Chapter 8 (Part 1)

Yuliana arrived at the Ludmilans territory with Anthus via teleportation. The Baron and Baroness of Ludmilans, who governed the territory, greeted them with courtesy.

“We’ll start the territorial war when Erzen arrives, so shall we rest until then?”

At Anthus’s words, the baron quickly thought and spoke.

“I’ll escort you! We’ve prepared the best guest rooms.”

Anthus nodded with a grin at the baron’s words and followed his lead.

“Knock when Mercenary King Erzen arrives.”

“Understood. Please rest.”

Erzen would arrive at the Ludmilans territory in about three or four hours.

<Erzen, teleport to Ludmilans territory in four hours.>

<Let’s go together, Duke.>

Just as Erzen, who lacked tact, was about to become a nuisance…

<Duke, please go ahead. I’ll bring Erzen with me. Instead, please take care of our lady.>

It was Luda who restrained Erzen, who was insisting on following. Seeing how well Luda handled the childlike Erzen, Anthus decided to entrust him to her fully in the future.

“Duke, here it is.”

The Baron of Ludmilans guided Anthus to one room and Yuliana to the adjacent room.

“Yan, it’s right next door.”

“Indeed… I thought we’d share the same room…”

Anthus glanced at the Baron of Ludmilans. The baron wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Anthus with confident eyes.

“Please enter and pull the handle on the right door, Duke. Please rest.”

“Alright.”

The Baron of Ludmilans quickly retreated from the scene.

Anthus entered his room and looked at the door on one side of the room.

He wondered if it was a bathroom and opened the door. Realizing what the door was, Anthus smiled with satisfaction.

“Do you like the room?”

Anthus checked the door on one side of the room and went to Yuliana in the adjacent room.

“Yes. It’s excellent.”

Anthus looked around Yuliana’s room and found a similar-looking door.

“Lia, do you see that door over there in this room?”

Yuliana turned her gaze to where Anthus was pointing and nodded.

“It looks like a bathroom.”

Yuliana turned the door handle on one side of the room and opened it.

“It’s a bath…”

“Since Erzen will be here in a few hours due to issues with the mercenaries, would you like to soak for a while? There’s a robe on the bed, so you can wear that and go in.”

“Shall I?”

“A 10-minute half-bath is said to relieve body fatigue.”

Yuliana took off her dress, put on the white robe, opened the door, and walked to the bathroom. Warm spring water was continuously flowing in the bath.

Thanks to the warm spring water, the bathroom was filled with steam. Until then, she thought she was using the bathroom alone.

However.

“Lia?”

A familiar voice to Yuliana came from beyond the steam.

“Yan?”

Yuliana was confused.

“I came in to enjoy the hot spring too… It seems the rooms are connected through the bathroom.”

“You knew and came in.”

Anthus just smiled without saying anything.

Seeing Anthus suddenly appear through the steam, Yuliana’s face turned red. She was wearing only a thin robe.

“Use the bath first. I’ll come in later.”

As Yuliana tried to back away and tighten her robe, Anthus quickly approached her.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh… you enjoy the hot spring first.”

Grabbing Yuliana’s shoulders as she tried to escape, Anthus leaned down and whispered in a low voice in her ear.

“The bath is spacious… Let’s go in together.”

“What?”

Anthus placed his arms under Yuliana’s back and knees and lifted her.

“Put me down!”

Yuliana struggled, but Anthus had no intention of putting her down.

“Lia, if you move like that, I might fall. If I fall, it could be dangerous for both of us, right?”

At Anthus’s calm words, Yuliana stopped struggling and spoke.

“Do you dislike being held?”

“Of course not…”

Anthus, still holding Yuliana, began to walk into the spacious bath, and Yuliana stopped resisting as the warm spring water touched her toes, melting her body.

The thin robe she was wearing began to cling to her skin due to the steam and spring water. Feeling self-conscious, Yuliana started to squirm again.

Anthus, with Yuliana in his arms, pressed his body against her back, trapping her in his embrace. Her slender neck and shoulders caught Anthus’s eyes.

“Is the water temperature okay?”

“Yes, it’s warm and nice, but… shouldn’t we be preparing for the territorial war…?”

Yuliana sent a look to Anthus, pleading not to waste energy.

“I haven’t forgotten about the territorial war. Let’s relax in the hot spring until Erzen arrives.”

Anthus lightly touched Yuliana’s shoulders, massaging them, and whispered in her ear, his lips brushing against it.

“Lia, you can relax more on my lap. Why are you so tense in my arms?”

Anthus’s hand moved from her shoulder down her back, teasing her waist.

“Is your ear sensitive, Lia? Or is it here that’s more sensitive?”

With his hand around Yuliana’s waist, Anthus pulled her strongly into his embrace.

Feeling his hand climbing up her thigh, Yuliana tried to calm her racing pulse.

“No.”

“When you say it with such a cute face, it’s hard for me to stop.”

Anthus kissed the boundary between her neck and shoulder, moving like a fish along her body line.

“Don’t do that there.”

As Yuliana twisted her body and blushed, telling him not to, Anthus swallowed hard.

“Lia, please explain specifically what you don’t want me to do.”

Yuliana twisted her body even more at his teasing words, trying to wriggle out of Anthus’s arms, but it only stimulated him further.

“After tempting me like this…”

“I never tempted you.”

“Do you know, Lia? Seeing you makes me want to make you cry. Seeing you sobbing makes me feel like I’m going crazy.”

Anthus kissed down Yuliana’s body line like stamping a seal. Seeing her twitch in his arms, he found it impossible to stop.

For Yuliana, stopping the passionate Anthus… no, rejecting him was difficult. She could only surrender herself to the overwhelming sensations he provided.

