* * *
"Haaah..."
Her excited moans. She kisses my neck with a gasp that she can't hold back.
"If you do this..."
"Stay still."
Whispering softly, she slowly strokes my brown hair along the strands of my head.
"Tir..."
She called my name. She slowly began to take off her slips, her eyes sparkling with the desire to conquer and the unending desire that seemed impossible to stop. The moon shone on her like a light, and the lamp next to the drawer decorated how beautiful her underwear was.
"Noel..."
"Tir...Tir...Tir...Tir!"
I wanted to run away. It was a beautiful sight, but like the prey caught in Arachne's web, all of her vitality was drained, and like a succubus that turned her into a mummy, her indulgence seemed to be pleasure and despair rather than love.
"no..."
Unfortunately, as if fooled by her pure white hair, my lower body begins to rise.
"ha..."
Feeling it, she slowly climbs on top of me and moves her arms over my pants, caressing me.
"I, I belong to Noel, but Noel is precious to me!"
I urgently shout out that this moment is wrong.
"Am I precious?"
She ran her finger down my chin as if she was caressing a pretty toy.
"Yes, yes! It's precious! So, Noel-sama, you need to take better care of your body!"
"why?"
Her expression seemed as if she didn't know why.
"That's because Noel is the daughter of Count Deckard... and she is of such high status that she doesn't deserve to be treated like a servant by a lowly pickpocket like me."
"You know."
Her breathing comes into my ear again.
"I've been saving it for you...until now."
I have goosebumps all over my body. Why is she coming at me like this?
"What is that..."
"You don't have to remember."
Slowly, she took off the black vest of my servant's uniform, then took the button-down buttons of my shirt out of the holes.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this moment?"
I don't know. That's why I'm scared. And... she was so scary in the beginning. A silver monster trying to take a small herbivore. She was like a poisonous apple in front of my eyes that I couldn't understand.
"Noel, I, I need some time too!"
"hour?"
She hesitated.
"Yes! I also think Noel is beautiful, but by my standards, I've only known her for two days!"
"hmm."
I make up an excuse in a hurry. Fortunately, Noel stops unbuttoning my shirt. She puts her hand on my chest, which is rising and falling steeply. Her silver hair brushes my chest.
"why?"
"yes?"
I can't understand her question.
"I've been waiting, I've been waiting for this moment to become my reality, so why do you say you need time?"
"Ah, no..."
I didn't know her in the first place. But she said she was waiting. I felt frustrated that the dissonance between them would last forever.
"Tir, 18 years old. He lost his parents to monsters when he was young, and has been living in the slums. He works as a pickpocket and makes five partners: Bertson, Ellie, Hanson, Ottlor, and Jeffers."
I started getting goosebumps.
"Bertson was killed while pickpocketing, and Ellie showed magical talent and headed to the Ashen Tower with the wizard. Hanson and Ottlor were stabbed in the thieves' guild's shop for greed and became crippled, so they quit their jobs. Jeffers..."
He was my business partner who is still alive.
"How do you think you are living now?"
I was curious, but I felt like I couldn't ask her right now. It was a creepy feeling, like a knife was pointed at my neck.
"Sophia... My first love since I was 10, and we set out on an adventure together. I wanted to do it together, but even though I didn't have the skills to do it, I set a goal to go on adventures together after joining the enemy guild."
"Uh, how..."
"I'm so glad that dirty devil is gone... and Ellie lives in the Ashen Tower... and the woman I had a crush on... it's okay. You're mine now, so I can understand why you're in such a difficult situation."
"Ugh!"
I feel more strength being put into the wrist she was holding.
"But, because it's your first love...is that so? You go to the pastry shop where that Sophia girl was? Are you waiting for her?"
Sophia's mother's pastry shop. I had to admit for the first time that she knew me all.
"Are you thinking about coming back from your adventures? Adventurers always act recklessly. You're probably working under your other colleagues by now. Do you remember her?"
"..."
"I am your master, and only you can have it."
Slowly she was taking off her bra.
"So, has your curiosity been satisfied?"
Rather, I became even more curious. How did she know me so well, and even remember the names of Elina and the other pickpockets? Who is she, and why did she say she was waiting for me?
"witch..."
Without realizing it, I began to wonder if she was a witch.
"Hehehe!"
She burst into laughter. At the same time, her bra was taken off, revealing her white breasts. She looked so beautiful that it made you wonder if this was the siren that sailors on ships had to be most careful of.
"I'm not a witch. And, Sophia, that girl said, right? She'll come back as the best prosecutor?"
My heart should have stopped beating. However, she was holding me tightly so tightly that I wouldn't let go, and I felt her nose getting closer to mine.
"At that time... you said you liked it. So, Tir... your ideal type is a strong swordsman?"
Her blade. With one swing of it, the bastard archers who were the terror of the slums were decapitated at the same time.
"How about me?"
The strongest, no... in my opinion, the worst, most terrifying inspector. A murderer, a witch, and...
'death.'
The first day, she broke my wrist with her fingers because I talked to another woman. And those deep, sparkling eyes that seemed like an incomprehensible swamp. Her hand gradually lowered and tried to reach under my pants.
"I, I don't know Noel very well."
She reacted to those words.
"Shouldn't I also get to know Noel?"
He racked his brain and came up with excuses. The excuses he had made to people when he had been caught pickpocketing. He had to make the most of that know-how.
"Do you want to get to know me?"
"Yes, very much. I feel happy to know Noel and to know each other after that, and I want to be with you."
"Ah...Tir. My beloved child. How many more loving words will you use to impress me?"
She kissed my cheek. As her chest touched mine, my lower body began to rise without me knowing, but my heart was filled with fear.
"No, it would be an honor to spend a day with you, Noel... but even more, perfect! I want to spend those moments with you."
