Chapter 71 | An Hour

He thought something happened.

As soon as he dismounted his horse, Rienne ran up to him, tightly wrapping herself around him and burying herself in his arms without any hesitation—like she’d been waiting for him.

[Black] “Princess?”

This was the first time Rienne had ever so eagerly and readily expressed her feelings towards him first. Of this, he could be absolutely certain.

[Black] “Did something happen?”

[Rienne] “Yes.”

He wanted to get a better look at her face, so he tried pulling back from her just a little bit, but Rienne only stubbornly put more strength into her hug.

[Black] “What’s going on?”

With how tightly she was holding onto him, Black had no choice but to give up on seeing her face. Instead, he just held her, gently sweeping his large hand up and down her back.

Rienne let out a long sigh, her breath trembling as she murmured. Her body was still deep in his arms as she held onto him for dear life.

[Rienne] “I thought I was going to cry.”

[Black] “So you came to find me?”

[Rienne] “Yes, but my tears are all gone now.”

[Black] “That’s a little disappointing.”

[Rienne] “I…..”

Rienne suddenly pulled away from Black, making direct eye contact with him.

Her emerald eyes were so lovely, but before he could take another look, she threw herself back into him like before.

[Black] “Princess.”

[Rienne] “I was afraid you would leave me someday.”

[Black] “. . .”

Black’s expression was stiff, but after hearing something he never thought he’d get to hear from her, an uncontrollable smile started to grab at his face.

[Black] “Never. That’s never going to happen”

Rienne still didn’t seem to understand how badly he wanted this marriage to happen—how much it would mean for him to be able to marry her.

[Black] “I will never leave of my own will.”

[Rienne] “But why? Is that really okay?”

[Black] “Why wouldn’t it be?”

[Rienne] “My father killed yours.”

[Black] “….Princess.“

[Rienne] “I thought about it over and over. If I were you, I would never be able to forgive me. So I……I just assumed you didn’t know everything, but I knew you’d find out eventually. And once you did, your feelings towards me would inevitably change. That’s how it would be for most people, and I thought you couldn’t be the exception…..That would be far too dreamlike.”

[Black] “I told you this many times before. My old name doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

[Rienne] “I now know how true that is.”

[Black] “Princess.”

This time, Rienne allowed her body to be softly pulled away. Lowering his head, Black held Rienne’s chin, forcing her to look at him.

There were tears clinging to the ends of her golden eyelashes, but they didn’t dare fall. And though there were lingering tears, apparently she was honest when she said she no longer felt the need to cry.

[Black] “Was that the reason why you ruined the wedding attire?”

[Rienne] “I can’t make you wear that.”

[Black] “Is it really that painful? That you’d rather hurt your hand instead?”

[Rienne] “No matter how much I suffer, I can’t do that to you.”

[Black] “……..This is difficult.”

But in the middle of their conversation, Black muttered something to himself.

[Rienne] “What?”

[Black] “I think what you’re telling me right now is that I mean a lot to you and that you truly like me. Is that right?”

[Rienne] “Yes, but what’s difficult about that?”

Black frowned, then pulled up his head, giving his surroundings a cursory glance.

The castle entrance was the same as always. The royal stables were bustling as the stable hands rushed around tending to the horses. Several Tiwakan mercenaries, having returned to the castle together, were dismounting their horses and guiding them back to the round pen.

[Black] “This place.”

[Rienne] “This place…?…..ah.”

Before she could realize what was happening, Black swept Rienne off her feet and into his arms.

It was such a grand gesture that it caught everyone’s attention, their eyes perking up like rabbits as they looked their way.

[Black] “Give me an hour.”

[Rienne] “An hour? And why are you holding me like this?”

[Black] “Yeah, an hour. And I have to carry you. I don’t know what I’d do if my hands were free.”

[Rienne] “Sorry?”

[Black] “I’m trying to say I want to kiss you like crazy right now, Princess.”

And without another word, with Rienne in his arms, Black strode off towards the castle with purpose in every step.

[Rienne] “I can walk by myself.”

[Black] “……..That would make things difficult.”

Biting his lip, Black suddenly stopped walking.

Feeling her body jolt forward, Rienne panicked, grabbing whatever she could reach to support herself—though it just so happened to be Black’s ear.

[Black] “Ow.”

Black whispered, still biting his lip.

[Rienne] “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. But if you do this here—“

[Black] “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take you straight to the bedroom.”

[Rienne] “I can walk. Otherwise everyone will stare at me.”

[Black] “I guarantee if you try and walk on your own, you’ll just give people even more to stare at.”

[Rienne] “What do you mean?”

It was in times like these where it became abundantly clear to him that Rienne was very naïve and inexperienced.

[Black] “Just don’t say anything, please.”

[Rienne] “……?”

