ICM Chapter 49

“What’s wrong, did you have a nightmare?”

“Sob… Rushia, you… you….”

Drushia felt a strange sensation as he gently patted Ashika’s head.

“What about me? Did I die or something?”

Ashika, who had been sniffling, burst into tears. She sobbed, her shoulders shaking as if sad and afraid.

“Hic… Rushia.”

Her plaintive voice mercilessly shook his heart.

What kind of dream could she have had that felt so real? Like someone who had just experienced death, her black eyes trembled violently, and her sobbing was as desperate as if her heart was being carved out with a knife.

“It’s okay. It’s just a dream. Only a nightmare.”

Drushia whispered reassuringly and comforted her again.

“Rushia…, Rushia….”

Like a traveler searching for an oasis in the desert, like someone calling out to God in the face of death, Ashika desperately called his name. She touched his face and felt his body as if trying to confirm his living existence.

“Ah… Rushia….”

“Ashika…, hmmp.”

In the moment when Drushia was taken aback, a force too strong to resist pulled his head and pressed their lips together. Her cheeks were damp, and her tear-soaked lips tasted salty.

Ashika desperately sought his kiss. After a brief hesitation, Drushia did not refuse and responded to her demand.

Their tongues intertwined, swallowing each other’s saliva as they pressed their lips together. Hot blood coursed through them as the desire they had suppressed for days suddenly burst forth.

The explicit curves of her body felt through the thin night clothes. His large hands boldly slipped inside her clothes.

“Ahh….”

Her trembling female body stoked the fire of his desire. Drushia lifted and removed her thin nightwear. Her black eyes, half-open and hazy, still looking at him, were moist.

“Ha…. when you look at me like that….”

Those eyes drove him crazy. Drushia licked her still wet eyelids with his tongue and whispered her name.

“Ashika…. haa. At this rate…. I….”

His mind turned blank. His rationality had already flown away, and he refused to think anymore. He only felt the powerful temptation that he must embrace this woman who was desperately clinging to him, that he must not reject her touch.

Drushia devoured her lips in one breath and slowly pushed his body against hers.

****

Hot breath hit something and bounced back. She tried to move her limbs because it felt suffocating, but she couldn’t move her body as if she were trapped somewhere.

When she opened her eyes thinking something was strange, the first thing that caught her eye was smooth white skin. What was pressing against her lips was someone’s bare skin.

Lifting her head slightly, she could see a firmly muscled chest and straight collarbones, then the strong neck of a man, and a stubbly jaw. It was a sharp, handsome jaw. His plump red lips glistened temptingly.

‘Who….’

As Ashika suddenly came to her senses and tried to pull away, the force binding her tightened even more. In addition, an unknown bulk deep in her lower body revealed its presence and wriggled. Even though she was still, an erotic sensation spread, causing her to moan involuntarily.

She couldn’t lower her head, but she could at least tell that something that wasn’t hers was in her lower body. When she tensed up in surprise, her lower part also tightened.

“Ugh.”

“Grrk… if you squeeze like that first thing in the morning….”

The deep voice fully awakened her. Yet she couldn’t ignore the numb, tingling sensation spreading through her.

“What, who….”

As the body that had been lying sideways straightened its position, the large man climbed on top of Ashika. When he raised his upper body, his muscular build cast a shadow that felt imposing.

Ashika froze with her mouth open, at a loss for words.

They say when you receive too big a shock, even your instinct to react disappears. She was shocked to realize that the man pressing down on her with his entire body was Drushia, and she was shocked again by the fact that he was completely naked.

Ashika’s gaze naturally fell below his face.

Angular shoulders, well-defined chest muscles, a lower abdomen divided into muscle segments without an ounce of fat, slender hipbones, and dense golden hair between them.

Even further down was the source of the strange sensation that wriggled deep inside her body. It was too shocking to comprehend reality and her mind was too clear to ignore it.

Blue eyes, made even more transparent by the sunlight, looked down at Ashika.

