EEA Chapter 29

As Ailea lowered her last remaining underdress to reveal her shoulders, she looked around feeling like someone was watching. Then her body was reflected in the window. Compared to Clint's perfect physique in Ailea's sight, her own mottled body looked too unsightly.

Ailea put the dress back on and said.

"Tonight... won't work. I'll go out."

"What are you talking about now."

Clint turned around and looked at Ailea's back as she clutched her dress. Her frail shoulders were hunched round and smaller.

When Clint turned off the lights, startled Ailea looked back.

"You'll get hurt, so stay there."

He said as he slowly walked over. The first place his hand touched was Ailea's collarbone. The moment his hand touched, he felt her body shrink.

He groped her cold body, pulled her waist close, and tried to kiss her forehead but it was her eyes. Clint said in a voice mixed with laughter.

"I thought it was your forehead."

"Clint..."

"I can't see anything. So don't be anxious and let's go to the bed."

"You might fall..."

"Even if I get hurt, I'll be the one hurt, so trust me and come here."

He walked backward while pulling Ailea's right hand. She followed Clint while pulling up her clothes with her left hand.

"Why are you so nervous? Your hands are cold."

Then Ailea answered in a slightly smaller voice.

"I'm afraid you might dislike it..."

"Why would I dislike it?"

Clint whispered as he kissed her hair.

"Whether white or black, either way, you're my wife."

What did it matter if it was white or black? Or if they were mixed together?

At this moment, things like her appearance didn't matter to Clint at all.

What mattered was just the woman named Ailea, her existence that made him focus.

In the darkness where nothing was visible, the two finally reached the bed.

Clint placed her on top of his body. His firm muscular legs and Ailea's slender legs intertwined. Ailea's face reddened.

"It's dark."

"You'll get used to it."

Ailea nodded. Clint reached out again. The hand that had touched Ailea's knee on top of his body moved to her stomach where there was no muscle, then slowly moved up to touch her chin. Rather than embarrassing, that touch was warm, and Ailea's frozen body melted.

His fingertips moved toward Ailea's lips. When his fingers slightly parted her lips, Ailea's body trembled with a start. Clint's fingers became wet with her saliva. He raised his upper body and put his other hand in her hair to cup her head and began kissing.

Lips touching and parting, kisses continued as if soothing and coaxing her. Ailea unconsciously gripped his shoulders as if relying on him. Whether from the sweet kisses naturally relaxing her tension, when he kissed her collarbone with lips wet with someone's hot saliva, a moan mixed with crying flowed from her mouth.

"Ah!"

This was the first such erotic experience in her life. All her nerves concentrated on parts she had never thought were sensitive.

She was so captivated by where Clint's lips were touching that she didn't even notice his hand caressing her thigh. In the invisible darkness, when his hot breath and lips moved down toward her chest, Ailea couldn't stand it and covered her chest with both hands.

But Clint, as if her covering didn't bother him much, kissed Ailea's arm. And he gently took her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist with a sound. Heat spread where her pulse was beating.

When she thought that kiss felt good, Clint's lips touched her chest.

"Eek!"

...She had let her guard down because it felt too good.

The fabric was so thin that the intimate sensation spread directly to her bare skin beneath. Ailea, feeling as though she had been tricked, tears welling in her eyes, lightly tapped his shoulder with her hand in protest. Clint responded with silent laughter, and when his warm breath from that quiet amusement cascaded over her already sensitive chest, Ailea found herself unconsciously biting down on her own lips. Just as she thought her mind had gone completely blank, Clint's hand began to caress the tender inside of her thigh. Shocked by the unexpected touch, Ailea pushed him away with sudden force.

"Wh, what..."

Then he tightly hugged Ailea's waist with one arm to hold her in place. When her slender waist fit in one arm, he frowned. Could such a frail body accept lovemaking? Wouldn't she get hurt? This was his first time with such a small woman, so Clint became troubled.

"It might hurt a bit."

When he warned her in advance, Ailea asked in a voice that had become heated without her knowing.

"Because I keep pushing you away... are you going to hurt me?"

Clint laughed at her innocent question. He shook his head and said.

"I'll be as careful as possible, since it's your first time."

"...What about next time?"

When she asked anxiously, Clint made a mischievous joke.

"Next time I'll naturally be rough."

"I, I don't want that!"

At those words, Ailea cried out in shock. Then Clint laughed cheerfully as if it had been a joke and continued.

"I was only teasing. I promise I'll always treasure you above everything else in the world."

His words were sweet, so she felt a little relieved. Even if he was a playboy and a liar, this moment was sweet.

