Chapter 198: (Mature)

Eugene followed Sven quietly, and they ended up walking quite a distance.

Maybe because it was the first time she had been in that place, or maybe it was because they had to stop and wait for the warriors to finish clearing the path that was thick with bushes, that she felt like she had walked a long time.

When she was beginning to feel antsy that was when she finally saw the old dignified holy land.

'Wow...'Eugene let out a sigh.

Eugene looked up at the towering spire of the castle. It was a castle of considerable size, it was almost as big as the current royal castle.

'It must have been built very strong.' Eugene commented. Even from where she stood it was apparent that its stone walls were in good condition, especially for an old building. There did not seem much erosion even with the passage of time.

Before leaving, she was given brief information about the holy land. Although it was a capital city hundreds of years ago, some of the stone walls had fallen apart, but the old royal castle was almost intact. If it was refurbished, it seemed that there would be no problem even if they decided to live in it right away.

However, the thick vines that climbed up the walls almost covered the windows, giving the impression that no one lived there for a long time. The jumbled grass that grew around it added more to the feeling of a ruin, proof that it had not been graced with a human touch for quite some time. The castle itself was in good condition but it was clear there was a lot to do if they were to turn it into a liveable place.

Eugene walked around the castle in a garden that barely remained in structural form. It was a sacred place, so she was very careful. She only looked at it from a distance where she couldn't reach, thinking not to touch anything.

She had been walking aimlessly for about twenty minutes, when she decided there was nothing else for her to see.

If she had been to a place like this while she was on Earth, she would have looked in every cranny and tried to remember it. But now she lived in a castle that was more magnificent and beautiful than this. She wasn't very impressed with the look of the old castle if she were being honest.

"Let's head back now." Eugen announced.

"Yes, my queen."

"Is there a way back to the lake other than the path we used to come here?" She asked.

"There is no road around the lake. To access the shore, you must go to the tented area. The procession always draws water from the lake through that path."

Eugene looked at the direction of the lake with a gaze full of regret. On the banks of the lake there will be much thicker vegetation than here, those would be hard to hurdle over.

Without a road for them to take, walking around the lake was close to impossible.

When Eugene returned to the starting point with the warriors, the large and small tents that had been installed neatly in rows. She made a strange look when she saw two of the largest and most sturdy tents side by side.

She knew what those were for.

One for her, one for the king.

Apparently, on the first day they travelled into the desert, those two tents were positioned at quite a distance, apart from each other. However, each time they would set up camp the soldiers positioned their tent closer to each other. Seeing the sight before her, she felt that the two tents were getting closer due to the journey they shared.

Eugene tilted her head to the side, she felt strange and she did not know why that is but she guessed it wasn't because of her mood.

The darkness quickly came and slowly erased the traces of day with its touch.

They were currently having dinner in the tent and so they ate in silence. Finally, when they were done eating, Eugene cleared her throat to speak.

"Do you have a lot of work today too?"

"I still have pending work that I need to deal with." Kasser replied as he drank from his goblet.

"Is it something urgent?" Eugene asked.

"It's not. Why? Is something wrong?"

Eugene looked at Kasser for a moment before deciding to send out the maids in the tent. Eugene glanced at Kasser's face in an attempt to read the expression on his face and wondered what would be the most pressing story to tell him.

Eugene let out a deep sigh before speaking.

"The night in the desert was cold. It was a little cold last night." Eugene started.

Kasser gave her a nod.

"I'll tell them to pay more attention to the heating so that you won't feel the cold." He replied.

"The night before yesterday was okay. It was very warm." Eugene told him meekly while looking down.

She then slowly raised her head and looked at Kasser, as their eyes mer she found herself quickly averting his gaze and looking back down again.

"Even tonight... Do you have a lot of work?" Eugene suddenly asked her.

Last night the king did not enter her tent. Two days ago, Eugene understood that, He was preoccupied by his work at night and the other day, he was only forced to fall asleep in her tent.

