Chapter 4 (Part 8)

The light kisses continued. He began to caress Yuliana’s back with his wandering hand. As he tilted his head and repeatedly rubbed and licked his lips, Yuliana kept stepping back until her back lightly hit the wall. There was no more room to retreat.

Anthus slipped his thigh between Yuliana’s dress and pressed against her waist. He thought he should restrain himself, but his body wouldn’t listen. He just wanted to dig deeper into her.

Anthus gently embraced Yuliana’s waist and pulled her further into his arms. Yuliana held tightly onto his collar. At that moment,

With a rustling sound, Anthus’s clothes suddenly came undone, revealing his fair skin.

“Yan… Your clothes.”

Why are they coming off?

“A bold Lia is also attractive.”

“No… That’s not it.”

“I already wanted to take them off because they felt tight. Thank you for undressing me.”

Yuliana felt embarrassed by Anthus’s teasing words but thought she shouldn’t back down now.

“It doesn’t matter. Just knowing that you undressed me and provoked me is enough, Lia.”

“Provoked… You kissed me first, Yan.”

“Who undressed me?”

“I did… I didn’t expect the clothes to come off so easily.”

“That doesn’t seem important, Lia.”

“What is important then?”

“The fact that I want you right now, at this moment, is the most important.”

Anthus pressed his lips against hers again, satisfying himself by swirling inside her mouth.

As he slightly pulled away, he saw Yuliana gasping. Her cheeks were flushed, and her golden eyes were wet, looking as if they might shed tears at any moment. Anthus found it hard to resist.

Yuliana stretched out her arms, wrapped them around his neck, and pulled him in. Her body lifted into the air, and she felt the softness of the bed behind her head and back as they spun around.

* * *

Clothes were scattered messily around the bed.

“Lia, are you okay? I tried to be gentle.”

Yuliana, who had slightly raised her upper body, covered her eyes with her arm in embarrassment. She had given in to the atmosphere.

Anthus approached Yuliana, kissed her arm covering her face, and spoke in a reflective tone.

“Lia, you undressed me… and kissed my cheek… So I thought it was okay to show my love… Please show me your face, Lia.”

To Yuliana, Anthus looked like a drenched kitten in a cardboard box on a rainy day.

“I’m embarrassed.”

Anthus’s red eyes flickered. He laughed happily.

“We sweated a lot. I’ll fill the bathtub with water. You might be tired, so I’ll wash you.”

“No! I’ll wash myself.”

“How can I just stand by… I learned that a woman’s first time is difficult. Please don’t refuse. I’ll just wash you well. Okay?”

After much persuasion, Anthus carried Yuliana to the bathroom, but he didn’t keep his promise to just wash her.

Duke Anthus Rockbellion. He was a master of exploiting gaps.

After laying the exhausted Yuliana on the bed, Anthus put on a robe and brought in a trolley filled with food from outside the room.

“Lia, it’s late, but let’s have lunch.”

“Yan, you’re a liar.”

He said he would just wash her, but they ended up having a hot time in the bathroom. Her body felt languid, and all her muscles were screaming. It wasn’t that she disliked it. Despite the pain, she kept wanting more. She acted completely contrary to her feelings.

<Lia… Don’t hold back your voice.>

<Look only at me.>

Anthus’s whispering voice seemed to linger in her ears, and Yuliana scratched her ear. It was hard to refuse when she saw Anthus’s red eyes looking at her. No, saying it was hard to refuse was just an excuse.

“Are you in a lot of pain, Lia?”

Anthus gently placed his hands on Yuliana’s knees and began to act coyly, apologizing.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t control myself… I’ll listen to you next time, so please don’t hate me.”

Yuliana couldn’t hate Anthus, who was apologizing like a whining puppy.

“Next time, take it easy…”

Even puppies, after messing up the room, wag their tails at their owners, who find them cute and forgive everything! Anthus swallowed his true feelings and nodded lovingly, lowering his eyebrows.

