◈ Episode 25
“I am married and have a child.”
“Yes, master.”
“I grew up around sweaty men in my hometown. “The days of blushing over a naked body ended 20 years ago.”
“Not me.”
“You really have no experience with women at all?”
“… … .”
Arkan pursed his lips and frowned.
It was hard to tell the difference because of Irina’s unique pitchless voice.
“That’s not it, master.”
Are you making fun of yourself or are you seriously asking this question?
Irina’s calm voice continued.
“Then it’s completely understandable. Well, somewhere in the world, there are enough people who have no experience with women until their old age… … .”
“Didn’t I say no?”
It was a very annoying voice that I heard for the first time.
“Puhup.”
Irina eventually burst out laughing. It was quite amusing to see her react this way in a mature, deep voice.
It was not a laugh or a muffled laugh, but a comfortable laugh full of playfulness.
If the people who brought her there saw her, they would have been shocked.
“I know it’s inconvenient because I’m the owner.”
Irina suppressed her laughter and laid down in the bathtub with her arms crossed.
Arkan was startled by the sight of someone approaching from behind.
Then he wriggled forward a little and sat down.
“But we already agreed, so there’s no need to be so overly conscious.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“My body is not shaped to excite a man. “It’s similar to a bar without gender, so if you take a quick look at it, wouldn’t you feel more at ease?”
Arkan closed his mouth and furrowed his dark eyebrows.
The reason you think of me as a woman is because of your imagination. You’ll cool off right away after seeing it in person.
Irina was saying that. And that too in a very calm voice.
“… “Is that why you asked me to come into the bathroom?”
“okay. It will be difficult if you continue to stretch yourself like that in the future. “Ferris may be a dull man, but he’s shrewd in these ways, so even if he acts a little awkwardly, he’ll be caught right away.”
Irina truly thought so.
She was confident in herself.
She had pride as the next mistress of the Arkensis family, as Levart’s daughter, as a swordsman, and as a loyal subject of the state.
But since she was human, there were some things she couldn’t help.
For a long time, I was consistently treated as an unattractive woman by my husband.
Their relationship seemed to be improving for a while after the fire incident.
But it was a mandatory sleepover to hide the cheating.
Although she doesn’t show it, it was an incident that would leave a huge scar on her heart.
Moreover, her husband was not the only one who criticized her appearance.
The residents of the mansion, the ladies of society, and all the nobles of the capital had one interest in her.
Ugly face and ugly body.
Anyone who listened to the same words for 10 years could easily become brainwashed.
Arkan’s clenched fist trembled without realizing it.
There seemed to be a bitter taste in my mouth. There wasn’t a single sane person there.
Arkan sat down with one knee raised and his arms raised.
“Not to me.”
Arkan’s exhaled breath trembled slightly, as if he was holding something.
There’s something I want to say, but I can’t choose the words.
“You will know whether it is so or not when you see me. “I don’t care what you do, so let’s just end it quickly like an adult.”
He, who was only clenching and opening his fists, suddenly unbuttoned his shirt.
Tap, tap.
After a slow, rhythmic sound, he took off his shirt and threw it away.
“… … !”
Embarrassed, Irina sat down behind the bathtub.
“What are you doing all of a sudden?”
His back was fully exposed.
Firm skin that is close to a bronze color.
The sharp back muscles were clearly divided along the deep spine.
The wide shoulders and back panel become narrower as they go down to the waist.
Thanks to this, even though it was covered in scars, it didn’t look rough and had a body with sexy lines that you couldn’t take your eyes off of.
Arkan leaned his elbows on the bathtub. The veins on his strong arm muscles twitched.
He looked back at her over his shoulder.
“Are you really okay, master?”
In the heavy silence, the only sound was the sound of water drops falling.
Irina’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She unconsciously swallowed her dry saliva.
I thought I was familiar with the male naked body. No, she was really used to it.
It’s been a long time since I felt this weird feeling just by taking off my shirt.
Arkan turned back, stood on his knees, and held on to the bathtub with both hands.
Blue veins appeared on the back of his wide hand.
The lines in the back were significant, but nothing compared to the body in the front.
The veins on his neck stand thick even when he is still. A collarbone that neatly divides wide, right-angled shoulders horizontally.
The chest muscles were firm and wide, and the body line continued straight to the waist.
He had a slim body with little body fat, and his abs were clearly visible.
