Chapter 8

Even wrapped in a long, furry robe, Arisha was shivering so much her teeth chattered. No matter how tightly she bundled up, the fierce wind found any tiny gap and seemed to freeze her entire body.

“Ugh, it’s really cold.”

She’d heard the North was cold, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad, and her face was drawn with worry.

“Is it really this cold all year round?”

“It’s actually less cold right now.”

At those words, Arisha’s mouth dropped open. Baron, kindly closing her mouth for her, lifted her robe, which was drooping from the weight.

“You’ll get used to it, so don’t worry.”

Whether she would ever get used to this biting cold was uncertain, but Arisha tried to nod in agreement instead of complaining. She would be spending most of the year here, except for the social season, and complaining wouldn’t change anything.

“The castle really is warm inside, right?”

“Yes. I told Carlton to make sure the castle was heated, so it’ll probably be hot once we’re inside.”

Clinging to that hope, Arisha forced the corners of her mouth up. Even in this frigid weather, the northern subjects were waving their arms off in greeting. Not wanting to ignore their hospitality, Arisha forced her frozen facial muscles to move and managed a smile.

It seemed true that the northern people were deeply loyal to the Grand Duke who had protected them from invaders. Many subjects had even brought their babies to welcome their new Grand Duchess. The babies, bundled up in layers of clothing, looked just like little snowmen, and Arisha couldn’t help but laugh several times at the sight.

“Do people in the North always wrap their babies up like that?”

“Well, it’s cold, so it’s to keep them warm. Carlton is already busy making baby clothes, apparently.”

“Already?”

She wasn’t even pregnant yet, and they hadn’t spent a night together since the masquerade, but baby clothes already? That was a bit too fast.

“He said he wants to knit at least one set himself.”

“Sir Carlton wants to knit baby clothes himself?”

“Yes. He’s been agonizing over which color yarn to use—he’s torn between sky blue and light purple.”

Imagining the burly, muscular knight agonizing over yarn colors, Arisha burst out laughing again.

It seemed all the talk about northern people being rough was just prejudice. How could people who smiled so brightly at her in this cold, and a knight who knits baby clothes himself, possibly be rough?

“I think I’m going to like the North.”

“That’s good. The North already likes you.”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled brightly.

*** 

“The castle really is warm inside.”

Perhaps thanks to Carlton’s message to heat the castle, the air inside was not just warm, but almost hot. Even though Arisha was wearing only a silk gown over her bare skin, she didn’t feel cold at all, showing just how much care had gone into heating the castle.

“I thought you might be sensitive to the cold, so I asked them to be extra careful.”

While Arisha was in her gown, Baron was only loosely covering his lower body with a large towel. Seeing his bare upper body, which she hadn’t seen on the terrace at the masquerade, Arisha swallowed nervously.

His body, proof of a lifetime spent on the battlefield, was covered in scars like medals. When Arisha traced the long scar across his left pectoral with her fingertip, Baron gave a sheepish smile.

“My body’s covered in unsightly marks.”

“I like it.”

Arisha smiled broadly and wrapped her arms around Baron’s neck.

“It makes you look even more attractive.”

At those words, Baron laughed softly, lifted Arisha up by her hips, and held her in his arms.

“You’re tempting me, you know.”

Baron gently set Arisha down on the bed, then opened the top drawer of the bedside table. Picking up a bottle of colored oil at random, Baron opened it and poured it over his aroused body. Ever since he’d seen Arisha in her gown, he’d already been unable to contain himself.

Arisha was just as eager. It was only natural, since this was their first time together since that night at the masquerade. Wanting their first proper union to be in the bedroom he’d prepared in his northern castle, Baron had made Arisha pinch her thigh several times on many late nights.

“Hurry, Baron. Please?”

At Arisha’s breathy, urgent voice, Baron claimed her lips and, with fingers slick with scented oil, slowly caressed her.

“Ah!”

As his fingers teased her sensitive skin, Arisha’s body gradually heated up, and her excitement overflowed.

“Wait, that oil, ah, what is it?”

