The Rebellion and the Lesson
Vera, flustered, wiped the book with a handkerchief. Perhaps the sensation of my armpit had been more pleasant than she expected, or perhaps it was simply because the sheer volume of my ejaculation had splattered onto the tome. Thanks to her quick work, the book wouldn't be soaked through, but it would likely carry a lingering, musky scent.
“Uh, um. Sorry. No, I apologize, Vera.”
I felt as if I had committed a crime. Or rather, since I had committed a significant discourtesy, it was no different from a crime. That Bible was a book Vera had kept by her side even before my regression. She had once told me it was a memento left behind by her late mother. Let’s look at this from the other side: what if Vera had sprayed her vaginal fluids on my prized sword? Hmm, actually, that’s more arousing than I thought.
While I was busy running all sorts of thoughts through my head, Vera was diligently wiping away the semen. I could see the ink that filled the pages fading slightly with every swipe. That was a real problem. But I suppose it was better than the ink smearing. As the letters vanished, Vera’s face grew more distressed. Seeing her so upset, the erection I’d had from the excitement began to subside.
I gathered my discarded clothes, put them back on, and sat down across from her again. What was I supposed to say? *I’m sorry I came so much?* It wasn’t as if I were bragging about my stamina.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s alright…”
Her face didn’t look “alright” in the slightest.
“I was careless. I’ve already seen you ejaculate a few times, haven’t I? I should have anticipated this and cleared everything away.”
“No, I apologize.”
“This book has a special meaning to me. It’s been a long time since I used it to teach anyone besides Monica, so if the letters are erased like this, it’ll be a bit difficult. Would it be alright if we postponed our Bible study until I can fill these parts back in?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
I felt like a parrot, repeating only the expected answers. Perhaps she found my guilt uncomfortable to watch, for the kind-hearted Vera changed the subject.
“So, has your… sexual desire been fully satisfied?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. I’m fine now.”
I crossed my legs to cover my crotch as best I could. Because Vera had been in such a hurry to clean the book, she was still undressed, and my cock was being tactless enough to stand at attention again. The lingerie and garter belt she wore—similar to the ones I had soiled with my seed before—only highlighted the obscenity of her figure, and I couldn't help it.
Noticing my gaze sliding away and realizing her own state, Vera hurriedly put her dress back on.
“Ed, could you tie the strings in the back for me?”
Vera turned around, showing me her back. Over her smooth, flawless skin, only a black undergarment remained. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into an embrace, but given the sin I’d just committed, I obediently tied the knot.
“Vera, I’m not really sure how to tie these properly. Wouldn’t it be better to have a maid do it?”
“I don’t particularly want the maids to see me like this with my son-in-law. It doesn’t matter if the knot looks different.”
Come to think of it, I’d heard that in some places, they tie women up with ropes from head to toe during relations. Vera, bound in rope… hmm, thinking of her bound like a prisoner didn’t really do much for me. There are some real perverts in this world.
When I pulled the strings tight, she said, “Don’t tie it too tight, I’ll have to untie it later,” so I loosened it and tied it gently. It was a shame that her back was hidden as I tied the strings, but I didn’t show it and let her know I was finished.
“It seems you still haven’t fully released your tension. When your desires build up, you should go to Monica before me.”
Vera said this with a slightly flushed face. As I tied the strings on her back, the bulge in my trousers had brushed against her buttocks, and it seemed she had felt it too.
“I’m taking care of you for now, but Ed, you are engaged to Monica. You accepted her proposal, so Monica will do this much for you.”
“The proposal to Monica was something you asked me to do, Vera. As I said before, I like you. Not Monica, but you.”
“Even so, a mother-in-law and son-in-law shouldn’t be doing this. Monica can be a bit prickly, but she has a kind and warm heart. Try approaching her with kindness. She’s probably just tired because she has so much work lately.”
Monica has a warm heart? If Monica is warm, then half the people in this world have hearts made of hellfire. I would believe Vera if she told me she made wine out of apples, but I couldn’t let this slide.
“The busier she is, the more reluctant I am to approach her. Besides, I have no hobby of chasing after a woman I don’t like when the lady I adore is right in front of me.”
