“Was the hot spring good?”

“Yes.”

“That’s great.”

Givnen also seemed to have just finished bathing, as he was very moist. He lay down on the bed first, wearing a soft silk robe.

“What are you doing, not lying down?”

He was very relaxed and easygoing. He didn’t show any signs of tension at all. That’s normal, so why do I keep tensing up? Riley tried not to show her nervousness as she lay down next to him.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she had lain in bed with him.

The first time was at the Ingcenia Hotel, the second at the hotel in Soboster.

In fact, she had rarely slept with him at the mansion. He rarely came home anyway. Even when he showed his face briefly once in a while, didn’t he soon return to the magic tower?

Therefore, although she had been informed that they should share the bedroom, Riley always slept in her own room.

‘Are we going to do it now?’

I wouldn’t mind if we did.

No, I’d rather like it. But good feelings and tension coexist. Why am I so nervous about this?

“You’re transparent.”

Givnen burst out laughing as he looked at Riley, who had frozen like a wooden statue.

“What is?”

“I can see right through what you’re thinking.”

He gently pulled Riley’s hand. She was drawn into his arms as if pulled by a magnet. He smells good. Then, and now.

“You’re scared.”

“……”

“It shows.”

The soft feel of the mattress touched her back. Givnen skillfully climbed on top of her.

“I wonder why you’re scared.”

“…I’m not scared.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Givnen looked down at Riley with an intrigued smile, then carefully interlaced his fingers with hers.

“This side of you is quite fresh.”

“…Seeing your face sober is fresh for me too.”

“Come to think of it, the previous two occasions were different from now. We were quite emotionally charged then.”

“Wasn’t I the only one who was charged up?”

“I was charged up too. Both times, the preceding situations weren’t exactly pleasant, were they?”

His hand cradled the back of Riley’s head, and he slowly kissed her. It was less of a passionate kiss full of desire and more like a gentle whisper of love to a lover. His lips, curled up very carefully, gently explored inside.

Despite the careful and gentle movement, the warmth invading her mouth was hot beyond warmth.

Riley clenched her fists tightly and squeezed her eyes shut at the feeling of her body melting.

Then he removed his lips and said in a gentle voice.

“If you don’t like it.”

“……”

“I’ll try to hold back.”

An interaction taking place in perfect sobriety.

When she had done it impulsively under the influence of alcohol, she thought her body was so heated that there could be no more stimulating state, but rather, facing him sober felt more stimulating. His pretty face without any sharp edges looked too clear and vivid.

From his transparent, large eyes, to his cool, prominent brow bone, his flawless, clean skin, his Adam’s apple, to his straight lips.

He’s pretty. Riley unconsciously reached out and caressed his face.

“Hold back?”

Riley thought his question was quite mischievous.

How could she tell him to hold back when she saw the glint in his eyes through his damp, drooping hair? Riley, who had been fixating on his prominently masculine Adam’s apple, swallowed hard at the tingling sensation that enveloped her whole body.

‘If I tell him to hold back now, he would stop.’

This large hand would pull away. She would be released from this broad embrace.

The moment she imagined what would come next, the moment she thought of him pulling away, a sense of regret washed over her.

“…Don’t hold back.”

“Good girl.”

A satisfied smile spread across his lips.

His hand suddenly slipped inside her robe.

Irresistible force.

A moment beyond control. A thrilling deviation that didn’t even make her think of resisting.

A flush of heat bloomed where his hands gently roamed over her skin. Her fingers and toes curled as her body twisted and tensed of its own accord.

The sweet kiss gradually deepened and became rougher. It felt as if they were about to devour each other, as if they were pickled in terrible pleasure.

Her heated body tingled every time his large hand with prominent blue veins caressed her.

Her mind went blank and she couldn’t think of anything. She was just helplessly captivated by the presence of one man whose skin was pressing against hers.

It felt distinctly different from when they did it while intoxicated.

Clearly, the movements felt less passionate compared to then, and gave more of an impression of maintaining boundaries and being considerate, but strangely, those careful, considerate touches drove her even crazier.

His fully exposed upper body comes into view.

The solid yet thick muscular upper body, with a completely different structure and frame, was entirely contrary to his usual static and restrained image.

