Chapter 76: One Step (1)

Lovers have long romanticized a particular gesture—arm pillows.

It’s exactly what it sounds like—resting one’s head on a lover’s arm as if it were a pillow. Typically, the larger, more muscular partner offers their arm to the other.

‘Ughhhh…’

But as expected, romance is just that—romance.

The pain of losing circulation in my arm was so unbearable that it actually woke me up.

‘S-someone save me…’

No joke, this was more painful than when I absorbed the cold energy of ice magic.

I felt like my left arm would never function again, so I tried to move it away.

“Mmm…”

The moment I stirred, Elaine let out a small whimper of discomfort in her sleep.

However, I had no time to admire her peaceful, beautiful face. Love was secondary—survival came first.

I decided to carefully slide my arm out and replace it with a pillow.

But, of course, the pillow had somehow ended up on the floor.

‘Why is it down there?’

Ah.

I suddenly recalled what happened last night—Elaine had clung to a pillow for support on the third round, and I, feeling mischievous, had yanked it away and tossed it aside.

You idiot.

I had brought this upon myself.

Still, the bed had two pillows.

Fortunately, the other one was within reach.

‘…Yeah, no. I can’t use this.’

It was damp.

There were too many possible reasons, so I just stopped thinking about it altogether.

Retrieving a pillow was out of the question.

But my left arm was reaching its limit, so I had to come up with another solution.

Just then, I felt movement beside me.

Elaine, disturbed from her sleep, squirmed a little and shifted her position.

Her head moved from my arm to my shoulder.

‘That’s better.’

As blood circulation returned to my arm, I felt a wave of relief.

At least I wasn’t going to lose my left arm today.

But, as always, trouble never comes alone.

Perhaps because my shoulder was harder than my arm, Elaine kept fidgeting, unable to find a comfortable position.

Then, as if seeking a new pillow, she scooted closer and ended up wrapping herself around me.

The real problem was…

During the process, her leg landed squarely on my groin.

Elaine was a knight, meaning she was stronger than most women. Not only that, but she specialized in rapid swordsmanship, which required exceptional lower body strength.

And now, that incredibly powerful leg was pressing down on my most sensitive area.

‘Uuuuaaaaghhhh!’

I should’ve just accepted losing an arm and made Elaine take responsibility for me.

At this rate, I was going to die.

Without hesitation, I used my right arm to push her away.

“Mmm…”

However, the esteemed Commander of the Northern Guard was stronger than me, even in her sleep.

Perhaps she found the embrace comfortable because she frowned slightly and held me even tighter, even nuzzling her face against me.

Normally, I would have stroked her hair, finding this adorable.

Right now, though, it was anything but cute.

A ridiculous battle ensued—I pushed with all my strength while Elaine clung to me even harder.

After a long, exhausting struggle…

“Huff… Huff…”

Elaine was still hugging her newfound pillow.

But I was grinning.

Mission accomplished.

Her leg had shifted to my thigh.

I should’ve just moved her leg in the first place.

At least now I wouldn’t have to seek reemployment as the Northern Duke’s eunuch.

Surviving two near-death experiences this early in the morning was exhausting.

Now, I just wanted to rest.

“Mm…”

Because of last night, we were both naked.

That was also why it had hurt so much when she placed her leg over my crotch.

With her hugging me like this, naturally, Elaine’s chest was pressed against mine.

I had already suffered twice because of her this morning.

Wouldn’t it be fair for me to receive at least a little compensation?

It’s not like it’s wrong for a lover to touch their partner.

Besides, Elaine really liked physical affection.

When we were at home, she was always the one to come up and cling to me first, and even during the act, she would always ask me to touch her.

Between us, this was just light affection.

I wasn’t just rationalizing it—it was the truth.

And so, like a scholar exploring the mysteries of the human body, I carefully conducted research on the relationship between a knight’s training and the softness of chest fat—without waking my test subject.

“…You startled me.”

Feeling an eerie sensation, I turned my gaze.
Elaine had already woken up at some point and was staring at me with open eyes.

“When did you wake up?”
“From the moment you grabbed it.”
“Ah… I probably shouldn’t have done that. I thought it was soft enough that you wouldn’t wake up.”
“And yet, even after getting caught, you still didn’t stop.”
“Well, since I already got caught, I figured I might as well enjoy myself before you scold me.”
“It belongs to you too, so I’m not planning to scold you. Besides, I’ve had enough sleep.”