[Black] “I just declared I would take you somewhere to kiss you, so if you were to follow me of your own will, you should know how that looks and sounds. And what I’ll do to you once I see that.”

[Rienne] “……Ah?”

[Black] “If you understand, then stay quiet.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

Rienne tightly closed her eyes, biting the inside of her mouth. Running up her neck, across her cheeks and all the way up to her ears, she was completely dyed a soft, lovely red color.

And that sight was enough to threaten to destroy whatever sanity he had left.

With long strides, he took them both to the bedroom.

*

* * *

*

[Black] “An hour.”

With eyes that were hazier than usual, Black gave the clock a quick glance.

Why did he keep measuring the time? What was happening in an hour?

But within a second, all of those thoughts completely disappeared. The moment Rienne felt the soft bed against her back as Black set her down, she was met with the sensation of his kiss against her lips.

Ah…….

They had already indulged in each other plenty today, but this kiss always had a way of encouraging them onward, like a bottomless pit of thirst.

Aimlessly, Rienne reached up, running her fingers along his neck and up into his hair, feeling the soft strands between them. As her fingers wandered through his hair, every time she would brush them against his neck, Black would let out a low moan—like something was boiling inside of him.

Ah, it’s happening again……..

She thought he was pulling back, but instead he gently bit her lip.

It didn’t hurt, but she still thought it was strange.

Does he like biting? Though I like kissing better than that.

[Rienne] “I’m curious about something.”

Rienne whispered, leaning her forehead against Black’s just a little bit.

[Rienne] “Why do you bite me?”

[Black] “Did I?”

[Rienne] “Yes, just now. Kind of like this.”

Black didn’t seem to be aware of what he was doing, so Rienne slid down, gently biting and tugging on his bottom lip.

In response, Black closed his eyes as another low moan escaped from somewhere deep inside him.

[Black] “It’s…..to stop.”

[Rienne] “Stop?”

[Black] “Kissing you. I have to stop somehow.”

[Rienne] “Ah….I see. You were out of breath.”

[Black] “We’re still not married, yet.”

But just as Rienne thought she’d found her answer, Black muttered out a completely different one, though his voice sounded out of focus and distant.

[Rienne] “…….? But we usually kiss? I don’t think that has anything to do with marriage.”

[Black] “……..And you once said you liked skilled people.”

Black pressed their foreheads together, resting his head against Rienne’s with a somewhat tired expression. With their faces closely pressed into one another, Rienne whispered softly.

[Rienne] “You know that was a lie, right…..?”

[Black] “Yes. I just can’t believe I believed it for even a second.”

[Rienne] “Wha…….”

……Is he really that shocked? I might be better at lying than I thought.

But Rienne’s thought was completely wrong. Black was actually surprised by the fact that he was blind enough to believe such an obvious lie. It was something he could’ve easily found out if he switched gears in the middle of their kiss. (1)

[Black] “When I kiss you, I end up getting greedy for what comes next.”

He murmured right in her ear, his words heavy like a mire. If she were to take another step forward, daring to dip her foot in, he might consume her entire body without mercy.

[Rienne] “Oh… that’s what you meant.”

Lucky for him, naïve as she was, Rienne was not ignorant.

[Rienne] “Something like that is….um, well…..I……”

But even though she knew what he wanted, she didn’t really know what she should say right now. Should she tell him that he’s allowed to move onto ‘what comes next’?

…..I mean, of course I want it as well. But it’s the middle of the day right now….and my time of the month won’t be over until at least tomorrow……

[Rienne] “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet…..”

[Black] “I know.”

Black pulled his head back, his eyes looking over Rienne’s lips once more.

[Black] “I don’t want to rush to embrace you either, Princess. There’s a certain order when it comes to doing things, and I want to accommodate it as best I can.”

Hearing that, Rienne let out a sweet laugh.

[Rienne] “That’s, uh…..I don’t think that’s entirely necessary. From the beginning, we didn’t really follow the usual order.”

[Black] “That’s why I want to honor it even more. Just because the beginning was wrong doesn’t mean it’s too late to start getting things right.”

Black leaned over, pressing Rienne’s body further into the bed as he kissed her deeply, guiding her to part her lips. Rienne welcomed it, allowing herself to be pushed back.

[Black] “But I can’t bear to stop with a kiss, so I had to set a time. If it’s an hour, that should be enough to satisfy me a bit so I can cool down.”

He said ‘cool down’ but every time he kissed her, his lips felt indescribably hot. Rienne smiled into the kiss, opening up her arms and hugging Black’s neck.

[Rienne] “You’re a walking contradiction.”

[Black] “……I’ve never heard that before.”

[Rienne] “I’m glad.”

[Black] “What’s there to be glad about?”

Their conversation was spoken through kisses. Never was a long gap left to linger, as Black did not miss the chance to sink right back into her.

