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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Hey, don’t sulk.”
“…I’m not sulking.”
“Then how about we take the blanket off and talk? We should be looking at each other when we’re having a conversation. It’s not like it’s hard to make eye contact. Why are you hiding under the blanket?”
“Th-this is…”
He was in the midst of comforting Eileen.
Well, was “comforting” the right word?
She had made a huge mistake, and he had simply corrected her. Her reaction was just embarrassment and self-loathing from realizing her own blunder.
She would probably be kicking her blankets in her sleep for at least a month, remembering this moment, but that was her problem. It wasn’t something he could fix.
But he couldn’t just leave her to wallow in her misery.
“Come on, stop crying. If you cry over something like this, what will you tell your children when they make mistakes?”
“…”
“Hey, you know what? When your mom was younger, she once made a similar mistake and cried when I corrected her-”
“I did not cry!”
Eileen finally threw off the blanket, shouting angrily.
Her face was bright red, her cheeks puffed out in anger. Eileen usually had pale skin, so pale that he sometimes thought she looked like a porcelain doll. But now, she looked completely different.
He had to calm her down before things got out of hand.
It was similar to how he had comforted Elena recently.
Pat, pat.
It was a natural gesture between people who were about to get married. So, he patted Eileen on the shoulder without thinking.
“…Ugh.”
She flinched slightly with every pat, which was a bit strange.
Even though she was embarrassed by her own misunderstanding, he couldn’t just leave her sulking.
He would be the bigger person and comfort her.
“You should have taken the blanket off and talked to me.”
“…I couldn’t… face you.”
“Ah, were you too embarrassed?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
He tried to imagine how embarrassed she must be.
So, she had gotten all excited about their “honeymoon” and even put on sexy lingerie. He could smell a faint, sweet fragrance, and there was a bottle of wine on the table with the cork removed.
She must have had a drink to calm her nerves. And then, he crushed her hopes and dreams by correcting her misunderstanding.
“…It’s like… getting drunk and stalking your ex-girlfriend’s social media, and accidentally liking one of her old posts. You know they can see who liked it, and you try to fix it, but you don’t know what to do, so you just… pretend to be asleep. Is that how you feel?”
“Rudrick, what does that mean…?”
“Nothing. I’m just trying to understand your perspective.”
Eileen asked cautiously, but he brushed it off, having successfully grasped her current state of mind.
If he were in her shoes…
He would probably be searching for painless suicide methods and lethal doses of sleeping pills.
He understood her embarrassment now.
Wow, this was tough.
“…Well, Eileen. How about we sleep together tonight?”
“H-huh…?”
“The bed’s big enough. It’ll be fine.”
“Eek!”
He pulled her down onto the bed, making her yelp in surprise. But he had achieved his goal.
He had given Elena a lap pillow to comfort her. So what was the big deal about cuddling in bed with Eileen?
He wondered how he had ended up in this position, but complaining wouldn’t solve anything.
“…”
Eileen stiffened as soon as he held her hand. She flinched slightly, as if a jolt of electricity had passed through her. He couldn’t help but find her reaction endearing.
“Eileen.”
“Y-yes…?”
“Technically, we’re getting married soon. We’re practically engaged.”
“…That’s true.”
“So wouldn’t it be normal to sleep together? We’re just holding hands and cuddling.”
He intentionally lowered his voice, speaking in a soft, suggestive tone.
He couldn’t help but tease her. Her reactions were too amusing.
Her body was stiff as a board just from holding hands. He wondered what would happen if he took it a step further.
“W-well…”
“Is it strange for a married couple to sleep in the same bed?”
“Rudrick, stop… I already regret my misunderstanding. Please don’t tease me anymore…”
“I’m not teasing you. You like it too, don’t you?”
“Mmm…”
Her face was flushed, even in the dim lighting. He couldn’t believe how red her skin had become. He could see her blushing even through her embarrassment.
It was too much fun to tease her. Her reactions were so immediate and pure.
“How about this?”
“…?”
“Should we cuddle like this?”
“…!”
He wrapped his arm around her playfully, and she reacted instantly.
Her reaction was so adorable.
Her face flushed even redder, and she said in a small voice,
“…D-don’t… tease me…”
“I’m not teasing you. Should we cuddle like this?”
“If you keep doing this…”
Her voice trailed off.
Suddenly, his vision flipped, and he found himself pinned beneath her.
Wait, what just happened?
Before he could process what had just transpired, Eileen looked down at him with tears in her eyes and said,
“…Rudrick, I warned you not to tease me.”
“Uh… I really wasn’t teasing you…”
“Then that means you’re careless enough to cuddle with a strange woman in bed.”
“…We’re practically engaged, so you’re not a stranger, are you?”
“Technically, we’re a couple, so it wouldn’t be a crime if I took advantage of you, would it?”
“W-well, even between a married couple, it’s a crime if there’s no consent…”
“Then you can sue me in the Imperial Court tomorrow morning.”
Her pale skin was now even whiter, almost ghostly.
Her hand, which was resting dangerously close to a certain area, slowly moved towards his neck.
‘I’m screwed. I shouldn’t have teased her.’
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Ultimately, nothing happened that night.
Eileen had reached her breaking point and snapped, but she lacked the courage to cross the final line. Rudrick had regained control of the situation before things went too far.
They reached a compromise, cuddling in bed together. It was a way for Eileen to build up her tolerance, and it was… a healthy way to spend the night.
It was an educational night for both of them.
Eileen realized that she could be surprisingly bold when pushed to her limits. And Rudrick learned that he should be careful not to tease her too much.
“Hee hee…”
Eileen smiled contentedly.
Morning had arrived, and they were both wide awake. But Eileen didn’t seem eager to get out of bed.
She snuggled closer to Rudrick, burying her face in his chest, a blissful smile on her face.
Physical intimacy wasn’t the only form of love. Simply lying in bed together was enough to fulfill her emotional needs.
“Eileen, we should get up now.”
“…Five more minutes.”
“That’s something you say when you’re waking someone up from their sleep, not when they’re already awake.”
“But your embrace is so comfortable. It’s… corrupting.”
“…What a ridiculous excuse.”
He muttered, then paused, remembering the events of the previous night.
It had been an educational day.
Eileen would snap if he teased her too much. And when she snapped, she became surprisingly bold. But even then, she was too innocent to cross the final line.
He had learned a lot.
At least Eileen’s anger had subsided, and he was grateful for that. He gently coaxed her out of bed.
“It’s time to get up. We have work to do.”
“…Can’t we postpone it for half a day? How about we stay in bed until noon?”
“Is that even possible?”
“Tsk…”
Eileen clicked her tongue and buried her face in his chest, taking a deep breath. The faint, sweet scent emanating from him filled her with a sense of contentment. The icy, aloof expression she usually wore had vanished, replaced by a look of pure bliss.
And around the same time…
In Rudrick’s room at the Imperial Palace annex…
A cat stared at the door, its tail twitching restlessly.
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