Chapter 21

That continued for several days and nights.

“Is it better to put it in like this, or from the front?”

“Mm. Like this, hurry… mm.”

Holding Avgenia from behind as she lay on her side, Alexei, who had just teased her cl*toris, slid himself inside her in one motion. By now, he was skilled, moving smoothly in and out.

“Mm, ha, mm, mm, mm…”

“Ha, you seem to like it so much. You welcome me so eagerly…”

“Everyone does, mm, so, mm. My br*asts, too.”

“As you command.”

Alexei kept moving his hips, burying his lips in the nape of her neck. Her pale, slender neck was marked with hickeys of various ages, each a different hue.

“You’re so beautiful, mm, it’s driving me crazy…”

“Mm, ha, mm…!”

His hand, full of her br*ast, made the light brown peak stand out even more, and the other hand, still pressing her cl*toris, sent waves of pleasure through her lower body with every thr*st. With both sensitive spots stimulated, his lips, full of affection, made every fine hair on her neck stand on end.

And just being filled by his thick, hard shaft was enough to conquer her.

Ah, she shouldn’t lose herself. She wanted to throw away all her masks and beg him to fill her forever…

Even though she thought it was impossible.

Tears welled in Avgenia’s eyes. This had to be the trace of irresistible pleasure.

“Mm, you’re so good now, Lexie. Ha…”

“That’s good.”

“Ah, mm, mm, ah!”

Trying not to hurt herself, Avgenia kept pretending to teach him about s*x. She couldn’t even pretend to be sly, tangled with him, her eyes shining with honest heat, and Alexei couldn’t help but see through her bravado. He thought he was learning about Avgenia through these moments.

Their strange, parallel dreams continued for several days and nights, and physically, they grew closer than ever.

As if releasing years of pent-up desire, Alexei, tireless, was accepted by Avgenia as much as her stamina allowed.

She wanted to ignore the truth she’d face when this delirious pleasure ended.

She thought the memory of this ecstatic bliss would be enough.

For Alexei, there was no other way. After puberty, he’d imagined Avgenia n*ked in his arms nearly every day—how could he stop now?

Especially when her skin was marked only by his traces, the places he’d touched and kissed were flushed and swollen.

So, without mentioning their feelings, they simply indulged in each other’s bodies and excitement.

In the still rainy, dark dawn,

Holding Avgenia close, Alexei calmed his racing heart, feeling proud of the decision he’d made weeks ago, while also realizing it was entirely wrong.

The day he begged Avgenia to teach him about s*x and made a fool of himself.

Alexei had resolved to end their fake relationship, and the plan he’d made then was…

“Mmm, Lexie…”

“Ah, you’re awake.”

“Mm. You keep touching me…”

“…Ah, I didn’t realize.”

Lost in thought, he’d unconsciously stroked her soft skin—her chest, her inner thigh. As she woke, yawning and rubbing her eyes like a baby bird, Alexei’s heart fluttered again.

With all his overflowing feelings, he pressed a brief kiss to Avgenia’s temple.

“Ah, you’re hard again.”

“Your Highness?”

Turning toward him, Avgenia grasped him and stroked up and down. She interpreted his excitement as just desire.

“Mm, it’s…”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to do it while half-asleep…?”

So, the problem was, whenever he got lost in thought, they ended up tangled together.

The lingering thoughts from before vanished. Alexei’s reply was a low groan.

“It’s a physiological thing, so it’s fine.”

“Mm, I’m fine too.”

“That’s good. You should sleep more.”

Even as he said it was fine, her hand slowed as she stroked him. Avgenia’s rosy eyes, heavy with sleep, blinked slowly.

He knew she’d do this. Alexei smiled, brushing her hair from her forehead.

He wasn’t just a dog in heat.

Well, he’d acted like one for the past few days…

For three, maybe four nights, as long as both were awake, they kept coming together. Maybe it was because the sun hadn’t come out, making it hard to tell time, or because the rain kept falling outside the closed window. In their muddled sense of time, they made love and fell asleep over and over.

