bitter. So while holding Ariel’s face, which was frowning from the bitter medicine, he slipped the candy from his mouth into hers.

“It’s bitter.”

He kissed her quite naturally while tempting her. Though he said they would rest briefly because she needed to take medicine, it was still nighttime. It felt disappointing to end things after climaxing just once. Even though he had felt greater satisfaction than ever before, his stamina still had plenty left.

Latnon gently laid Ariel down to be intimate with her again. His member was already boasting the same impressive size, remembering the tremendous pleasure Ariel had given him moments before. And when he climbed on top of her, Ariel, who had been blinking, opened her mouth.

“Please move aside, Marquis Harkshien.”

“…What?”

Ariel had returned to her usual ‘Ariel Naiad’ expression. It was impossible to think this was the same lustful woman who had just cl*maxed with Harkshien’s member thrust deep enough to reach her womb.

“I’ve satisfied the condition you proposed, so I trust you’ll handle what I requested properly.”

After finishing what she had to say, Ariel slipped out from beside Marquis Harkshien, who was still straddling her in a daze. Then she looked at the dress carelessly thrown on the floor and let out a small sigh.

“…Back to calling me a Marquis again?”

“What else should I call you?”

Latnon felt somewhat wronged. Had he been the only one who felt good? Even thinking back, that wasn’t the case. Not only during f*replay, but when he penetrated her, he couldn’t have missed how much pleasure Ariel was feeling. 

He saw the trembling of her eyebrows, saw her skin flush red from heat. And he heard the cries that burst out uncontrollably, so he was certain she had been immersed in pleasure.

‘But calling me Marquis Harkshien right away?’

Just moments ago she had called him Latnon, yet after doing it just once, she was distancing herself from him. Like all business was finished.

Though he wanted to do it several more times throughout the night, being unable to act clingy was exactly what made Latnon Harkshien the playboy of high society. His pride wouldn’t allow him to cling to her.

“How about calling me Latnon from now on?”

But this much should be okay, right?

This was the maximum his pride would allow. Any thoughts of Ariel clinging to him after being intimate once had completely vanished from his mind.

“I heard the Marquis hates it most when someone acts familiar after spending just one night together.”

“Who said that? Even if that were true, you’re an exception.”

Actually, Ariel’s words were correct. He didn’t attach great meaning to spending nights with someone. But Ariel was different. He would welcome her anytime. Though he spoke with such sincerity, Ariel thought it was just seductive talk and let it go in one ear and out the other.

“No, Marquis. I think it’s better to maintain appropriate distance.”

Ariel picked up the dress that had fallen to the floor. She planned to put it on roughly and ask him to call a maid. If that didn’t work, she would ask him.

“Why are you trying to put your clothes on?”

“Because I need to leave now.”

“……Who leaves right after doing it just once?”

Ariel blinked and looked at him like asking him to explain what was wrong. Latnon couldn’t miss this opportunity and passionately argued his case to persuade her.

“You might not know this well, but usually after spending the night, people bathe together and sleep together too.”

“Ah, I see. But the Marquis and I aren’t in that kind of ‘usual’ relationship, are we?”

When she put it that way, he had nothing more to say. It was true that it had started as a one-night fling. But the one whose thoughts had changed wasn’t Ariel—it was himself, and he no longer wanted to end things this way.

“Still, your body must be uncomfortable, so rest before you go.”

“I appreciate the kindness, but I can’t be a burden. I’m fine.”

“It’s not a burden. Stay and sleep. Hmm, yes. Tomorrow I’ll spread rumors about you to others, but wouldn’t it be strange if it became known that you returned to the Naiad mansion to sleep?”

It was a reason made up on the spot, but it seemed decent. Correcting the rumors was Ariel’s biggest goal, and she seemed to know little about relationships between men and women.

“Sleep well and leave after you wake up. I’ll take you to your mansion in my carriage so everyone can see. At a time when many people are coming and going.”

While taking Ariel back, he planned to ask when they could meet again next time. He absolutely didn’t want to end things with just tonight. 

He wanted to be intimate with her again, but this sudden change in her demeanor was disappointing yet endlessly charming in how it kept defying his expectations.

“It’s fine. If that’s the case, I think I can call the family carriage here.”

“…Right.”

“Then since this seems to be a guest room, I’ll rest here. Thank you for the convenience.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds like I absolutely must sleep somewhere else.”

Though that’s not the case.

Latnon planned to sleep right next to Ariel. Then if she got heated up, they could do it once more at dawn, and if Ariel really seemed tired, he could let her sleep first and tempt her again when she woke up in the morning. Whatever happened, it would be better than parting like this.

“You don’t need to stay here uncomfortably either, Marquis.”

“I’m not uncomfortable. I’ve used this room often before.”

