Chapter 27

Only then did I notice the two dogs sprawled comfortably on the chairs as if they were used to it.

There was no way this was their first time reacting like this.

“Is this perhaps one of those? A hunter’s cabin used for spending nights in the forest…?”

“It likely is,” Riorem replied.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his response.

“Ha ha! How amusing. Even the dogs know what’s going on, and here we are acting like we’ve discovered a gingerbread house from a fairy tale.”

One had spent her entire life in the detached palace.

The other, a lifetime serving his master.

It was amusing how neither of us were used to such unpredictable situations.

“Then I suppose we should spend the night here. Even if it’s a small forest, we could still lose our way at night.”

“Will that be all right?”

Riorem asked with a stiff expression.

I looked around the cabin.

Indeed, I had never sat on such crude furniture before.

Sleeping on a bed covered with nothing but old furs was unimaginable.

But for me, discomfort and hardship were better than boredom.

‘Just keeping up with Riorem’s hunting had already been tough enough.’

I casually sat on the edge of the bed.

“You say strange things, Riorem. Weren’t you the one who always said slaves have no right to avoid discomfort?”

“…But you’re a bedchamber slave.”

Riorem bit his lip.

He must have realized how poor an excuse that sounded.

He quickly changed the subject.

“Is there any firewood nearby?”

“Hm, not much from the looks of it.”

“I’d better go gather some. Please wait here.”

With that, Riorem left the cabin.

I sat in the empty cabin, watching the sky darken.

Back at the mansion, we always lit candles before it got this dark, so I hadn’t realized.

But here in the cabin, with not a speck of light, sunset alone brought near-complete darkness.

It felt like the middle of the night by the time Riorem returned.

He began preparing for the night with impressive ease.

It seemed that while this might be his first time using this particular cabin, he wasn’t new to such situations.

“You seem quite used to this,” I remarked as the inside of the cabin brightened.

“I am. Most mercenaries are.”

“So this is something you learned during the time I don’t know about.”

At my words, Riorem sneered.

“Just because it’s a different time doesn’t mean you know it well.”

“You’re right. I never did understand why you wouldn’t get into bed.”

His shadow twitched against the log wall.

“Honestly, I still don’t understand. What do you want? Why did you bring me here as a bedchamber slave and then just leave me alone?”

“You acted like getting spanked a little was nothing to you.”

“But sex… sex means putting a cock into a pussy, doesn’t it?”

“W-what…”

Riorem shot to his feet.

“W-where did you even learn to say something like that?!”

“The higher a man’s rank, the more he gets off on vulgar things. I’ve heard far cruder words than that.”

“Those bastards…”

Riorem began breathing hard, as if he might snap the necks of those men who had said such things to me.

Seeing him like that, a faint suspicion turned into certainty.

‘That face… and still a virgin. In its own way, that’s quite something.’

Riorem had left his ducal household around the time he became an adult.

For a man who’d spent years as a mercenary to still be a virgin at twenty-four…

If he had remained in the temple, he might really have succeeded in becoming a priest.

‘Even if he’s a pervert who gets off watching me write letters.’

I leaned back against the rolled-up fur and continued.

“Even the King of Arete recognized my ownership, didn’t he? You’re already touching me however you please. So what exactly is the problem?”

“Is that enough for you?”

“Of course. I didn’t care about being taken by Arete’s general. So why would I mind being taken by my own foot-washing slave?”

A long silence followed.

In the end, I was the one who gave in first.

I’d tolerated a slave refusing to sleep with me—tolerating my master doing the same wasn’t going to be any harder.

“Fine. Do as you like. But I’d still prefer if you got into the bed. It’s too hard and cold.”

Strangely, Riorem immediately did as I asked.

He picked me up in his arms, laid himself down on the bed, and then placed me on top of him.

I lay on top of him, looking into his eyes—because his crotch, just beneath me, was burning hot.

At this point, I was simply curious.

“You used to masturbate while thinking about me, didn’t you?”

“Doesn’t this make you curious? What it’s like for real, not just in your imagination? All my ex-fiancés used to say that.”

Twitch.

His cock, pressed against my thigh, throbbed roughly.

But that was it. Riorem remained silent.

The only sound in the room was the crackling of firewood.

Eventually, I leaned against his chest and closed my eyes.

Maybe it was because I hadn’t been outside in a while, or because I had moved so much—but exhaustion washed over me.

Just as I was drifting into sleep—

“…I’ve never done it before.”

A small voice broke the silence.

“Not even… imagined something like that.”

We returned to the estate as soon as the sun rose.

Though it wasn’t fully light yet, the two hunting dogs eagerly guided our way, so we didn’t get lost.

The estate was quiet, as if the disappearance of its master for a single night meant nothing.

Of course, Theumesa was probably upset… but I wasn’t in a condition to worry about that.

The moment we returned, I collapsed into bed.

I wasn’t sick with anything specific, but my fever wouldn’t go down.

‘There are too many possibilities.’

Even in a haze, I had that thought.

I was never a very active person to begin with.

Sometimes I’d take a walk or dance, but that was about it.

Occasionally I’d move with enthusiasm—like when chasing down escaped slaves.

Since coming here, it had gotten worse.

I barely moved at all now.

So wandering through a forest like that—of course my body would protest.

Or maybe it was because I fell asleep in a place both uncomfortable and cold.

‘Or maybe it was because I skipped too many meals. Or… maybe Riorem’s words left too much of an impression.’

There were so many suspects, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause.

Riorem, however, seemed to believe all of them were the problem.

I looked toward the sofa, far from the bed.

It was what Riorem had been using instead of the bed these past few days.

It was quite large, but far too small for a tall man like him to lie on properly.

And yet, he’d stuffed himself halfway onto it to sleep—giving the bed to the woman he brought in as a slave.

‘He could’ve just used another bedroom, at least.’

But Riorem neither got into the bed nor left me alone.

Clearly, he thought laying me down after holding me that night had been a mistake.

Ever since I’d asked whether he’d ever imagined “penetrative sex,” Riorem had become extremely conscious of my body.

He knew my body well—how hot it was inside, how easily I got wet.

He’d always condemned it as lewd and vulgar despite knowing it responded well.

And now, he seemed troubled.

Because for the first time, he’d thought about it—that act he’d never considered before.

“If just using my hand feels this good, how much better would it feel inside?”

Filled with such thoughts, sharing the bed with me must’ve been unbearable.

In the end, Riorem had left the cabin and spent the night outside after laying me down.

‘And he thinks this is the result.’

I brushed my sweat-dampened hair back.

While I battled an unexpected fever, Riorem didn’t lay a hand on me.

He even left all the nursing to the maids—wiping away my sweat and caring for me.

Aside from the fact that I slept in the bed and Riorem stayed nearby, this might have been the more “natural” distance between us.

But we were never “natural” to begin with. Now he wanted distance?

‘Only just barely, at that.’

A drowsy breath slipped from my lips.

As the fever started to break, my libido began to stir.

It wasn’t strange, considering how abruptly all those nightly pleasures had ceased.

Riorem probably wasn’t faring much better.

‘Especially since he’s been obsessed with being stroked by hand lately…’

So maybe… it’s about time to start teasing him again.

With that thought, I waited for Riorem the entire day.

Fortunately, it didn’t require much patience.

Click.

I heard the door handle turn.