Chapter 15

“Ah, that…”

Just as the woman hesitated, trying to say something more, he thrust into her, the rigid length parting her entrance roughly and pressing deeply within.

“…Ah!”

It was a desperate, unrestrained insertion, devoid of any pretense of affection. When he finally reached her deepest point, his tip nestled firmly against her, Karel was momentarily overwhelmed by the sensation of her tight, clinging warmth.

What he felt was a sense of relief, as though he had finally returned to where he belonged. 

This was what he had unknowingly desired for days—a place he had longed for without even realizing it.

“…Hah.”

A low breath escaped him, trembling. It felt as though the restraints of logic and self-control, which had governed his twenty-some years of life, had shattered in an instant.

Karel gripped the insides of her thighs with his large hands. Her pelvis, slightly lifted to meet his, caused her slender legs to spread awkwardly. Compared to his, her body seemed so fragile, so delicate. He began to move his hips slowly, pressing into her.

He withdrew gradually, only to push back in with force. Pulling out until only the tip remained, then slamming into her as though to strike her deepest core. Each time, he felt her tight walls clinging to him, resisting his retreat, only to envelop him fully again as he thrust forward.

Savoring the merciless pleasure he had waited days for, Karel moved with deliberate slowness, his eyes closing as though to commit the sensation to memory. The sound of their bodies meeting, the slap of his hips against hers, and the faint friction of his groin against her skin were the only noises in the room.

“…Mm…”

Occasionally, her faint sobs reached his ears, hesitant and fragile. When he opened his eyes, his gaze fell on her disheveled face. Her pale cheeks, which always flushed when she dared to glance at him, now bore the faintest trace of emotion. 

Was it a hint of pleasure? Or suppressed shame? Perhaps it was both.

The warrior’s calloused fingertips trailed down to where their bodies joined. He brushed against the most sensitive part of her inner thighs, tracing the folds that clung to him. “Ah…” A trembling sound escaped her lips, a mixture of humiliation and pleasure, as his touch grazed her flesh, made tender by faint pain. When his fingers found the sensitive spot at the top of her entrance, her moans grew louder, her voice trembling as though she couldn’t bear it.

As the unnamed emotions flickered across her face, Karel suddenly wanted to elicit a different reaction. He thrust his hips sharply, driving into her with force. The sound of their bodies colliding grew louder, their movements causing the bed to creak beneath them.

“Ah, ngh… Sir… ah…”

Her broken voice mingled with her moans as she called out to him. Beneath her tousled hair, her flushed face grew even redder. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes, as if his thrusts were pressing against her very core.

Yes. Even Karel thought to himself how cruel he had been that night. The fact that her face was identical to someone he could never treat so easily, yet he had allowed himself to act on his basest desires, filled him with loathing. He despised himself for crossing a line he had vowed never to cross, and for succumbing to despair after being pushed to the brink of death for the thirteenth time. 

Perhaps it was because they were in the northern lands, where the legend of the Fairy Mother persisted, that he wondered if he had been bewitched by a witch.

So when dawn broke, after he had lost count of how many times he had spilled himself inside her, Karel abruptly left the bedroom. 

This wasn’t right.

This could never be right.

This was something that should never have happened in his life.

The noble blood of his father, which supposedly boiled within him, should never have led to this. Especially not with a powerless woman, someone like his mother. 

He couldn’t allow the possibility of creating another like himself.

Under the cold dawn air of the encroaching winter, Karel swung his sword repeatedly, the blade that had saved his life countless times. Desperately, like the boy he had once been, armed with nothing but a single blade. Yet no matter how fiercely he fought, the lingering heat in his groin refused to subside, the evidence of his actions still clinging to his body.

Huh Captain? You’re up already?

When the knights of the expedition team began to emerge, shaking off their early-morning drowsiness, Karel was already drenched in sweat. The sweat he had shed while losing control the night before, the heat that still lingered in his groin, had only just begun to dissipate through his frantic exercise.

It wasn’t until he returned to the now-empty bedroom, devoid of the woman and the sheets they had shared, that Karel realized just how wretched he had been. Perhaps that was why he had been so restless during the days she was absent.

Had she fallen ill because of my rough treatment? Had her frail, slender body been unable to endure it?

