Chapter 48

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 48

Chapter Title: I Don't Think It Will Work

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She hesitated for a moment, but Erna brought the glass, cupped in both hands, to her lips. If she couldn't avoid it anyway, it seemed better to borrow some courage from the alcohol. She didn't have the confidence to handle this with a clear head.

Erna slowly but steadily emptied the glass, sip by sip. The liquor was stronger than expected, but the sweet flavor made it easy to drink.

Be happy, dear.

Recalling her grandmother's earnest wish made the trembling in her fingertips stop.

Erna knew better than anyone that his proposal wasn't born of love. She'd wondered if it might be pity for a woman driven into a corner, or perhaps a sense of responsibility, but even that didn't feel entirely convincing.

For reasons she couldn't fathom, Biern had proposed, and Erna had accepted.

It was the best path forward. That fact hadn't changed much even now. So Erna wanted to try. Even if it wasn't love, she wanted to be the best she could for him. So they could be happy together, for a long, long time.

As heat began to spread across her cheeks, Erna cautiously lifted her gaze. Biern was still watching her from that spot.

Glancing back and forth between the man she was fated to love and the half-empty glass, Erna took a deep breath, her resolve hardening. She took another sip. That's when Biern's hand suddenly reached out and touched her glass.

He took the glass from her bewildered grasp and brought it to his own lips. The sound of him downing it in one go and setting it on the side table rang out clearly in the silence.

"......Thank you."

Erna carefully broke the silence. It felt like a silly thing to say, but she couldn't think of anything else. More than that, it was her genuine feeling.

Biern let out a short, scoffing laugh and climbed onto the bed without any rush. Erna flinched and shrank back, but she didn't try to flee in terror anymore.

Watching her intently, Biern kissed her again, this time more softly and slowly, lips curving into a smile. Perhaps thanks to the growing buzz, Erna was much more compliant. As he laid her back on the bed, pried her clenched robe from her grasp, and trailed his lips over her nape, shoulders, and chest, she endured it all quietly, accepting his touch.

"Erna."

Biern called his wife's name in a voice laced with amusement. Erna, who had been lying there like the dead, breathing raggedly, finally opened her eyes.

"Open your eyes, Erna."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

Biern lifted the hand that had been kneading her breast and cupped her cheek. He'd thought as long as she didn't sob and grate on his nerves, it'd be fine—but facing her corpse-like demeanor made it no fun at all.

Meeting Erna's gaze as she looked up at him, Biern untied the sash of her robe. Erna, who had been holding her breath for a while, turned her head away sharply, as if she'd seen something she shouldn't.

"Look at me."

Biern gripped her chin firmly, forcing her gaze back to him.

"When you act like this, Erna, it feels like I'm bedding a woman who's thinking about some other guy. Ruins my mood."

"That's not it!"

Erna cried out indignantly. She inadvertently met his bare chest where her eyes had wandered, caught in a daze, but she didn't close them again.

"You really say the most insulting things."

Erna glared at Biern's face with wide eyes. Her gaze burned with innocent defiance.

He swallowed whatever retort had been on his lips and firmly parted her constantly clenching legs, wetting his fingers against her. As he probed deeper, more insistently, her squirming grew more intense, but Biern had no intention of delaying any longer. A heavy, almost painful heat throbbed below. By the time he decided it was enough, his own breathing was no longer steady.

Biern pulled back and positioned himself between her legs.

Erna gazed at her husband through eyes blurred by languid heat and alcohol. Even as he exhaled roughly, his serene face made her avert her eyes in embarrassment, landing on his straight collarbone and shoulders. The harmony of solid bone structure and refined muscle was strikingly handsome.

With the curiosity of a child discovering something wondrous, Erna examined her husband's body inch by inch. Consciousness snapped back fully only after her gaze drifted down to his waist.

"Wow......"

Erna blinked her round eyes and let out an involuntary sigh. She'd seen it clearly, yet she could hardly believe it, staring off into the dark walls and ceiling, pondering deeply.

No way.

Rejecting her own memory, Erna turned her furrowed gaze back to her husband. But nothing had changed.

"I don't think this is going to work."

Erna looked up at Biern with a woeful expression. It was a grave concern, but he burst into laughter.

"Thanks, Bee."

Wrapping her slender legs—thinner than his arm—around his waist, Biern mimicked her elegant courtesy.

"Quite the touching compliment."

Biern swiftly pinned the now-struggling Erna and pressed his lower abdomen against hers. Her eyes widened at the unfamiliar sensation of her own body against something she'd never known. It was an adorable expression, but Biern had no leisure left to savor it. Without further delay, he thrust forward with force.

"Stay still, Erna."

He issued a command laced with a rough groan to the terrified, writhing Erna. A furrow creased Biern's brow as well. She was wet enough, but far too tight. And rigid with fear, making it even harder.

"Biern, ah...... I don't think it's going to work."