My tight stomach twitched with every breath. The skin covered in scars and wounds actually highlighted his wild beauty.
Now that I think about it, Irina has touched that body before. It was his first night at the mansion.
The fever boiled over in the Colosseum because the scars were not properly treated. Thanks to that, she even remembered that touch.
“I am a slave… … .”
Arkan spoke quietly.
“It’s like a genderless bar.”
Because of the structure of the bathroom, his deep voice echoed even more heavily.
Arkan’s hot golden eyes looked at her as if they were going to eat her.
Irina felt her heart beating so fast that she felt dizzy.
Thump thump.
I could feel my heart rate even at my fingertips and toes.
Arkan began to whisper slowly.
“Are you okay, master?”
“stop.”
Irina let out a short sigh and turned her head. But Arkan seemed to have no intention of stopping.
“Answer me, master.”
“… … .”
“Then please look at me. I feel like nothing is wrong… … .”
“stop!”
Her voice was firm. She suddenly regained her usual expression and glared at him.
The cold blue eyes were determined.
“Sit back, again.” “It’s an order.”
“… … .”
Arkan narrowed his eyes for a moment and sighed deeply. He stood up with a broken spirit.
“The water has cooled down. “I’ll fill you up with heated water.”
It was almost done.
If I had pushed a little harder, a spark would have sprung up.
Although he felt a bit regretful, Arkan quickly calmed his mind.
Not yet. Because she doesn’t want to.
There is nothing more unsightly than a man who forces something he doesn’t like.
Among the southern kingdoms, the Thrash Kingdom was particularly severe. Arkan did not want to be similar to the men of this country.
“Do you mind if I raise the temperature a little more?”
“okay.”
Irina turned her head and looked at the wall while Arkhan moved.
I was very fortunate. I almost crossed the line.
It was difficult to feel uncontrollably attracted to him.
Irina’s goal wasn’t just to get emotional revenge on Ferris.
She had to get out of this house. Not just Ferris alone, but from the Arkensis family.
That meant that we had to prepare to leave the capital itself. There is still a long way to go.
Now that she still didn’t know who was on her side, she had to come to her senses.
It was not the time to relax and enjoy the tension with the man.
When I thought about that, fortunately, I felt my heart go cold.
Compared to the first day when I only thought of Arkan as a slave, I didn’t realize that I was already thinking of him as a man.
Irina tapped the bathtub with her fingertips.
“Arkan.”
“Yes, master.”
“Tell me your story.”
Arkan, who was filling hot water at Irina’s feet, stopped.
But soon, he calmly emptied the water container as if it had never happened before.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Irina leaned the back of her head against the bathtub and looked at the ceiling.
“hmm… … .”
Irina thought for a moment.
“Generally. “Your life before you became a slave.”
He sat back in the bathtub as Irina ordered.
“not really… “It won’t be a fun story.”
Arkhan’s eyes became cloudy.
“It’s a widespread story. A high-ranking father, a lowly mother, an illegitimate older brother and a younger brother who is the heir. Things like that.”
“You’re pretty good at explaining it.”
“It’s a common story. “I had no place to return to unless my younger brother died, so I lived among the northern wild people.”
“Right.”
Irina was lost in thought for a moment.
Unless Arkan was lying, it roughly matched her reasoning.
Arkan was also lost in thought. Silence fell once again in the bathroom.
How much time had passed, it was Irina’s drowsy yawn that broke the silence.
“I guess I should sleep now. “I was in the bathtub too long.”
“I will prepare a gown for you.”
Irina continued speaking and tried to get up, but was startled.
Because I was once again conscious of the fact that her body was naked.
Arkan calmly brought the gown.
“I’ll put it on for you.”
Fortunately, thanks to her calm demeanor, she naturally regained her senses.
* * *
“What are you doing here, Ferris?”
“Why are you two here together?”
Ferris and Irina asked almost simultaneously.
Irina, who came out of the bedroom wearing a gown, encountered Ferris.
Irina tried to lie down on the bed first, leaving Arkan behind.
Then he realized that he had no clothes to change into.
I can’t make you walk out naked, and I can’t wear the muddy clothes you brought in again.
At the entrance to the bathroom, the maids had just handed me the clothes they had prepared.
And while I was leaving, there was a new celebrity in the room.
Her husband, Ferris.