“Why do you look so surprised? After clinging to me like that last night, why do you have such a shocked expression?”

Drushia was upset because he couldn’t understand Ashika’s attitude.

“Just to be clear, this isn’t a dream. We made love all night long. To the point where the sheets are all wet. Don’t you feel it down there, wet and slippery?”

“S-stop…!”

Good heavens. The sensation down below feels vividly wet, just as Drushia pointed out. Ashika couldn’t find words and opened and closed her mouth.

Seeing her reaction, the corner of Drushia’s mouth turned up in a smirk.

“How does it feel?”

When he slightly twisted his waist, his vividly alive member twitched inside Ashika’s body. A sensual feeling filled her lower body.

“Uhng….”

Ashika covered her mouth as a moan escaped.

A moan, of all things!

She needed to say something, but what could she possibly say in this situation? Facing her eyes filled with astonishment, Drushia spoke sternly.

“Last time you started it and then ran away. If you thought I was that easy, you’re sorely mistaken. Don’t think you can fly into my arms and then escape as you please. This time, you won’t get away like that.”

Without taking his eyes off Ashika, Drushia slowly moved his hips. His smirk grew more pronounced.

“Hnng…w-wait, Duke. This is some kind of misunderstanding….”

“Why are you so shy? Our first night together has long passed. Last time, when you devoured me like mad and then ran away.”

“It’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding. I… can explain… Ahhhh!”

Somehow the conversation continued despite neither of them being in a state fit for dialogue.

“It’s not… true. That was a mistake… Kyaaa!”

“A mistake? A mistake? You’re calling that a mistake now?”

Her desperate attempt to escape was thwarted. Drushia pressed down on her with his entire body and refused to let go.

“We still have a lot to talk about. This….”

He looked down at Ashika with an intense gaze.

“I mean body talk.”

On the beautiful man’s face, a desire so persistent it seemed cruel flickered. Ashika’s face became bewildered as she couldn’t believe what was happening.

His large hand gently brushed against her cheek. As if even her dumbfounded expression was unbearably delightful. Drushia smiled affectionately and slowly thrust his hips upward.

Instead of words of rejection, moans escaped from Ashika’s startled lips. The sensation that had consumed her all night began to surge again. An intense and addictive sensation that blew away all questions and thoughts.

****

The room was filled with the heavy fragrance of night flowers. Despite feeling like he might suffocate from the pungent scent, Drushia’s attitude remained consistently relaxed.

Ashika’s lips moved in a half-dazed state, and Drushia’s gaze was completely focused on her. He seemed both tense and expectant. Finally, the voice he had been waiting for flowed out.

“…I’m hungry.”

“Ah.”

Drushia opened his mouth with a perplexed expression. Suddenly, he noticed the darkened sky outside the window. The sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon.

‘It’s already this late?’

He belatedly realized that they had spent the entire day rolling around in bed without eating a single meal. Yet his unstilled instinct continued to stir as if it had a will of its own.

The woman who responded to him with a twitch was completely exhausted. It was time to curb his endless desire. Looking at Ashika’s reddened eyes, Drushia quietly lowered his gaze.

“Ahem, um. Wait.”

While his stamina could handle not just one day but three or four days, Ashika had long since lost her strength.

Drushia suppressed his instinct that didn’t want to let go and released Ashika. He roughly put on some clothes and returned to his room to call for Mia and a servant.

From beyond the door, Ashika heard Drushia instructing them to prepare a meal and bath water.

‘Come to think of it, he brought me drinks several times.’

It was Drushia who had brought her things to drink in between tormenting her. Water and sweet beverages. When she felt like she might faint, she would drink something sweet to regain consciousness, only for him to pounce on her again.

She had worried about whether Drushia would suffer aftereffects from the poisoning, but further concern was unnecessary. His recovery was so quick that she, rather than the once-sick Drushia, was about to collapse.

Ashika groaned, clutching her head.

‘I thought it was a dream.’

An absurd accident caused by a mix-up between a dream that felt real and reality that seemed dreamlike. But now there was no way out. The stage where she could call it a mistake had long passed.

