The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 145

Trying not to scatter her rare determination, Evelyn covered the practice sheet and threw out her refusal while covering her chest and navel—areas easily attacked by him—with her arms.

“Today I’ll sleep early, and tomorrow.”

“Isn’t it too early to sleep without even eating dinner?”

At his reasonable counterattack, she floundered and came up with an excuse.

“I-I’ll eat later. If we’re going on a picnic for three whole days, I need to prepare too.”

“The spirits have prepared in advance and there are plenty of things for you to use at the lodging we’ll arrive at. Evelyn, what you need to prepare is my energy.”

But indeed, he was like a thorough man. As Cassis revealed his lustful desire and reached out his arm, something caught her eye. Since he had already undone his cufflinks, his shirt cuffs were open and fluttering. Though Evelyn involuntarily swallowed at the sight of his forearm visible between the shirt, she didn’t give in and silently stepped back.

“Sleep well.”

“Evelyn?”

“Thank you for coming early, but we’ll have dinner separately tonight. Take your time and eat plenty. I’ll ask the spirits later and eat then.”

“…Alright. I won’t devour you, come here.”

He threw another cunning net aimed solely at catching Evelyn, but her head shook vigorously from side to side.

“I’m going.”

“Hmm, if you insist, then I’ll go check if there are other matters at night one last time. Well then, a goodnight kiss in advance would be okay, right?”

‘Ah…’

It was hard to refuse him now, especially when she felt guilty—starting tomorrow, he would be the one escorting her around. As Evelyn hesitated, then stepped closer, his waiting hands cupped her cheeks.

Thud.

The practice notebook, barely avoiding being crushed between her feet, fell to the floor, its pages splaying open haphazardly.

But Evelyn made no move to catch it, not even to save the precious pages filled with his handwriting. Her breath grew uneven between their lips, her toes lifting as her body leaned entirely toward him. The mouth she willingly offered, as if begging him to devour her, met his in a frantic, searching kiss. The man who had initiated it pressed close, the teasing brush of his collar against her throat doing nothing to interrupt their intoxicating moment.

A king and a mere nymph.

The line between them blurred, the boundaries crumbling, their bodies on the verge of tangling into one. Every untouched part of her burned with warmth, and if she just let herself sink back into his arms, this would be her last chance tonight. But Evelyn, willingly throwing that chance away, lowered her forehead and whispered,

“Goodnight… Sleep well. Don’t come back too late.”

“Alright.”

For tomorrow.

A knowing smile curled at Cassis’ lips, indulging her innocent fluttering heart. If he didn’t hold back now, he’d devour her in one bite—her wide, strange eyes glistening with heat, her naive trust that he’d keep his promise not to take things further.

Turning away was the hardest thing he’d done all day.

***

The next day, feeling the cool air, Evelyn wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Perhaps to urge her hazy consciousness that hadn’t fully awakened, cold wind kept blowing from behind her. The World Tree viewed at dawn felt more magnificent in its majesty than usual. Evelyn was politely bowing her head to greet it when she felt something. It was Cassis’s touch gently lifting her chin.

“Ah…”

Almost every time their eyes met, her heart would flutter without fail.

“We’re departing now. Come here. Shall I carry that for you?”

“No, I’m fine.”

His gaze casually looked at the small bundle she was carrying, then turned away. Even though everything needed for their picnic destination was said to be prepared, she had her own schemes for what to bring separately and played innocently.

Inside this was a dangerous and dizzying item that must not be discovered by him.

After declaring yesterday that she wouldn’t go to bed with him, she had secretly selected the practice sheet missing one page that she had torn out after Cassis left, the Elvish textbook, the thin book. A fountain pen that could be used conveniently without an inkwell, and just in case, two slips she had secretly packed. When she wore these and stood in front of the mirror, she looked a little—just a little—prettier than her usual self, so she had hesitated before packing them. She didn’t know about the other things, but the item placed at the very bottom absolutely could not be discovered.

Walking primly, she felt some unknown presence. Then she spotted something swaying at her feet and stopped in startled surprise.

“Hello there, Miss Nymph.”

“Huh, haa… Are you alright? If I had kept walking without noticing, I would have almost stepped on you.”

Daius, whom she had met before, hopped up energetically and strutted about on top of a nearby stone wall.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I have a talent for running around and dodging people’s shoes quite well, you see. So, you’re trying to leave the castle? Hmm… Sniff, sniff…! Ooh? I’m moved.”

“Pardon?”

The small folk who had suddenly been sniffing around like a dog grinned so wide his mouth reached his ears.

“Hihihihi! You’re taking my masterpiece with you, Miss Nymph. Well thought. That’s just like a nymph. If you use that, I guarantee it—probably every man in the world will end up in your bed… Gueek!”

“That’s enough greeting for now, go on your way, Daius. And don’t go carelessly spreading talk about Evelyn within the castle.”