Even as she said that, Elaine sat up. Because of that, my hands naturally left her body.
I had thought that maybe her words were a sign of permission and had planned to take things a little further, so I felt a bit disappointed.

But then, Elaine turned and climbed on top of me.

“I don’t have work until the afternoon today, so we still have time. And since you seem healthy even in the morning, there’s no problem continuing like this.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You started it first, so that means we’re both in agreement, right?”
“Uh, I don’t think you understand, so let me explain. A man’s, uh, thing has a limit like magic. Until it recharges, I can’t use it again.”
“That’s fine. You’re a swordsman, aren’t you? As long as your sword doesn’t break, there’s no limit to how much you can swing it. See? It’s standing firm.”

Elaine was becoming more and more cunning by the day.
Realizing resistance was useless, I gave up and placed both hands on her waist.

After an eventful morning, Elaine sat at the dining table, chewing on her bread with a bright smile.

She usually didn’t show much emotion, so seeing her smile like that meant she must have really enjoyed herself.

Well, of course, she should be happy.

As for me, I had enjoyed it too, but I was feeling a little exhausted.

Maybe because I was hungry, but today, even the bread felt exceptionally filling.

“You must be starving. Well, you were very enthusiastic since last night. Here, I’ll share my portion—make sure you eat enough to recover.”

Elaine placed a sausage on my plate.
Feeling grateful, I accepted it but couldn’t help asking her,

“But you were just as enthusiastic. Are you sure you don’t need to eat more?”
“Just now, I unconsciously sucked instead of chewing. I think I’ll avoid long-shaped foods for a while.”
“…Your suggestive jokes are getting better and better.”
“…I wish it was just a joke.”

Before dating me, Elaine had no experience with men—she barely even had any knowledge about s*x.
In a fantasy world without adult videos, people usually learned about s*x through erotic novels, but Elaine wasn’t the type to read those.

Because of that, our time together in bed felt…
Like I was painting over a pure, untouched beauty in my own colors, which always ended up making things far more intense.
And considering Elaine’s talent for excelling at anything physical, teaching her new things was quite enjoyable.

‘Speaking of which…’

The thought suddenly occurred to me.
As I had expected, there were no modern contraceptive methods in this fantasy world.

As someone who had grown up hearing about the importance of birth control, I was always careful no matter how caught up in the moment I was.
But there had been times when I got too absorbed in Elaine and mistimed things… or moments when we both wanted it and went through with it anyway.
So, deep down, I couldn’t shake off a certain worry.

Pregnancy wasn’t as easy as it was portrayed in fiction.
But it could still happen when you least expected it.
And if we only realized it too late, both of us would be in a very difficult position.

Even in modern society, which had become much more open, premarital pregnancy still carried stigma.
In a medieval fantasy world, it would be much worse.
Not to mention, both Elaine and I were in positions where people paid close attention to us.
As knights, once rumors started, they wouldn’t disappear easily.

So…

“Hey, Elaine.”
“Hm?”

After we finished eating, I made up my mind and spoke.
Elaine seemed to notice that this wasn’t one of my usual lighthearted jokes.

“Should we… get married?”
“!”

Elaine’s eyes widened in shock.
Then, her face flushed red.
She quickly drank down the rest of the water in her cup, took a deep breath, and finally gave me her answer.

“It’s… quite sudden. I really didn’t expect this proposal. You always exceed my imagination.”

“I’ll propose to you properly later, so look forward to it. Today, I just wanted to talk about it in advance so it wouldn’t feel too awkward when the time comes.”

At that, Elaine finally understood my intention and adopted a serious expression.

“You became a knight and even earned His Excellency’s recognition. I also never want to be apart from you, not even for a moment. I worried that falling in love would make me restless and affect my duties, but fortunately, I’ve confirmed that you’re a diligent man, so that won’t be an issue.”

Elaine began to open up about her true feelings.

“You’ve proven your abilities and secured your position within the guard. Luke, I doubt there’s a single person in the guard who speaks ill of you.”

“…….”

