Chapter 427

After a nearly sleepless night filled with Ethan’s repeated climaxes inside me, I awoke the next morning.

Well, if I’m honest, it might have been closer to midday. The last thing I remembered from the night before was Ethan pressing his lips to mine again and again, with the dawn sky slowly brightening outside the window.

My maid instincts were probably the only thing that got me up even this early, since I was used to needing little sleep.

‘Hah, this jerk fell asleep while still inside me….’

I could still feel Ethan’s presence within me, even as I woke up, his lower half pressing into me.

Who knows if he kept moving after I passed out, or if he just fell asleep holding me like that. Maybe he doesn’t even remember himself.

After such a long, lust-filled night, we had certainly reached the point of pure exhaustion, so just separating our sticky, intertwined bodies was a chore.

‘Thank goodness for cleaning magic… Without it, I’d probably be…’

If I couldn’t use it, I might have had to take at least one leave of absence due to pregnancy by now.

With that thought, I managed to finally pull him out of me, though his body was still draped over mine, pinning me down.

The position we’d ended up in left him on top, with one arm wrapped around me, holding me tightly.

Squeeze.

‘…Is he really asleep?’

Ethan was clutching me like a child clings to a stuffed toy, his body pressing down on mine.

I wanted to take a bath and change clothes before he woke up, so I carefully tried to twist my way out of his hold.

Squish!

“Mmph, ah?!”

…At one point, his hand reflexively gripped me, squeezing my body in his sleep, but I finally managed to slip free.@@novelbin@@

The sticky remnants of last night reminded me of everything we’d done. I couldn’t tell if the fluids clinging to me were sweat, or something else.

I’d removed him, yet I still felt full.

‘He really did a number on me….’

Step.

“Hngh, ouch?!”

Damn… my thighs are killing me…

I nearly collapsed as soon as I tried to get off the bed. That insane guy… how many times did he go at it last night?

Up until last year, his streak wasn’t so relentless that I’d need to handle so much at once. Dealing with months’ worth of pent-up desire all at once? Never again.

I should hope next semester sees Ethan beating Harold more often. Or maybe I’ll just have to make sure I beat Ethan again myself soon enough.

Snore, exhale….

“……”

Leaving Ethan passed out in bed, I quietly made my way to the bathroom.

I let the cool water run over me, washing away the sticky remains of last night’s escapade.

The hassle of not being able to use cleaning magic on myself except for contraception and personal hygiene really hits me sometimes.

It’s a setting straight out of a porn game, where heroines can’t skip bath scenes, so I was left to handle it manually.

“Hah, just how much did he…”

As I contemplated using cleaning magic to finish up, the bathroom door opened, and Ethan walked in.

His hair was a mess, and he looked even dumber than usual. Reflexively, I hugged myself, sensing danger as memories of last night came flooding back.

Clunk.

“Ah?!”

“…Oh, Lily. You’re bathing.”

Still half-asleep or maybe just utterly drained from last night, Ethan had entered the bathroom. He saw me, but still walked in, completely unfazed.

“…Ed, I’m still in here.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you… no, wait. Why are you coming closer?!”

He approached me, nude, flaunting the effects of his morning energy. I was too startled to resist as he pulled me close, his sticky body pressing against mine.

Squeeze.

“Ed?!”

“Seeing you like this first thing… I couldn’t hold back.”

“…We already finished my reward last night, didn’t we? I thought we agreed to save intercourse outside of rewards for later…”

“No, we’re not done yet.”

“…What?”

“It’s not over until you say ‘stop.’ You didn’t say that last night, so it’s not finished.”

“……”

…How does he even come up with this?

Even though his reasoning seemed ridiculous, I found myself strangely swayed by it.

“I thought it would be over after a whole night…”

“Then say ‘stop,’ Lily. You can say it right now, without interruptions.”

“……”

“If you don’t say it now, we’ll start again. And I won’t stop kissing you, like last night.”

…Where does this endless stamina even come from?

As much as I wanted to deny it, my lips refused to tell him to stop.

“Lily?”

“…What, Ed?”

“If you don’t want to, just say so. I’m waiting.”

“…I didn’t say anything, did I?”

“Then can I?”

“…You said you’d keep going until I tell you to stop, right? This time, I’ll make sure you’re the one to give up first.”

…Not that I particularly wanted to be intimate with Ethan again this morning.

But that smug look, like he’d already won, irritated me. I couldn’t stand the idea of backing down here.

Besides… once we started, I knew I’d need to release again, so I’d better let it all out now.

Not because I’m a lewd maid who couldn’t bring herself to say stop. That’s not it at all.

“I knew you’d say that, Lily.”

“What do you mean by ‘you’d say that’…? Mmph.”

Not waiting for me to finish, he kissed me deeply in the bathroom.

…It would be another hour before I finally got to use cleaning magic for contraception.

After spending nearly two days enduring Ethan’s desires, I spent almost a full day bedridden.

I was utterly exhausted, my body sore, and my legs ached with every step.

By then, my relationship with Ethan was pretty much an open secret within the Blackwood estate.

Considering that the young master and his maid had gone to town for a full day and returned with me bedridden, the servants were bound to assume things.

Isabel, Katarina, and Dietmeier already knew about us, but now our relationship had quietly become more public.

Incidentally, Dietmeier had waited for us at the village entrance for about six hours. We’d told him to come in the ‘morning,’ yet we only made it out by ‘afternoon,’ leaving him to wait and worry.

The rest of the summer vacation passed quietly as Ethan, Isabel, and I took care of estate affairs, then boarded a carriage back to the academy.

“Lord Harold doesn’t seem like he’ll return anytime soon.”

“He said he’d be back for the next semester, so he might already be at the academy.”

…With Harold away, I got to experience both victory over Ethan and some unique bonding moments.

After what felt like a hectic summer break, it was time to return to routine.

Stumble, stumble….

“L-Lady Lilith… Y-you should take these too….”

“Wait, Katarina! That’s too much to carry at once….”

Slip.

“Ahh?!”

Carrying a pile of bags precariously, Katarina began to tip over.

I tried to catch her, but someone else beat me to it.

“You need to be careful, Katarina. I always tell you to watch your step.”

“S-sorry, Dietmeier… T-thank you for catching me…”

“……What?”

Katarina and Dietmeier’s interaction drew wide eyes from everyone. Quickly realizing our stares, they awkwardly separated and reverted to their usual personas.

“Ahem, I’m glad you’re alright, Miss Katarina.”

“Yes, thank you very much, Head Steward Dietmeier….”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Though they tried to act like nothing happened, it was clear they weren’t just colleagues.

And so, the main topic of conversation during our carriage ride back to the academy became the budding romance between Katarina and Dietmeier.