It’s unfair for a mage to have a good body like a knight, but combining that unfairness with a face wet with sweat and excitement was too obscene to handle.

Givnen kissed Riley’s eyes.

“Don’t cry.”

It wasn’t crying from pain, nor from fear.

It was a moment of realization that a person can shed tears even when feeling too good.

Givnen kissed her briefly with a smile.

“You’re pretty.”

The voice tinged with laughter didn’t reach her ears. Only Givnen’s face entered her eyes.

Ah, this really isn’t good.

Especially doing this sober.

Riley hugged him tightly as if clinging to him.

“Riley.”

“……”

“Look at me.”

She didn’t dislike the feeling of being wholly contained in those eyes. A passionate gaze far from his usual coolness. The burning obsession, pleasure within. The feeling of monopolizing it all was thrilling.

She felt greedy, even knowing this relationship wouldn’t be eternal.

Foolishly so.

[This is the timeline separator]

Riley blinked blankly.

The ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling came into view, and soon she became aware of her state, wrapped in snow-white bedding. As if to prove that last night’s events weren’t a dream, there were red and purple marks etched like tattoos.

And there was the man sleeping with the most beautiful face in the world.

‘Ah…..’

What followed the taste of climactic pleasure was considerable embarrassment the next day.

‘Was I this eager?’

An undeniable one-night stand.

Unable to make excuses about alcohol, and having consented purely of her own will, she felt a little self-loathing, wondering if this was okay.

Of course, after marriage, they would have to have regular intimacy to continue the lineage, but still… this relationship was quite strange, and it wasn’t easy to simply dismiss it as trivial.

An indescribable, subtle feeling settled in.

‘Will I be able to keep treating him without personal feelings?’

Some anxiety and hesitation remained.

As bodies grew closer, it felt like hearts were gradually growing closer too. Riley didn’t dislike spending nights with him; rather, it was problematic how much she liked it. That thrilling pleasure tasted at the moment of climax. The excitement. It was too stimulating and too ecstatic.

So this is how good and happy sexual intercourse between a man and woman is… She had realized this part even when muddled by alcohol, but experiencing it sober made it even more so.

If only that act had been just painful, she wouldn’t have to worry about hearts growing closer even as bodies intertwined.

The closer their bodies touched, the closer their hearts felt.

She suddenly feared falling truly in love with him. After all, depending on someone and loving them are different things. Right now, she has good feelings of affection because he’s considerate, takes good care of her, and is someone she can rely on, but what if it goes beyond that?

They had agreed to continue a loveless married life by mutual consent, but if feelings develop first, won’t it just be painful? If feelings develop, it’s no longer just business. Can affectionate feelings… towards him not deepen?

‘It seems to keep getting better….’

Riley didn’t want to have a one-sided love.

She was sick of craving affection and hoping for love from someone. Knowing how painful and lonely that process is, she didn’t want to repeat it again.

Because human hearts don’t know moderation, she feared the moment when just physical satisfaction wouldn’t be enough.

If one one-night stand is repeated twice, three times, many times. Furthermore, after getting married, having regular relations as a marital duty and having children… In such situations, would she have the confidence not to desire this man? Would she have the confidence not to cross the line?

If she crosses this line, he will…

‘…abandon me.’

Although Givnen treated her like a loving partner, she doesn’t think he will love her. At best, it would be just affection. The degree of that affection would be a meager emotion that poses no problem for spending a night together.

“What are you staring at so intently?”

Riley flinched at the voice.

Givnen, who had woken up at some point, looked at Riley and smirked.

“Did you sleep well?”

“…Yeah.”

“Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Actually, she doesn’t remember at all how she fell asleep last night.

It seems she fell asleep as if fainting while in the act.

“Your voice is all hoarse.”

“……”

“Drink some water.”

Givnen lazily rolled his eyes and flicked his finger.

The empty cup on the table filled with water, then instantly flew towards the bed and stopped in front of Riley. Riley carefully grasped the cup floating in mid-air. Then she sipped the water to moisten her parched throat.

As he raised his body, the blanket covering his body slipped down, revealing his sculpture-like upper body. There were unfamiliar nail marks on his back. Upon discovering the nail marks, Riley choked and started coughing.

“Cough, cough.”