Ailea nodded. Her body was slowly laid down on the bed, and his body touched her thigh. Ailea's eyes widened.

She couldn't see because it was dark, but it seemed a bit...

"Ah... That's impossible..."

"What's impossible."

Instinctively, she felt this wasn't right. Something felt too heavy...

She wanted to suggest turning on the lights, but before that, his lips touched hers.

When his touch caressed her, Ailea stiffened like someone extremely startled. Dizzy, unfamiliar, breathtaking. She felt she couldn't endure any more.

"No..."

It was unfamiliar yet at the same time her body felt like it was melting, so she unconsciously pleaded. But there was coquettishness mixed in her voice, and Ailea was so embarrassed that she had made such a voice that she wanted to cry. She felt like she might faint right there. Why was every place he touched like new fireworks going off, why was it such a new experience that she couldn't collect herself, when he said,

"If you're tense, it will really hurt."

He gently warned.

Wedding night.

Ailea recalled those words again. She pressed his shoulder firmly with her fingers. Having gotten used to the darkness, they could now see each other's faces. Clint said seriously.

"You're beautiful."

"That's a lie..."

"You're beautiful."

Ailea felt as though her entire body was completely overwhelmed. Tears kept streaming down her face, though she couldn't understand why. It was stimulating and exciting, yet at the same time, waves of strange satisfaction kept washing over her, again and again. She couldn't comprehend this unfamiliar contentment that wouldn't stop building.

That was strange, so tears kept flowing.

Thinking she was scared, Clint asked.

"Are you still afraid?"

"I'm terribly afraid..."

When Ailea exaggerated with a whine, Clint made a pained expression.

Right now, by instinct alone, he wanted to satisfy his lust until this woman broke. But he couldn't continue acts she didn't want.

She was so frail he was worried. Not just her body but her heart was fragile, so he worried she might get hurt.

When Clint lay beside her, Ailea turned her back and lightly moved her shoulders while calming the sensations his touch had left behind.

"Ailea?"

"..."

"Ailea."

Playboy.

Ailea thought of that fact for no reason. Because he was too kind, she suddenly became scared. Ailea asked while still turned away.

"You... don't dislike it, right?"

At that question, Clint's expression hardened.

"Dislike?"

"Tonight. You don't dislike... spending the night with me, right?"

Even with a man in front of her who was dying to be rough with her, Ailea couldn't be confident.

The wounds Roylin had given her were still deeply embedded in her.

Clint gently embraced her back.

"I don't dislike it. Rather, I want to hold you so much I'm going crazy."

At his heated words, Ailea nodded once, then as if making up her mind deeply, nodded once more.

"Even if it hurts, it's okay. I'll endure it. Please hold me."

This innocent woman was not calming Clint's heat but stoking the fire even more. Clint hadn't been with a woman since recapturing Excalize, so his desires had piled up like mountains.

When Ailea turned her body again, Clint's fingers tangled with Ailea's hair and wrapped around her nape. In the darkness, Clint's eyes began to be visible. Golden that suited the darkness well. Ailea thought those eyes were erotic. How had other women who had faced such eyes at night, in bed, forgotten him? Could they even forget?

He looked at Ailea soothingly and smiled.

Seeing his smile that made wrinkles around his eyes from happiness, she felt like crying again.

He keeps smiling, always smiling. He touches her like someone who has found the world's most precious treasure. She wouldn't break if he held her a bit tighter.

Why does he... react so differently from Roylin? I still have the same body. How can he smile at me without showing any sign of dislike...

Ailea unconsciously raised her hand to cup Clint's cheek. Her body felt like it would melt away sweetly, but her heart was heavy. She felt guilty while enjoying his touch.

She would recall Roylin's gaze as he looked at her body with disgust, but as if telling her to forget all such memories, her head filled completely with Clint's beautiful face smiling seductively. Ailea asked while holding back tears for reasons she couldn't clearly explain.

"Just staying still... isn't it boring?"

She said this and tried to smile. As if knowing Ailea's complexity, Clint pulled her waist tightly into his arms and said.

"You might not be happy tonight, Ailea."

He kissed Ailea's wet eyes again and continued.

"The first time isn't always just good. But later you'll have composure."

"Mm..."

"When that time comes, you might skillfully lead me. Until then, it's natural for me to teach you. So tonight, just existing in my arms is enough for you to do your part."

"..."

"No, not just tonight but even on the last night we spend together, the only thing you need to do for me in bed is to exist here and not disappear. So don't worry about anything. Just stay here."

His eyes were mixed with desire and tenderness. Ailea couldn't take her eyes off him, and he couldn't take his eyes off Ailea. Though his center touching Ailea's thigh was far from it, Clint was being considerate of Ailea.