Naturally, Avgenia, who hadn’t trained her stamina in a long time, grew tired.

“Mmm, Lexie…”

Whether out of duty or something else, even half-asleep, Avgenia’s hand slowly wandered along his shaft. If she hadn’t grown used to him entering her, she might have been overwhelmed.

Yes, they’d done it several times.

Not knowing her hand was slowing because she was tired, Alexei felt a gentle pride.

If Avgenia weren’t so sleepy now, he would have gladly given in to her seduction. But when morning came, or at least by tomorrow, the mages would return and their delayed schedule would resume, and she would be tired again.

‘Playing the aide for the first time in a while.’

The time of the aide who managed Avgenia’s schedule and secretly envied the anonymous men who spent nights with her, draining her stamina. He had been so jealous of those who woke up tangled with Avgenia’s n*ked body. Every morning, her room was filled with this thick, musky scent, and just stepping inside twisted his guts to the point of madness.

Because the rain never stopped, the room couldn’t be properly aired out, and the musky smell filled the space, sending Alexei into another brief reminiscence.

It was a scent that made him feel defeated every day, but now it was solely because of him…

‘No, it’s a bit different, isn’t it?’

What he remembered was a scent with something else mixed in.

It couldn’t be just because the person was different. It wasn’t simply a matter of one night versus several nights.

As he sniffed briefly, almost like a dog—

Ah, maybe.

“Mm.”

“What are you thinking about so much?”

Startled by her grip on his member, Alexei looked down to see Avgenia gazing up at him with sharp eyes. She seemed to have shaken off her sleepiness and was scolding him for not focusing on his hands.

“That’s not here.”

“That?”

“Burning incense is your preference, isn’t it, Your Highness?”

“Ah…”

Avgenia’s eyes narrowed, her gaze rolling far away. The lopsided smile on her lips held a kind of self-mockery.

“That’s hypnotic incense.”

“What?”

Alexei’s eyebrows shot up at the unexpected words.

“If I really liked every man, do you think I’d accept them all…?”

“…So then, maybe you didn’t do everything with them.”

“Mm, well, they probably think I did.”

Alexei’s mouth fell open.

No wonder, even though she used magical contraceptives, every man left with a full 1 million lamt. He’d thought it was double protection with withdrawal, but it turned out Avgenia hadn’t fully slept with all of them.

Of course, there were exceptions for those who were truly appetizing, but Avgenia chose not to dwell on that truth.

“So the mage too…?”

“Mm, who knows if the hypnosis worked. I gave her a suggestion that she couldn’t reveal the details.”

“That’s…”

Alexei’s eyes trembled, showing his shock.

He was supposed to be the chief aide—how could she keep secrets from him? That kind of grumbling was also one of Lexie’s lovable traits.

Of course, considering how affectionate he’d been these last few days, maybe things were different now, but Avgenia had seen plenty of men who were only gentle in bed.

Anyway, as Avgenia anxiously waited for Alexei’s inevitable lecture—

“Ah, Avi…”

But what came out of his mouth was a tone she hadn’t expected. It seemed almost moved, and then he leaned in and hugged her.

“I’m so glad…”

And with that, a hint of relief.

Being wrapped in Alexei’s arms was the first time in days and nights she’d been embraced like this. Maybe it was the first time since her mother died that she’d been held so closely.

With her shoulder tucked into his chest, their heartbeats thundered from both sides.

Thump, thump, thump, thump…

Was it because his embrace was warm? Because she couldn’t breathe? Or for some other reason entirely? Avgenia’s face flushed red for a reason entirely different from the last few days.

“I thought I’d have to do this a hundred and seventy more times, but it’ll be much less than that…”

Hearing the words above her head, Avgenia was stunned.

“…What’s with that specific number?”

“The number of times you spent the night with someone, Your Highness.”

“What?”

Avgenia laughed in disbelief.

So he was saying he wanted to sleep with her more times than she had with other men? Cute, but…

She couldn’t just laugh it off. Now that the topic was out in the open, she couldn’t keep running from the question that had troubled her these past days.

‘So, why?’