Winter Has Passed, Yet the Frost Lingers (4)
Winter had passed, yet the frost still clung to the earth.
Ah... it felt like a dream.
Today would undoubtedly be a day I could never forget for the rest of my life.
For right now, cradled in my arms, was none other than Rofel Teufel.
The lovely man whom I yearned for and loved more than anything else in this world...
He was fast asleep, snoring softly and cutely with his face buried right between my breasts.
It was the fatigue accumulated from the long, passionate hours we had shared.
Fufu... Yes.
For a day and a half, Rofel and I had eagerly explored each other's bodies.
...To be more precise, it might be more accurate to say that I was the one who devoured his body.
Regrettably, throughout those long hours, he had never once stopped resisting me.
He truly was an upright man to the very end.
Even at the last moment, he kept saying things like how he already had Lilit, or how we were just close friends.
Because he wouldn't stop uttering those words—words that only served to set my heart ablaze—I ended up ravishing him without mercy.
At first, I felt a twinge of guilt for forcing myself upon him, but that guilt quickly transformed into the spice of transgression, adding a delicious thrill to the act.
Eventually, even his helpless form as he repeated his futile resistance became so endearing that I reached a point where I could no longer control myself.
In the end, I sealed his lips with mine so he couldn't even cry out. Unable to control his own limbs, he could only release his seed deep inside me, again and again.
...Admittedly, looking back now, I did get a bit carried away in my excitement.
I hadn't realized how quickly time was passing. From the moment I dragged him into my bedroom on the day he visited my estate, I spent the rest of that day and the entirety of the next—two whole days—completely absorbed in coupling with him.
The servants had silently left food and water outside the door, so neither of us collapsed from exhaustion, but I still failed to restrain myself this time.
Yet, I felt no regret.
The hours spent devouring his body and receiving his seed were more joyful and ecstatic than anything I had ever experienced.
If I followed my desires, I would ravish him all over again right now as he slept so peacefully with his face buried in my chest.
I wanted to slip my tongue into his sweet mouth, sharing our saliva, and pull his tongue to my lips to suck on it greedily.
I would pin his arms down so he couldn't cry out, let alone call for help, ensuring he could never leave this bed.
Stripped of all means of resistance, he would have no choice but to flail his legs cutely.
And I would drive my hips down against him again and again, forcing him to release.
Even though he knew the woman before him wasn't his lover, his body would dutifully discharge a massive amount of semen for the noble purpose of leaving behind his genetic legacy.
I gently slid my hand down to my lower abdomen.
I had taken so much from him that I could still feel the warmth of his hot semen filling my womb.
There was so much of it that even after my body absorbed what it could, the rest had trickled down my thighs.
It was almost frustrating that today was a safe day, given the sheer volume.
If this had overlapped with my fertile window by even a single day, I would have undoubtedly conceived his child then and there.
But putting such pleasure and desire aside for now, it was only right to let him rest.
He had endured the full force of the lust I had bottled up for years.
Even though there wasn't a shred of consent in his actions, he deserved at least this much rest.
I gazed down at his sleeping face and gently stroked his hair.
Reaching out with my other hand, I began to knead his body here and there with a somewhat suggestive touch.
Yet, he did not wake. No, it was only natural that he couldn't.
He had likely never engaged in such prolonged sexual relations with a woman before, so he was bound to be exhausted.
...He certainly had never coupled for this long with that girl, Lilit Tistina.
At most, they had probably only shared a single night.
Thinking of that brought a strange sense of victory.
The days of feeling defeated by that girl were finally over.
From now on, I would only taste triumph over her.
Though I was using methods that were somewhat underhanded and unlike my usual self, I would not stop.
I would hold him like this again and again, carving my mark onto his body.
Slowly, I would corner him within my embrace, ensuring he could go nowhere else.
Rofel Teufel belonged to me.
I was now back in the academy dormitory.
...Whether it was a blessing or a curse, I had managed to escape Seraphina's estate.
To be honest, after witnessing her ruthlessly overpower me, I had worried that she might lock me away in her bedroom forever.
But for some reason, she let me go quite easily, permitting my return.
"The night before last, and all of yesterday... was truly delightful...♥"
"I doubt I will ever forget it for the rest of my life..."
"Hmm? Do you wish to return?"
"Well... we have spent nearly two days together, so perhaps that is enough for now."
"After all, the most important 'ritual' has already been completed."
"Though in my heart, I wish I could keep you here to live with me forever...♥"
I couldn't recall exactly what Seraphina had said after that.
The moment she finally released me from her tight embrace, I had been too busy scrambling to put on my discarded clothes and fleeing in a panic.
Fortunately, neither she nor her servants tried to stop me, allowing me to return to the dormitory safely.
