Come to My Bedroom Tonight
Moonlight fell cool and clear over the rear courtyard.
Even at this late hour, Aria was swinging her sword, sweat pouring down her body.
Whish—shick!
Sharp cuts sliced the air as her slender frame danced with fluid grace.
Faster… still faster.
This was the only time she could drive herself without mercy—as a maid of the house.
Every time she pushed her body to the limit and gasped for breath, the same face filled her mind: the sole benefactor who had taken her in.
The Count.
If it is for the Count…
Sacred loyalty toward her master, and a secret affection she never dared name—those were the forces that moved her.
“Hah… hah…”
She lowered her blade and tried to steady her ragged breathing, but her blue eyes trembled violently.
Something was wrong.
…Why?
Every time she gripped the sword and tried to summon the Count’s image, another man’s arrogant smile kept overlaying it.
Young Master Ian…
That morning he had seized her waist and plundered her mouth with rough insistence. The overwhelming pressure that had pinned her down, the low voice that had driven a spike into her ear—
“Take your hands away and accept it. Do as your master commands.”
And then, in the darkness of the storeroom, that unexpected tenderness he had shown her.
All of it was thrashing through her mind without mercy.
No. The one I should be thinking of is…
She had been chasing the silhouette of the Count in his younger days, yet whenever she came back to herself, Ian’s face was the one filling her head.
“What’s wrong with me? I must be going mad.”
“I can’t do this anymore.”
Ian’s face kept flickering before her eyes; she could no longer concentrate on her swordsmanship. Aria fled, gathering her blade and hurrying to her room.
She crawled into bed and pulled the covers all the way over her head, but the thoughts that had already gained momentum refused to leave.
This is ridiculous…
The thick male heat that had brushed her nose when he held her that morning still seemed to cling to her skin; her whole body burned. Sleep was impossible.
“Haa…”
In the end she exhaled a shallow breath and slid her hand beneath her undergarments.
It was the secret ritual she always performed to soothe the loneliness that had grown too large.
Count…
Consciously she summoned the Count’s face and squeezed her thighs together. Her fingertips began to rub the soft flesh with deliberate pressure.
“Ah… aah…”
But the harder she tried, the less the cold face of her master filled her chest.
If you want to cry, cry. If you want to cling, cling.
I’ll take all of it.
Ian’s voice stabbed into her mind; Aria arched her back like a bow and let out a moan.
“Ah—ah… nngh…!”
“No.”
She must not do something so shameless while thinking of the young master. Her mind struggled to refuse, yet the moment Ian’s image rose, the wetness that burst from her entrance was incomparably thicker than before.
Ah… this is…
The instant she imagined herself completely stripped and dominated beneath those arrogant eyes, every cell in her body screamed with mad delight.
“Aah… Young Master Ian… haa, ahn!”
At last the name that spilled desperately from Aria’s lips was not the Count’s—it was Ian’s.
Ahk… I can’t stop…
Aroused beyond any control, she thrust her fingers deeper and deeper into herself.
Squish, squelch—
Obscene, wet friction echoed lonely through the sealed room. Every time her fingers ruthlessly worked the slender entrance, her mind blanked white.
She had no idea why the young master’s face made her soak her thighs like this. All that ruled her body was the fierce craving to surrender completely to his touch.
“Young Master… Young Master Ian…! Ah, hwaaah!”
The veins along her inner thighs contracted as one. Aria clawed at the sheets as if she would tear them and sprayed her fluids in a rough fountain.
Aaa… ah…!
In the hollow aftermath of the violent climax, she collapsed onto the bed, panting.
“Hah… hah…”
Once the fierce storm had passed, the tension left her body and throbbing pain rose from every bruise. The dark marks earned during night training finally screamed their presence.
“Ah… nngh.”
While catching her breath, Aria’s gaze fell on the small jar of ointment Ian had casually left for her that afternoon.
Make sure you put it on before you sleep.
This isn’t a request. It’s an order.
“An order…”
As if entranced, she picked up the ointment and carefully spread it over the bruises on her thighs and shoulders.
“Aah…!”
The medicine touched the wounds; skin still hypersensitive from climax trembled and a cry escaped. Yet the sharp sting lasted only a moment. A strangely cool efficacy spread, washing the throbbing pain clean away. Warmth from the ointment sank gently into flesh that had been cooling.
Aria clutched the jar to her chest and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Ian’s quiet care, as though he had known every wound and bruise.
“Young Master…”
Into a heart colder than the night wind, the warmth he had left was seeping deeper and deeper.
Beyond a secret gap in the wall, a man watched the interior of the bedroom.
It was Ian.
Under the moonlight he had held his breath and observed every moment—her body slick with sweat and fluids, thrashing while she cried his name, that lewd figure—from beginning to end.
…Looks like she’s enjoying herself.
A smooth curve lifted the corner of his mouth in the dark. The bait he had left in the storeroom had sunk perfectly into her deepest core. Things were progressing better than expected.
Starting tomorrow, shall I raise the intensity little by little?
Ian quietly turned and walked away into the darkness.
The following afternoon, the rear courtyard of the mansion.
“You wish to learn the sword?”
“I thought you only chased women. Why suddenly take up a blade?”
Aria’s voice, standing in the courtyard, was still cold as ice. Yet deep in the blue eyes that looked at Ian lingered a strange mix of curiosity and tension—perhaps born of the unfamiliar shame she had felt the night before while thinking of him.
“Next week I have to leave this house, don’t I? I figured I ought to be able to protect myself. And more than anything, I have a reliable teacher in Aria.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. The sword is not a toy.”