But last night, when she was sleeping in her tent alone, she felt restless. It bothered her because she felt different from when she would fall asleep alone in the royal bedroom.

She was in the middle of an unfamiliar desert, but even so she should not be scared for there were a lot of warriors guarding the tent. However, she wondered why she felt so uneasy and her heart was troubled.

She was embarrassed to talk about sleeping together today. But she could also not deny the fact that she didn't like sleeping alone. Without using any words Eugene implied it as much as she can and expressed it in ways that Kasser may understand her longing for him to accompany her to bed.

If Marianne had heard her now, she would have felt rewarded for having taught her speech.

Kasser's eyes blinked slowly at her.

His irises stared at her, and he squinted. Her shy invitation exudes a feeling of innocence, that he felt the urge to swallow the lump that was stuck on his throat.

"There is nothing urgent." Kasser replied after a brief moment.

Just like the night before, wherein Kasser struggled to fall asleep while working in his tent, tonight he also felt like he was going to have a hard time getting some sleep, albeit perhaps he would even suffer more than last night.

After the king left to finish up his remaining work, the maids entered and cleaned up the tent. They gathered the plates and cutlery the royal couple used for eating.

Eugene then took a bath prepared for her by the maids and after she was done cleaning herself and changing into her bed clothes she sat down on the bed feeling quite giddy in anticipation that she was almost bouncing in excitement.

Not long after she was settled, Kasser entered the tent, he too looked like he was ready to sleep. He then settled beside her and laid down.

Eugene rolled over to his side and dug herself deep into his arms with an excited expression. She thought that the reason he refrained from physical contact with her was due to reasons such as having to clean up his body because of the ritual.

While hugging a warm and comfortable pillow next to Kasser, Eugene soon fell asleep with a satisfied smile on her face. Finally, she felt at ease.

On the other hand, it was Kasser who felt restless, and he opened his closed eyes to stare at the ceiling.

Eugene's soft body and sweet scent filled his arms and was testing his resolve and slowly tearing at its walls. Even the sound of her even breathing in his ears was crazily seductive.

He tried to think of other things in an attempt to distract himself and calm his body that started to respond by itself, it was going against his will. Contrary to Eugene's guess, there was no taboo before the ritual. He just didn't want to start at all because he wasn't confident in doing it.

Looking around the dark room, he sighed and closed his eyes again. He didn't think he would fall asleep after closing his eyes, but sleep, he did. It wasn't such a bad thing either, for sleeping was the best way to get over this crisis.

Kasser woke up at dawn, before the sun had risen up. It would have been nice if he slept a little more, and so he lamented that he opened his eyes at such an ambiguous time.

When he opened his eyes, Kasser found himself hugging Eugene, who had shifted her position in her sleep. Eugene laid down with her arms outstretched to the side and exposing the area leading to her shoulders. Her back was pressed against his chest.

As soon as Kasser realized where his other hand was, the remaining sleepiness in his eyes flew away. His hand rested on her waist and pressed lightly on the upper abdomen under her chest. Even a little movement seemed to make it able to touch her chest.

His fingers tingled at the contact. He wanted to touch her, he wanted to touch it really badly. It was so close for him to hold.

Dawn was a terrible time.

The desire that was barely suppressed last night exploded like a barrel fermented in midsummer. His bloody member rose firmly, increasing in volume as seconds ticked by. The sensation of his belly tightening to the point of numbness was both pleasurable and painful.

The moment he looked at the nape of her neck exposed through her hair, he couldn't overcome the impulse anymore and kissed her.

He put his lips on her delicate neck over and over again. He just kissed her a little, then pressed his lips a little deeper to suck in.

The hand on her waist went down and gently groped her thigh. Caressing them slowly.

Eugene's closed eyelashes trembled. When he kissed the nape of her neck, she woke up. His careful yet greedy touch felt as stimulating as blatant caresses.