[Rienne] “If someone had said that to you before, it would’ve been a woman.”

Muttering to herself, Rienne held Black’s face, pressing a kiss against his wet and shiny lips as she smiled.

[Rienne] “You say you want to cool off, but you just keep getting hotter. How could that not be a contradiction?”

His body stiffening, Black glanced up at the clock above the fireplace. He was grimacing like he was enduring a burning agony, and yet somehow, like his other contradictions, even something like that felt awfully suggestive.

[Black] “Thirty-nine minutes left…….As I thought, I think it would be best if you didn’t say anything more, Princess.”

[Rienne] “As you wish.”

[Black] “Don’t say something like that, either.”

With a heat and passion that was difficult to endure, he pushed his lips over hers again, digging deeper and deeper into her.

*

* * *

*

[Mercenary] “Hey, get up. You…..yeah, the both of you.”

Squeak……Thump—!

The thick iron door squeaked open, bumping into an open position as the bright light poured into the cell, cutting into the vision of the two prisoners within.

The two Kleinfelders had to blink for a long time, their eyes far too accustomed to darkness by now.

[Linden] “Huh, what……?”

Linden asked in a hoarse voice.

[Mercenary] “Got orders to take you to the God’s Square or whatever it’s called.”

[Linden] “Oh, then…..of course!”

From his position lying down on the prison floor, focus returned to Linden’s eyes.

[Linden] “Today’s the day of the council!”

[Mercenary] “Hell if I know anything about that.”

One of the Tiwakan mercenaries, who had managed to completely secure control over the dungeons, and subsequently serving as guards, barked out his harsh words.

[Mercenary] “Just get up already. Talking’s too much of a pain.”

[Linden] “……I’ll remember your face.”

After a long time, Linden Kleinfelder managed to regain the usual sense of inflated Kleinfelder authority as he seethed towards the mercenary,

These past few days were nothing short of hell.

He had informed the two nobles that visited him of his plan to have Rienne defiled, but he still didn’t know what the results were.

If the plan had succeeded, then those same nobles should’ve come to see him to inform him of the aftermath. He’d been waiting for so long, he actually started to sympathize with fish that accidentally washed up on land.

He even thought he might die in the process of waiting.

But the strangest thing was that nothing had changed in the dungeons. If Klimah had defiled Rienne and thrown her before the Tiwakan leader, then of course, something would have changed.

So he believed there was a chance Klimah merely hadn’t succeeded yet. Despite the great talent he had for killing people, he was too weak of heart. It was truly a pity, but he had no choice but to wait.

He waited and waited for news with a burning feeling in his chest.

Linden Kleinfelder was beyond confident.

No matter how maniacal the leader of a savage group was to covet a woman who was pregnant with another man’s child, those feelings were not set in stone.

Loathe as he was to admit it, that barbarian was a man, same as he. Rienne Arsak seemed to foolishly think he was entertaining the idea of love with her, but this was nothing more than the game of a beast playing with his prey.

If she were to get messed up and roughed around a little bit, that game would come to an end.

That was just how men worked. There were sometimes losers who confused love and desire, but everything with women was nothing more than a game.

When the fun of that game was gone, the emotions that came with it would fade. It didn’t matter if that emotion was love or desire—the important thing would be that the excitement would disappear.

Even the slightest of scars across her smooth face would result in the passion going away. In that sense, this plot to ruin Rienne Arsak would kill two birds with one stone. Because much like that barbarian, Rafit was also completely enamored by her. By ruining her, his interest in her would also cool.

All he had to do was wait for the good news, but it was already too late.

[Linden] “Who has come to get us? Who came from the Kleinfelder family?”

[Mercenary] “Just shut up and come out.”

[Linden] “Answer me! How dare you speak to me as if I were some kind of commoner!”

The Tiwakan mercenaries stared down at Linden, yelling at them as if he were some nobleman, even as he struggled around on the dungeon floor.

With Black, these men had wandered the battlefield for ten years and had met many noblemen during that time. In front of their leader, even the mightiest of kings came crumbling to their knees, trembling in fear.

No matter how much Linden Kleinfelder grumbled and yelled, he just looked funny to them.

[Mercenary] “Alright then. If you can’t come out on your own, guess I’ll just drag you out.”

The mercenary strode into the cell, grabbing Linden by his ankle.

[Linden] “Where do you think you’re putting your hands!?”

But even as he protested, Linden was dragged out of the cell by one ankle like a dog being punished.

And as all this happened, Rafit didn’t make a single sound as he watched it unfold. He stayed perfectly silent, same as when he watched the leader of the Tiwakan break both of his uncle’s wrists.

His eyes were completely empty.

[Mercenary] “Hey, you too. Get up. Or do you wanna be dragged out, too?”

[Rafit] “. . .”

Rafit turned his head up, looking around for a moment before slowly rising to his feet.