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Edgar awoke just as dawn was breaking.

Perhaps it had been quite an eventful night, as he had fallen into a deep sleep yet still found himself waking up significantly earlier than usual.

He couldn’t help but smirk at how intimidating habits could be as he glanced down at Ariel, who was lying next to him.

“She’s beautiful.”

Despite the fact that she lay there without a stitch of clothing, his first thought was simply how pretty she looked.

Her looks were cheating, no doubt about it.

At least, Edgar thought that it was rare to come across anyone who could surpass Ariel’s beauty among the people he had met.

Sure, Silvia might be somewhat on par, but to Edgar, Ariel just felt more beautiful.

“Heh.”

As he examined the soundly sleeping Ariel, he suddenly noticed her mumbling in her sleep, hair flailing around like a toddler.

Not knowing when she had developed such a habit, he cautiously attempted to tuck her hair back, but Ariel reached out a delicate hand and caught hold of his arm.

“Awkward.”

Even though he didn’t plan on throwing himself into morning training while on this trip, he had intended to at least drink some water and wash off his sticky body. Yet, he found himself firmly captured.

Not wanting to disturb her and wake her up, he felt trapped.

“I might as well stay like this for a while.”

Since there was no rush, Edgar decided to stay beside Ariel for a bit longer.

As a little more time passed, the cheerful chirping of sparrows began to fill the air, and warm sunlight started pouring in through the window.

With the curtains not fully drawn, the light that slipped through pricked at Ariel’s eyes, causing her to stir and let out a faint groan.

“Oh no.”

Edgar quickly reached out a hand to shield her from the sunlight, but it seemed he was a moment too late, as Ariel kept tossing and turning until she finally opened her eyes.

As usual, she looked rather dazed upon waking up.

“Did I wake you? Sorry, I should have closed the curtains earlier.”

“Mmm… No. By the way, what time is it?”

“It’s just a little past seven. Want to sleep some more?”

She had woken up considerably earlier than her usual time.

Considering the aftermath of last night, Edgar figured she must be tired and tried to persuade her to go back to sleep, but Ariel shook her head, indicating she was not in the mood for more sleep.

“Ugh…!”

“Does it hurt?”

As Ariel attempted to push herself up, she groaned in pain, prompting Edgar to shoot her a look that said, “What did you expect?”

It was quite unusual for her waist to be fine after such vigorous movement, especially considering it was her first experience.

“I-it’s fine. Just a bit.”

“Fine? Let’s see.”

Edgar gave her forehead a gentle tap and then had her lie down in front of him.

Not that she needed clothes, but even in her bare state, she appeared extraordinarily alluring. Edgar tried to focus elsewhere as he moved his hand gently over her waist.

“It might hurt a little.”

“I-I’ll try to endure it.”

“Good. You’re obeying well.”

In a tone reminiscent of soothing a child, Ariel pouted her lips, but instead of lashing out at him for treating her like a kid, she held her tongue and accepted Edgar’s care.

Soon, as Edgar’s hand began to knead from her lower back to her buttocks, the pressure felt gentle enough, and Ariel began to feel wonderfully relaxed.

“You’re good at this… Did you learn somewhere?”

“Not really learned, just following what I’ve read in books a few times.”

“For just following, you’re quite skilled. I might want this more often.”

“If you’re good, I’ll consider it.”

Once again, he spoke in a way that sounded like he was trying to comfort a child, and Ariel finally retorted, “Am I a child?”

To which Edgar responded, “You’re not a child anymore.”

No matter how he tried to reason, it was hard to consider her a child after everything that had transpired on their first night together.

As the pain in her waist gradually subsided, Ariel’s curiosity flared up, and she turned her head slightly to look at Edgar, who was still focused on her back.

“Ed, do you have a lot of experience?”

“What kind of experience?”

“Experience with women.”

Edgar tilted his head at the sudden question.

Having spent nearly twenty years together, they were well aware of each other’s romantic histories, and it seemed strange to ask such things now.

“There’s no way I have a lot. You’re my first.”

“For your first, you were surprisingly skilled…”

“…I don’t really know why.”

As Ariel shot him a suspicious glance, Edgar could only awkwardly look away.

The truth was, even if it was his first time, he felt he had quite smoothly led Ariel through the night.

He hadn’t even realized how strong his urges had been.

Who could guess that a man would end up staying awake all night after the first night together?

Sure, maybe it was because Ariel was that attractive, but undoubtedly, Edgar’s stamina was on another level.

“So it was your first, and you made me do all that…? Pervert.”

“Hey, I’ve said it before, but you are not as innocent as you think!”

Edgar wasn’t oblivious to how passionately involved he had been last night.

But hearing Ariel call him a pervert felt grossly unfair, and he couldn’t help but shout back.

“What did I do?”

“Do I need to spell it out? I’m worried you might dig yourself a hole.”

“Go ahead and try! I’ve got plenty to say, too!”

