Chapter 2.5

“Ah… I’m tired.”

Her body, abused until now, was crying out in fatigue. The effect of early mornings and late nights seemed to be catching up with her. Rubbing her ever-drooping eyes, Daphne dipped her pen in ink.

“Daphne, why don’t you take a short break? You look dead on your feet. Like, literally a corpse.”

Seeing Daphne’s increasingly withered complexion, Hailey made a cautious suggestion. In the past, Daphne would have refused, insisting she was fine, but even she could tell she needed rest.

“I’ll just sleep for an hour.”

“Two hours is fine. There’s nothing urgent right now. If you want, you can sleep in the Knight Order’s dormitory. There’s a special on-call room for medical officers.”

Since she wasn’t on call, she’d never been there. She’d probably have to take night duty in the Order next year, but that wasn’t important right now.

“It’s really nice there. There’s food, and the beds are way better than here. There’s even a shower. You should rest there.”

By the way, the hot water works great. That used to be the Knight Commander’s room, you know. But they moved it during the recent expansion, so now we get to use it. Like it was a huge secret.

Hailey whispered in a low voice.

‘A hot bath….’

Thinking of bathwater steaming up, Daphne felt an overwhelming urge to soak in warm water until her persistent fatigue melted away.

“If anything urgent comes up, please contact me right away.”

“Yeah, I will. So go on. I don’t want to be the one hauling out a corpse from here.”

Hailey waved her hand. Daphne grabbed her bag and headed to the Knight Order dormitory. All she could think about was a bathtub filled with hot water.

Bathtubs were expensive to begin with. You could boil water to make it hot, but just having space for such large furniture was a sign of wealth. On top of that, special treatment was needed to keep the water warm, so the price could be whatever the seller wanted.

Saying she was there to check the Knight Order’s on-call room, Daphne went straight to the room. Apparently, it used to be the Knight Commander’s quarters, and even the door looked different. She flipped the sign on the door to show it was occupied.

Inside, it was very pleasant. She set down her bag and looked around briefly, then headed straight for the shower room. There, she found a splendid, large bathtub.

It was even made of porcelain. Trying to imagine how much money it would take to fire such a huge piece, Daphne clicked her tongue and shook her head.

‘That’s not what matters right now.’

After all, the bathtub wasn’t hers. She turned on the tap and filled it with hot water, quickly undressing. The water was a bit hotter than usual, but even that was a blessing, so Daphne sank deeply into the bath.

“Haaaah….”

Her eyelids quickly grew heavy, and she felt her whole body sink to the bottom, making her sigh with relief. Overwhelmed by a pleasure she couldn’t put into words, Daphne squirmed under the water.

She wanted to stay longer, but she didn’t have much time. After drying off thoroughly with a clean towel and getting dressed, she lay down on the soft, fluffy bedding.

Sleep took her instantly, and Daphne helplessly lost consciousness.

* * *

At that moment, in the Knight Order’s training grounds.

Evan was drowning in a despair as deep as hell.

‘Why wouldn’t it work until then…?!’

It had taken all his courage just to visit the infirmary. Admitting to someone that he couldn’t get an *rection was incredibly difficult.

He did worry that people might gossip, but the thought of revealing his flaw to the woman he’d fallen in love with at first sight was horrifying. But what was done was done, and just thinking about it made him miserable. Evan exhaled a heavy breath and swung his sword.

“I can see you’re distracted. Focus.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Evan shouted in response to the senior knight leading the training. But no matter what, he couldn’t get her out of his head. He was so dazed he couldn’t even remember how he finished training.

It was as if he’d been cursed to think only of her.

* * *

Falling for her at first sight had really been an accident. On the day of the knight exam, she’d been busy working in the temporary infirmary set up to one side. He was near the end of the line, so while waiting, he watched her.

‘She really can move around quickly like that.’

Her neat, pink bobbed hair fluttered every time she walked. Maybe her eyesight was bad—she peered closely at documents, then pulled out a pair of large glasses from her pocket and put them on.

‘She looks different with glasses.’

She was interesting to watch. He wanted to keep looking, but when his turn came, he had to move. He wondered if he’d ever see her again, but after the exam, the infirmary had already been cleared out.

He saw her again only after passing the Imperial Knight exam. While lining up for the contraception procedure, his heart pounded at the hope of seeing her again.

