Chapter 3 - To Entice An Innocent Man (2/2)

“This….”

This was a signal the two had created a long time ago, with the knowledge that his residence could be seen from Ariel’s room. One long blink is a sign of good night, and two long blinks are a sign to come and play. But she hadn’t responded to this signal ever since her mother caught and scolded her for going to Arsion’s annex at night.

Ariel turned to the annex again. There, the lamp flickered twice as long, as if he was still waiting.

Ariel turned her head and gazed at the light, bewitched. On her desk, laid <Things To Do at Night>, which she had read thoroughly several times already.

After buying that book, Ariel read through it, even forgetting to eat. She read the book over and over again, wondering if she had ever studied so hard in her life.

A few days later, Ariel clenched her fist and thought.

‘I think I can do really well!’

Groundless confidence soared in Ariel’s heart. This book taught her a lot of things. If she did what this book told her to do, she would be able to seduce Arsion without any experience. No, it shouldn’t end in seduction.

‘What I want is…….’

Ariel recalled the picture in the book. Every time she opened the page, she had to take a deep breath and look at it. The naked man and woman were tangled…… down below…….

Ariel changed her clothes, cooling her flushed face with the back of her hand.

‘It’s going to be difficult today.’

The book said that each party’s heart and atmosphere were important. If she hurried too much, it would all go wrong.

‘Then, let’s just get started today.’

Ariel quietly got dressed, then approached the desk again and looked at the book. Her theory was perfect. Now, all that was left was to execute it.

***

Knock, knock.

Ariel adjusted her collar and knocked on the door of the annex. Soon the door opened.

“Riel, you’re here?”

“Sion, why are you the one…?”

Of course she thought other servants would open the door for him. Surprisingly, Arsion was dressed in comfy clothes.

“I sent them all back. I wanted to rest quietly. What are you doing? Come on in.”

“Oh, yeah….”

Ariel instinctively nodded and stepped into the annex, beckoned by Arsion’s relaxed voice as if they had met yesterday.

Click. For some reason, the sound of the door closing behind her seemed to ring loudly in her ears. When she entered and turned her head, she saw Arsion holding a lamp. Although this was not the first time she saw him, Ariel somehow felt nervous as if she was with a stranger.

“Riel, are you okay?”

“Huh? Uh-huh….”

Did he notice the tension?

There was a slightly worried look on his face as he asked her that question. It was that look on Arsion’s face that allowed Ariel to relax a little. It was because that gaze, which showed he was worried about her, was the same as before.

‘I sent them all back. I wanted to rest…’

And then he called her. Ariel placed a hand over her heart. Thump, thump. She could feel the beating of her heart.

Somehow, she felt both happy and bitter at the same time. It was good that he treated her differently from others. But unlike herself, where her heart fluttered when she was with him, Arsion seemed calm without any agitation, so she was disappointed.

Arsion had a wry smile as Ariel hesitated after entering the room.

“It feels the same as when we meet at the palace…… Am I that strange now?”

Somehow, Ariel waved her hand quickly at Arsion’s wounded expression.

“N-no, no! I-it’s just been a while. Besides, you’ve grown so tall…….”

“But, both my father and mother were also surprised. Well, we can’t just keep standing here, let’s go up.”

“Uh, uh-huh….”

She thought they would first talk in the living room. Instead, Arsion took the lead with a lamp in hand and naturally led the way up to his room on the second floor.

‘Is this how it works?’

She remembered the priests and the holy knights she saw in the temple. They avoided being alone with a person of the opposite sex as much as possible. Ariel didn’t want to be rude or anything but she thought he would try to avoid personal contact, and yet Arsion was acting like he didn’t know that.

‘Is it because Arsion was not an official holy knight yet?’

Before Ariel realized, the two were in Arsion’s bedroom. It had been his bedroom for a long time. Before he left, the two had often spent time here together. It was also a familiar and cozy space.

As soon as she walked into the room, Ariel felt as if she had returned to the old days. Although this room was for Arsion, it was decorated with a curtain of Ariel’s favorite color, Ariel’s favorite painting, and Ariel’s favorite carpet. When Arsion said he didn’t know how to decorate his place, Ariel recommended her favorite things.

Ariel looked around the room with dim eyes. Arsion was the only one who changed, whereas everything remained the same here.

And Arsion, who had changed, was about to leave this place.

‘I don’t want to let you go.’

As people had said, Arsion was not someone she would want to miss. Because he’s a good man she’d been lucky to get. She had spent most of her life with him ever since she first met him. For Ariel, such an Arsion leaving was like having a part of herself being taken away.

Arsion put the lamp on the table and sat on the sofa in the middle of the room. Then, he hesitated a little bit before opening his mouth.

“Um…… I want to talk to you about something. Since my late return from the palace…… No, I think I should start from the time I suddenly went to the temple.”

Finally, the moment had come.

At Arsion’s hesitation, Ariel clenched her fist fiercely. It was clear that Arsion was finally trying to tell her that he was going to be a holy knight. Feeling as if tears would flow again, Ariel opened her mouth before Arsion could continue.

“It’s okay. I’ve heard it all.”

“Oh….”

Arsion looked surprised, as if he didn’t expect Ariel to know. His expression again sent Ariel into tears. Not only did society turn upside down, but everyone knew – from the dukes’ retainers as well as the servants, still they thought she might not know yet.

Then Arsion asked her carefully.

“I decided on my own….. are you not angry?”

It didn’t seem like he was unaware of his mistake. Ariel breathed in as deep as she could and spoke in a serene voice.

“Of course I’m angry. But that’s all right. I can understand your decision.”

Ariel was fully aware that pretending to be nice was not easy. But she shouldn’t be angry here. What she needed to do now was to pretend to understand, pretend to accept.