Eventually, after experiencing a dense, sticky night as adults, the two returned to their usual childish love-play akin to three-year-olds the next morning.

Though one thing had changed: their gazes towards each other had grown more affectionate.

Finding something new within the same old looks.

That was the direction all couples seemed to head towards.

* * * * * * *

Having had a lovely breakfast alone in the room, the couple finally left for lunch.

In the dining area, Silvia was already waiting for them.

“Did you sleep well, Ariel?”

“Yeah, but where’s Hagel?”

As both Edgar and Ariel took their seats, Ariel asked after not seeing Hagel, who had always been at Silvia’s side.

“He went outside to meet some acquaintances. Apparently, he knows quite a few people living nearby in Hildak.”

“Is that so?”

Nodding appropriately, Ariel dipped her hands lightly in the small bowl of water before her.

After exchanging greetings with the nearby users, Edgar finally took his seat beside her.

The moment he sat down, Ariel turned to him with a honeyed gaze and smiled joyfully.

“Hehe, it looks like last night was quite pleasant?”

With Silvia picking up on the mood, her playful tone hinted at understanding what had likely transpired.

Even with the sound-repelling magic in effect, one could expect events based on logical deductions.

“It was nice. More than you could ever imagine.”

“Oh my, now you’re not even trying to hide it?”

When Ariel, as if there were no need to conceal anything, tossed her hair back dismissively, Silvia’s eyes widened in surprise.

Since it was Ariel, one would expect her to hide at least some part of it, but the response was entirely unexpected.

“Isn’t this something everyone already knows? Then there’s no point in hiding it again.”

“Ah, what a pity. I was looking forward to teasing our shy Ariel.”

“Hmph, it’s pointless, so go find your fun elsewhere.”

Though Ariel had her gratitude towards Silvia, knowing her advice had helped her approach Edgar the night before, she wouldn’t easily let herself be played with.

“Miss, shall I bring out the meals now?”

At that moment, Shuri, who had been standing quietly nearby, stepped forward.

They had food ready but were waiting to avoid disturbing the conversation.

“Go ahead. Silvia aside, Edgar must be really hungry.”

“What am I, chopped liver? It sounds a bit lonely over here.”

Hearing Ariel’s reply, Silvia playfully chimed in, but she wasn’t bothered.

Instead, she redirected her focus to Edgar, asking, “Aren’t you hungry?”

This elicited a chuckle from Edgar.

Not long after, the prepared dishes began to arrive one by one.

Despite everything, the ones chatting animatedly at the table were mostly Ariel and Silvia while Edgar quietly continued his meal.

Based on past experiences, he knew that trying to join in would only bring trouble, and more importantly, the content of their conversation seemed difficult to join.

“Honestly, I was a bit surprised. Even though you provided the opportunity, I didn’t expect Ariel to be so proactive.”

“I can act when I need to. Please don’t underestimate me.”

“Sure, I get that, but this is kind of a different story.”

Silvia didn’t mean to belittle Ariel’s capabilities; she merely knew her well enough to say so.

Ariel could definitely act when necessary and had enough assertiveness, but there were times when she would be timid, especially regarding emotional matters.

Considering that she could never confess to Edgar over the years and he was the one to confess last, Silvia could gauge her hesitance pretty well.

Thus, while secretly hoping for the best, Silvia figured that it would take time for Ariel to find her own pace, planning to offer advice again if needed.

But to everyone’s shock, after just one night, she heard whispers that Ariel had seduced a man using alcohol, leaving Silvia wondering if this was the Ariel she knew at all.

“By the way, it sounds like Edgar treated you very well? You’ve been smiling non-stop.”

“He did. But I’m not about to reveal the details to you.”

“What a meanie. A little dessert for your advisor wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

As someone who had occasionally nudged their relationship along at key moments, Silvia felt she had the right to ask for some crumbs of information.

So today, she wanted to hear at least a decent amount about last night’s events, but Ariel cut her off entirely.

“What did he do that was so special? Edgar, can’t you share just a little?”

As Silvia leaned toward Edgar with a pleading expression, he looked taken aback.

He never imagined he would be under fire like this in the current situation.

“Wait! You’re not supposed to ask the Master this…! Ah.”

“……”

Ariel hastily reached out to stop Silvia, but she accidentally blurted out something irreversible, and the air froze.

After about three seconds, a dark and mischievous smile appeared on Silvia’s face, the likes of which she hadn’t shown before.

“Hehe… Ariel, I think we’ll have a lot to discuss, don’t you?”

With a look that seemed to say, ‘You can’t possibly escape this,’ Silvia was ready to dig for as much information as she could.

Having returned to reality after a dream-like night, Ariel found herself trapped by Silvia due to a slip of the tongue and had to endure her relentless questions throughout lunch.

For the record, Edgar threw out a comment about karma before quietly leaving the dining room, letting the two girls deal with it.

 

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