...Though I wasn't sure if 'safe' was the right word after what had been done to me.
Lying on my bed, I couldn't help but retrace the events in my mind, agonizing over what to do.
The source of my anxiety, of course, was my future relationship with Seraphina.
First and foremost, she had forced herself on me.
She had committed a sexual act without mutual consent.
...Common sense dictated that I should report her actions to the academy and the royal family immediately.
However, she belonged to a ducal house. She hadn't assaulted me on a whim; she might have already taken measures to cover her tracks.
Furthermore, I was merely the son of a borderland count—a rank barely above a baron. People might not believe my word over hers.
Because of that, I hesitated to make a hasty accusation.
And in a way... I shared some of the blame for her actions.
I had failed to notice her feelings for a long time, driving her to an emotional brink.
Although her sudden outburst was entirely her own doing, I couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of guilt.
..What on earth should I do...
The faces of Seraphina and Lilit flashed through my mind.
Both were precious to me.
One as a dear friend, and the other as the partner I intended to spend the rest of my life with.
..I couldn't just keep hesitating like this.
Making a firm decision was the only right and honorable thing to do, both for myself and for them.
Yes, I had to do it.
I had to report Seraphina's actions.
No matter our past bond, what she did to me was rape—a criminal act.
Even if I bore some responsibility, personal feelings and justice had to be kept separate.
Whether she had prepared countermeasures or not, this report was absolutely necessary.
I only hoped that she would face the consequences of her actions and reflect on her sins.
With that resolve, I brought my pen to the paper to write... but then, a strange sensation washed over me.
Scratch, scratch.
...?
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
...!?
I rubbed my eyes, erased the words, and tried writing again.
Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.
...!!!
"...? Huh..? Why is this...?"
I couldn't write it..?
I changed the paper and the pen multiple times.
But I still couldn't write it.
It wasn't that I had lost the ability to write altogether.
I could write my own name, common words, and ordinary sentences perfectly fine.
But I could not write down what had happened at Seraphina's estate.
I could not write the fact that she had raped me.
No matter how hard I forced my hand to write, 'Seraphina Serion raped me at her estate,' the words refused to appear.
Instead, my hand would write completely unrelated sentences, like, 'Seraphina Serion accepted my apology,' or, 'I have just returned to the dormitory.'
Panicking, I decided to speak the words aloud instead.
I tried to shout it as loudly as I could: 'I was violated by Seraphina Serion!'
"...I love Lilit Tistina."
!?
What?
What on earth was this?
I couldn't understand what was happening to my own body.
What had happened to me?
...Seraphina..? What did you do to me..?
I let him leave the estate this morning.
To be honest, I wanted to keep him for just one more day to love him to my heart's content, but I held back.
If I didn't learn to exercise some restraint now, there would truly be no end to it.
What was he doing right now?
Was he agonizing over the fact that I had ravished him?
Perhaps he was trying to report my actions.
Or at least tell those around him.
But all of those attempts would be utterly futile.
For the effect of the artifact, Muzin Argyro, had already been triggered.
The ancient text he had read while wearing the artifact—the oath he had bound himself to—was as follows:
'I shall not reveal anything that occurred with Seraphina Serion to anyone without her permission.'
Whether he tried to write a letter, use magic, or simply speak the words aloud, he would fail.
He was now forbidden from revealing what had happened over the last two days—and indeed, anything I might do to him in the future.
Furthermore, while he was asleep, I had inscribed an Advanced-grade cognition-masking magic onto the artifact.
I had used one of the magic scrolls stored in my family's vault for this very purpose.
Now, not only Rofel himself, but anyone who met him would fail to perceive the necklace-shaped artifact.
Even if he somehow realized the artifact was there, he was registered as the user while I remained the owner. Unless I personally removed it, he could never take it off.
In other words, no matter what I did to him from now on, he could never tell a soul.
In truth, I had wanted to force him to swear eternal love to me, but things weren't that simple.
The artifact Muzin Argyro was strictly a tool for enforcing oaths, not for brainwashing.
While it could exert a degree of compulsion over one's actions, it could not turn someone into a mindless slave or manipulate their emotions.
Furthermore, if the user changed frequently in a short period, its efficacy would drop drastically. Since I had used it several times during my academy days, the scope of the oath I could set was quite narrow.
The oath I forced upon him this time was simply the best possible choice among the few viable options available.
In truth, because I couldn't draw out 100 percent of the artifact's power, there were still many loopholes. It wasn't perfect.
Since it was a plan conceived in a short amount of time, there might have been a better way.
But at the very least, this would be more than enough to proceed with my plans step by step.
The plan to make Rofel mine.