“I’m grateful that you call a married woman like me a ‘lady.’ But you are a married couple, after all.”
“We haven’t held the ceremony yet, so we aren’t officially married. And I will fulfill my minimum duties as a husband during our marriage, so don’t worry.”
Failing to meet the bare minimum could give Monica an excuse to pick a fight. Since this position as a son-in-law was the best way to stay close to Vera, the worst-case scenario would be getting divorced because I caused unnecessary trouble. Not that it would matter once Vera was completely mine.
Perhaps sensing my firm resolve, Vera’s delicate brows furrowed.
“I don’t think we’ll reach a conclusion if we keep talking about this.”
Vera walked over to the bookshelf and picked up another book.
“Since we can’t study with the Bible, shall we study with another book?”
“But you said we’d study again after you fixed the book…”
“That was Bible study. We agreed to study together once you felt refreshed.”
Hmm, studying. I felt the need for it, but looking at the letters made my head ache. Vera was flipping through the pages, demanding I read. I didn’t want to reveal this to anyone else, but I had no choice. I had a feeling that because it was Vera, it would be alright.
“Actually, I don’t know how to read.”
“What? Then you should have told me that first…”
Because of Vera’s insistence on teaching me to read after that, the entire afternoon slipped away. The next morning, contrary to my usual routine, I was summoned by Monica.
*‘Be as kind as possible…’*
Even now, my body trembled and nausea rose when I saw her face, but since Vera had asked so earnestly, I intended to treat her with a bit of kindness. After all, they say you can’t spit on a smiling face. Monica before the regression had actually tried to spit on me, but I braced myself, telling myself it would be fine now that I had returned to a past less poisoned than that.
“It is Edward, My Lady.”
“Come in.”
As evidenced by her immediate use of informal speech, Monica was alone in the office. The Lord’s office. It wasn’t a place that held many good memories for me.
“Edward, I called you here because I have a job for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes, you. Who else is here besides you?”
I wondered for a moment what kind of bizarre task she would assign, but no matter how foul her personality was, I figured she’d start with something relatively normal.
“Last night, Baron Enixon fled in the middle of the night with his subordinates. The guard captain who cooperated in opening the city gates is in prison now.”
Suddenly? When I had told her about it, she had reacted as if it were impossible.
“Why are you looking at me with such surprised eyes? You knew about it too, didn’t you? Well, I knew about it long before that.”
Monica had a talent for making even the most mundane things sound unpleasant. She was the polar opposite of the soft and gentle Vera. Anyway, I’d wondered why the damage hadn’t been as great as I remembered before the regression—it must have been because Monica had anticipated it and made preparations.
“I investigated the knight in the blue helmet and the inn guests, and they must have felt the pressure, because they ran away with their tails between their legs. Well, it’s for the best. It’s better that no battle occurred within the city, and I’ve weeded out the rotten lot who would fall for bribes.”
In the end, didn’t she find out because of my help?
“What, do you have a complaint? Why are you pouting like that?”
I quickly managed my expression. Perhaps because I was younger now, my emotions flowed more readily than usual.
“Why aren’t you answering? Someone might think I’m going to eat you alive.”
“No, My Lady.”
“Anyway, he’s a man who tried to start a rebellion and then ran away, so we need to strip him of his barony, don’t we? We need someone to subjugate the barony, and I’m giving you the special honor of doing it, Edward.”
Monica spoke as if she were doing me a huge favor. It was probably just because there weren’t any other knights she could trust with the task.
“I’m giving you the chance to earn merit for your own good. You should be grateful.”
Since this was a conflict between the retainers who followed the former Count Yulstein and the successor to the lordship, it wasn’t clear what stance the other retainers would take. Since they were all summoned to the county, it was an awkward situation to exercise military power separately. As the only one among those who had sworn loyalty as a knight who had no ties to the former Count, she intended to use me for this task to bring me into her fold. Especially since our marriage was already promised.
Of course, I didn’t show this on the surface. Regardless, it was an opportunity to earn merit, and the more merit I earned, the more I could escape Monica’s influence.
“The conscription started this morning, so it will be ready by tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Depart as soon as you are ready. To minimize damage, it’s important not to give them time to prepare.”
“Understood.”
Much obliged, Baron Enixon.