The small room was illuminated by candlelight.
Nolan laid the mat, provided by the inn in advance, on the narrow wooden floor between the bed and the wooden door.
Lumine sat on the other side of the bed, her left leg, encased in over-the-knee white boots, resting on her right knee. She grabbed the sides of the boot's sole, wiggling it to loosen it before finally pulling it off.
With the boot removed, her leg, wrapped in sheer white stockings, was revealed. The soft glow of the candlelight caressed her calf and ankle, the smooth skin seeming ready to burst through the delicate weave.
She slid her left leg down the length of the long boot, her toe lightly touching the wooden floor. She then removed the right boot in the same manner, placing both boots under the table.
Next, she started to remove the long sleeves from her arms. Just as she raised her hands, exposing her white armpits, to untie the ribbon of her dress behind her neck, she suddenly remembered there was a man present.
Though she was wearing an underdress and bloomers, it still felt improper to be seen by a man while undressing.
"Um, Nolan..." Lumine called out hesitantly, a hint of uncertainty in her amber eyes.
Nolan, almost done laying out the mat, turned his head upon hearing her call, looking puzzled. "What's up?"
"Uh, well," Lumine averted her gaze, fiddling nervously with her white stockings, her hands resting on her knees. She bit her lip and said, "I need to undress. Could you... not look for a moment?"
She then looked back at the only man in the room.
"Alright, don't worry. I won't peek," Nolan replied with a smile.
Despite being somewhat flirtatious, he wasn't the type to watch a girl undress without permission—except for Fischl, with whom he had a romantic relationship.
"Okay, please turn around then," Lumine trusted Nolan and nodded slightly.
Nolan complied.
Once she was sure he wasn't looking, Lumine untied the ribbon connected to her collar. Without the ribbon holding it up, the dress slid down from her upper body, revealing her white stomach.
She placed her legs on the bed and stood up slightly to fully remove the dress, casually hanging it on the front of the table.
Next, she hooked her thumbs into the elastic bands of her over-the-knee stockings, sliding them down to completely reveal her white legs under her bloomers.
After tossing the stockings onto her dress, she slipped under the thin blanket, covering herself before saying, "I'm done."
"Okay."
Nolan nodded and continued setting up the mat. Seeing that it was getting late, he blew out the candle inside the lampshade, plunging the room into darkness as they settled down to sleep.
//
### Chapter 216: Calm (Seeking More Reads)
In the dead of night.
Moonlight streamed through the window, making the room not completely pitch dark.
Lumine, sleeping soundly, felt a slight pain in her shoulder, causing her to wake up groggily.
Feeling something strange, she turned her head and saw that Paimon, perhaps dreaming of something delicious, was nibbling on her shoulder.
Lumine showed a look of disdain mixed with helplessness, then turned over to sleep on her side, avoiding Paimon's grip on her arm.
Just as she was about to fall back asleep, she suddenly felt a dryness in her throat. Instinctively, she pulled out some water from her inventory to take a sip. However, lying under the blanket, her body was lazy, and her mind wasn't fully awake. She unscrewed the bottle cap and brought the bottle to her mouth while still lying down.
As her soft lips touched the bottle's rim, some water dribbled from the corner of her mouth.
Below the edge of the bed, Nolan was sleeping soundly, breathing steadily. Inevitably, the water was going to spill on his face and wake him up.
Realizing this, Lumine instantly woke up, silently cursing: "Oh no."
It wouldn't be good to disturb Nolan's sleep due to her carelessness.
Thinking quickly.
She had no better idea but to swiftly flick her hand and use a slight wind element to disperse the water before it could fall on his face.
"Phew."
Just as Lumine succeeded in resolving her accidental mishap and breathed a sigh of relief, her body, being too close to the edge of the bed, lost balance slightly and she toppled out of the blanket, landing right on top of Nolan.
".…Ugh."
Half-asleep, Nolan felt something heavy pressing down on him, causing him to cough lightly.
Opening his eyes halfway, he saw a flash of golden hair.
It's little Amy… the name popped into Nolan's mind, and without thinking much, he closed his eyes again.
The only person with golden hair who would sleep on top of him was Fischl, or so his drowsy brain concluded.
Subconsciously, he turned to his left, pulling the girl on top of him into his arms and burying his nose in her golden hair, inhaling the faint fragrance as he drifted back to sleep.
He had no idea he wasn't at home but in a room at the inn with Lumine.
Lumine, now quite bewildered, felt Nolan's hands moving around her back. Her fair face turned bright red with embarrassment. This guy must have mistaken her for Fischl!
She wanted to stop his wandering hands, but her arms and body were tightly held, making it difficult to move.
Having no other choice, Lumine didn't want to wake Nolan and let him see her being hugged like this. She began to slowly wriggle backward, hoping to slip out unnoticed.
Even though her movements were light and slow, they seemed to catch Nolan's attention.
Without fully waking up, his body sensed the girl trying to leave, and he felt a sudden emptiness.
Instinctively, his hand slid down her beautifully curved back, touching her soft buttocks with a light pat. He then lifted his right leg, clamping her slender, fair legs, holding her even tighter.
"Don't move, sleep well," Nolan murmured softly.
Lumine, both ashamed and annoyed, felt her chest, wrapped in a white undergarment, heave up and down. This jerk had touched her butt!
Taking a couple of breaths to calm herself, Lumine felt as if she were tied up, barely able to wiggle.
With no other options.
She bit her lip, stretched her neck close to Nolan's ear, and prepared to wake him up. Just as she parted her soft lips to take a breath and speak.
Nolan's lips, suddenly very close, pressed against hers.
---
(End of Chapter)
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