“Oh dear.”

Unaware of Riley’s embarrassment, Givnen patted her back.

Not knowing what she was doing, completely naked, as his body drew closer, Riley had to cough twice as hard in surprise.

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine.”

Riley hurriedly pulled up the blanket to cover her body.

Givnen was about to get up from the bed but stopped and looked at Riley.

“Want to shower together?”

“Ah, no!”

“Alright then.”

Thump, thump, thump!

This isn’t good. Her heart was pounding irregularly.

She had heard that if your heartbeat is irregular, you should suspect a disease like arrhythmia or something, but she wondered if a person could get arrhythmia or whatever from being too embarrassed and heart-fluttering.

Riley buried her face in her knees.

‘I can’t calm down.’

Givnen’s face on the bed was fatal, but his appearance as he left the bed was also stimulating. Why is his messy appearance more stimulating than his neat one? It doesn’t make sense.

They say a person looks their worst when they’ve just woken up, but why does he look sexy even with bed head?

Riley buried her face in the pillow, trying not to be conscious of the sound of water.

The slightly excited feeling showed no signs of subsiding.

[This is the timeline separator]

Givnen, who was being drenched by the shower stream, flinched when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

The nail marks all over his back. As if to prove last night’s passionate night, Givnen frowned at the clearly remaining marks.

‘…Is this okay?’

He had almost lost his senses yesterday.

In fact, he thought Riley would refuse, but somehow they ended up doing it and he completely lost his reason. He wasn’t even drunk, he was perfectly sober.

Had there ever been a time like this? Had he ever been so defenseless and disheveled?

The problem is that it was better than he had thought. And this was an unwelcome symptom for Givnen.

For him, this trip itinerary was nothing more and nothing less than winning Riley’s favor.

He was proud that she had passed Horizon, and it was part of the work to win her favor to hold onto her more securely. Just to prevent her from running away later, to prevent unnecessary talks about divorce.

He intended to mortgage Riley Eadalin’s entire life.

The plan was to make her fall in love, not for him to be swayed by her. He was confident that he wouldn’t be swayed.

‘That can’t be.’

He must not harbor unnecessary emotions for her.

He shouldn’t. Because if he did, he would feel guilty about his rough intentions to use her.

Because the plan could be disrupted.

He always loved controlled environments. He felt secure when he made plans and situations progressed according to those plans. Unexpected variables, things that deviated from expectations. Just thinking about all of that was stressful.

Hoping that Riley Eadalin would not become that variable, he deliberately ignored her clear traces on his back.

·

·

·

“You’re not eating well.”

“…Huh?”

“Should I ask for something new to be brought?”

“No, I’m eating fine.”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“I originally don’t have much appetite. Um, I ate too much yesterday, so I don’t have an appetite today.”

It was quite a plausible excuse. She really did eat a lot yesterday.

“Ah, I don’t want to go back.”

“……”

“Two days is really not enough.”

Two days was indeed too short. In fact, it was just one day to properly enjoy, even though they say two days. They had to return to Blestigi today.

Riley felt regretful too. It was a date she had agreed to without much expectation, but she thought it had been a more valuable experience than anticipated.

The two days spent freely strolling along the beach observing people, receiving extravagant gifts beyond her means, and spending an unforgettable night could be considered the most dramatic moment in her life.

However, days like today would not be given in the future.

Givnen was a man too busy to be busier, and Riley was also expected to be busy once she started her life at the academy.

Well, she wondered if they would go on a honeymoon after getting married.

“Hey.”

“…Thank you.”

“For what?”

“The trip was so fun and enjoyable. It’s truly a precious and valuable experience. I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life.”

He, who had been staring at Riley, lowered his gaze.

“I see.”

As the meal ended, Givnen stood up.

“Shall we get going now?”

“Yes.”

It was time to return now.

It would become an unforgettable memory for a lifetime. She was grateful to Givnen for creating such a precious memory. Now it was time to return to Blestigi.

“I’d like to come again if there’s another opportunity.”

“I’ll try to create that opportunity as soon as possible.”

Now it was time to return to Blestigi.

As they left the hotel, Riley briefly greeted this beautiful resort.

Thinking that if she had the chance to come here again, it would be really nice if it were with Givnen again.