“Hoo, I don’t know.”

Baron, seemingly uninterested in the oil, looked at Arisha with heated eyes and wrapped her ar*ola with his tongue. Barely holding onto her senses through the overwhelming pleasure, Arisha picked up the bottle of oil rolling on the bed.

“For a… hot night…?”

Reading the cursive written on the red bottle of oil, Arisha frowned. She had never seen oil like this before.

“Ah, it seems my staff prepared it.”

Baron grinned and began to tease Arisha’s other n*pple with his oil-slicked hand.

“W-wait….”

Arisha bit her lip as she felt the places touched by the oil gradually heating up. This was different from her body warming up naturally. She was sure there was something hidden in the oil Baron had so liberally applied.

“Hah, could this be…?”

“It’s not as if all skilled mages are only in the capital.”

Baron’s aroused body, now covered in oil, was even more imposing than before. The magical oil, which made wherever it touched heat up even more, caused Arisha’s body to respond with excitement. The unfamiliar stimulation made her arousal flow more than usual, and Baron, seemingly satisfied, smiled as he rubbed the tip of himself at her entrance.

“Don’t worry. The northern mages are so skilled, there’s no way your body will be harmed.”

“Haa… hurry….”

At those words, Baron grabbed Arisha’s hips and slowly pressed his waist down. If it weren’t for the oil and her own arousal, Arisha was certain that, under normal circumstances, he would never have been able to enter.

Even though she could feel her insides already soft and expectant, it was still so tight that she doubted she could take even half of him without the magical oil. Perhaps the staff’s careful preparation of the oil was a considerate gesture.

“Haaang!”

Knowing exactly where Arisha was most sensitive, Baron pressed her spot directly. As the massive sensation hit her, Arisha felt her vision go white as a moan escaped her lips.

“Hah, mm, mmm!”

Baron’s skill was so incredible it was hard to believe he hadn’t had much experience before. He didn’t overwhelm her, but his control of strength and pace left Arisha drowning in waves of pleasure that ebbed and flowed.

“Mmm, ahh….”

As Baron moved his hips and teased her with his mouth, Arisha couldn’t keep her mouth closed, moans spilling out one after another. She thought perhaps her memory of their first night had been idealized, but it turned out not to be so. This moment was so blissful she could hardly remember that night.

“Haaah!”

As Arisha’s hips curled and twisted, Baron continued his gentle movements, making sure her pleasure didn’t break. When Arisha finally collapsed, spent, Baron affectionately kissed her cheek.

“Haa, haa….”

Baron brushed back Arisha’s damp hair as she caught her breath, gently rotating his waist.

“Mmm, you….”

Unlike Arisha, who had already reached her peak and was panting, Baron still seemed relaxed. Seeing her eyes tremble, Baron smiled softly and whispered.

“Did you know, Arisha?”

“Hm…?”

“The nights in the North are longer than in the capital.”

“!”

As if to prove his words, Baron tormented Arisha throughout the long night. At one point, Arisha gasped and pleaded for him to stop, but each time, Baron would find her most sensitive spots and send her back into the depths of pleasure.

He gave her water when she was thirsty and soothed her, stroking her back as she panted, but Baron never stopped. Despite saying he had little experience, he seemed to know so many positions that Arisha eventually blamed her own flexibility.

She had thought the tales of Baron’s exploits—fighting on the battlefield for three nights without sleep—were just rumors, but now she wondered if they might be true. Arisha lay sprawled on the bed, breathing heavily.

“The nights in the North… aren’t always this long, are they…?”

“There are nights even longer than this, but sometimes they’re shorter.”

At the mention of nights even longer than tonight, Arisha tried to sit up, but the ache in her waist made her wince and lie back down.

“I take back what I said about liking the North.”

“No way. You already seem to like it.”

After spending such a long night together, Arisha glared at Baron, who was still full of energy.

“I’ll give you a bath myself.”

“The sun’s up, so don’t touch me anymore!”

“We’ll see.”

Baron burst out laughing as Arisha thumped his chest.

<The Northern Night is Long> The End.