"Ahhh! Tir!!!"
She hugged me with all her might. I could barely calm my startled heart.
'Are you sure you're a mountain person?'
Together, together, and together forever. It could be a night that enslaves that moment. No, in my anxious senses, she was a monster who wouldn't let go.
"I'll go today."
"No.♡"
She smiles and kisses my cheek.
"If you want to find out, you have to sleep together."
Today...I felt like I slept a lot.
.
"ah."
I woke up with my eyes wide open, and barely managed to close my eyes when it was dawn. When I opened my eyes, it felt like the sun was already at its zenith.
'Two times in a row late...'
Since coming to the Count's house, I've been late every day. I have a feeling that I won't be able to give the butler a good impression.
"Are you awake?"
Already Noel had disappeared, and the butler was standing in front of me. He had a tray in his hand, and a glass of water was held on it.
"This, this is..."
I was about to hurriedly go to Noel's room and make a statement. However, the butler put the tray on the table with a blank expression and continued talking.
"Please dress neatly and come out. The young lady has a schedule today too."
"Hey, where did Young-ae go?"
The butler shook his head at my words.
"The young lady wants you to call her by her name no matter who you are talking to.
So, please say Noel."
It seems that he also informed the other servants that I call Noel by his name.
"...yes."
"The young lady has already left this morning and is ready to go out. Today, we are planning to have afternoon tea time with the mistress, so please get ready right away."
"If you are the lady, are you Noel's mother?"
The butler, who had paused for a moment, opened his mouth again.
"You are not the one who gave birth to the girl."
'ah.'
I felt like I had made a slip of the tongue. If you are a count from a noble family, you may have more than one or two concubines.
"I think it would be good for you to know. The person you are meeting now is the person who became Noel's wife after his mother passed away. His son is Kurtle Deckard, and the name of the mistress is Eliza Deckard. Please remember their names."
"yes..."
"I would prefer you not to get involved in the bickering between the two of you, but today's bickering... I guess you might inevitably get involved. Please take care."
After hearing the butler's words, I had no choice but to quickly get ready and run towards the main gate where Noel was waiting.
.
"I didn't eat lunch. Are you okay?"
Noel's first words of concern.
"Okay, it's okay."
"But you must still be hungry."
I could feel the gazes of others. At this moment, I just hoped that Noel's concern for me would not spread strange rumors because he was too worried. Because even now, he was stroking his chin as if he was worried about me.
"let's go."
I grab her hand as if I am familiar with her and get on the carriage. This is one of the inner castles of the Count's family, and it is said to be the outer castle where only Noel Deckard, or she, lives.
'Why do you live separately from your family?'
It is said that the castle was originally a villa-like castle within the estate where the Count's father, the former Count, used to enjoy his leisure time alone, but at some point, Noel came to live there.
[Oh, by the way, it's better not to have any curiosity about that.]
Butler's Note. There may be some kind of conflict that even the Count cannot know about, so I decided to skip it.
"Tir."
"yes?"
"Tir."
"Noel, please speak."
"Hehehe, Tir."
Noel keeps saying the name.
"...Yes, Noel."
"Haaah...Tir."
She hugs my neck again.
"Noel. Aren't you out right now? If you're a lady..."
"So it's okay to go back then?"
"...no."
I barely shook my head. Noel's face was swollen with complaints. I thought he was cute, but when I remembered the scary eyes I saw yesterday, I felt a little creepy.
"No, Noel. If you don't hug me... it's okay."
"really?"
"Yes, God... more than that..."
"You're saying that it won't happen until you get to know me?"
Now, I wondered if the reason she was going to Naeseong where her family was was because of me. It would be more honest if she talked to her family members rather than Noel telling her directly.
'Do you know what I'm suspicious of?'
No matter how much she speaks of the past, it is nothing more than her opinion. Of course, not everything that her family says can be true, but if it comes from many people, the credibility is bound to increase. Noel glanced at me, and I coughed as I saw a blush blooming on her white cheeks.
"No, Noel. That..."
"why?"
"You're too close. I learned that servants and masters should keep some distance..."
"Hmm, but I feel cold easily, so it would be nice if Tirga could keep me warm."
Noel came in, linking her arms with mine as she spoke. I felt her chest, whether she was conscious of it or not. Along with the squelchy feeling, the sight I had seen last night came back to me vividly.
"Noel..."
"Ah...Tir. You're so cute."
Her expression was one of love. Her eyes had that kind of expression...of looking at a puppy.
'Oh really...'
If an ordinary slum or city woman had rushed in like this, I thought I might have a hopeful mind. The problem is that the probability of my head being intact while with her decreases with her position. In the first place... even if she had been an ordinary person, the probability of running away when I saw her terrifying ability would have been greater.
"This is our original home."
It was much more majestic than when I first saw her castle. If the magical castle built on a huge lake was Noel's home, what I see now is...
'Awesome.'
It was an incredibly huge castle. The number of soldiers surrounding it, the number of knights standing guard. And the castle of the famous Count Decker, whom I had only seen from afar, spread out before my eyes.
"Noel Deckard has entered!"
The coachman shouts loudly. The knight withdraws his hand, which was extended to stop the carriage, and salutes loudly.
"insect!!!"
A knightly salute that can be seen by the Count's family. A carriage drives through the wide castle entrance while receiving a salute from the guardian knight guarding the gate.
'Kurururung!!!'
The gate opens. And when you go inside...
'wow.'
The buildings are so grand that you wouldn't think that only the Count's family lives there. The movements of soldiers and knights. And the feet of servants and courtiers who seem busy with their work. At the sound of "Noel de Curd's entrance!", the servants and soldiers who were running around busily salute.
"This is...the Count's house..."
An unbelievable world unfolded before my eyes.
* * *