The meal was quite good.
I understood why Riorem had gone so far as to ask me to place the order.
However, we discovered one very trivial fact.
Neither of us was accustomed to this kind of dining experience.
It wasn’t surprising — I hardly ever went outside the palace grounds, and Riorem didn’t usually spend money on fancy meals.
In other words, this was essentially a first experience for both of us.
And Riorem was a man who got unexpectedly excited over such trivial facts.
By the time we finished even the cold lemon tea for palate cleansing, Riorem grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
I heard the shop owner cheerfully greeting us upon seeing the gold coins Riorem placed on the table, but Riorem didn’t look back.
While everyone else headed toward the sea, we made our way toward a hill on the opposite side.
As the familiar glass window drew closer, Riorem’s steps grew quicker.
The grip on my wrist tightened.
Eventually, as we entered the garden, Riorem lifted me up entirely.
The slowly closing gate and garden trees quickly faded behind us.
He carried me up the stairs and only set me down when we reached the sofa beside the window.
His large hand undid the buttons of my dress.
The salt still lingering on my skin shimmered under the clear sunlight.
I spoke with a teasing smile,
“Surely, you’re not going to lick this too?”
“Do you think I can’t?”
“Heh, licking comes after washing. Just the thought makes me feel salty.”
Riorem laughed from deep in his throat at my words.
I steadied myself by placing my hand on the windowsill.
“Haa…”
His breath spilled down my back.
His large hand gripped my hips, then pounded inside.
This was a slightly different position than usual.
Normally, even when behind me, he stayed close, like a grafted limb.
Today, holding my hips and shaking them, Riorem’s movements were faster and rougher than usual.
“Haa, haa… ah, ugh…”
Thud, thud.
Thud.
With a dull sound, pain and pleasure surged together.
I swallowed a moan that seemed like a groan.
I wasn’t particularly shy, but seeing the sea so clearly from here made me a little self-conscious.
‘Someone might really be watching this side…’
Still, I enjoyed the heat coming from behind while hanging onto the windowsill.
The salty sea breeze tousling my hair and the heat pushing inside me nonstop coexisted in a fresh yet pleasant way.
Noticing my reaction, Riorem moved his hips even more violently.
Every time he thrust up, my half-exposed breasts bounced this way and that.
But I had no time to care about that sensation — I just shook my hips in response to the rising heat, letting out muffled moans.
Once again, his member was buried deep to the root.
The thick head ruthlessly bruised my womb and knocked on the entrance.
Before I could get used to the pleasure, Riorem pulled back sharply.
His hooked tip scratched all my fles as it withdrew.
It was hot.
It was overwhelming.
Yet the stimulation was endlessly delightful.
I moaned incessantly in the salty wind that tousled my hair.
On my nape, Riorem’s lips descended.
While still thrusting fiercely, he bit and sucked my neck and earlobe, leaving bright red marks.
Suddenly, he whispered,
“I love you.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
His true feelings, which only came out when he moved his hips like a beast after all patience was gone, were adorable.
I squeezed out my voice and answered,
“Yeah, I love you too.”
Hearing this, Riorem gasped roughly.
His member, which had been pounding inside endlessly, also throbbed fiercely.
Soon an unbearable heat poured out.
Except for the splattering sounds of fluids, nothing else could be heard as his rough and fast movements began.
Soon, Riorem’s seed would fill me completely.
My womb, already tormented by pleasure, would experience an excruciatingly intense climax from the ejaculation.
I buried my head into the windowsill, shielding myself from the sun pouring down on us.
At least next time, I thought, I want to do this after washing.
I sat by the window quietly watching the night sea.
The beach was still crowded with people.
Thanks to the candles lining the sand, it wasn’t particularly dark.
“Is this what a tourist spot is like?”
I thought as I listened to the sound of the waves.
Despite the crowd, the crashing of waves on the sand was still clearly audible.
After a while, Riorem came up the stairs.
He was carrying the bedsheets that had been sun-dried during the day.
I let out a happy laugh.
“You’re getting really good at this now.”