She shot him a look of pure disdain, then lightly flicked her wooden practice sword and declared coldly,
“If you can properly receive even a single one of my attacks, I will consider it.”
“Fine. Then will you grant me one request as well?”
“If I receive your attack and even succeed in a counter, how about you grant me one request too?”
The bold proposal from a complete novice left Aria speechless. A man who barely knew how to hold a sword claiming he would not only block her but counter? She answered with absolute certainty that such a thing could never happen even if the heavens and earth reversed.
“Very well. If Young Master Ian truly manages that, I will do whatever you ask.”
The words had barely left her mouth before Aria raised her wooden sword and lunged with fierce speed. Her blade flashed like lightning toward Ian’s chin.
KRAAAANG—!
Of course.
Ian could not even react; he tumbled across the courtyard dirt.
“Cough…! Damn, Aria really is something.”
“With this, sword training is canceled.”
She turned away without the slightest regret. But Ian brushed the dust from his chin and quietly curled his lips.
It’s fine. I’ll just dodge it on the next Retry.
Without hesitation he activated Retry.
The first new loop began.
…
………
………………
Attempt 10
Shuuuk—!
A sharp whistle of air; Aria’s wooden sword skimmed past the tip of Ian’s right shoulder.
“Oh…? Not bad. You almost dodged that.”
“But this is as far as you go.”
Retry…
Attempt 34
Tak! Tahak! Tak—!
Dull cracks of wooden blades colliding violently rang through the courtyard.
I’m catching up…!
After dozens of Retries, he had finally reached the point of meeting her swift attacks head-on. The weight shift when she stepped, the unique trajectory of her thrusts… Ian carved every minute timing of Aria’s into his bones.
“Kh…!”
Still, one step short of a true counter.
Focus harder. Next trajectory is high.
Ian’s eyes gleamed once more.
…
…………
……………………
Attempt 54
At last, the exact moment Aria launched her decisive high cut to end the match—
Sss—
Here it comes.
As if he had known all along, Ian twisted his body and slipped past her trajectory by the thickness of a single sheet of paper.
Perfect evasion.
In that fleeting opening he drove in and unleashed a merciless counter with his own wooden sword. The blade streaked terrifyingly toward her neck—
Tak—!
“Ngh…!”
Startled, Aria instinctively yanked her sword back and barely managed to block.
Hah…
She had stopped it, yet the fact that she had been perfectly countered after her opening was exploited made her heart pound hard.
Impossible. What was that movement just now…?
It was as if he already knew the exact path my attack would take…
Aria looked at the man in front of her with entirely new eyes. She had believed him a complete beginner who had never properly learned the sword.
Impossible. He read every one of the techniques I’ve trained for years… and even countered?
Her whole body froze in shock at the realization that he had completely deciphered years of her swordsmanship and struck back.
How could she know that the young master before her had repeated hellish Retries until he had thoroughly analyzed and conquered her?
Hoo… finally managed to land one.
It had been no easy fight. Ian steadied his rough breathing, lowered his wooden sword, and offered a leisurely smile to the frozen Aria.
“Well then, Teacher. You’ll keep your promise, won’t you?”
Aria stared at him blankly, truly unable to believe it. Cold sweat slid down her back from the shock.
“Could it be… that the Awakening Ceremony was wrong?”
“A man who has never once learned the sword perfectly reading my forms and even countering—I simply cannot believe it.”
“There must have been an error in the ceremony itself.”
“We should report to the Count at once and request a re-examination…”
As the stunned Aria babbled and even brought up the Count’s name, Ian gave a short laugh and cut her off.
“Before that, shouldn’t you grant my request first, Teacher?”
“…!”
Aria sucked in a breath; her ears burned instantly. Only then did she remember the bold promise she had made right before the spar. She cursed her own foolish lips that had sworn to do “anything” if he succeeded in a counter.
“That is…”
No. I have to refuse.
In her head she wanted to refuse at once. Yet she could not irresponsibly take back words she herself had spoken. A maid’s honor and discipline held her ankles fast.
More than anything, the deep gaze looking down at her from so close carried a strangely heated, suggestive fire. The moment she met that blatant stare—
Ah…
The lewd night when she had alone pursued her desire while thinking of Ian’s face rose up, and her cheeks flamed. Her inner thighs trembled.
Surely… it won’t be something indecent…?
Even as her body already craved his domination, her reason desperately tried to deny it.
Ian found her flustered, embarrassed expression amusing and stepped even closer. Their shadows stretched long and overlapping across the courtyard ground.
“What’s wrong, Aria? You promised.”
Ah…
He brought his lips to the frozen Aria’s ear and whispered in a low, settled voice, intimate and secret.
“Tonight, come to my bedroom.”
“…!”
“That is my request.”
Her heart seemed to drop straight to the floor. Aria’s face flushed scarlet as if it would explode. The flush swallowed her neat cheeks and even her neck in an instant.
“I… I… th-that is…”
Her mind blanked white; she could not form the next words. Going to the young master’s bedroom at night—Aria was not so innocent that she failed to understand what that meant.
Surely he truly intends to… me…
At the master’s command demanding blind obedience, her chest heaved as if it would burst.
Ian left the night’s promise hanging and turned away at a leisurely pace, leaving the shocked Aria behind.
“You’d better not be late.”
Showing only an arrogant back, he strolled off.
Alone in the courtyard, Aria clenched her fists and dragged in shuddering breaths. It was a demand she ought to refuse. Yet strangely, every time Ian’s order resonated deep in her chest, the secret place she had fingered all night already began to grow damp and wet.