Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Kalion, it was his name. The name Lieutenant Cedric called him that a dozen times a day. Not only Cedric, but the knights of the order, the people of Archduke Castle, and the members of the Council called him that too. So there was no reason to feel special just because he heard it again. But the sound of his name sounded like thunder in his ears now.
“What did you just say?” Kalion asked.
“Don’t do it,” Erna mumbled.
Kalion slowly raised his head and looked at Erna. It wasn’t just a trembling voice he heard. There were also tears in her eyes. He wasn’t sure when she’d started crying. But he saw now that her long eyelashes were covered with transparent drops, and her large, round eyes were wet with tears. It was the way Erna was looking at him that made him freeze again, just like when she’d called his name. His fear of seeing the scariest thing in the world had just happened; Erna was afraid of him right now.
“Why?” Kalion asked, looking baffled. He let go of her waist and lifted his body to come close to Erna’s face. Because of his movements, his throbbing penis landed with a thumping sound on Erna’s white belly.
Erna looked as if she were about to faint as she whispered, “You, this, please stop.”
Kalion stood up in surprise at the sight of her speaking without being able to breathe correctly. His fully erect penis clung to his stomach, and Erna recalled the sensation of it being pushed into her a moment ago. Although there was no pain because it had just been the tip of it, Erna could tell that if the whole thing went inside her, she wouldn’t handle it. Only by looking at it did Erna know what she was trying to allow into her body.
In all honesty, Erna had thought that it would be easy. Many women in the world got married, had intimate nights with their husbands, and gave birth to their children. It should be no problem for her to do the same, and Erna became acutely aware of how arrogant her thoughts were. She had to let go of her pride for a moment and then cling to him when he put his erection inside of her. Erna just needed a little more time to prepare herself for this invasion.
But judging by the lust in Kalion’s eyes, it didn’t seem like he would stop. She highly doubted that he would keep his promise of stopping if she said it hurt or she disliked it. Erna had no sexual experience but had heard many stories about the intimate time between men and women. And not all of the things she heard were good. When it came to intimacy, Erna had been told by others that there were people who acted violently for their pleasure and that this would cause a great deal of pain.
I don’t enjoy being hurt like that. Erna knew that few people liked to experience pain, and she was no different and particularly hated her body hurting. The pain caused by external shock reminded her of the days when she’d lived with her head bowed down in the Kingdom of Haband. Her older sister and brother, as well as her younger sister, used to kick her secretly.
Eventually, the tears that had welled up in her eyes cascaded down her cheeks. She’d rather die than show weakness in front of Kalion like this. He was the one person she hated to expose weakness to. Surely he would tease her and ask her how she expected him to do it after seeing her acting like this. Thinking about that didn’t help her tears to stop. At that moment, his body, which was almost covering hers again, pulled back. Erna looked at him in surprise at his unexpected movement.
“Do you hate it that much?” He mumbled in a slightly cracked voice. “I’ve said it before, but I don’t intend to force it.”
Erna looked up at Kalion in disbelief. That was what he said, but the thing on his lower body seemed to think otherwise as it jerked about, and Erna couldn’t relax.
Kalion saw where her gaze was and sighed loudly, shaking his head. He then turned around to sit on the end of the bed and snatched his trousers that lay beside her, putting them back on. He got up slowly, feeling his over-excited erection wiggling uncomfortably in his pants, and put on the rest of his clothing. After moving his erection into a more comfortable position, Kalion sat down next to Erna and asked, “What is scary?”
Erna had managed to clear her mind a bit, and she answered his question in the most casual voice she could, “It’s not scary. I’m just not used to it as yet. So, I have to prepare myself.”
“Okay, let’s just say it’s like you say,” Kalion replied, “how do you think you can get used to it?”
*
“Are you okay? Is there something wrong, or are you feeling unwell?” Vanessa asked. Sitting next to her on the conference room table, she looked worriedly at Erna.
Erna raised her head at her sudden question. “Nothing is wrong? Why are you asking such a question all of a sudden?”
“It seems like you are not yourself today.”
With that, Erna thought about what she had done today. She’d awoken to Orpé’s nagging at lunchtime and had eaten a light meal. Then, Erna had taught the wizards before attending council meetings in the late afternoon. And now she had something to look over with Vanessa, so it was just the two of them. It was just an ordinary day with nothing unusual happening that Vanessa needed to concern herself.
“What is different?” Erna asked, looking at her in confusion.
“It’s the first time that the two of you ended a meeting without a fight.”
Is it? Erna recalled how the meeting had gone earlier. When she’d entered the conference room, Kalion was already seated at the large wooden table. He sat where he usually did, at the far right of the conference room table, and looked over the documents scattered about the desk. He’d looked up at Erna for a moment and then returned his attention to the paperwork. Erna had decided to pay no attention to him and went to her seat. Soon after sitting down, she became solely focused on the paperwork in front of her too.
