Chapter 271
Obscure memories : Izar
As dawn passed and the morning sunlight colored the corridors, Mathilde bit her lower lip awkwardly outside the imperial descendant’s door.
‘Is the Duke still with Her Highness?’
It was clear enough what it meant for the Duke to be ‘with’ the imperial descendant. After all, when a couple reconciles so dramatically, what else remains but a night together in the bedroom?
The night before, since Her Highness had not turned the Duke away, all the attendants had kept a close watch from outside. Yet, no matter how late it grew, the man never came out, and even after preparing the bath, he still did not emerge.
At dawn, when a maid went in briefly to check the bathwater, she returned with her face flushed red.
“It seems… it’s still difficult for them right now.”
“Ahem.”
Mathilde swallowed a dry sigh. In the end, all she could say was, “Even if Lady Nova coughs, don’t let her come here.”
Freesia would surely have agreed.
But even if she had been asked, she could not have answered aloud.
Because she was still bent over, palms braced against the wall, holding Izar inside her.
Her straight, tense back trembled each time he stroked her.
The sunlight falling on her back dappled it with pale violet marks.
And that was only on her back. Her front, from collarbone to thighs, was entirely mottled with bruises.
“Mm…!”
“Focus again.”
In truth, even without trying, her body was still tightly gripping him.
She had tensed up, shivering as if with fever, at the sound of the maids moving beyond the door just moments before, but for some reason, he wanted to tease her more.
“Ah, mm. Nngh…!”
She managed to suppress her sounds by biting his finger, but the fierce rhythm that followed could not be contained.
Every time the newly sensitive spot—still raw from the night before—was pressed bluntly by the tip of him, her widely spread thighs trembled on the verge of giving out.
Izar slid his hand up from her smooth waist to cup her unsteady, heaving b****t.
Even the lightest brush over the overly-sensitive areola made her flinch and twist in shock.
“Nova must be awake by now.”
“Mm, huh, mm!”
Tears of pleasure rolled down her face.
That’s right, Nova. She should go see Nova.
Though three years had passed together, the time she had actually spent with Nova, once her daughter could speak, was short.
“Ahh…!”
But the man who touched her more intimately than anyone else kept driving her mad with pleasure.
Even if it was what she wanted, she never imagined she’d be reduced to a creature obsessed with nothing but mating.
Terrified of death, she’d buried herself so naturally in this most primal act.
“Ah, ahh…!”
But with her stamina worn thin from repeated climaxes, she couldn’t endure any longer.
When he finally spilled himself inside her with a rough groan, she staggered, barely holding herself up against the wall.
She only managed not to collapse because the man who’d pushed her to her limits was still holding her.
Breathless, Izar clung to the woman in his arms and muttered, his voice as hoarse as hers.
“We’ll need to wash up again.”
“……”
Freesia nodded, letting herself relax in his arms, determined that, for the remaining days, she would never again beg him not to finish inside her.
***
Fortunately, Izar made no further move to stimulate her after that.
Even so, since their intimacy had continued through the night without even a nap in between, Freesia was left dazed the moment she washed up and lay back in bed with him.
Especially lying there, nestled in his arms.
‘I feel good…’
As her consciousness started to blur, Izar whispered into her ear.
“Do you remember, back then, when I said we should go see the spring stars?”
“Mm. Yes… I remember.”
“It’s not the season anymore, but… Shall we go together?”
“Ah…”
You could see the night sky from the palace in the gorge, but the scenery was never as rich and beautiful because of the terrain.
It was only passable in summer, so much so that the Imperial family rarely used this place even as a secondary palace.
Freesia nodded quietly. If it was just a day’s journey, her brother wouldn’t worry.
“Then shall we go out for a bit…? Not a flower outing, but a picnic to watch the stars.”
“Will Nova last until then?”
“If she falls asleep, we can just be beside her.”
Freesia burrowed into his embrace with a much more relaxed face.
“…I really want to.”
Just a short rest, and then, feeling guilty, she would do even better by Nova…
But before closing her eyes, she gently tugged at Izar’s collar and whispered,
“Izar.”
“Mm?”
“…You’ll stay until the very end this time, right?”
Izar gazed at her with heavy-lidded eyes.
He liked seeing Freesia look at him so earnestly, but for some reason, he wanted to tease her a bit.
“Wasn’t it you who left me last time?”
“……”
“And you were the one who told me not to stay by your side.”
At Izar’s gentle chiding, Freesia pressed her lips together.
But when he pulled her close and kissed her brow, her pout faded into calm.
Maybe it was because carnal desire had soothed her despair, she couldn’t say for sure.
‘But my heart feels lighter…’
Before long, Izar watched the sleeping woman quietly, running his fingers through her hair.
He supposed he’d have to look after Nova for a while when she woke.
‘She might complain, Where’s Mama? Why is ‘that’ here instead?’
But Izar could only agree with the complaint he expected from Nova.
If Freesia were there but he had to disappear, so be it.
〈Izar. Please save me.〉
He would rather take all the blame than ever hear her beg like that again.
Izar gently embraced the sleeping woman and closed his eyes.
He wondered if, someday, he might be able to extend Freesia’s life at the cost of his own abilities.
“Now I understand…”
Whatever he agonized over was nothing compared to the fear Freesia felt.
No matter what he did, in the end, nothing could stand against the last moments of his beloved.
The moment that thought struck him, the voice that had been confusing him lately rang out again.
〈I gave up everything…!〉
Izar pressed his fingers to his brow, barely swallowing a groan.
‘Even though I’ve been sleeping recently, is this still happening?’
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