Chapter 78
I Feel I’ll Regret Letting You Go Like This
I feel I’ll regret letting you go like this.
It was when Riena whispered those words softly. Casel lowered his head, drew closer, and pressed his lips to the hollow above her collarbone.
After that, Riena barely remembered how things unfolded. She only surrendered her body to Casel, breathing and moaning as he guided her.
When she finally came to her senses, Riena was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. It was probably Casel’s room.
Her dress had been half removed, exposing her upper body completely.
Casel, undoing his shirt buttons as if tearing them apart, couldn’t take his eyes off her body.
For the first time, Riena saw the fiery passion in the usually calm man’s eyes.
He desired her just as strongly as she desired him.
That thought filled her with pleasure. As her heart reacted, so did her body. Her body heated up again, melting into the atmosphere.
Riena swallowed hard. Soon, Casel’s solid body, which she had only glimpsed through his shirt, was fully revealed.
It was even more beautiful and three-dimensional than a sculpture painstakingly carved by a famous artist.
Riena, captivated by the beauty, traced her fingertips from his chest down to the sculpted abs, prompting Casel to let out another rough breath.
She wanted to observe his body more, but she couldn’t. An excited Casel leaned in to kiss her pale neck again.
When he drew in a long breath with his lips pressed to her skin, she felt a sharp yet tingling sensation down to her toes. Wherever his lips passed, they left red marks.
He raised his upper body, leaving persistent kisses everywhere in sight. Only then could Riena take a detailed look at him.
Observing him with teary eyes, she noticed something unusual.
Casel’s body bore small scars here and there, befitting a knight. None were large enough to hurt her heart. Some were old, and some seemed relatively recent.
But on his left chest, there was a peculiar wound.
A reddish scar about two finger-widths long looked more like a fresh injury than a healed scar. It seemed to have happened recently, not too long ago.
The shape was odd. Other scars were thin and long, as if cut by a sword, mostly on his arms or sides.
But the wound on his chest looked like it had been pierced by something sharp, not scratched.
On his left chest, right over the heart—how could he have gotten such a wound?
Riena instinctively reached out to trace the red scar.
“…What is this?”
Casel grabbed her hand and bit her fingertip rather hard. The pain only heightened the sensation.
“It seems you have room to pay attention to other things, so I must still be lacking,” he murmured.
“No, that’s not it…!”
As Casel pressed her hand to the bed, his other hand traced up her thigh.
When his hand reached the top of her thigh, Riena panicked and pushed against his shoulder.
“Wait, just a moment.”
“It’s alright.”
The usually considerate Casel didn’t heed her words.
“Doing this now will make it easier for you later.”
Riena could only twist under his solid body and let out moans.
“Cas…”
“That sounds nice. Hearing my name come from your lips.”
“Ah…”
His hand gently brushed her hair back behind her ear. A small gesture, yet it felt special. Her shoulders twitched as his fingers grazed her earlobe.
Every time his lips touched her neck, her body shivered. She felt torn between wanting him to stop and wanting him to continue.
Casel whispered, staring into her trembling eyes.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to call my name like this.”
It was strange. Riena had called him “Cas” since they were children. After reuniting, she had formally addressed him as “Duke Winkler,” but soon returned to the nickname “Cas.”
Was that really something that took so long to wait for? Or was he speaking of the ten years they were apart?
Riena couldn’t think any further. He began to dominate her completely.
Her body and mind were filled entirely with Casel. For the first time, her body slipped from her own control. She felt shattered and recreated by his hands.
Riena dug her nails into his shoulder, holding on tight. He didn’t flinch.
Feeling Casel fill her completely, she whispered:
“I… want to say it too… my name…”
Love me. Let the blue eyes that had turned cold because of my stepmother become symbols of love again. Love me even more.
Casel whispered happily, as if delighted simply to speak her name.
“Ria.”
“Again.”
“Ria.”
“Cas, I think I misspoke earlier.”
“…?”
Riena smiled through her flushed eyes.
“I think I don’t just like you… I love you.”
“…”
“I love you, Cas.”
“Haa… really…”
Casel sighed briefly, then kissed her and began moving more intentionally. Riena could say nothing more, calling his name in a daze as he showered her with affection and pleasure.
Riena, exhausted, leaned into Casel’s embrace. He covered her bare body with a blanket and nipped her ear gently.
“You must be tired. Sleep now.”
“Why are you… still fine…”
Riena muttered, then realized her question was pointless.
“If a knight were this tired, it would be strange,” she said.
“That’s usually the case,” he replied.
“But Cas…”
Riena, stifling a yawn, asked a question that had been lingering in her mind.
“Have you ever had a woman you liked before me?”
She couldn’t help but notice how different he had been tonight—confident and skilled.
She had reached her climax multiple times just tonight, and it made her suspicious. Half the question was joking; even if he had a past, she wanted to believe there was none right now.
Surprisingly, Casel remained silent, unlike usual when he would deny immediately.
“Did… you?”
Finally, he answered:
“No.”
He held her tightly.
“There is only you. In the past, and now.”
Riena buried her face in his chest, smiling. Satisfying.
“You’ve liked me since the timid Cas days?”
“Not liked. Loved.”
Riena laughed louder.
“Then it’s been a very long time.”
Casel pressed his lips to hers again, muttering:
“I’ve probably loved you much longer than you think.”
He spoke mysteriously again. Why does he keep emphasizing ‘long’?
Riena teased him:
“Do you believe in past lives? So you loved me—or rather, have loved me—from a past life? Or do you remember your past life?”
“Perhaps.”
Riena rubbed her face against him playfully.
“If that were true, it would be sad. Only you remember, not me. If I were you, it would be really sad.”
Casel traced her back with his fingers.
“You don’t need to remember. My memory alone is enough. You just remember this moment.”
“This will be a night I’ll never forget.”
Riena laughed, then remembered the scar she had seen earlier. She traced Casel’s chest again.
“By the way, the scar I saw earlier… what is it?”
“Oh, that…”
Casel hesitated.
“Did you get it during sparring? But it doesn’t look like a sword cut. It looks more like a stab wound.”
Riena, though she hadn’t learned proper swordsmanship, was a knight’s daughter and had seen many knights injured, including her father.
“And it’s right over the heart. You weren’t stabbed in the heart, were you?”