“So even if I were to declare my love for you… I’m sure they’d all be surprised, but I don’t believe they would speak badly of it.”

Just as the guard followed Elaine, Elaine also trusted them.

Even though I had only been with them for a few months, I had already come to see them as friends and brothers.

And after hearing about Grace’s past, I was certain that the guard she had personally built wouldn’t be so petty as to make a fuss over something like this.

“To be honest, I started feeling possessive. At the Snowflake Tower, in the Order of Knights, whenever people showed interest in you, I wanted to stake my claim. Did you happen to notice the noble ladies’ gazes on you at last night’s party?”

“?”

The noble ladies were looking at me?

I had been so focused on Elaine that I hadn’t noticed at all.

“It made my insides churn. If I’d had a sword in my hand, I would have burned with jealousy just like you did. And when you confessed your love in front of Lady Gravain, when you took my hand and led me to the dance floor… I was so happy, yet at the same time, I felt regret.”

“You felt regret?”

“I couldn’t show off my wonderful lover to everyone. I had to keep my arms to myself instead of linking them with yours and declaring that no one else could have you. I had to suppress my feelings instead.”

“…….”

Once Elaine started talking, it seemed she had been holding it in just as much as I had.

“I was actually the one who requested your leave this morning from His Excellency.”

“What?!”

“Last night, I just really wanted to hold you. Seeing your love for me made me want to reaffirm my own feelings, and I wanted to engrave myself even deeper into your heart.”

Thinking back, the times when Elaine had initiated intimacy were always moments when I had accomplished something—
After my achievements in the Silver Sabertooth expedition, when talks of a special appointment arose, and then last night.

In other words, Elaine, while deeply in love with me, harbored a small anxiety about our secret relationship.

But the reason she hadn’t outright suggested making our relationship public was—

“Was there something in particular that worried you?”

“A concern, huh…”

Elaine’s expression wasn’t dark, but it carried a certain weight as she replied.

“The regulations of the guard prohibit indecent conduct between members, but love itself isn’t forbidden. Our relationship isn’t a violation of any rules. However, rules aren’t everything in life. If our relationship becomes public, there will be talk—even outside the guard.”

Just last night at the party, when I held her hand and danced with her, murmurs had spread among the nobles.

Elaine, as the captain of the guard, was quite popular with the public, so news of her engagement would surely draw immense attention.

“I was afraid that my selfishness might interfere with your future. You’ve only recently started making a name for yourself after the Snowflake Tower incident, and if our relationship became known, people wouldn’t target me but you.”

Her kindness and love for me had led her to suppress her own feelings.

But because she loved me, her patience conflicted with her growing concern, causing her turmoil.

“We really are alike, aren’t we?”

“?”

“I was thinking the exact same thing. If our relationship became public, I worried that people would criticize you, saying the captain of the guard was distracted by a man. I didn’t want you to suffer from such scrutiny.”

“!”

“And even though I’m a knight, I haven’t even been in the guard for a full year. If people start talking, saying someone like me seduced the captain… If they dare speak obscenely about you, I don’t know if I’d be able to control myself.”

“…….”

“That’s why, when those nobles were eyeing you last night, I was practically fuming inside. Haha.”

“Is that why you suddenly asked me to dance?”

“I wanted to show them who you belonged to.”

Elaine chuckled.

In the end, we had both been circling around the same concerns, worrying about each other too much.

When in reality, we had been feeling the exact same way all along.

“You wanted to show everyone that you love me, too.”

“If I had followed my heart, I would have kissed you right then and there. Deeply.”

“Please hold back on that. Doing something like that in front of others would be a bit embarrassing.”

Elaine, seemingly relieved of her worries, smiled warmly.
I took her hand and asked,

“So, what’s your answer?”

Elaine hesitated for a moment before softly replying,

“Please take care of me…”

Her face turned red as she shyly nodded.
Seeing her act so bashful yet formal, I couldn’t help but grin.

“And no matter what people say, I don’t care.”

“Because what matters is that we love each other?”

“No. Because the highest authority in the North has already approved. What do their whispers matter? If anything, we’ll just report them to His Excellency—tell him they’re speaking ill of the guard.”

At that, Elaine burst into laughter.

And just like that, instead of one of us leading the other, we decided to take this step forward together.