‘Once might be a mistake, but this is…’

Ashika clawed at her hair with both fingers. She buried her face between her knees and let out a silent scream.

‘Ah, what do I do? How do I explain this?’

Click, the door opened, and she felt a burning gaze.

Ashika slowly raised her head and quietly lowered her hands that had been pulling at her hair. Blue eyes were staring at her with a look that suggested he had seen something strange.

“Give me… some clothes.”

Her voice was composed as always, but inside she was screaming.

‘How could you not leave even a single piece of underwear in the room? Stripping me naked so I can’t escape and all day long…..my clothes, my underwear, you pervert!’

“What you were wearing is ruined, so I had it cleared away. New ones are being prepared, so wait a bit. Besides, don’t we have a lot to talk about?”

Drushia’s gaze swept over Ashika from head to toe. His lips bore an inexplicably satisfied smile.

Ashika glanced at his face and then rolled her eyes around, scanning her surroundings.

All she had was one thin blanket. With the most elegant movements she could manage, she pulled the blanket and wrapped it around her neck, arms, and torso. Like a silkworm cocoon, she covered all skin except her face and slid her feet out from under the bed.

Drushia carefully observed her every movement. There was a strange light in his lingering gaze and the corner of his mouth twitched upward. Only Drushia was enjoying this situation.

Ashika deliberately ignored him and placed her feet on the floor. The moment she stood up, everything spun before her eyes.

‘Ha, I’ve been neglecting horseback riding lately!’

Drushia, who had been keeping his distance, instantly approached and supported her body.

“Whoop. I heard you were healthy, but your stamina is really….”

Drushia, who had been about to tease her, closed his mouth when he saw Ashika’s bloodless face. It was so pale that she looked like she might faint at any moment. Realizing he was the one who had made her this way, he lost the desire to tease.

“Hmm, I think it might be better to eat first and then bathe?”

“No. I want to wash. Washing comes first.”

“Should I call Mia?”

“No!”

She didn’t want anyone to discover this embarrassing situation. Especially not the child who was to become a knight of Talion.

“If you find Mia clumsy and uncomfortable, I can call another maid.”

Ashika glared at Drushia, who was grinning from ear to ear.

‘Do you not understand how serious this situation is?’

This was the Talion estate, crawling with knights who were hostile to her. If someone noticed their relationship and spread rumors, it would become a scandal that could turn the capital upside down.

‘Hah, why am I even bothering to talk.’

She didn’t even have the energy left to engage in a battle of nerves. Ashika chose to escape from his persistent gaze. As she hurriedly moved, there was a small sound like something dropping.

“Hmm?”

Drushia bent down to the floor where she had stepped and picked something up.

“A necklace?”

“Ah!”

Feeling the emptiness at her neck, Ashika hurriedly extended her hand.

“That’s mine. Give it here.”

Drushia ignored the hand held out to him and examined the necklace. He had been curious about it all along.

“This necklace is unusual.”

Even to Drushia who didn’t know much, the design seemed too crude for a high noble to use.

“Like last time, it seems you never take it off your body?”

“That’s none of your business. Give it back.”

Ashika was flustered. She hadn’t thought that since he had seen her naked, he would naturally have seen the necklace too.

Drushia avoided Ashika’s hand, holding the necklace up high, and tilted his head in puzzlement.

“I was curious then too, but seeing how easily the gems crack, they’re not real, are they? Why do you wear something like this?”

“What are you saying? The gems are cracked?”

“You didn’t know? They were cracked last time too.”

As Drushia said, the two small bluish-purple gems were filled with fine spiderweb-like cracks.

‘Why two? Only one was cracked before?’

Though she had never taken it off her body, she hadn’t particularly looked at the necklace. It would be accurate to say she hadn’t had the mental capacity to do so.

“You say they were cracked last time too? Both of them?”

Last time would have been right after she experienced that strange hallucination.

‘Ah!’

A sudden realization. It felt like lightning striking her head.