Chapter 3.5

“I wanted to talk. More than anything, I wanted to, but I was cautious. I couldn’t scare you with this vulgar way of speaking. It’s not like I could easily change the nature I developed from crawling through the lowest places.”  

“Um… Callisto.”  

Richel carefully interrupted as she listened to his words.  

“Why do you keep belittling yourself? Saying you’re lowly, from the bottom… Aren’t you the Grand Duke who rules the North?”  

Callisto’s face turned sullen.  

“I heard nobles care a lot about bloodlines.”  

“Who said that?”  

“I read it in an etiquette book.”  

Richel shook her head.  

“That’s not true. Well, there are people who care about those things, but… I think what matters is the person themselves.”  

“The person…”  

Callisto muttered softly and raised his head.  

“What kind of person am I?”  

“……”  

“As a husband, am I a good person?”  

A good person?  

At first, Richel thought he was far too quiet. But now, he casually used informal speech and even blurted out embarrassing words. Even in bed, he was so intense that she had often thought she might die. Somehow, she had felt that disheveled clothing suited him more than formal attire. Perhaps she had unknowingly seen through to his true nature.  

He was such a rough person. Someone who didn’t listen and stubbornly thought only his way was right.  

But still…  

“You’re a good person.”  

“……”  

“So much so that I wanted to get closer to you, even when I barely knew you.”  

His eyes widened. His blue irises trembled violently, as though struck by a storm.  

“Richel…”  

His lips descended onto hers. He licked her outer lips gently before delving inside and exploring thoroughly. Richel wrapped her arms around Callisto’s neck. He groaned low in his throat and deepened the kiss. Their bodies tumbled onto the bed.  

“I’m sorry for holding you like that earlier. I wasn’t in my right mind.”  

Callisto kissed Richel’s face all over.  

“Please forgive me.”  

Instead of replying, Richel hugged his neck tightly. Callisto let out a low groan and caressed her body. His heated touch made her body flush once again.  

“Richel.”  

“Haa, yes.”  

“May I… taste you?”  

“……”  

“I feel bad for just forcing myself in earlier. I should have loosened you up until you were soft and ready before entering.”  

At his explicit words, Richel’s face burned bright red.  

“Please allow me.”  

“But… it’s dirty…”  

“So what? It’s just us, and it’s ours.”  

Callisto kissed Richel’s flushed face and spread her pale thighs apart.  

“It’s a mess. You must have been too tight to take all of me.”  

He bared his teeth.  

“Damn, such a small opening managed to take me in…”  

His dark hair disappeared between her legs. He took her intimately into his mouth, his tongue slowly caressing her reddened entrance.  

As his tongue gently probed her, a squelching sound accompanied the release of his earlier seed. Startled, Richel tried to close her legs, but he pried them open again.  

“Hngh…!”  

Her intimate area was engulfed by his wide mouth. His tongue spread out, licking softly before pressing against her sensitive spots and entrance. Richel arched her back and cried out.  

“Haa, I’ve wanted to do this for so long. I wanted to bury my tongue in your cute little spot and suck like a madman.”  

His tongue, which had been swirling inside her, scratched against her inner walls as it withdrew. Richel’s body shivered.  

Sitting up, Callisto looked down at her while stroking himself. The thick, menacing length in his hand glistened with fluid.  

“I’ll go in slowly.”  

The fiery tip of him pressed against her entrance. He moved his hips in slow circles, fitting himself to her shape, before pushing in. Her loosened, twitching entrance gently swallowed his tip.  

“Haa…”  

Callisto kissed Richel. He nibbled on her lips before sucking deeply. Their tongues intertwined slowly and passionately until Richel’s head tilted back.  

He was fully inside her, pressing against her deepest point. As the sensation made Richel twist her hips, Callisto chuckled softly and kissed her forehead.  

“But Richel, if you weren’t looking for a lover, why did you attend that kind of party?”  

“Ah, well…”  

Richel stammered as she explained the situation. The more he listened, the darker Callisto’s expression grew.  

“What a bunch of lunatics.”  

“……”  

“I’ll have to deal with their husbands later. Damn it, how dare they…” 

Grinding his teeth, Callisto hugged Richel tightly.  

“I’m sorry for making you feel lonely. But don’t ever associate with those filthy bastards again.”  

Richel nodded hesitantly, thinking she wouldn’t have to see them again anyway.  

“Richel, do you have anything you’re curious about?”  

“Hmm… I do.”  

“Go ahead.”  

Out of the many questions swirling in her mind—like when he first saw her or how he became a mercenary—there was one she was most curious about at the moment.  

“You read an etiquette book?”  

“Yes.”  

“Why?”  

“Because I wanted to be a husband worthy of you.”  

Callisto smiled faintly.  

“The day I begged the Emperor to let me meet you, the first thing I did was learn noble etiquette. I thought I’d want to die if I made a mistake. All I knew was the sword; I didn’t know anything about manners. So I started by fixing my speech and memorizing the proper actions for different situations. That’s when I learned that having lovers is common among nobles.”  

