Chapter 62
That night, I was once again bickering with Lamia in the shared bedroom.
“You said you got an apology for yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Th-then what of it!”
“Then today is a must, right?”
“Wh-what do you mean ‘a must’?”
Lamia chuckled and gently tapped my shoulder with her elbow.
“Ah, come on, don’t act like you don’t know.”
I jumped up and scowled.
“You really are shameless!”
Actually, it wasn’t anger from her shamelessness itself—it was Lamia’s irritating tone that made me flare up.
Lamia giggled and shrugged lightly.
“I hear that a lot!”
“That’s not a compliment.”
“That’s not important right now.”
She widened her eyes seriously.
“What did I tell you to remember?”
I avoided Lamia’s gaze, my face flushed, and hesitated before answering.
“P-push away with all your strength if you dislike it.”
“And?”
“Wh-when you like it, say you like it…”
My voice dwindled to almost nothing. My face felt like it would burst.
Lamia nodded approvingly, seemingly satisfied.
“If you think carefully about what I told you, there shouldn’t be any surprises. Don’t be too scared.”
I kept repeating it in my mind:
‘This is a duty. A married couple’s duty. I have the responsibility to fulfill this duty.’
Then Lamia patted my shoulder.
“Don’t think of it as just a duty. Think of it as something enjoyable.”
“Th-there’s nothing enjoyable about it!”
“Oh?”
Lamia’s eyes widened.
“This is definitely something enjoyable. You like the master, after all.”
“That’s not true.”
I denied it at first and grumbled.
“And what does that have to do with it being enjoyable?”
“It does matter. Trust me. Spending the night with someone you love is a very happy and enjoyable thing.”
‘The problem is, it’s not just spending time.’
I couldn’t believe Lamia’s words and continued to grumble.
“What do you know about it?”
In my past life, I had experienced married life, but Lamia, who spoke as if she knew everything, likely hadn’t experienced anything. She had no family, no husband waiting for her, after all.
But Lamia surprised me with her words.
“I know because I’ve been married.”
She smirked confidently.
“Besides, I’ve had multiple lovers too.”
“…What?”
Lamia winked at me mischievously.
“I’ll tell you more details later if I feel like it. Anyway, it’s from an experienced person, so trust me. Of course, the master will handle it well! I’ll leave now!”
She waved and left.
I sat there, mouth agape, staring blankly at the door she had gone through.
‘Married… multiple lovers…’
What on earth is her true identity?
‘She seems to know magic too.’
According to her, it wasn’t any extraordinary magic—just a minor illusion spell that temporarily swaps appearances with someone nearby. It was so trivial that even the mages at the Magic Tower, who collected every kind of magic, refused to take it.
Anyway, Lamia’s briefly revealed past was so provocative that I found myself thinking more about her identity than about Calias.
That’s when I suddenly realized that Calias had entered the room without me noticing, and I was startled.
“Ah!”
I leapt from the bed when my eyes met his, standing there beside it.
“What are you thinking so hard about? About me?”
When Calias added teasingly, I panicked and shouted,
“I was thinking about my married life with Lamia, not with Calias!”
I blurted it out quickly and then froze.
‘Wait a second.’
Why did saying it the other way around feel so horrible?
‘I meant to say I was thinking about Lamia’s marriage… not Calias…’
I looked blankly at Calias.
His expression asked without words if he had heard me correctly.
I felt like I was melting from head to toe.
I fidgeted, pulled the blanket over myself, and lay down neatly like a corpse.
‘It’s a dream. This is a dream.’
If it’s a dream, why can I hear him laughing so clearly next to me?
I kept my eyes shut like I was dead.
Fortunately, Calias didn’t tease me for my slip of the tongue. Otherwise, the shame would have been unbearable.
Then I heard the rustle of fabric.
‘What’s that?’
Curious, I peered one eye open and saw Calias, having unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it halfway off his shoulders, making eye contact with me.
“Ah, is it alright if I take off some clothes? I’m used to sleeping without a top, so I’d like to do that at least in the bedroom.”
“…!”
I covered my gaping mouth with my hand.
Seeing me frozen and speechless, Calias stopped, half-undressed, revealing his broad shoulders and solid chest.
Lamia’s words flashed through my mind in an instant.
She had explained very clearly what to do once Calias came into the room and lay next to me.
‘Ah, dizzy…’
I pressed my hand to my forehead and shut my eyes.
“Chloe?”
“D-do as you wish…”
I said it with my eyes tightly shut.
‘Yeah, just get it over with.’
I lay there, eyes closed, relaxing my body.
Soon, I felt Calias sit on the bed, shirtless.
Swallow.
The blanket rustled as the warm air from the fireplace seeped into it.
Every time he moved, the blanket made a crunching sound.
‘He’s lying down…!’
I didn’t feel this nervous on the first night with Marquis Pelsus. Back then, it was more about the discomfort of sharing a bed with a man I barely knew. Later, it was all fear.
‘Luckily, I never shared a room with Marquis Pelsus again after the first night.’
Anyway, the feeling now was completely different.
‘My heart feels like it’s going to explode.’
I anxiously crossed my legs, waiting for what would come next.
But unexpectedly, Calias remained calm.
I peeked at him again.
“Have you seen this?”
Calias leaned back against the pillow, holding up a partially carved wooden piece in front of me.
“Huh?”
“I wanted to make a snow cat figure, but it’s taking longer than I thought.”
“Oh, okay…”
Why is he suddenly talking about carving?
He scrutinized it seriously, then asked for my opinion.
“What do you think, Chloe? Does it look like a snow cat?”
I looked carefully at the piece he offered.
“I think the tail should be longer.”
“Really?”
He listened intently and marked the tail length on the wooden piece with a quill on the bedside table.
“Like this?”
“A little longer than that.”
“Then this?”
“Yes.”
I felt a bit confused, but since he was so earnest, I examined the carving seriously.
Seeing him take my advice and adjust the carving based on it gave me a sense of responsibility.
‘He probably knows more about snow cats than I do, yet he’s listening to my opinion.’
It made me a little excited, and I found myself giving more suggestions.
“The ears should be sharper. Snow cats’ ears are more triangular.”
“Oh, now that you mention it!”
Calias, without a hint of annoyance, adjusted the carving, sharpening the round ears into triangles.
“Following your advice made it look much closer.”
“Really!”
We spent quite some time together, discussing how to carve it properly.
“The feet should be bigger, don’t you think?”
“Right. Snow cats have large feet compared to their bodies.”
“Wow, you carved it so smoothly!”
“Thanks to your guidance, Chloe.”
“Now we need to trim the tail.”
“This part is the hardest. Last time, I broke the tail into two while carving it.”
“Careful…”
Sitting close, chatting quietly like this, my heart, which had been ready to burst, gradually calmed.
I watched Calias handle the carving tools with a relaxed feeling.
The scraping sound of the wood being carved was oddly satisfying.
Then, my eyes kept drifting to the muscles in his arms that flexed with every movement.
“Calias.”
I glanced between his arm and mine, unable to contain my rising desire, and asked,
“If it’s not rude… may I…?”
Calias looked at me.
His face, lit by the fireplace, glowed a warm reddish hue.
“May I touch your body a little?”