“Ah, I’m sure you have. Many other women must have come here too.”

Ariel spoke matter-of-factly, but he somehow felt like his shameful secrets had been exposed. He had never been ashamed of his relationships with many women, but strangely when Ariel said it, he felt like he should make all those relationships disappear.

“I’m not your lover, so you don’t need to go that far.”

“We agreed to be lovers for tonight.”

“Your proposed business is already finished.”

He should have held back from climaxing if he knew this would happen. No, that wasn’t something he could have held back, so he should have cl*maxed once before penetration. So he could have lasted a little longer.

“…People will think it’s strange if we slept separately.”

“No. They won’t know whether we slept together or separately within the mansion.”

Though he wanted to be with Ariel somehow, strangely he had no grounds to refute her words. Everything from one to ten seemed correct. Moreover, with his proposals being rejected one after another like this, his pride was thoroughly crushed, so Latnon had no choice but to back down.

“Right… that’s right. Okay, I understand… Still, let’s have breakfast together tomorrow.”

“Yes, understood.”

Latnon clearly felt like he was being kicked out. He deliberately drew out his words and showed his disappointment obviously, but Ariel only watched when he would leave and showed no intention of stopping him.

Since it was his own mansion, he came out without hesitation, roughly covering only his lower body. At least that was fortunate. If someone had seen him trudging alone through the corridor at night, how miserable would that have been? 

Alone on this night. None other than Latnon Harkshien.

Even after going to his bedroom, the heat in his body didn’t subside. He tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep. While Ariel slept comfortably in the unfamiliar bed.

* * *

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Ariel was waiting for the Naiad family carriage. But Latnon stepped forward first, saying he would take her back.

“You don’t need to take me back.”

“I can’t send a woman I spent the night with back alone.”

“Did you take back all the women?”

“…In cases where it was their first night like yours, I probably took them back.”

He didn’t speak with certainty. In his memory, he either secretly visited women’s homes for intimacy and left, or when women came to his house, they left on their own after sleeping and waking up. He wanted to take Ariel back, but he was reluctant to lie, so he tried to gloss over it.

“I feel better after resting and waking up. You don’t need to worry.”

But Ariel put up walls like the passionate night she spent with him never happened. Latnon had no choice but to use a different method. He had to bring up the most persuasive words for Ariel.

“If other people see me taking you back, the rumors will spread faster.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’ll spread rumors on my way back after taking you.”

“…Then I’ll ask you to do that.”

“Great!”

Latnon hurriedly prepared before Ariel could change her mind. Though he was still unmarried and had no sisters, he gifted Ariel a new dress from his mansion. After all, gifts were basic for making a good impression on someone.

Even while riding in the carriage with Ariel, his gaze kept following her lips and nape, gradually moving downward, so he turned his head toward the window. The feeling of his throat constantly going dry made him feel like he had become some kind of beast.

And when they almost reached the front of the Naiad mansion, Latnon spoke first.

“When will you have time next?”

“Next time? What for?”

“Well, not for anything in particular… To see how well the rumors are spreading…”

“That’s fine. I’ll hear the rumors circulating in high society myself.”

The carriage stopped and the coachman installed steps before opening the door. When Latnon saw the coachman extend his hand to Ariel, he became anxious.

“You’re ending it after just once? Wasn’t it too good to be disappointing? It couldn’t have been just me who felt good yesterday?”

Though Latnon had been subtly requesting another meeting from Ariel, when she kept refusing, he finally threw his precious pride to the ground and grabbed her. But Ariel only blushed and didn’t answer his question.

“…I’ll be going now.”

The meeting between Naiad and Harkshien was very mismatched. The proper and classical atmosphere of Naiad versus the debauched and dissolute atmosphere of Harkshien. If asked to choose the person most opposite to Ariel Naiad, it would undoubtedly be Latnon Harkshien.

But when a carriage bearing the Harkshien crest stopped at the entrance of the Naiad mansion, many people’s attention focused on it. And people’s gazes gathered even more when the person who got out was none other than ‘Lifeless Stone’ Ariel Naiad.

In that situation, people ended up hearing it. Words that sounded like Marquis Harkshien was clinging to her, no matter who heard them.

“Lady Naiad! My lady!”

Conscious of people’s stares, Ariel quickly walked toward the mansion. Behind her were desperate Latnon and the crowd watching him.

“Ariel!!”

People watching this scene couldn’t close their mouths. That day at the luncheons, tea parties, dinners, and balls held in noble society, there wasn’t a place where the names of Latnon Harkshien and Ariel Naiad weren’t mentioned.

Of course, the newspaper published the next morning also featured the two on the front page.

[High Society’s Playboy, Marquis Harkshien’s Companion is None Other Than Lady Naiad?!]