Book 4, 2

Confusion And Responsibility(2)

Forced onto his back, Richard started snoring thunderously. Even so his brows were tightly locked together, the face that was supposed to be young now with lines etched on its forehead.

A flurry of emotions surged through her eyes, delicate hands brushing at Richard’s throat. Her hand suddenly posed like a knife, making a pretend-slash as she whispered, “I’ll cut you!”

Richard had no reaction whatsoever, sleeping like the dead.

She ended up gazing at him quietly, her gaze slowly growing murderous. However, the moment she moved closer a great sense of danger enveloped her, a tremor shaking all of her body. No matter how hard she tried to find the source of this feeling, she just could not. Her hand was already at his throat; as long as she used some strength, she would be able to strangle him. And yet, her movements no longer had the bloodlust of before.

“Why am I doing this?” she muttered to herself, a mocking smile appearing about her lips, “Just for that bastard who wanted to sell me off?”

She hadn’t noticed the dull red lustre emanating from the beast-tooth bracelet on Richard’s wrist. As her own killing intent faded, the tooth at the top returned to normal as well.

Rosie’s gaze swept past Richard’s well-proportioned and fit body, landing on the culprit that had just left her on the verge of falling apart. It had done many wrongs, but it still stood tall as though showing off a victory. A faint flush rose on her face as she glared at the lethal weapon and gritted out, “I’ll cut you off sooner or later!”

She then slowly crawled over and picked up Richard’s outer robes, her own long dress now no more than a pile of torn cloth. While trying to adjust this new clothing, she suddenly saw the dense scribbles on the magic paper that Richard had left on the table. Curious, she picked it up and looked through the text.

There were quite a few names on the paper: Sharon, Gaton, Elena, Flowsand, Mountainsea. Next to the names were many numbers and words; for instance, Sharon had ‘4 million every year’, ‘Sharon’s Delight’, ‘saint runemaster’, and ‘help you wake up’ next to her name. Near Gaton was ‘give back a more powerful Archeron Family’, ‘will get rid of you sooner or later’, and others. Next to Mountainsea was only one sentence, ‘Will come for you within five years.’

There were many simple yet powerful drawings on the paper as well. Sharon floating helplessly in the void. A barbarian girl’s back looking incredibly bleak and heavy as she was about to leave. Looking at this image, Rosie felt as though every step of the girl could shake the earth. Gaton was an indistinct bundle of flames, and all that was next to Elena was the outline of a volcano and fresh flowers at its mouth. Then there was Flowsand, a graceful figure standing before an altar with a strip of divine grace floating above her head.

These drawings were very concise, but every stroke was stifling. It was a complete eruption of all of Richard’s feelings. At this point, she suddenly understood that this paper showed all of Richard’s responsibilities.

She bit her lower lip, her gaze at the offender growing more complicated. Even she didn’t know exactly what she was feeling at that moment...

“You pig!” she finally gritted out, using all her strength to drag Richard to his bedroom. The room was right next door, but the few steps it took to get there left her in a cold sweat.

......

It was only near noon the next day when Richard finally awoke from his drunken slumber. He had no idea that someone had called him a pig last night, only feeling a splitting headache.

‘I should drink better stuff in the future, this is too uncomfortable!’ he thought as he rubbed his temples. As he stirred, he suddenly felt like there was someone sleeping next to him.

The tipsiness he was feeling completely dissipated as his body tensed, ready to deal a killing blow before he even opened his eyes.

Next to him, Rosie was curled up like a kitten, holding his arm tightly while deep asleep. She was completely naked, her perfect curves able to leave anyone breathless no matter what angle they saw her from. Although he had seen every part of her body already, Richard’s heart still fluttered.

But then, a thought came to mind: why was it her?

He could remember almost nothing of the last night. Even trying his best, he only managed to drag out a few fragmented images. However, those images left him shocked. So whatever was possible had happened?

‘Shouldn’t she be under house arrest?’ he suddenly remembered, ‘Why had she appeared in his study?’