“…But not for me.”  

“You’re right. I misunderstood. I’m sorry.”  

At his sincere apology, Richel nodded without denying him.  

“When I speak informally, my actions tend to become rough. I never wanted to show you this side of me, but the moment I saw you on that stage, my mind went blank…”  

“……”  

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”  

“No, I’m at fault too. I trusted someone and went onto that ship…”  

“You’re right. You shouldn’t trust just anyone.”  

At his worried expression, Richel nodded.  

“Richel.”  

Callisto locked eyes with her.  

“Am I really okay for you?”  

“……”  

“I might lose control again. I might get angry just because you talk to another man, lock you away, and do something terrible like I did today.”  

He gently caressed her face.  

“I don’t know if someone as flawed as me deserves to be your husband. I’m rough, jealous, and pathetic. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you again…”  

“Callisto.”  

Richel placed her hand over his.  

“My parents always said that marriage isn’t about one person enduring—it’s about two people adjusting to each other.”  

“……”  

“We’ve come to understand each other now. We’re in the process of learning about each other. We might clash along the way, but… I think it’s better to fight than to misunderstand each other by keeping things bottled up.”  

She squeezed his hand.  

“Let’s live like that. Let’s cry sometimes, argue sometimes, and keep learning about each other.”  

“……”  

“We’re married, after all.”  

Callisto’s face blurred with emotion. He groaned as if something was caught in his throat and pressed his lips to hers. Their bodies intertwined tightly as Richel gasped for breath. At the same time, he twitched inside her, pressing firmly against her walls.  

“Hngh…!”  

“Damn it, when you say such sweet things…”  

He ground his hips slowly. Richel clung to his broad chest and wrapped her legs around his waist. His thick length slid out, scraping against her inner walls, before plunging back in smoothly.  

“Richel.”  

“Yes, yes.”  

“How many times a day do you prefer?”  

“……”  

“Four times isn’t enough. Five times might be just right.”  

“Why are you even asking…”  

“We need to adjust to each other, don’t we? We’re married.”  

“Well, that’s true, but five times every day is a bit… Ah, ahh…! Ah!”  

Thud, thud. He thrust into her fiercely. Her legs instinctively tightened around his waist.  

“See? You like it.”  

“No, I don’t… Ah! Ahh!”  

“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t clench so tightly every time I thrust in. I might even get stuck.”  

Richel pouted and hit his broad shoulder, but he laughed brightly and rested his head against her flushed face.  

“Did you know? When I saw you standing at the harbor, shining from a distance, my heart, which had been dead my whole life, started beating.”  

“……”  

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally share that miraculous moment with you.”  

Callisto smiled as he looked at Richel.  

“I love you.”  

With his confession, he kissed her. Overwhelmed, Richel hugged his neck tightly.  

“The flowers you brought earlier… You bought them for me, didn’t you?”  

“Yes. You’ve seemed down lately.”  

Richel pouted. He noticed things like that so well.  

“Give them to me again.”  

“…I’ll plant them all in the garden.”  

At such a ridiculous statement, Richel squinted her eyes and laughed. Callisto’s eyes flared with a red intensity.  

“Haa…!”  

His thrusts grew even more intense. Richel clung to his broad shoulders, receiving the overwhelming pleasure with her entire body.  

“Richel, ugh, Richel.”  

“Ah, yes! Ha, ah! Ahh…!”  

He relentlessly pounded against her inner walls. The joined area became slick and wet, creating squelching sounds.  

His strong arms wrapped around Richel’s back. Holding her small body tightly, he thrust his hips wildly. His mouth continued to suck on Richel’s face.  

“I love you, Richel. I love you.”  

“I, ah! I love, ugh…!”  

“Damn…”  

With a low curse, his pace quickened. He pulled back his flexible waist before driving in heavily. With a thud, hot release filled her inner walls.  

Groaning low, Callisto withdrew slightly and plunged back inside.  

Thud, thud. Each time he thrust to squeeze out the remaining release, Richel’s belly bulged as if it might burst.  

Callisto exhaled a long-held breath and embraced Richel. Her small body trembled like her inner walls, which twitched and clenched around him.  

“Did you enjoy it?”  

Richel nodded slightly. A smile spread across Callisto’s beautiful face.  

“I’m glad. That I can do something you enjoy.”  

He lifted one of Richel’s legs and raised it. Her body turned to the side.  

“I’ll give you one more.”  

“No, don’t…. Haa, ah!”  

With her leg over his shoulder, he moved his hips. At the unfamiliar angle, Richel twisted her body and cried out.  

“Let’s align our bodies before we talk.”  

Callisto put Richel’s toes in his mouth. The bed shook violently, just like Richel’s body. Moonlight cast their shadows on the wall as it illuminated the two figures.  

The conversation between the couple, who had just begun to truly know each other, was longer than ever.  

The End.  

<Why Is My Husband Here?>