When he finally saw her again, bustling around the inn’s dining hall, he felt a brief sense of relief. But that relief was short-lived. The anxiety and guilt that had gnawed at him for days quickly transformed into suspicion toward her.

The woman avoided him entirely, averting her gaze and fleeing whenever their paths crossed. It was as if she found their encounter so abhorrent that she wanted to erase it from her memory. As if she wanted to pretend the clumsy night they had shared, where he had taken her innocence to satisfy his own desires, had never happened.

And yet, every time he saw her flustered face, every time he noticed her avoiding him, his body betrayed him, responding with arousal. It was a complete disaster. He felt as though he were being toyed with by some witch’s spell, the same witch who had stolen his innocence. He was disgusted and humiliated each time it happened.

But…

When the woman returned to his room, the relief that washed over him was unfamiliar and unsettling. It spread through his chest like warmth, and Karel, unable to name it, chose instead to call it lust. He told himself that he was no different from any other man, that he was simply aroused by the woman who willingly offered herself to him. 

The fact that she was the only one who had ever stirred such a reaction in him didn’t matter.

Unable to show his weakness, Karel buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“Hah, ah…”

He kissed her deeply, trailing his lips along the line from her ear to her collarbone. Like footprints in freshly fallen snow, he left marks wherever his lips touched, bruising her pale skin. Lower, and lower still. Even through the chemise he hadn’t yet removed, he could feel the softness of her chest beneath him.

Burying his face in her cleavage, Karel inhaled deeply.

The faint scent of salt lingered.

***

Such nights continued.

As the departure date drew closer, Karel, his face weary from late-night strategy meetings, would ascend to the third-floor corridor. There, in a shadowed corner untouched by moonlight, the woman would stand nervously, waiting for him with a meek expression.

After completing her daily tasks, the woman would thoroughly wash herself and don a freshly sewn chemise. She would meticulously brush her bangs back beneath her headscarf, waiting for him. At the very least, she had realized that her appearance was something he might take notice of.

When Karel ascended the stairs and noticed her, her petite face would brighten slightly, barely able to conceal her delight. But Karel would grab her chin with an indifferent expression. His kisses were always rough, devouring her lips entirely. When his thick tongue invaded her mouth, delving endlessly into the space created by her gasping for air, her hands, clasped in front of her chest, would tremble and curl inwards.

The warrior’s firm, calloused hand would grip the edge of her headscarf, holding her in place as his tongue intruded deeply into her mouth. It was as if he could only breathe by consuming her. With their foreheads pressed together, the two would move toward Karel’s room.

Click. As soon as the door closed, Karel would press her against the wall.

“Ah… Sir Knight…”

“…”

The man was always silent. Perhaps it was the last vestige of his restraint that he never undressed her in the corridor. But, in truth, that restraint was his limit. He convinced himself that this was the desperation of a man driven to the brink of death.

“W-wait a moment…”

“Isn’t this what you were waiting for?

“Well, that’s…”

Her high-pitched voice trailed off. Karel, as though uninterested in hearing more, moved his hand from her chest to her lower body, slipping it between her thighs. Despite the clumsy kisses and awkward caresses, her body had responded just enough, her entrance barely dampened. Karel let out a cold laugh.

So, even this crude act of coupling had its uses for her, didn’t it? Perhaps she would turn it into some kind of tale after he was gone.

Otherwise, why would she wait for him each time? Why would she be so ready for him?

After a few probing motions, Karel, already fully hardened, pushed himself into her.

“Ahh…!”

Pinned between the wall and Karel’s solid frame, the woman gasped as he entered her. His tall stature forced her legs to lift awkwardly to match his movements, leaving her struggling to balance on her tiptoes. Her small, sturdy hands clung to his shoulders. Despite the repeated encounters they had shared, Karel had never rejected her touch, and she had grown bold enough to act on her own.

“Ah… ngh!”

But there was no need for her to try so hard to maintain her balance. The noble heir of Montferdia was relentless, like a charging bull, plunging into her with unyielding force. He bit into her neck as though to anchor her against the wall, while one hand groped her thigh, and the other kneaded her chest as though to wring her dry. Dissatisfied with her neck, his fervent kisses soon moved to the opposite side of her chest.

Her thighs and chest, crushed beneath his hands, trembled as she was lifted repeatedly by his vigorous thrusts. The headscarf that had loosened during their earlier kiss slipped off long ago, discarded against the wall.