A Leisurely 10 AM Awakening with Euphemia's Fidgeting
After a restful night on duty, I woke up leisurely to find it was already 10 a.m. I wanted to sleep a bit more, but Euphemia wriggling incessantly in my arms made that impossible.
I told her to stay still, but...
──Even an earthworm squirms when stepped on; what more a person? If you're unhappy, just let me go and sleep by yourself.
She shot back like that, thrashing about even more defiantly as if to prove her point. Over our time together, she seemed to have grasped the boundaries of acceptable rebellion, but sometimes it felt good to shatter those limits—so I dismissed the maids and headed to the bathroom with her.
Even though I'd already shown her every inch of my body while making love, women inexplicably get terribly shy about nudity in the bathroom. Naturally, Euphemia was no exception. In fact...
Petty, narrow-minded, lecherous, perverted—she'd grumbled endlessly about that. Of course, the moment I pulled her into my arms in the large tub infused with scented oils, that chattering mouth of hers snapped shut.
“W-Why... why are you getting hard...”
But that didn't last long. Euphemia grew restless and opened her mouth in a very low voice.
“Y-You said you wouldn't get aroused by someone like me at random times...”
There were no maids inside the bathroom, but they were waiting outside the door. So she was doing this because she knew if I embraced her, those explicit sounds would leak out clearly. I trailed off without specifying the object.
“Well, the bathroom's easy to clean up afterward...”
Euphemia shook her head vigorously and suddenly shot up in my arms.
Was she planning to flaunt her figure? The water cascading down her curves made her perfectly graspable, snowy-white buttocks look utterly enticing.
“Ah!”
But more than that, I had no intention of letting her flee to the opposite corner, so I firmly seized her slender ankle as she tried to advance.
Losing her balance, Euphemia staggered but barely steadied herself, freezing in an awkward half-leaning pose.
“...”
Her pubic mound—plump beyond belief for a 21-year-old, almost chubby—was glistening, soaked in the oil-mixed water. Above it, her shyly pursed chrysanthemum flower captured my gaze.
“Shoving your ass in my face like this—isn't that going too far, even for husband and wife? Such immodest behavior, Euphemia.”
She flinched! Euphemia, who had been sighing in relief, belatedly realized the situation, flushed crimson, and turned her body.
The way her upper and lower holes clenched tight in startled unison was quite the sight, so I let a faint smile play on my lips. Of course, knowing full well how that smile would appear to her, I deliberately kept my upturned mouth corners in place for a while.
“Don't say needless things that make me stand up. Come here quietly and sit down.”
“...”
“Euphemia.”
“I-I'm going... there!”
Splash, splash! Euphemia returned to my side, kicking up water openly. The spray flying everywhere drenched my face mercilessly, mirroring her mood.
“...”
Once she arrived right in front of me, she hesitated to sit upon seeing my dripping face, perhaps thinking she'd overdone it...
Did she really not know what eye level aligned with when standing right in front of me like this?
I swept back my damp bangs and spoke calmly.
“Its color and shape are flawless, so sit already. How long do you intend to flaunt it right in my eyes like this?”
“...!”
Splash!
“...”
I had to wipe the water spraying onto my face again as Euphemia hurriedly sat down.
“Euphemia. Don't make me tired.”
“If you'd bathed separately, this wouldn't have happened...”
Her voice was much more subdued now, so I gently pulled her into my arms. With no clothes between us and the tub filled with warm water, our skin clung together with stark intimacy.
“D-Don't pant like that. Y-You're keep poking my navel...”
“Just be quiet and stay still. You're noisy.”
As I tightened my embrace with a hint of displeasure, she patted my back as if short of breath, but soon realized it was futile and relaxed her entire body, leaning comfortably against me.
“...”
“...”
In the luxurious bathroom, the only sounds were our breathing. No, there was another. The faint heartbeat transmitting to me from Euphemia's closely pressed breasts.
Thump.
Thump...
And that heartbeat gradually synced with mine as her mind and body settled. It seemed trivial, but holding her warm body in the cozy tub with eyes closed, feeling her heart beat in perfect rhythm with mine, was incredibly healing.
“Hnn...”
Plus, nibbling her earlobe as she rested her head on my shoulder made her once-steady heart race again...
...giving me the illusion that I dominated even her most vital organ—her heart.
Euphemia el Lerenne Ruerg.
Yes, she is mine. I won't yield her to anyone.
‘...’
Was I too immersed? Shaking off Ferzen's ego that had swallowed my mind like a tidal wave, I regained my senses and released her.
We still needed to bathe, after all.
* * * * *
“You're... not coming back today...?”
“Yes.”
Over a late breakfast—essentially lunch—I informed Euphemia of my schedule for the day.
