Episode 14
She felt relieved for a moment—then a wave of injustice washed over her.
She was too embarrassed and flustered to even look at Caissa’s face properly, yet he seemed calm enough to analyze her complexion.
He pressed close against her back.
“It’s obvious. I can tell just from hugging you—your skin’s gotten so much softer than before.”
It hadn’t been long, but she had stayed at the Barhad Palace for quite some time now.
Her limbs, once as thin as winter branches, had noticeably filled out.
Of course, she still couldn’t compare to the serpent tribe, who naturally had more muscle and solid builds.
But compared to how she used to be, it was a remarkable transformation.
Sharie had always believed she was naturally frail and underweight, but maybe it was more due to not eating enough.
“I suppose all my efforts to feed you well every day paid off.”
Caissa murmured with satisfaction as he observed her soft, plump cheeks. Her frame was still small, but her cheeks had filled out adorably.
Sharie, however, was far too overwhelmed by the heat transferring through their bare skin to care about his words. Her eyes darted restlessly.
Thump. Thump.
Her pounding heartbeat was deafening.
No matter how hard she tried, her breathing grew faster, and her palms began to sweat.
‘I feel like my heart might burst…’
Was her heartbeat loud enough for him to hear?
Even though she was the one who had impulsively thrown off her clothes, she was now overwhelmed with embarrassment. But then—she sensed something off.
‘Wait… this sound—’
She listened carefully.
The deep, resonating heartbeat vibrating through her wasn’t hers.
“Eek!”
A calloused, cold fingertip suddenly poked her back.
Startled, she shivered, and Caissa’s low voice followed close behind.
“What’s this scar?”
Dizzy with shock, Sharie managed to recall an old wound she had long forgotten.
It had happened during the war between the serpent and rabbit tribes.
Back when the soldiers, exhausted from a prolonged stalemate, had started lashing out at animals to vent their frustrations.
Sharie had been feeding an injured stray cat when a soldier, thinking she was conspiring with the enemy, attacked her.
“Did it bleed a lot?” Caissa asked in a near-whisper.
It wasn’t fatal, and she recovered quickly.
“I barely remember, honestly.”
It wasn’t visible to others, and even she had forgotten it was there.
“It’s been so long… I didn’t even think about it anymore.”
She explained casually, brushing it off.
“You forgot?” Caissa echoed, repeating her words under his breath.
“But maybe that cat you saved still remembers—and feels indebted for life.”
“I didn’t mean to burden it with that kind of responsibility…”
Yet right now, what distracted her more than some stray was the way his hand kept trailing along her bare skin.
Cool, deliberate, and unrelenting.
Finally, unable to take it anymore, Sharie opened her mouth.
“How long are you going to keep touching me?”
His hand stilled.
The silence that followed was thick enough to make her sweat.
“…How strange.”
His large hand slid around her waist, pulling her tightly into his chest.
“From earlier, it really looked like you were… inviting me.”
He whispered against the crown of her head as he held her tightly in his strong arms, like a snake coiling around its prey.
If she turned to face him now, their bodies would be fully pressed together—front to back.
“I wonder—are you unaware of what you’re doing, or just curious?”
His hot breath skimmed her earlobe.
“Do you know what special acts husbands and wives do at night?”
Sharie couldn’t answer.
Of course she knew such acts existed.
But could she confidently say she understood what they involved? Not at all.
“I see,” he said softly, interpreting her silence as an answer.
Then, as if deciding it was time she learned—
“Ah!”
His thick tongue slowly traced the curve of her ear and gently slid inside.
It was soft, wet, and unnervingly warm—like a creature with no bones, invading her sensitive ear.
Sharie shrieked at the bizarre sensation.
Of all places—he had to touch a rabbit’s most sensitive spot.
The ears were just as sensitive as the tail. Vulnerable and full of nerve endings.
So delicate… and terribly sensitive.
“Th-That’s… nnnh…”
Her lashes trembled, and instead of words, only faint gasps left her lips.
His hand was cold on her back, but his breath on her ear felt like fire.
Perhaps because she lacked a tail, her ears were even more sensitive than other rabbits.
“Ahh…”
All the tiny hairs on her body stood on end as tension soaked her back.
That tongue—thick, wet, and persistent—kept delving deeper into her ear.
Each time, a shock ran through her brain like it was being stirred.
Her curled toes scratched at the blanket helplessly.
“Please… stop…”
Trembling, she begged with a breathless plea.
Caissa nibbled lightly on her earlobe, then finally pulled away.
“Wh-Why would you…”
“I only licked your ear.”
Did he know ears were a rabbit tribe’s weak spot?
“I know my bride is timid…”
His voice, full of amusement, brushed her cheek as he pressed a kiss there.
“But eventually… we’ll need to use this.”
She didn’t get it at first.
‘No way…’
Back in Rahol, the rabbit territory, the climate was warm, and herbivores were abundant.
Antelopes, deer, and even giraffes or elephants could occasionally be seen in the wild.
But among them, the largest were the bush elephants of the Mulros Plains.
Once, she saw one and thought it had five legs—only to realize what the extra “leg” really was.
‘It looks just like…’
Sharie’s vision went white.
She was terrified. Completely overwhelmed. This wasn’t a joke—this was about survival.
Her whole body trembled in primal fear.
“Don’t you… want to touch it?”
The question hit like lightning.
“N-No! Definitely not!”
She shook her head violently, denying it with all her might.
A soft laugh tickled her ear.
“That’s a shame. Because I want to touch every part of you.”
His voice lowered, laced with heat.
The room filled with rough, heavy breaths, impossible to tell whose they were.
Just as Sharie was bracing for the worst…
His lips brushed her cheek, pressing a soft kiss.
“Be careful next time.”
Another kiss landed at her nape. Light, brief—but gentle.
Is it really ending like this?
Sharie, who had been bracing for her body to be split in half, now found herself strangely confused.
“Are… you okay?”
But Caissa was firm.
“I have no intention of doing that with you as a duty.”
Did that mean he wanted their hearts to align first?
But this was a political marriage, never involving her consent to begin with.
Did her feelings even matter now?
As if reading her turmoil—
“However…”
His long fingers tilted her chin toward him.
“What about a kiss?”
The warmth of his breath tickled her lips, like a soft request for permission to enter.
I won’t hurt you, it seemed to whisper.
Her lips parted naturally.
It was a moment of carelessness—but he didn’t miss it.
“Mmh…”
His tongue slipped between her lips and teased the sensitive flesh inside.
It was soft… thick… warm.
Caissa’s tongue was always thick, and long—and when they first kissed, it had pushed in so deep, it scared her.
Back then, she was overwhelmed and confused.
But now… now it felt…
“Aah… Hah… Ha…”
Her breath came in gasps, saliva trickling from the corners of her lips.
This—this was nothing like when they sealed their marriage with a ceremonial sip of wine.
It was intoxicating.
‘It feels good…’
…Though it was getting a little hard to breathe.
