Chapter 15: Chapter 15: An Unyielding Embrace

The breast cupped in his hand was soft, yet deep inside, it felt tightly bundled, a firm sensation.

“Sharing a room means sharing a bed, washing together, and doing *this* morning and night.”

“But they don’t do that in the military…”

“Are you a soldier? Have you ever been to the military?”

“No.”

Both of their answers were a resounding ‘No.’

“Then why are you pretending to know? Even in the military, if you share a room, you wash together. Though they probably don’t do *this*.”

“Ugh, no, I guess I was mistaken… Hmph.”

Evening’s meek excuse couldn’t overcome Erich’s sharp attack. Even if the era and country were different, she doubted soldiers sharing barracks would have such an affectionate relationship, but Evening no longer argued. She simply sealed her lips, as if there was no reason to bicker with him over something so trivial.

“So, your answer?”

“Yes.”

“You know what I expect, yet you still agree to share a room.”

“Yes.”

This was her last chance to escape the room, and Evening gracefully kicked it away. Not a hint of hesitation colored her voice.

“Then kiss me.”

No sooner had he spoken than Evening rose on her tiptoes. Her small lips met and covered Erich’s.

The dress, which had been hanging loosely around her waist, had long since fallen to the floor with just a few touches from Erich’s hands.

In the room, bathed in the dim evening sunlight, Evening, clad only in her underwear, offered a soft kiss.

Just as she wondered how long they would simply keep their lips pressed together, a soft tongue grazed Erich’s teeth.

“Ah!”

Evening gasped in surprise, realizing what she had done. Pulling away from his lips with a cry, she lowered her heels to the floor and stepped back.

Her clear face, tinged orange like the sunset, scrutinized Erich. Her lime-green eyes darted around beneath long lashes before settling on the floor. It was a look of disappointment.

Evening’s well-manicured fingertips gently traced her lips, which had just met Erich’s.

Between his lips, still damp with Evening’s saliva, Erich exhaled a wet, heavy breath.

“You have quite the stomach.”

“Me?”

Evening’s voice cracked with genuine astonishment; she had never heard such a thing in her life. It was no boast, but her constitution was terrible. Evening, who was prone to gagging while clearing food waste, was utterly bewildered by Erich’s words.

“To kiss me with such an expression, you must have a strong stomach.”

“What kind of expression am I making?”

Erich admired the face that pretended not to understand his words. Looking up at him, a man a head taller than herself, while seemingly oblivious to her embarrassing attire, she appeared utterly innocent.

‘No. This innocent face must be an act.’ Erich wiped his wet lips, a sneer twisting his mouth.

“Your acting is superb.”

“My acting is terrible. I was kicked out of the drama club.”

“Perhaps flattery is a more fitting word.”

“How bad am I at flattery? No, even if I could flatter, I could never kiss someone I dislike. I’d throw up.”

Erich was dumbfounded by Evening’s brazen reply. Seeing Evening attempt such poorly concealed flattery made him let out a hollow laugh. Her emphatic declaration, ‘I can’t flatter,’ was, in itself, the most desperate form of adulation. For despite her words, every utterance from Evening’s lips was a cunning attempt to win favor.

“Would you like more? Should we do it again?”

Yet, there was an endearing quality to her words, delivered with such confidence that Erich found himself speechless.

“Yes, Lord Erich? I can kiss you as much as you’d like.”

Evening chirped, her expression as eager as a child before unwrapping a gift. Her long, platinum-blonde hair swayed gently.

“Lord Erich— Mmph.”

Erich couldn’t tolerate Evening, who was already pouting her lips as if ready for another kiss.

He seized Evening, who seemed to be anticipating something enjoyable, and pushed her onto the bed. Lifting her in one swift motion, he tumbled onto the wide bed with her. He collapsed onto the bed, his body pressed against Evening’s. Evening, bearing the weight of an adult man, let out a small shriek and curled up.

“Ah, it’s… it’s still daytime.”

Evening, pinned beneath Erich, pleaded, pushing against the bed with her feet. She quickly understood Erich’s intentions and had already tensed her body. Whatever else might be true, it seemed certain he had acquired a shrewd wife.

“It’s evening.”

“But the sun is still out. What if other people know what we’re doing?”

“So?”

“So…”

Evening looked up at Erich, who was half-propped above her. Meeting her gaze, he unbuckled his belt. As he tossed the belt aside and began to lower his trousers, Evening squeezed her eyes shut. Soon, however, she squinted, stealing glances at Erich’s legs. Her desperate peeks, as if she weren’t opening her eyes at all, looked comical.

Erich pulled down Evening’s underwear. Evening, on the verge of losing her last remaining scrap of fabric, suddenly opened her eyes wide, then swallowed a scream. Seeing her lower body completely exposed above her knees, Evening was at a loss. Yet, she quickly remembered her duty and gripped the underwear, refusing to let it be pulled down further.