The content of the meeting was nothing special. Among other things, Erna had to explain to the councilors, in a bit more detail, about the appearance of demons in the Haldis area they’d visited two weeks back. Occasionally, Kalion helped out with a word or two, but there were no issues between the two of them during the meeting.
“You also didn’t say anything when you came in,” Vanessa added.
“That’s because I see him every… Never mind. I guess I’m still a little tired.” Erna hastily changed the subject. “So, what about this part here?”
In the past, she would’ve frowned upon seeing Kalion, and there would’ve been name-calling for sure. But lately, seeing him every night, she honestly didn’t think much of it. She was so used to him that she didn’t feel a need to have to talk much.
Fortunately for Erna, there was a lot to discuss, so Vanessa didn’t question her further, and an hour later, she was able to leave the conference room and head to the wizard’s quarters alone. Turning her neck and shoulders, back and forth, Erna sighed as she mumbled, “It wasn’t a lie that I’m tired.” Lately, she was struggling to rest at night. And the lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll on her. After muttering for a while, Erna started walking again.
She would’ve been awake until dawn to manage her mana in the old days. But these days, when she left the master bedroom and returned to her room, Erna slept as if she’d fainted. It didn’t mean that she woke up early, so Orpé had woken her when she’d arrived to do her duties.
Erna couldn’t open her eyes properly, and Orpé had nagged, “What are you doing every night that you can’t wake up these days?”
Erna’s face had turned blood-red when she’d recalled the previous evening. Nowadays, she was exhausted every morning, and she’d yawned as she’d stretched her body. When she’d pressed on her chest by mistake, she’d felt a slight pain, as well as a tingling sensation. One couldn’t see them, but the breasts under her clothes were in a bad state.
“Crazy bastard.” Erna freely cursed the person who was not present. “What am I doing every night because of him. It was insane to say I need to get used to it. I should’ve just done it then.” As she muttered her words, no one was around to listen, and Erna continued her walk to the wizard’s quarters.
* * *
When Erna arrived at the wizard’s quarters, she saw Alicia and Miel, who seemed to be returning from being out somewhere. She was concerned about their well-being during the last expedition because it had been a frightening experience, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to be traumatized. The two wizards looked at Erna lovingly and waved their hands warmly.
“Archduke!” Miel called out. “Where are you two coming from?” The two ladies ran up to Erna and clung to her arms.
Erna smiled and said, “We went to the Knights Order!”
“To the knights?” Alicia asked, looking stunned.
“Yes, after returning to the Archduke’s Castle, I went to say thank you for the help in Haldis. And in a turn of events, we’ve become close friends, so we often hang out there these days. Of course, I show them some magic, and I use attack magic to help with their training.”
Little Miel was excited to talk, “The knights are phenomenal. I knew that magic spells can be destroyed by using physical power, but simple spells, of one or two letters, can also be destroyed just with a punch or a kick.”
“Yes! They say that Archduke Kalion can destroy even greater magic,” Alicia added.
The two of them beamed as they talked about what they’d seen and heard in the Knights Order. When Erna’s head started to hurt from the frantic talk from both sides, Orpé appeared.
Orpé looked at the two of them and raised her voice, “You two! I didn’t see you in the morning practice. Where did you go? Did you go to play at the Knights Order again?”
While being shouted at, the two quickly hid behind Erna. But Erna was not a shield they could trust. “You missed practice again? So this isn’t the first time?” Erna asked, looking disappointed by their behavior.
“No, we just,” Miel attempted to make an excuse.
“Miss Erna! Please scold them! They’ve been doing this for a week now!” Orpé pleaded.
“What? A week?” When Erna stared at them with dagger eyes, Alicia and Miel realized that it was too late to ask for forgiveness, so they quickly turned to run away.
“Both of you stay there!” Orpé yelled, but they weren’t about to stop. Erna clicked her tongue and shook her head, and then drew a magic formula in her air. Soon, a circular ring of bright red light appeared above Erna’s head, which quickly flew over the two, who were running away. The light circled their waists and immediately lifted them into the air.
“I can break this, Alicia!” Miel boasted, drawing a magic formula in the air as she struggled against the red ring holding her off the ground.
“I’ll help you, Miel!” She yelled back.
Erna could see what the two of them were doing. Miel, who could draw delicate magic formulas well, was in charge of the magic letters, and Alicia was in charge of injecting her magic into them. When the spell that the two had created collided with Erna’s, both vanished into thin air.
“Oh, you just destroyed my spell now?” Erna looked at the two, deciding to have fun with the situation. “We can do the training we were going to do this afternoon, now.”
For wizards, extinguishing the opponent’s spell was like throwing punches in a boxing match. When Erna laughed, Alisha and Miel’s faces turned white, and they whispered simultaneously, “We are dead.”