When I, intoxicated by pleasure, collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep, Riorem changed the bedsheets and washed away the fluids that had soiled them.
For me, other than when we were entwined, I could always enjoy the sheets fresh and dry.
But for Riorem, who had to clean both me and the damp bed, it must have been quite a troublesome process.
Yet Riorem never showed any sign of displeasure.
It was much better than having other people come into the house.
‘At least from Riorem’s point of view.’
I slowly reached out my arm toward him as he approached.
Sensing the signal, Riorem wrapped his arms around my waist and sat me down on his lap.
In a quiet voice, Riorem asked,
“Do you like this place?”
“If I say I like it, will we move here?”
“…That’s not possible. Too many people come and go.”
“Don’t worry, I understand that well.”
At my words, Riorem furrowed his brows slightly and tightened his embrace around my waist.
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“For not letting you live in a place you like.”
“Haha, why would that be your fault? It’s because of my bloodline. And… I don’t even like this place enough to want to live here. I like ‘our home.’”
Riorem’s blue eyes looked at me with a somewhat doubtful expression.
“Really?”
“Do I have any reason to lie?”
“But… seeing you this happy like earlier is the first time. It wasn’t like this even at Dynamis Castle.”
Only then did I understand what Riorem meant.
‘Maybe it’s because I’ve been more actively moving around here than when I was in the Arete Kingdom.’
I had been more active today than usual — I even jumped into the sea and ordered what I wanted directly at the restaurant.
I think I was generally kind to the people I met too. The only one I teased was Riorem.
Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I’ve spent time so carefree without any calculation.
I never had such time in the Duchy of Peroa.
I was harshly trained to be sold at a high price, and in reaction, I only caused trouble.
It wasn’t much different when I was a slave in the Arete Kingdom.
I could count the times I left Riorem’s bedroom on one hand, and the people I met generally didn’t help relieve my tension.
There wasn’t really anything in the Arete Kingdom that brought me pure joy.
Except for the wealth, lands, and castle Riorem had built with his own hands, there was nothing I cared for.
When I think about it, it’s not strange that Riorem misunderstood that I liked this place very much.
It must have been the first time he’d seen me so relaxed.
But he was wrong.
I hugged Riorem’s neck and kissed him. Instead of the usual deep kiss, we just pressed our lips together, sharing only our warmth and touch.
Slowly, I pulled away and looked at him.
“I don’t like the place, I like where you are.”
I lifted the corner of my lips.
I thought I was giving a perfect smile I had learned all my life.
But the reflection in his blue eyes was nothing like the one I’d practiced in the mirror.
It was a much less perfect smile.
My lips were raised too much, and the corners of my eyes were too curved, so my golden eyes were barely visible.
Even knowing that, I couldn’t fix the expression.
“You wanted to make me happy… and that heart of yours made me happy. That’s why I liked this place.”
“If you want to make me happy, I’ll probably always be happy. Wherever I am.”
Riorem’s lips moved slightly.
He tried several times to speak but finally gave up and hugged me tightly.
He trapped me in his arms and caught his breath.
My heartbeat reached him, and his heartbeat reached me.
Outside the window, various sounds still drifted in.
The excited voices of travelers.
The calls of shopkeepers boasting freshly grilled fish.
The sound of crashing waves.
But we were silent, caught up only in each other’s heartbeats.
Rarely, Riorem was the first to break the silence.
“There are still many places I want to take you to. Of course… it will only be for a few days like this time.”
“You’ve remembered many places you want to go with me all this time.”
“That sounds fun.”
I hugged Riorem tightly around the waist.
In truth, my life was not as restricted as Riorem thought.
Having spent my whole life among suitors and fiancés across the continent, I had been to more places than he had.
At least, I had much more varied experiences than Riorem, who had lived as a slave all his life.
But I didn’t make that known.
I was curious about the plans of this man who had left his dukedom to make me happy.
So next time too, I would follow his plan and happily enjoy that time.
Whatever is prepared, I will probably always be joyful and happy.
If you are with me.