Erna shook her head frantically and began to whimper again.

"Stay still."

With a deep sigh, Biern leaned over her trembling form and sealed her quivering lips with his own. Consideration was a luxury for the patient. He was already losing his mind.

Biern pulled back slightly, then thrust harder. But he still wasn't even halfway in. Oblivious to that fact, Erna kept twisting away. Each time her tight inner walls clenched around him, his breathing grew rougher.

"It's okay."

Pressing gentle kisses to her tear-streaked cheeks and lips, Biern gradually deepened their union. Sweat beaded on his brow and dripped onto her gasping lips.

"It's okay now."

He whispered sweetly to her blue eyes, brimming with tears. A lie, of course. But it seemed effective enough—her tension began to ease.

Seizing the moment, Biern plunged all the way in. Erna's scream and his guttural groan erupted together.

"Stop. Please, stop now."

Erna clutched his shoulders with trembling hands, pleading through sobs.

Biern gazed at his wife with a face no longer smiling, then slowly withdrew before slamming his hips forward in answer. Erna writhed and moaned in pain, but his shallow patience had long been exhausted.

"It hurts! Biern, please."

Erna begged, but Biern ignored her, picking up speed. Her sobs mingled with the wet, squelching sounds—not unpleasant at all. No, exhilarating. She felt like she was drawing him in with her entire body.

Biern's thrusting hips had escaped reason's control.

The lace nightgown beneath Erna's waist—and his groin—began to stain with crimson petal-like blood. Biern readily admitted it was a thrilling pleasure. As moisture spread within her softening depths, the initial suffocating tightness turned into maddening ecstasy.

When he'd first opened the bedroom door, he'd thought of it as fulfilling a marital duty. He hadn't been entirely free of the notion of bestowing a favor on the shy bride who'd stolen glances at him all day.

But damn it, the one going wild was him.

Biern looked down at Erna enveloping him. She rocked helplessly with his movements. Her face, struggling not to close her eyes amid the moans, was beautiful.

"It's okay, Erna."

Brushing back her sweat-dampened hair, Biern lied tenderly once more.

Knowing she was being deceived, Erna still nodded. Pleased by her response, Biern smiled. In that moment, her grandmother's childhood tale flashed in her mind: the devil tempts with the most beautiful face.

Burying his face in her nape, he began moving savagely again. Beastly breaths poured into her ear as her body shook violently, making it hard to hold onto consciousness.

Unable to bear it, Erna burst into uncontrollable sobs. The place he invaded relentlessly felt crushed, the pain stealing her breath. A throbbing, searing agony laced with indescribable sensations. Slap, smack. The shameful sound of wet flesh colliding blurred her mind further.

Erna began bawling openly, but Biern paid no heed, sitting up to grip her waist. Her small face, soaked in sweat and tears, was pitiable—and all the more beautiful for it.

Biern looked straight down at his claimed bride and began thrusting upward. Dull breaths and groans spilled from lips curved in satisfaction. It wasn't just her skin that was insanely smooth and soft. Her inner walls, gripping and pushing him, were a mire of pleasure.

Clutching his wailing wife tight, Biern drove himself to the deepest point. Her small body shuddered like a startled bird at the hot release, then went limp. Their ragged breaths lingered in the sudden silence.

Even as his breathing steadied and his body cooled, Biern remained inside her. Erna's eyes, red and bloodshot as she sniffled up at him, brimmed anew.

"Is it over now?"

After working her lips several times, Erna finally managed a timid question.

Foreheads touching, Biern planted a kiss on her cute nose like praising a good child.

"Yes."

This time, he nipped her flushed cheek and smiled languidly.

A sweet lie.

"Your Highness."

A clear voice came with a polite knock.

"Your Highness, it's Mrs. Fitz."

Erna, who had thought she was dreaming, snapped awake at the name piercing her consciousness. Realizing she was lying naked in an unfamiliar bed filled her with sudden dread.

"......Yes!"

Erna bolted upright. The sharp pain assaulting her body recalled last night's memories, plunging her into deeper chaos.

"I-I'm awake!"

Erna yanked the sheet up to cover her bare form. The moment her eyes widened at the bloodstains, Mrs. Fitz knocked again.

"Yes. Then I'll come in."

"No!"

Erna shouted as she scrambled from the bed. Her unsteady legs buckled, sending her tumbling to the floor, but she felt no pain.

"Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing! Just, just a little......"

Erna staggered to her feet and hurriedly stripped the bloodied sheet. It was nearly noon already. No wonder Mrs. Fitz was worried.

As Erna floundered in panic, unsure what to do, Mrs. Fitz showered the door with more concerned words and knocks. She must think something had happened.

"I'm coming in, Your Highness."

Mrs. Fitz announced firmly, as if resolved.

Erna, pale as a ghost, clutched the sheet and dashed into the bathroom. The moment she slammed the door shut, the bedroom door burst open.