However, the moment she saw Arsion smiling brightly at her reply that she understood, a corner of her heart throbbed without realizing it.

Ariel was in tears at the fact that Arsion was leaving and that she loved him so much.

She clenched her fist in determination. Her heart was hurting and yet he laughed?

‘If so.’

Ariel took a step closer to Arsion, thinking that she could do what she came to do without any remorse. Arsion continued in an excited voice, not noticing Ariel’s movement.

“I thought you’d understand. In fact, my father jumped up and down, saying it was nonsense, and at the palace, he raised his voice, asking what the Crown Princess was talking about. But it was something I decided a long time ago.”

Ariel knew the two were on her side. What the Duke of Hastings and the Crown Princess knew, only Arsion didn’t know.

“It’s going to be a bit rushed, but…….”

“Sion.”

Only then did Arsion look up as if he had come to his senses. Ariel said to such an Arsion.

“I came here today…… because I have something to teach you.”

If others heard this, they would wonder what it meant. The daughter of a vassal family teaching the little duke something.

But as a child, Ariel often yelled at Arsion, saying that she would teach him. Naturally, Ariel had nothing to teach Arsion, who was taking successor classes as the next duke, in academic knowledge. However, the story changed when she went out to the garden outside the mansion.

Ariel, who had wandered in the woods and fields since childhood, was invincible in the garden. Which trees were good to climb, which fruits could be eaten, how to catch animals, or how to dig flower beds, and so on. Each time, Arsion looked at Ariel with a respectful gaze as she shrugged.

“You’re going to teach me……?”

“Do you…… know about the things to do at night?”

Ariel, who said so, quickly examined Arsion. It would be all over if he reacted a little bit and knew what it was.

“Things to do at night…… what’s that?

However, Arsion’s murmurings and expression showed that he was apparently unaware of what it was.

‘This is good!’

Ariel let out a shout in her heart. She knew how the priests and the holy knights of the temple treated the opposite sex impeccably. She had even been told that nothing sexual can be said. Even before leaving the duke’s residence, Arsion was pure like a white sheet of paper. But it was clear that he still knew nothing about it even after going somewhere like that.

Ariel looked at Arsion. His face, looking up at her, was filled with pure curiosity. His expression was the same as the one when they were children, when he looked at her trying to tell him another interesting thing.

Ariel reached out and cradled Arsion’s face with both hands. Arsion accepted Ariel’s gestures without a hint of surprise.

Before leaving, Arsion’s skin was softer than silk, but now, it’s slightly rougher and sunburnt. But Arsion was still beautiful. Ariel’s heart thumped at the sight of his face, which was so firm that she couldn’t find the lines of a boy anymore.

“Sion, close your eyes.”

“Why eyes?”

“Don’t ask me why. Do you… trust me?”

Ariel gave strength to her trembling hands as she responded with a line similar to a vixen trying to entice an innocent man.

What if Arsion finds what she is doing as strange? No, what if he gets mad at her for actually knowing a certain amount of things to do between the opposite sex and trying to corrupt him? All sorts of worries filled Ariel’s head.

But Ariel’s anxiety quickly disappeared. Arsion closed his eyes without any further questions. Ariel leaned down. In an instant, their faces became close enough to feel each other’s breaths. At the moment when Arsion’s face flinched slightly, Ariel ruthlessly covered Arsion’s lips with her own lips.

Warm, and a little wet, the soft flesh touched.

She wondered what Arsion’s lips, which she had seen for a long time, would feel like. It was a kiss. Didn’t they share it at birthday parties when they were young? However, Ariel’s mind lost all thoughts as soon as their lips touched.

Maybe it’s because of him. Suddenly, her legs became weak and she stumbled. Because Ariel was in a hurry to kiss Arsion, she lowered her body and collapsed into his arms. Surprised, Arsion hugged her tighter.

‘Huh…?’

Ariel could feel it vividly, the forearms embracing her. The strong thighs she was sitting on. Even the thick arms that hugged her. And a broad, hard chest that touched her back.

Arsion’s body scent wrapped around Ariel. A strong yet soft scent mixed with a refreshing soapy scent. Ariel felt dizzy at a scent so powerful that she couldn’t understand how she had never felt it before.

Then she realized. The fact that her lips were still attached to Arsion’s.

Should they stop now? It was when she was thinking so.

“Mmp…!”

Something penetrated between her lips. It quickly pushed into Ariel’s mouth, ferociously scouring her mouth ruthlessly.

“Mm-mmp!”

Startled, she tried to push her body back, but Arsion’s hand, which firmly grabbed the back of her head, stopped her from escaping. Ariel had no choice but to continue to be subjected to such devouring intrusions.

His tongue came in. Arsion’s tongue!

Ariel couldn’t really think of anything. That was why she could feel Arsion’s movement so vividly. His tongue, which had been entangled as if it wanted to pull her tongue out from its roots, coveted her mouth to the fullest extent and rubbed the soft mucous membrane inside as if it was craving more.

Ariel trembled unconsciously at the intense sensation. She felt saliva flowing through her lips, but she didn’t think it was dirty. Ariel clung to Arsion without realizing it. At that moment, she somehow felt like she heard a chuckle.

“Haaah…… Haaah….”

It was a long time before their tangled tongues parted and their joint lips fell off.

Ariel blinked slowly. Just now, she kissed Arsion. It’s not just a peck, but their tongues intertwined. Ariel became limp, forgetting what she was originally going to do.

Looking at Ariel like that, Arsion said with an innocent expression that had not changed a bit.

“Riel, is this what you do at night?”

The moment she agonized over what to answer, Arsion continued.

“I don’t know what it is, but it feels good. Are you going to teach me again tomorrow?”

Ariel nodded unconsciously at his words.