Really.

How could they have forgotten you? How could they let go of someone who smiles like this, who touches with such tenderness?

Ailea gave Clint a light peck on the lips. Clint's eyes widened in surprise. And he smiled tenderly and said.

"Thank you, my lady."

His greeting was playful, so Ailea also laughed following him.

She unconsciously embraced Clint's neck. When her tension relaxed appropriately, he overlapped his body with Ailea's. At first she thought he was penetrating too deeply, but gradually he touched exactly the right place. No, he touched so perfectly right that every time that place was touched, moans burst from Ailea's mouth.

When her body became tired and strength left her completely, Clint reluctantly let her go.

With his stamina, holding Ailea several times wouldn't be enough, but he couldn't torment Ailea any more when she was on the verge of fainting from just once. Clint let Ailea go and flopped down beside her. Ailea's body that his hands had touched was flushed red and hot all over, making it hard to suppress his desire. He slowly embraced Ailea.

His desire hadn't been satisfied in the least. If anything, he felt even more tormented, his hunger for her burning fiercer than before.

But strangely, there was satisfaction.

There was satisfaction from her breathing fragilely in his arms and burying her face, not seeming to dislike it.

Clint briefly furrowed his brow.

This kind of satisfaction was a first in his life. His lust wasn't even resolved, so where on earth was this satisfaction coming from?

The next morning, Ailea opened her eyes in Clint's arms. Though there were aftereffects from the wedding night, opening her eyes in his arms was such a happy thing...

"...No, it's not."

She muttered. When she felt pain in her lower body, she stopped being happy...

Yesterday she had been too busy being flustered by the unfamiliar stimulation to notice, but even though it was just once, that lovemaking had been intense, so Ailea's whole body ached.

Clint, who opened his eyes at her voice, asked.

"What's not?"

"...Beast."

Then Clint made an aggrieved expression.

"I'm having a hard time too. With just once."

"You don't do it just once?"

"Is that even something to say?"

At his words, Ailea was surprised like someone who had forgotten something very important. Clint, who was stroking Ailea's cheek while suppressing his desire to hold her again right now, was speechless. After a moment, he muttered.

"You have a fever."

"Do I?"

Just moments before, Clint had been resentful that his lust remained after just one time of lovemaking, but when he felt heat from her body, that resentment disappeared completely. He called a maid to bring lukewarm water. Ailea drank a little of the water the maid brought. Only then did she come to her senses, and her face flushed red.

Now that the sun had risen brightly, the night she had been held by him came back to her...

"I, I want to be alone now."

"How can I leave you alone after the wedding night?"

"I don't know!"

My goodness.

What did I do at night!

Remembering her own coquettish voice in his arms, Ailea's face turned bright red. So she tried to drive Clint away somehow, but a subordinate's voice was heard from outside. Clint headed to the door. When he came out, the subordinate said.

"I've been to Yuliana Castle."

"The necklace?"

"Well..."

The subordinate said with a perplexed expression.

"He said he couldn't give such an important item to someone untrustworthy like me..."

"And?"

"The castle lord himself... is bringing the necklace."

"What?"

"He said Young Lady Sophie could take care of Yuliana Castle... He departed immediately and after going to the imperial capital, he'll arrive this afternoon!"

Ailea's brother is coming?

Clint was fully awake. According to what he heard from Ailea, her brother Cyril was twenty-one, five years younger than Clint. But thinking of meeting his wife's family, he somehow began to feel nervous.

Moreover, Ailea was bedridden with body aches from her already weak body and couldn't even get up from bed. Ailea tilted her head at Clint's nervous face as he returned to the bed.

"Clint?"

"Count Cyril is coming..."

"Ye, yes? My brother?"

At the news that her brother was coming, Ailea asked with a bright expression.

"For what reason?"

"His main reason for coming would be concern for you, I'm sure... But tell me, what sort of man is Count Cyril?"

"He's completely like a child. Cute and mischievous."

"Really?"

"Yes. When he's with me, I probably look like the older sister."

At her cheerful voice, Clint was relieved. Ailea was so happy she forgot even her embarrassment and forced herself to get up. When she swayed, Clint caught Ailea's arm to support her. She looked up at Clint with a flushed face and asked.

"But what about Yuliana Castle if he's coming?"

"It seems he's leaving the castle to his younger sister, Young Lady Sophie."

"Goodness, our Sophie has grown enough to manage a castle..."

When Ailea fussed about what to prepare first, Clint told her to have the servants do it and laid her back down on the bed. Why today of all days... Clint sighed. At least it was fortunate that he was a cute and mischievous person.