Chapter 129
“It’s a relief you returned safely, Prince Tarek.”
When they returned to Prince Tarek’s palace, the servants waiting in front of the palace all bowed their heads in unison.
Rufus and Sarubia were provided with the best rooms in the prince’s palace.
“Wow, the bed is huge!”
As soon as Sarubia entered the room, she ran towards the bed. Burying her face in the soft mattress, she hummed a tune and rolled around on it.
“How do you feel?”
“What do you mean?”
“You just finished a long journey. Are you okay?”
“Yes. But I am never riding a horse again. Especially not one you’re driving.”
Rufus chuckled and patted Sarubia’s head.
“In a few days, there will be a grand feast to celebrate Prince Tarek’s return. Until then, let’s rest leisurely in the royal city.”
“Sounds great! In the meantime, let’s go fishing!”
Hugging a pillow, Sarubia seemed quite excited.
“Fishing?”
“Yes, let’s catch some fish and grill them together.”
As she spoke, Sarubia grabbed her necklace. It was an ugly fish carving Rufus had made out of wood on their way to the frontier.
He hadn’t expected her to drill a hole in the fish carving and make it into a necklace. Despite its rough craftsmanship, she wore it as if it were precious.
“You like fishing, huh.”
“Well, to be precise, I like fish. They’re delicious.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to just get some fish and cook them?”
“I don’t think so. Taking something from something already dead is a grave sin.”
“……”
—Taking something from something already dead.
It was an odd statement. Something twisted in those words.
Rufus tilted his head slightly.
“Sarubia, what you just said……”
“This bed is so nice.”
Sarubia beamed, patting the soft bed.
“I love big beds like this. I’ll buy one of these someday.”
“I’ll buy it for you.”
“No, I want to buy it with my own money.”
“I want to buy it for you.”
“Why would you buy a bed that I’m going to use?”
“Because we’ll use it together.”
Rufus sat down on the bed and touched Sarubia’s cheek. Lying down with a pillow in her arms, Sarubia stared intently at Rufus.
“Be honest. Whenever you see me lately, that’s all you think about, isn’t it?”
“Think about what?”
“Sleeping with me.”
“……”
The straightforwardness of her comment left Rufus momentarily speechless. Unbidden images he had wanted to keep to himself flashed through his mind.
“……I think about a lot of things, not just that.”
“You’re not denying it.”
Sarubia teased Rufus with a mischievous face.
He could see her playful toes wiggling a little distance away.
They were small.
So small and delicate that they fit in one hand. Feet so tiny that they would turn red if he just gently squeezed them.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I like you.”
“You like feet? You have peculiar tastes.”
“……”
Sarubia teased him again. Unable to handle her teasing, Rufus sighed and looked away.
“Oh, are you sulking? Why?”
Sarubia chuckled and turned her body toward Rufus.
Underneath her skirt, which had ridden up to her knees, her bare skin was clearly visible.
“……”
Rufus reached for the hem of her skirt in silence.
“Are you going to take it off?”
“……No.”
Rufus hesitated for a moment before lowering Sarubia’s skirt back down. The brief touch of her bare skin made his hand flush with warmth.
As he smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt, Sarubia, lying quietly with a pillow in her arms, suddenly asked a bold question.
“But why didn’t you take it off?”
“……What’s gotten into you today?”
“Don’t you like that sort of thing?”
Sarubia smiled brightly as she looked up at Rufus.
Even though she was smiling casually, a soft blush appeared on her cheeks.
“You’re amazing. How have you been able to sleep next to me all this time without laying a finger on me?”
“It wasn’t exactly like that.”
He had touched her. During their kisses, he had slipped his hand under her clothes a few times. But when Sarubia tensed up, he always withdrew immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
Sarubia, after staring at Rufus for a moment, took his hand.
“Why are you sorry?”
“Just… I feel like you’ve been holding back a lot because of me.”
“You don’t have to be responsible for something that arose because of me.”
“What arose because of you?”
“Desire.”
“Oh my, how very blunt.”
Sarubia giggled and brought Rufus’s hand to her lips. A gentle kiss brushed against his hand.
“Rufus.”
Sarubia’s clear eyes gazed at Rufus with trust.
“I like you so much.”
In that moment, captured by her gaze, an uncontrollable urge surged like a storm.
—To feel her.
He wanted to strip away these cumbersome clothes and touch her completely. He wanted to exclusively own the sight of her that no one else had seen. He wanted to hold her as she called his name in ecstasy.
“……”
Rufus pressed his lips together at the thought that crossed his mind.
“You look deeply troubled.”
“……”
“Just for today, I’ll let you be a little greedy.”
“……Really?”
“Yes, actually, I also… mmh.”
Rufus’s fingers quickly moved to Sarubia’s lips. The sudden touch made her flinch.
As Sarubia tried to turn her head away, Rufus held her still.
“Open your mouth a little.”
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