“...”
Now, in my absence, would she feel the freedom of release from bondage for a day?
Or would she spend the night alone in this vast mansion, enduring profound loneliness and solitude?
Humans are inescapably social creatures. Like it or not, it was I who shared warmth with her every night, making her acutely aware she wasn't alone.
‘Either way, it doesn't matter...’
Still, I hoped it was the latter as I finished eating, rose from my seat, and headed to the academy.
“A full 15 of them...! Every single one except one came to me demanding we replace the classroom desks immediately!”
“...”
The moment I arrived at work, I went straight to the department office and faced the administrative assistant I'd ignored yesterday. He tearfully poured out his grievances right away.
As a low-level imperial administrator likely assigned here, he must have been under immense stress from the noble students pressuring him alternately, backed by their families, to fix their discomfort immediately.
He called it polite suggestions, but they were probably closer to verbal intimidation.
“What's your name?”
“Alphonse, sir...”
“Right, Alphonse. From now on, if anyone inquires about replacing the desks, tell them to come directly to my office.”
“Ah, y-yes...”
Meaning he could use my name as a shield. That alone seemed to move Alphonse to tears of gratitude.
“And... before sending them to my office, tell them those desks were personally designed by my wife, will you?”
“Pardon?”
“No need to question it.”
“U-Understood...”
His eyes held puzzlement, but he didn't dwell on it. Just knowing he wouldn't suffer from desk complaints anymore was bliss enough.
With that, I turned and headed to my office on the fourth floor.
There was no special reason for instructing Alphonse like that. I'd clearly seen Euphemia growing bored, so I thought employing her as my teaching assistant might keep her nearby.
Once students' malice over the integrated desks targeted her, and I assigned her to handle maximum student-facing tasks like assisting with classes, attendance, cancellations, exam proctoring—easy prey since she wasn't even a professor.
They'd hesitate at first because she was the wife of Brutein's second son, but if I gave them the excuse that it was fine, that'd be it.
Smart ones would think a man devoted enough to use his wife's desk design wouldn't let her be bullied without consequence...
‘But let them believe that.’
Euphemia, unaware, would come to me lamenting her shattered self-esteem, and soothing her complaints would kill two birds with one stone.
Villainous, yes—but for a villain, villainy was wisdom.
Clack.
As I arrived at the office door, thinking Alphonse better play his part swiftly, I spotted Lizzy being wheeled by a corpse servant.
“...”
“...”
She'd noticed my footsteps and turned, so our eyes met quickly.
“Do you need something from me, Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia?”
The main building's fourth floor wasn't empty of people. Her trembling like a fit last time was probably because we'd been alone with no one around... Just a guess, but this encounter confirmed it.
“I-I'm here... for reparations.”
“Reparations?”
“The suit jacket... You didn't say you'd gotten it back.”
“I don't need it. Go home.”
“No.”
“...”
A suit's shirt, pants, and jacket formed a set. So when I returned home, I'd disposed of the shirt and pants too. Accepting just the jacket meant nothing.
“Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia. I threw out the shirt and pants when I got home. So if you truly want to make reparations, the shirt and pants too...”
“I'll do it. Just tell me your measurements.”
“Do you know my suit is from Azelia?”
Azelia—where top tailors handle only premium fabrics, custom orders only, and only for members.
Its prestige was unquestionable, outfitting the imperial family for formal occasions. Imagine the price.
“...”
Even with money, the Claudia family—unlinked to Alfred yet—couldn't enter Azelia's doors. Uriel might help if asked, but from her current state, she seemed reluctant to beg.
“Still...!”
“Fine. Suit yourself if you want to be stubborn.”
I opened the office door, grabbed a paper, wrote my exact measurements, and handed it to Lizzy.
“No deadline. Change your mind midway, and skip it. I'll forget all about it soon enough anyway, so no worries.”
“P-Professor... Even if you forget, I'll definitely make reparations.”
Crumple.
She tucked the paper into her bosom and turned her wheelchair. Watching her retreating figure, I forced my reluctant lips to move.
“Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia.”
“...”
“How are your legs?”
Glance.
She turned her head slightly. The emotions swirling in her violet eyes...
Viscous hatred and contempt.
“I'll... pretend I didn't hear that.”
Slam!
The door closed.
Yes, a half-hearted apology now wouldn't sway her. I knew it was pointless, yet I'd said it anyway.
“...”
Brutein Marquisate—always walking the middle path. This long-standing tradition was an irreplaceable value illuminating Brutein's nobility; even Jeremiah, the family head, would resist tarnishing it.
‘But...’
Right now, my fief was Ruerg.
For nobles, justification was armament more vital than armor. Such thoughts... multiplied in this idle afternoon.