“I know you’re crazy about me, but couldn’t we do this after I’ve washed? I’ll wait.”

“Who’s crazy about you?”

“Lord Erich is?”

At his sharp retort, Evening shrank her shoulders awkwardly, glancing at him nervously. Her grip on the fabric tightened. His words, though harsh, made her feel a little abashed. But the insistence on ‘washing first’ annoyed him. He hadn’t been rolling in dirt, yet she treated the Emperor as if he were filthy. The thought that she was indeed a noble’s daughter rankled.

“…Fine, I’m so crazy about you I can’t wait. If you came here knowing all this, then just spread your legs quietly. I’ll finish quickly so it won’t be dirty.”

“I mean— Aah!”

Erich pulled out a pocket knife and ripped her underwear. Evening’s efforts to protect her underwear, straining her toes and pressing her knees together, were all in vain. The stark contrast between her meticulously dressed upper body and her exposed lower half disoriented Evening’s vision. Her eyes spun with shock and tension, and she repeatedly hit the bed.

Spreading Evening’s knees, Erich unhesitatingly thrust his penis between her legs. He pressed the glans into her vaginal opening, where the crimson flesh was barely visible. Her unlubricated vulva, devoid of foreplay, stretched tightly.

“Ah, ah, ah!”

Each time he forcefully pushed his large penis in, finger-joint by finger-joint, Evening winced, tears welling in her eyes.

“Relax a bit. It’ll be over quickly.”

Erich, too, found it difficult to force his head into the narrow passage. It was tight going in, and even after it was fully inserted, her interior gripped his penis tightly, refusing to let go.

“Relax before it hurts.”

“Mmm.”

A nasal moan, mixed with a cry, answered him. Evening, her face contorted, panted as she clenched below.

She tried to relax her lower body, but her inexperienced body relentlessly squeezed the intruder.

“I said, relax.”

“Yes… Ah.”

Evening, nodding weakly, arched her back. She couldn’t endure the penis, which was more than halfway in. She threw back her chin and trembled, as if struck hard from below. She gritted her teeth as if in unbearable pain, yet her earlobes and neck were flushed. Her gasping breaths, on the verge of breaking, tickled his ears.

“Damn it. Just hold still.”

Her tight, unyielding passage gripped his penis without a gap. As he rocked his hips with it half-inserted, their firmly joined bodies swayed together. Each forceful movement made her inner walls clench his penis, causing his eyes to involuntarily contort. Erich, letting out a thick, strange groan, did not ease the strength of his thrusts.

He pounded his firmly connected penis in, as if hammering a nail.

“Aah! Urgh, ah! No. No, please.”

He lifted his hips, pulled Evening’s hamstrings, and thrust his lower body in. Each time he pierced her inner walls at a downward angle, Evening let out a sniffling moan. Even just rocking with it inserted, heat rose. The warmth, starting below his navel, heated his entire body.

His heated body instinctively craved the next stage. His back arched forward, and he propped himself up on his elbows, pressing against the bed. As he leaned over Evening, their tightly joined bodies lifted slightly. With his penis pressed against her lower internal wall, Evening’s expression slowly crumbled.

“Ah, no…”

Her moan trailed off in a long whine. Her hands, which had been flailing and hitting the bed, now clutched Erich’s clothes. The hands that had gripped his sides on their first night now clung to his thick outer garment. It was an unsettling feeling. Everything felt wrong. In the brightly lit room, where he had insisted it was evening though the sun hadn’t set, he was embracing a woman while fully clothed. Though he himself found this coupling inconvenient and unjust, Evening showed no strong signs of dislike. Her composed face only fueled Erich’s impulses.

Erich glared at Evening once more and pulled her hamstrings. Her lower body was drawn closer to his, and their thighs locked tightly together. The sound of their bodies colliding was accompanied by a wet, splashing noise.

“Ah, no.”

Her word ‘no’ grated on Erich’s nerves. Having realized magic and ascended to the throne, there should be nothing that was ‘no’ to him.

“You won’t even let me properly engage, yet you have so many demands.”

First, she disliked it because he hadn’t washed, and now she was saying ‘no’ without even knowing what she meant. Evening’s capriciousness irritated him. He wanted to embrace her completely exposed body. He wanted to turn her gentle voice into cries and to ravage her beautiful face until she lost all composure. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he longed to see her sniffling and clinging to him beneath his body.

It was a damned thought. His body, having been without a woman for so long, kept feeding him futile ideas. Two devastating failures and prolonged celibacy seemed to have twisted his perceptions. Otherwise, there was no way he’d be drawn to the daughter of his enemy.