“I will do better from now on.”

“Alright.”

“Then let’s have a meal.”

Anthus filled the table with delicious-looking steak and Yuliana’s favorite seafood dishes from the trolley.

“I will cut it and bring it to the bed. Lia, you just lie down.”

Anthus carefully cut the meat and seafood into bite-sized pieces and beautifully arranged them on a plate before heading to the bed where Yuliana was reclining.

“Here, say ‘ah’.”

“Thank you. It was just too hard to move even a finger.”

Yuliana chewed the melting meat in her mouth and felt happy.

“Erzen and Anton will be returning to the Duke’s residence soon.”

“They went to the northern dungeon, right?”

“Yes, a dungeon that hadn’t been discovered until now.”

“Yes. Do you think they found something good in that dungeon?”

“I hope so. After a little rest, shall we visit the investigation office?”

“No. Let’s go right away.”

Anthus brought a handkerchief and wiped the sauce from Yuliana’s mouth, tucked her hair behind her ear, and looked at her lovingly.

After finishing their meal, Yuliana entered the investigation office escorted by Anthus and looked around the office.

“For the convenience of everyone working, everything from the desks and chairs has been prepared to be of the highest quality.”

“You’ve worked hard. But Yan, where is my seat?”

“Next to mine.”

The desks were placed together, with their backs to the window.

“Are we going to sit side by side and work?”

“Because during investigations, there are many things that only the two of us need to know. While I trust you, Lia, I honestly can’t trust others.”

Yuliana nodded at Anthus’s words and looked over the desk. On the desk was a cute vase with pretty fresh flowers, and the chair, which looked very comfortable, had a blanket and cushion.

Anthus approached Yuliana, who was looking around, and slightly pulled out the chair to sit down. Sitting in the chair, Anthus stretched out his arm and pulled Yuliana onto his lap.

Yuliana was so surprised that she tried to get up, but Anthus’s arm strength made it difficult.

“From today, I will be your chair, Lia.”

She looked up at Anthus’s beautiful face, smiling.

“Yan, you’re a person, not a chair.”

“I will be a chair from now on.”

Anthus kissed Yuliana’s back and rubbed his face against her.

“What if someone comes…”

“No one will come.”

“We need to work.”

“Do you dislike me holding you like this? If so, please push me away as much as you want.”

Seeing his pitiful expression, her heart softened.

“No… I don’t dislike it.”

“I didn’t want to do it if you disliked it, Lia, but since you don’t dislike it…”

Anthus’s eyes changed in an instant. Yuliana knew that look.

“No, Yan!”

“Lia.”

Anthus called Yuliana pitifully.

“There’s a big problem.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to work, and I don’t want to send you back to the Earl’s residence.”

Seeing him struggling made her want to stay by his side all night, but Matthias had clearly warned her.

<No matter how much you’re in love, no staying out overnight! Absolutely not! Even if you throw dirt in my eyes, it’s a no!>

“I have to go. If I don’t, Father might chase me to the Duke’s residence.”

“I can’t send you. I really don’t want to.”

Anthus groaned, hugging Yuliana’s waist tightly and murmuring in a low voice as if crawling on the ground.

Yuliana felt a tender feeling rise for Anthus’s appearance. However, she couldn’t disappoint Matthias.

“You said you would listen to me.”

Anthus’s sullen expression pricked Yuliana’s heart. Thinking that she really wouldn’t be able to return to the Earl’s residence with that face, Yuliana smiled and said,

“I’ll come early tomorrow instead. Just bear with it for one night.”

With a sad expression, Anthus’s face looked pained, and Yuliana comforted him by stroking his head.

“I wish we could get married soon.”

A soft touch brushed Yuliana’s cheek.

“If we had been engaged nine years ago, we would have had the wedding right after your coming-of-age ceremony. Thinking about it…”

“Father told me about it. That you and I were originally supposed to be engaged.”

Yuliana recalled her conversation with Matthias.