I Had No Complaints About This Marriage - Chapter 64

I liked you, you know. I liked the time we spent together. Did you… hate me?

That was when she wanted to ask—but instead, the question spilled from the lips of the delicate, beautiful man first.

“……”

‘Why?’

‘Why, Esina?’

For a moment, she was thrown into confusion. Why? What was he asking? What did he mean by—

‘Herman?’

But she wasn’t given a chance to question him back. Herman pulled her into a suffocating embrace. Dampness pressed against her throbbing temple, and then, inexplicably, her body grew hot.

‘Herman, wait—’

“Esina.”

His voice was thick with emotion as she gasped. Why was it suddenly so hot? Why was she sweating? Why was her body trembling?

‘Why does this—’

—feel so strange?

“Hah—!”

Her throat dried the moment she sucked in a breath. Before she could stop herself, a soft moan escaped—just as warm, plush lips met hers.

His thoroughly wet lips, chilled with water, parted to let it trickle into her mouth. She gulped it down desperately.

As if unsatisfied, he hungrily deepened the kiss, his teeth lightly grazing her tongue—then his hips rolled slowly against hers. The movement was unmistakable, dragging her body along with his.

“——!”

Only then did Esina’s eyes fly open.

‘Right now—’

She lay naked on the bed, a bandage wrapped around her head. Not just naked—drenched in sweat and bodily fluids, her skin marked with bruises.

When she lifted her gaze—

Herman loomed over her, pinning her down as he moved.

He was just as bare, his muscular arms locking around her back while his fingers gently carded through her hair. His sculpted muscles flexed as he pulled her tighter against him.

More startling than waking up mid-act was the overwhelming sweetness of pleasure cresting through her.

“Ah—ngh!”

Without thinking, she reached out and clung to Herman’s back. The arms wrapped around her tightened.

“Haah…”

The warmth of his embrace was comforting—but only for a second.

“Herman, you’re hurt—”

Red streaked across their pressed skin. Only now did she notice the bandages crisscrossing his torso—and the blood seeping through them. The wounds were shockingly severe. How had she not realized until now?

“How did you—hng…”

She wanted to ask how this happened, but Herman’s hips moved first. Swallowing her unfinished words, Esina shuddered.

Between her spread legs, Herman’s e******n was deeply embedded. Their lower abdomens were already drenched in white s***n from multiple releases, and with each of his withdrawals, frothy bubbles formed at their joining point. Only then did Esina’s mind begin to clear.

‘What exactly happened?’

As fragmented memories of just before her collapse tangled together, Herman captured her lips again. The kiss lasted longer than expected—as if he couldn’t bear to pull away.

“Hngh… mmph…!”

With no chance to part, she grew breathless. When a muffled whimper escaped her, Herman finally broke the kiss, allowing her to gasp for air.

“Hah—hah… cough…!”

“Esina.”

While she panted, Herman continued pressing featherlight kisses to her temple. Each brush of his lips made the swollen bruise there throb.

‘Right. I fell.’

The details resurfaced—walking with Xenon, their absurd conversation, Herman’s sudden appearance. The moment she thought he might shoot her, an animal’s snarl had cut through the air. Then something had pounced from behind. Gunfire. Xenon and Herman shouting—

Piecing it together, her hazy mind reconstructed the events. Xenon’s voice crying “A wolf!” floated back to her.

‘We must’ve been attacked by a predator.’

Unlike the walking paths where only small game roamed, the deeper woods Herman had entered likely held dangerous game deliberately released—foxes, wolves. The beast Herman’s party had been hunting must have been driven to the forest’s edge, where visitors strolled.

Herman had raised his gun to shoot it—

‘He wasn’t trying to kill me.’

He’d been protecting her. The wounds crisscrossing his body were undoubtedly from that moment. Examining the bloodstained marks, she confirmed they were claw wounds—something sharp and bestial.

Realization brought a strange relief, warmth prickling through her chest. Part of her felt grateful he’d reacted so quickly.

‘It’s a miracle I only got this much hurt after a wolf attack.’

She slowly assessed her condition. Thankfully, aside from the tender lump on her head, nothing else ached. Other than the impact that knocked her out, she seemed unharmed.

Except—

“H-Herman…?”