Invitation of the Crescent Moon - Chapter 62

The black hair flowed gently in the soft breeze, settling on her shoulders. Ashika narrowed her brow and brushed her hair back as she felt the ticklish sensation against her cheek.

Her round forehead was revealed, and her dark eyebrows stood out prominently against her white skin, as if drawn with a brush. Below them, her long shadowed eyelashes and large, round black pupils moved quickly while fixed on the document.

It was an almost frightening level of concentration. She was focusing all her attention on reading the document, seemingly unaware of the intense gaze that had been fixed on her for some time.

Though her posture in the chair was impeccable, all she wore was a thin summer robe. And even that was a light garment that clearly revealed the elegant curves of her body.

Drushia clicked his tongue, disappointed that she hadn’t looked back even once.

‘How is that even possible?’

Until moments ago, they had been passionately entangled, but the moment she picked up the documents, she became a completely different person.

‘No, this was her original face.’

The cool, composed face of Ashika that he encountered in public settings, not in bed. The sight was both unfamiliar and familiar, stirring a peculiar excitement in his chest.

‘A promise is a promise, but… isn’t she keeping it too strictly?’

She hadn’t spared him a single glance since leaving the bed. He couldn’t help feeling annoyed.

‘Those damn documents, should I just take them all away? Or…’

What if he pushed her against the table and pinned her down right there? The documents would all fall to the floor in disarray, and it would take quite some time to organize them again.

Drushia raised himself from his half-reclined position on the bed. Due to the heat, he wore only loose pants with nothing covering his upper body.

A mischievous smile appeared on Drushia’s face, like a naughty child planning a prank. Just as he reached out his hand toward Ashika’s shoulder—

“Look here, see this. The time when the title was elevated…”

When Ashika turned her head, Drushia had already approached to just one step away. He quickly withdrew the hand that had been about to grab her.

“Rushia, what are you doing?”

Unaware of what had almost happened, Ashika’s expression seemed to say, ‘When did you get so close?’

“Hmm, what’s the matter? Is there a problem with the documents?”

“Ah, look at this. After the second miracle, there was a period of continuous warfare.”

Ashika, failing to notice Drushia’s flustered appearance, held out the document she was holding.

“This part here, ‘Foreign tribes swarmed in for the fertile land, causing endless chaos. After the chaos subsided, the king proclaimed himself emperor, and in recognition of their contributions, Talion was elevated from Marquise to Duke, and Maiheller, who had been the king’s right hand, was granted the title of Marquis and new territory.’ But what contribution did they make? Maiheller wasn’t even from a knightly family.”

“That’s true. I know it’s an older family than I thought.”

Maiheller was a family without distinctive characteristics, much like Igraine.

“There was a rumor that mixing with imperial blood led to the birth of Odd-eyes.”

“That’s strange too. There are many families with imperial blood mixed in, so why would the extinct Golden Eyes only be born in the Maiheller family? And only as a half-breed?”

“Do you think there’s some connection?”

“Wouldn’t that make sense?”

At Ashika’s question, Drushia stroked his chin, lost in thought.

It was an issue he had never considered before. He had no interest in the founding myths, and whether Maiheller had mixed with imperial blood or not, what did it matter?

He couldn’t understand why Ashika was digging into this issue. Drushia had only provided the materials as an excuse to keep her around. But now this story, which he had considered irrelevant, was beginning to grate on his nerves.

When no answer came from him, Ashika turned her attention back to the table. She shuffled through papers, looking for official records from the same period. She had already forgotten about Drushia standing beside her.

Drushia felt irritated at losing his presence right in front of her.

“Ashika.”

“Hmm? What is it, Rushia?”

Ashika replied absentmindedly, her face buried in the pile of documents. Suddenly she sensed something odd about her own tone and looked up. There stood Drushia, looking down at her with a sullen expression.

“You’ve become quite natural at it.”

“Ah, that’s…”

Ashika was startled by how naturally the casual tone came to her.

“I sometimes get the feeling that you’re confusing something. There can’t be two men like me.”

He stopped himself from adding that there was no resemblance between him and her former fiancé. He didn’t want to give Ashika any reason to think about her ex-fiancé in their private space.

Drushia’s comment sharply pinpointed her confusion. Afraid he might discover her true feelings, Ashika tensed.

“It just means I’m getting used to you. Do you dislike that?”

“It seems I’m not that difficult to approach.”