Anthus kissed the round crown of Yuliana’s head resting on his shoulder, brushing her hair up.

“How can we exhaust ourselves like this before the territorial war?”

Anthus touched Yuliana’s cheek and whispered.

“It’s fine.”

“We didn’t come early for this, did we?”

Instead of answering, Anthus turned Yuliana’s face and body to face him and began to taste her lips again. Along with the sound of splashing water, their kiss continued warmly and slowly.

* * *

Because of Anthus, who pushed her to her limits several times, Yuliana was feverish and collapsed.

“Yan… what did I say last time?”

“Not more than three times a day.”

“Not that.”

“Stop when you say you’re tired.”

“Why didn’t you stop when I said stop?”

Yuliana glared at Anthus.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try and do better in the future.”

“My back hurts.”

Anthus, with a sorry face, gently touched and massaged Yuliana’s waist.

Knock, knock.

With the sound of knocking, the voice of the Baron of Ludmilans was heard.

“Duke, Erzen and his party have arrived.”

At the news of Erzen’s arrival, Anthus mumbled slightly.

“They came quickly…”

“What?”

“Nothing. Lia, please rest in the room for a while.”

Yuliana, trying not to look sick, spoke to Anthus.

“Are you going out to the territorial war right away? I’m not that seriously sick! I’m just a bit tired.”

Anthus gently stroked Yuliana’s face.

“Please rest for a while. I’ll be right back.”

Anthus bowed his head, gave Yuliana a light kiss, showed a happy smile, and opened the door to leave.

Hearing that Erzen, Anton, and Luda were in the reception room, he quickly moved his steps. As soon as he opened the door and entered, Anthus looked for Luda.

“Luda.”

“Yes, Duke. Is our lady okay?”

Anthus smiled instead of answering. Luda sighed deeply.

“Luda.”

“Yes, Duke.”

“While we’re here, could you keep an eye on Erzen?”

“What?”

Anyway, Anton liked reading quietly in the corner, so it didn’t matter, but Erzen seemed likely to wander around and interrupt the pleasant time with Yuliana.

“What are you talking about? Am I a child?”

“Erzen, Luda is Yuliana’s personal maid. Since she’s the maid of someone precious to me, I’d like you to protect her.”

Luda looked at Anthus with cold eyes. Who assigns a guard to a combat maid?

“Miss Luda, I’ll keep a good watch over you.”

Erzen accepted Anthus’s words literally and nodded.

“Uh, Duke.”

Anthus turned his gaze to the Baron of Ludmilans.

“The vassals of the Rockbellion family have all arrived.”

“Understood.”

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

Anthus glanced around at the gathered vassals, Erzen, and Anton in the meeting room.

“Your Grace! A territorial dispute!”

Bang!

When one of the vassals tried to voice an objection to the territorial war, Anthus lightly tapped the table to restrain him.

“Who said you could speak?”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

At Anthus’s rebuke, the people fell silent. Anthus sat down, crossed his legs, looked through the documents he was holding, and then tossed them to the vassals as he spoke.

“You all really can’t control your expressions.”

“Duke!”

“Who do you think I am?”

“Well, that is…”

“The Marquis of Fedeurus committed a grave offense against the future Duchess.”

“But… a territorial war…”

Typically, nobles don’t start a territorial war just because of a slight offense. The vassals felt like crying.

“But, Duke, doing this the day after your engagement…”

“Why do you keep questioning my decisions? Do you think I will lose in a territorial war?”

As the aura of a Sword Master subtly emanated from Anthus’s body, the seated vassals trembled. Anthus tapped his head with his finger and spoke.

“Are you not thinking? Who would want to fight against a Sword Master? Isn’t that right? The Marquis of Fedeurus doesn’t have the resources to protect what they have. They will send someone to negotiate rather than fight us. Even with a little thought, the answer is obvious… Tsk.”

The vassals bowed their heads in silence. Breaking that silence, the Baron of Ludmilans laughed and said,

“Haha… I thought the same.”

“So did I.”

The vassals present began to change their stance, agreeing with Anthus’s words.

“What we need to do here is discuss the terms of negotiation with the Marquis of Fedeurus. We will take the diamond mine, so make sure to include that in the terms, and think of all the advantageous points for us.”

“Understood.”

“And I want those terms to be exactly to my liking. As my vassals, you can manage that, right? If you have any questions, ask.”

In response to Anthus’s words, the people in the meeting room remained silent. Anthus stood up immediately.

“Think it over before I return in an hour.”

After Anthus left the room, the people let out a sigh of relief.

“Ugh… He’s still scary.”

The vassals had all gathered in the Ludmilans territory due to the sudden declaration of a territorial war.

“A territorial war is no joke…”

“No one but Duke Rockbellion would treat a territorial war as a joke.”

The vassals sighed. They even felt sorry for the Marquis of Fedeurus, who had somehow gotten on Anthus’s bad side.

“Now, let’s begin the meeting to discuss the specific terms for the territorial war agreement.”

Anthus ran to his room where Yuliana was. He carefully opened the door and found Yuliana sleeping soundly.

He approached the bed and sat beside Yuliana. He looked at her face as she lay exhausted and asleep. He felt his lips curling into a smile.

“Mm, Yan, stop it… Mm… Stop…”

At Yuliana’s cute sleep talk, Anthus looked at her lovingly.

“Even if I want to stop, my heart and body won’t listen… Lia… You’ve made me like this, so you’ll have to take responsibility.”

After gazing at Yuliana for a long time, Anthus lay down beside her and embraced her. Even though he had to go out again in an hour, he was happy knowing that his place to return to was her arms.