Beast in the Woods, Deep in the Night

21.1

Edgar found himself looking at her entire body in the short time it took for the cloak to fall from Christine’s hands to the floor.

She calmly brushed her hair back, as if she had no particular intention. The shoulders and neckline that the long blonde hair had covered were now clearly exposed, emitting a sweet scent.

Below that, the white night dress she was wearing was thin. When the moonlight shone on her, she looked like she was wearing clothes made of mist.

Every time the wind blew and the dress swayed, the curves of her body were subtly revealed. It wouldn’t have caught his attention like this had she been completely naked, but there was nothing blatantly visible so he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“…”

Edgar stared at Christine under the moonlight for quite some time. Then, he felt his lower abdomen stiffening from the surging heat.

The woman was really good at temptation, as if she could see through a man’s mind.

Edgar swallowed a sigh and opened his mouth, feeling that if he just stayed still, she would do as she pleased.

“Why did you take off your cloak?”

“I want to cool down, too. Can I come in with you?”

“I can clearly see what you’re trying to do, so don’t think about following me.”

“You really… Alright. I’ll take it as if you’re embarrassed and just dip my legs.”

Christine agreed not to go into the water. She was a little annoyed that he didn’t seem particularly impressed by her seduction this time again, but she couldn’t help it because she would be the one regretting it if he left.

She spread her cloak on the floor and sat down on it. As she lifted her skirt to the middle of her thighs, she could feel his gaze following her, even though he pretended not to be interested.

‘It wouldn’t be easy to suppress his heat when he’s alone with a dazzling beauty under such a bright moonlight,’ Christine thought as she dipped her legs in the water.

Seeing as he was not approaching her even though he was scanning her with such a hot gaze, perhaps he was holding himself back due to the quest that would begin tomorrow.

It was a pity if so, but she had to be content with just brushing past him and touching him a few times. It would be a big problem if the precious man who alleviated her pain with just a slight touch were to get hurt.

“Well, I’ll be patient too, so that you don’t make a mistake during your commission after using up your stamina and pushing yourself too hard with me.”

“You’re thinking too much,” Edgar replied in a mocking voice.

Christine was confused as to whether his ridicule meant that he had no intention of overdoing himself with her, or that he would never get tired while doing it because his physical strength was infinite.

She tried to move her legs in the water, hoping she would have a decent chance to brush against him. Looking at it, she thought the water would be as cold as an ice field, but it was surprisingly pleasantly cool.

‘I heard that the Black Forest has been imbued with magical power for a long time, so its natural environment is unusual.’

The moderate water temperature, the bright moonlight, and even the mist rising from the water. This seemed like the perfect place to cool off or organize a complicated mind. Christine wondered why he had come here.

It was because he thought that if he didn’t come here to cool his body, which had become unmanageably hot, there was no way he would have stayed still like this.

So, she spoke in a cautiously worried voice.

“But did something happen? You seem to have a lot of thoughts.”

“…”

Edgar said nothing. It was true that his mind had become complicated thinking of Karl’s death. However, he had no intention of telling anyone about his past.

The scene where the woman dipping her feet in the water next to him was dying in a dream seemed to completely overlap with Karl’s death, so he was especially reluctant to talk to her about him.

“Nothing you need to know. It’s not a pleasant story.”