Drushia’s expression became curious.

Most people felt the opposite. Drushia was someone who made others uncomfortable, and even Shafri, who had known him for fourteen years, couldn’t treat him with complete ease.

Yet Ashika dealt with him without hesitation, like a longtime lover or family member. It was a world apart from her attitude just a few months ago when she had openly wanted to avoid him.

“It’s not pleasing that you’re not nervous in front of a half-naked man.”

Drushia leaned forward, placing one hand on the backrest of her chair and the other on the table. His muscular upper body caught the bright sunlight, revealing every subtle contour.

Ashika hunched her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

“I am… nervous.”

When you approach like a predator stalking its prey…

“A person who claims to be nervous is just sitting there in nothing but a robe, flipping through documents? While I’ve undressed you dozens of times in my mind?”

Ashika, flustered, awkwardly tried to rise and escape from him. As the chair tilted, Drushia’s hand caught the backrest and slowly pushed it over.

“Whoa, Rushia!”

Ashika’s body slid and fell to the floor. Even though it was the floor, a soft carpet cushioned it, so she didn’t feel any impact.

It was a carpet that had been there since her second visit. As if intending to roll around the entire room. Sure enough, from then on, Drushia had knocked Ashika down indiscriminately on both the bed and the floor.

Drushia pushed the chair far away and instantly climbed on top of her. Ashika looked up at the large man pressing down on her, blinking in confusion.

Having fallen, her robe had rolled up, revealing her white thighs, and the loosened front showed a glimpse of her cleavage.

“Rushia, we had an agreement, remember? Three hours after arriving at the lodge would be according to your wishes, and the rest would be at my discretion.”

“You call that discretion? Don’t you know men at all?”

“A promise is a promis—mmph.”

Drushia silenced her protesting small lips with his own.

His hot tongue pushed into her mouth, which had opened in surprise. His tongue, writhing like a snake, wrapped around hers, pulling and scraping at the root of her tongue.

“Mmm…”

The heat that had barely subsided began to rise again. The man’s body temperature, hot enough to burn, pressed down on her body, rubbing against her skin.

From the pinned lower body, she felt a hard mass. It slowly grew and wriggled, stimulating her sensitive parts. Her lower body twitched in response to the stimulation.

Drushia was right. Asking for information was just an excuse—she just wanted to cast everything aside and be with him. She wanted to greedily possess this man who didn’t hide his desire for her.

Ashika’s breath heated up. Her legs, pinned beneath his muscular body, writhed, craving his touch. Drushia, who had been kissing her greedily, barely managed to lift his head.

“Whew. Really…”

His hand, sticky with sweat, caressed her white thigh. The urge to spread those legs and thrust himself into her raged fiercely.

Now Drushia wanted anything that would keep Ashika with him. He had such a crazy thought—that he wished she would make demands of him, anything that would give him an excuse to negotiate with her.

‘I never thought I’d see the day when I’d lose my mind over a woman.’

She wasn’t an unparalleled beauty worth selling a country for, nor was she a temptress, yet he couldn’t keep his senses about him, and he didn’t know why.

‘I must be going insane.’

At first, it was enough just to desire her body. Their bodies matched surprisingly well, and every moment was filled with greedy ecstasy. But as time passed, small desires began to take root in Drushia’s heart.

The thought of holding Ashika in his arms and falling asleep together. The desire to wake up together in the same bed and greet the morning. The wish to hold hands and stroll aimlessly together in the season when flower buds were just beginning to bloom. Such trivial wishes.

Drushia barely tore his gaze away from the black eyes looking up at him.

Eyes reflecting the same hot passion as his own. Pushing that away with effort, Drushia spoke in a low voice.

“Shall we go for a walk?”

“What?”

At this unexpected suggestion, Ashika’s face went blank.

“Did you know we’ve never left the bedroom since coming here?”

“Well, that’s because…”

Where would they have had time to leave the room? Every time they met, they rolled around the bed like beasts, and she barely squeezed in time to look at Talion’s records.

“This area is private property, so no one comes and goes. The tree shade is deep, making it cool even at midday. It will be refreshing.”

Drushia gently stroked her black hair as he spoke kindly. As if walking together was more important than immediate desire.

Until now, Drushia had been accommodating her wishes. There was no reason to refuse such a simple suggestion.

“Alright.”

“Good.”

A smile deepened on his relaxed face. Drushia silently smiled and helped her to her feet.