Chapter 147
Just her fingers, yet she was already wet, as if using a suction toy.
Jaha kept picturing Rikanan’s movements, focusing on the thin thread of pleasure. Finally, her whole body trembled with release.
“Hngk!”
Slumping bonelessly, she gasped for air, her heart pounding.
Ever since witnessing that scene, it had been like this almost every day. She couldn’t endure it without giving in to the unbearable heat at least once.
Why?
Her heart didn’t flutter, yet her body burned—something was wrong.
Shouldn’t the heart come first?
Romantic attraction was supposed to precede desire—you had to see someone as a potential partner before wanting them. So why was she doing this without even viewing him that way? Why did just thinking about him make her insides sear like this?
Unable to resist, Jaha slid her hand back down. Already sensitized from her first climax, every touch sent electric jolts up her spine.
When the second wave of pleasure faded, she straightened her skirt and headed to the bathroom, rationality slowly returning.
◇ ◆ ◇
When Jaha became able to manage everyday conversation without the aid of the translation ring after just a month, Madame Marie finally offered something resembling praise.
“As expected of someone from the academy. You really are different.”
Jaha responded with a smile.
I may look like this, but I’m a survivor of the exam hell where studying sixteen hours a day was the norm. Ever heard of zero-period classes or night self-study sessions?
Still, even she found it strange that she’d picked up the language in just a month. English had taken her over a decade, and the German she’d studied as a second language in school for about a year had left her with nothing but Guten Tag, Guten Morgen, and Guten Abend in her head. Was it really a matter of mindset when survival was on the line?
Even while tackling the enormous workload Madame Marie assigned, Jaha repeatedly took off and put back on the translation ring, forcing each word and its meaning into her brain.
If, by any chance, she was separated from Rikanan and lost this ring, a foreigner who couldn’t even speak properly would instantly plummet to the bottom of society. No matter what, I need to learn the language as quickly as possible. She felt a flicker of pride, thinking her determination had paid off.
And if she were being honest—though it might sound a bit boastful—it wasn’t as hard as she’d expected. Even though the script was completely unfamiliar, the words flowed into her mind as if she’d learned them before. Was I from this world in a past life, not Earth?
Either way, Jaha decided it was time to graduate from relying on the translation ring.
“I’m still clumsy, but from now on, I’ll learn by diving in. Thank you for letting me use it until now.”
As she removed the ring and handed it back, Rikanan made a strange expression. Jaha wondered why before realizing—Oh, right.
This man had brought her to the mansion in the first place to hear stories of the “world beyond the sea.” How frustrating would it be to listen to her explain things in broken Imperial tongue? She hadn’t considered that.
“My mistake. I’ll probably still need it during teatime.”
Just as she reached to take the ring back, Rikanan, who had been silent, extended his gloved hand.
“It’s alright. Give it here.”
“Oh, but it must be inconvenient for you. My Imperial isn’t fluent, so it’ll take longer to explain things…”
“That is precisely what I wish for.”
He replied with a gentle smile to Jaha’s flustered elaboration. She couldn’t tell whether this was a polite refusal or genuine sentiment.
The speech of nobles was exceedingly cunning and complex—so much so that, under the influence of chivalric ideals similar to the West, nearly nine out of ten words a man spoke to a woman could be considered mere courtesy.
For instance, if a woman accidentally spilled wine on a man’s clothes at a party, the noblemen of this world would never show anger. Instead, they might thank her for giving them an opportunity to showcase a new outfit, express gratitude for the excuse to return home and rest if they were unwell, or even feign concern for the woman’s condition. Not out of sincerity, but because they had been taught to behave that way.
In short, it was all empty courtesy. Madame Marie had sternly warned her that naively taking such words at face value and responding with undue familiarity would brand her as a shameless woman in noble society.
In her confusion, Jaha resolved to take the ring back from Rikanan’s palm. But her hand hesitated a moment too late.
“No, this really won’t do. Please give me the ring.”
At her demand, his cornflower-blue eyes drooped with what seemed like disappointment.
“I enjoy the time I spend with you, Jaha. Don’t you?”
“I enjoy our teatimes too. But you’re a busy man, Rikanan.”
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not busy at all, Jaha.”
“Though you always seem to be working?”
“I only work because I have nothing else to do.”
The handsome man, his eyes softening amiably, added with a smile,
“I’ve always been waiting for something else to occupy my time.”
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