“Next, please come in.”

Evan tried to calm his racing heart as he stepped inside. It was her. The moment he’d dreamed of was finally real, and he froze on the spot.

She tilted her chin, signaling him to come in. Evan prayed that none of his actions would look strange as he entered.

“Your name?”

“Evan Clyde.”

“How old are you this year?”

“Twenty-two.”

Trying to keep his voice steady despite his rapidly beating heart, he answered. On her right chest was a nametag: ‘Daphne Grey.’

‘So her name is Daphne. Even her name is pretty…’

As she compared his face to the photo in his file, Evan straightened his back.

“You can take off your pants over there. Hang your clothes on the rack and put on the gown, then lie down here.”

“Oh, um, yes, just a moment.”

Caught off guard, Evan moved in a hurry. Behind the curtain, a gown was ready. As he took off his pants as instructed, he finally realized the situation.

Do I really have to take off my underwear, too?

Embarrassed to ask, he eventually took off his underwear as well.

He tied the gown tightly, but worried his private part might poke out, he could barely walk. After all, his member had been standing at attention ever since he saw her.

Whether she knew of his confusion or not, she spoke in a calm, professional tone.

“Let me confirm your name and age again.”

“Evan Clyde, twenty-two this year.”

He tried to sound calm, but his voice trembled like a bleating goat. He was so nervous he could barely think straight. He completely lost his composure when she briskly lifted the gown he’d carefully covered himself with.

To think he was showing such a private place to someone for the first time. When the bright light shone on his *rect member, he wanted to die.

“This procedure is conducted in accordance with the Law for the Chastity of Imperial Knights and is recorded as an honorable mark in the medical records of Imperial Knights. If intentional interference is proven, except in cases of physical injury, the individual will be held responsible in accordance with said law. Do you consent?”

“…I consent.”

Something from her hand emitted a bright light. There was no pain or discomfort, but he felt so miserable he nearly cried.

“All done. You may go now. If you need a certificate for the procedure, you can request one at the civil office on the first floor.”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

Snapping out of it at her completely businesslike tone, Evan hurried behind the curtain. His eyes burned as he got dressed. Since it was just his own one-sided interest, there was nothing to be upset about.

“Next, please come in.”

But her attitude, showing not the slightest hint of personal interest, stung his heart.

* * *

“She must think I’m a pervert….”

Sigh. The more objectively he thought about it, the more his sigh turned into a resigned silence. He’d come in saying he couldn’t get an *rection, but then had stood straight up in front of her like someone with a weird excitement for being seen….

The thought that she might see him as some hopeless pervert made his heart sink.

Dragging his shoulders, he trudged down the hallway, then stopped in his tracks when he saw a familiar face coming from the opposite direction. It was Daphne, yawning tiredly.

‘I have to run.’

Evan desperately looked around for somewhere to hide. But he couldn’t just barge into someone else’s room, so there was nowhere to go. While he was frantically thinking, Daphne steadily walked toward him.

“Ah, hello.”

In the end, Evan greeted her, feeling like he was biting his own tongue.

“Sir Clyde.”

She remembers my name…!

He didn’t know if he should be happy or not, but her next words made him close his mouth.

“The results aren’t in yet since the tests are still ongoing. I’ll contact you as soon as they’re ready. Have you noticed anything unusual so far?”

Even after all that, she was still treating him in a completely professional way, and it made his heart ache. Evan unconsciously placed a hand over his chest.

His rapidly beating heart thumped against his palm. Daphne tilted her head at his dazed silence.

“Sir Clyde?”

“Oh, uh, no, there’s been no problem at all.”

“And that issue is all right too?”

That issue… Oh.

She meant, was he able to get an *rection now? Hearing that from her lips was so mortifying and embarrassing he wanted to run away.

But he couldn’t mix personal feelings into a question asked from a medical perspective. Seeing her waiting for his answer with a serious attitude, Evan felt even more embarrassed for being the only one with personal feelings.

“It hasn’t gotten better.”

“I see. Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll let you know when there’s news.”

Daphne bowed and walked off in the opposite direction. Evan stared blankly at her retreating figure. He’d said nothing had improved, and yet….

“Why am I like this?”

As soon as she left, his lower half twitched in reaction, and Evan felt like he was not just a pervert but a liar, and he almost wanted to cry.