The Elf I Want to Be in a Relationship With (4)

“…”

The elf said nothing for a long moment.

Before they went any further, she wanted to know whether the behavior Theorad was showing her was genuine, or merely another performance.

She looked intently into his face.

It was a handsome face. She could have looked at the sharp line of his jaw and the depth of his eyes for hours without growing tired. Sometimes she thought she'd like to preserve that expression in a picture and keep it forever.

Theorad was less pleased by her silence.

He needed her to answer so he could work out what a merciless master would say next. Instead, she simply stood there gazing at him while his throat went dry.

“…They say there's no cure for stupidity.”

He clicked his tongue and frowned.

The elf noticed the tiny, awkward movement at the corner of his mouth.

I thought so. He's acting.

It was convincing, but not quite convincing enough.

People didn't change so completely overnight. She had briefly worried that the pressure of the last few days had somehow altered his mind, and it was a relief to see that he was still Theorad.

If he wasn't truly angry, then she could safely play along.

The elf drew in her shoulders and pretended to tremble.

“I'm sorry…”

“You know I don't want to hear apologies.”

“Then…?”

“Take it off. That indecent body is the only thing someone like you has to offer me.”

“Y-yes…”

The elf reached toward the knot of her apron.

Then she stopped.

She remembered the conversation she'd had with Ashley in the drawing room.

Do you consider love with a prostitute to be real love?

She'd been angry enough at the time to dismiss the words, but they had found their way back to her now.

Undressing herself and offering her body might be little different from what Ashley had described as prostitution.

That insolent woman…

Ashley wasn't even here, and somehow she was still interfering.

Perhaps she'd spoken thoughtlessly. Perhaps she'd deliberately planted the doubt in the elf's mind. Either way, it was infuriating.

The elf lowered her hands and looked up at Theorad.

“If Master wishes to violate me…”

There was a questioning light in her red eyes.

“Please take my clothes off yourself.”

Ordinarily, a request like that would have sounded merely indecent.

For Theorad, it was a challenge.

Why now?

The last time she'd undressed herself in his study. Now she was asking him to do it.

She had put the decision in the hands of a man desperately pretending to be a predator.

I have to work out what she wants.

His thoughts raced through one possibility after another. No amount of weighing them made the answer clearer.

Outwardly he stayed silent, keeping his face cold.

The elf grew impatient.

“Is it such a difficult request?”

Theorad recovered himself.

It wasn't difficult, at least in the literal sense. He didn't understand why she had changed her mind, but he could remove her clothes.

“You make a great many demands for a mere slave.”

He walked around behind her, concealing his uneven breathing.

First he untied the apron. The white cloth slipped softly to the floor.

Then he loosened the fastening at the neck of her maid's uniform, took hold of the fabric at her shoulders and eased it down.

Nothing caught.

The garment slipped away, revealing her bare shoulders and chest.

“Hah…”

Theorad fought down an impulse to touch her and finished removing the uniform.

There was no corset, petticoat or other layer beneath it.

Only black lace underwear remained.

She wore nothing over her breasts.

It struck Theorad as an unusual arrangement, but he was hardly in a position to comment on the elf's clothing.

“Is that enough?”

She didn't answer.

She faced forward, the tips of her pointed ears faintly pink.

Did I do something wrong?

He hesitated, then placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Why are you standing there? Are you dissatisfied?”

The elf started.

“N-no. I only…”

“Only what?”

Is there something she doesn't want to do?

If she refused and left the room, that would solve everything for him.

But Theorad knew better than to expect so easy an escape.

The elf took a breath and turned toward him.

He couldn't help glancing at her exposed body. She noticed where his eyes had gone and gave a small smile.

“I thought I ought to take off Master's clothes, too.”

“You don't need to—”

Before he could finish, she knelt and undid his trousers.

She drew down his trousers and the linen undergarment beneath them, exposing him.

It was the first time she'd seen him like this.

At first, she found nothing especially remarkable about his size.

“So this is Master's…?”

Then she saw his body responding.

“Ah?”

The change took her by surprise.

As he became fully erect, he appeared to be nearly twenty centimeters long. The elf swallowed.

Why is it so large?

She had imagined something more manageable. Now she couldn't decide whether she was pleased or frightened—or whether she could bear intercourse at all.

Her uncertainty left them standing in an awkward silence.

For Theorad, it was unbearable.

He had never exposed himself to a woman before. He was embarrassed enough to want the floor to swallow him.

But he was supposed to be playing the cold-blooded, unshakable master.

He couldn't let her see how nervous he was.

“Why are you staring?”

She lifted her head.

The frightened expression that crossed her face seemed too convincing to be mere acting.

“You stupid girl.”

The words were so harsh that even Theorad winced inwardly.

He reached into his coat and threw a small vial toward her.

“Here.”

The bottle struck her chest lightly and rolled onto the floor.

A thick, pale-yellow liquid moved inside.

The elf picked it up with care.

“It's rose-scented oil,” Theorad said. “Another item the witch supplied before she left. You ought to know how to use it.”

“M-Master…”

“Don't argue.”

He turned away and walked to the bed.

He sat on its edge with all the dignity he could muster, though he was naked from the waist down.

There was one serious problem with the confident instructions he'd just given.

He didn't know how the oil was supposed to be used.

When Havid had been arranging payment, Dremes had handed it over as something Theorad would enjoy during intercourse. Neither the chamberlain nor Theorad had received a useful explanation.

He'd handed it to the elf simply because it was there.

Now he regretted the decision.

If she asked him what to do with it, the commanding master he was pretending to be would have no answer.

Fortunately, he kept his expression severe enough that she didn't notice his confusion.

The elf looked from him to the vial.

He's taking this seriously. He's prepared so much.

She didn't imagine for a moment that he was ignorant of the oil's purpose.

They were both inexperienced in actual intercourse, but she had lived far longer and had read enough human erotic writing to recognize things he did not.

The elf removed the stopper.

She lifted the bottle toward her bare chest and tipped it.

The rose-scented oil spread across her breasts, slipping down the hollow between them. Other rivulets followed their curves, gathered briefly at her nipples, then dripped downward.

“Mm…”

Soon the vial was empty.

She set it aside and looked at Theorad through narrowed eyes.

“Master seems to enjoy this sort of thing.”

Theorad suppressed a groan.

The aphrodisiac and the second, heart-stirring medicine he'd swallowed before she entered were beginning to take effect.

His body was responding despite his efforts to remain composed.

The elf noticed. A sly smile lingered on her face as she moved across the floor toward him, almost like a cat closing on something it wanted.

Dangerous.

The scent of roses reached him. His concentration was becoming difficult to maintain.

“Or perhaps, Master…”

She stopped directly before him.

She bent her head and brushed her cheek against his exposed penis.

The unexpected touch made him shudder.

Theorad couldn't quite keep back a sound.

The elf raised her head, smiling faintly.

“Could it be that you like me?”

Moonlight and the soft glow of candles met in the room.

Her red eyes gleamed strangely as she waited for his answer.