However, as he watched the sleeping girl he felt unwilling to wake her. Lying down on the bed once more, he tried his best to remember the events of the last night.

A few minutes later, the sensitive young lady felt the difference in Richard and slowly woke up. The first thing she saw was Richard gazing at her closely, but her eyes remained clear and her expression dull. However, the purple marks dotting her snow-white skin illustrated how intense last night had been.

When Richard saw her wake up, his expression immediately turned frosty. However, that melted away into a calmness as he asked, “How did you get out?”

“Of the house arrest? Well, I convinced the old steward that I’m harmless so he let me move around freely on the island. I can’t leave, however.”

Richard’s expression chilled, “You’re pretty good at persuading people.”

“Indeed. Now everyone in the family likes me... Except you, that is.”

“This isn’t your family. Your surname is Mensa,” Richard icily reminded her.

Rosie wasn’t angered in the slightest, stating lightly, “Blood ties are an effective way of judging someone, but they aren’t everything. I hear there are many with the Archeron name that have no honour either. This island is proof of my point.”

“How does it prove anything?”

“Didn’t you have the three knights kill over a hundred traitors? Isn’t that proof enough?”

Richard had no answer to this question. This was one of the few times he was on the losing end of a verbal battle. He frowned, “Blood ties and surnames are still very important, especially for sense of belonging.”

“All my surname gave me was a marriage to a sadistic old pervert. My entire value to the Mensas was in my face and future children. If I treasure this sense of belonging, should I marry that old coot Dario happily and die a few years later after all kinds of abuse? Do you really think that Mensa is the most important part of my name?”

Once again, Richard had nothing to answer her with. He had no choice but to admit that Rosie was very good at persuasion, including on himself. The only way to avoid it was to not let her open her mouth. His gaze swept past the bruises on her body as he feigned calmness, “Well, we seem to have done something last night. You...”

Rosie seemed to know everything he was thinking, answering dully, “It was my first time.”

The bluntness left Richard flustered and embarrassed, “That wasn’t what I meant.”

However, she took things even further. Supporting her upper body, she raised her left leg up high to reveal her most private area, speaking with an unperturbed voice that could make anyone fall apart, “You can check. It should still be on time.”

The outrageous action coupled with her calm expression became a stimulant difficult to resist. Richard’s body reacted before his mind, his member standing tall once more.

He fell into an outburst in the midst of his embarrassment, flipping on top of her and preparing to take her again as he stated vehemently, “Fine, I’ll check again!”

Of course, the two were talking about different kinds of checks. Probably.

Rosie closed her eyes, waiting quietly. However, the moment her slit was touched she couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Despite her best efforts to endure the pain, her hands subconsciously grabbed at the bedsheets. Last night had been far too rough, leaving her extremely sore. She still hadn’t recovered, but was about to be entered once more. The pain was sharp, like a knife cutting into her. No matter how cool she seemed, her body’s instincts could not be controlled.

Richard took one look at her face and immediately stopped his next movements, getting off the bed. Rubbing his forehead that was still throbbing, he stretched his back for a while before breathing out slowly. He turned towards Rosie once more, a complicated expression on his face as he said slowly, “I understand. I’ll think about it a little more, but you can stay here at ease. I’ll have the steward find a place for you to change.”

Rosie got off the bed as well, but her legs bowed at the first step. She nearly fell to the ground, but she tenaciously stood back up and told him, “My functions extend past the bed, you know.”

“I’m aware.” Having said this, Richard quickly wore his clothes and left the room. When the door closed behind him, he heaved a sigh of relief. Everything had happened too quickly and he’d had no time to think it through properly. In this situation, facing a girl like Rosie caused him too much stress.

Within the room, a slight smile appeared about the young lady’s lips, “Hmph, this will give you another responsibility!”

Just as she had said, Rosie’s greatest value was in political marriage. This was an age-old tradition with strict, established requirements. Before she was married, the girl had to maintain her purity; only after bearing the first heir to the other family could she begin to seek out lovers. Of course, that depended on the difference in influence between the two families.