"By the way, Yaelle." Maxim suddenly remembered he hadn't told Yaelle the wedding date he and his father had chosen last time. "My father picked two good days, the sixth and the tenth of October. I think the tenth is better and I'm planning to choose that day, is that okay?"
"The tenth sounds good, I think it'll work. Once we get back, I'll ask my brother to start preparing the invitations. As for the sixth, we can use that day to deliver the betrothal gifts."
"That works too, we'll go with your plan." Maxim spoke and glanced at Yaelle with a hint of shyness.
By the time they finished talking, it was already completely dark. Maxim checked the hourglass and was stunned. It was already past the Hai hour.
He blamed himself for being too absorbed in the moment and not noticing the time. Now he wouldn't be able to get back to the academy.
"What's wrong?" Yaelle saw Maxim's expression and asked curiously.
"It's not a big deal, just that it's already past the Hai hour. Our academy has a curfew and the main gate is already shut."
"So what happens if you don't go back?" Yaelle asked in confusion. She thought, this feels just like high school where the gates close at a certain time and you have to climb the wall to get out.
She even felt a bit nostalgic thinking about how she used to stay up all night watching My Lucky Star. Maxim said, "It's no big problem, I'll just have to spend the night outside."
"Oh that's fine then, just ask the innkeeper to open another room for you." Yaelle replied casually.
"Alright." Maxim looked a little disappointed. He had thought Yaelle might ask him to stay with her.
Maxim opened the door and called for the innkeeper.
A long "Coming" rang out and the innkeeper quickly arrived at their door. "What do you need, sir?" he asked.
"Please open another upper-class room for me," Maxim said. Hearing this, the innkeeper looked troubled.
"I'm sorry sir, it's already late and all our upper rooms are full. We only have lower rooms and shared dorms left."
"To be honest, those aren't great. Judging by your appearance, I doubt you'll be comfortable in them." He continued, "This room is spacious, ventilated, with good light and a big bed."
"How about the two of you share it for tonight and I'll reserve another room for tomorrow?" he suggested.
After hearing all that, Maxim glanced quickly at Yaelle. His face turned red instantly, but the dim lighting made it hard to see clearly.
He didn't answer, hesitating in silence. When the innkeeper asked again, Yaelle smiled and said, "Alright, you can go now. Please bring us some hot water."
Once the innkeeper left, Yaelle looked at Maxim still standing by the door and found it funny. "Why are you just standing there? Come over here."
Maxim walked slowly to the bed and sat down, clearly conflicted. Just a moment ago, he was disappointed he couldn't stay with Yaelle.
Now that he could, he was secretly thrilled but also shy and nervous. He didn't even know what he wanted anymore.
Before he could think it through, the innkeeper came back carrying two large buckets of water. He poured them into the big tub behind the screen.
Maxim felt his face getting hotter, almost steaming. "Go take a bath, it's ready for you," Yaelle said.
"I already washed up before I came to find you, I just need to rinse my face." She sat down far from the screen and poured herself a glass of water.
"I bought you new clothes today too, you'll need them," she added.
After a while with no sound from Maxim, Yaelle turned her head to check. She saw him sitting stiffly on the bed, gripping his clothes tightly, lost in thought.
"Why are you still sitting there? Go wash up already. Do I need to step out?" she called out again.
Maxim snapped out of it and quickly waved his hands. "No, no, I'll go now," he said, grabbing the clothes Yaelle had given him.
He rushed behind the screen in a fluster. Yaelle chuckled at how nervous he looked.
While he was bathing, Yaelle quietly found a hidden spot and slipped into her space. Although Attendant Sean had helped her wipe off with hot water earlier, she still felt a bit sticky.
She didn't like bathing in inns, it always made her uneasy. So she decided to wash properly inside her space where time didn't pass.
That way she could wash without worrying about how long it took. If she used her shower gel outside, the foam would attract too much attention.
But if she didn't use it or her scrub towel, she didn't feel clean. So she stayed inside the space to finish her bath.
By the time Yaelle came out clean and refreshed, Maxim had just started bathing. Water splashing sounds echoed loudly from behind the screen.
Yaelle's thoughts wandered from the sound. Why did the water sound so intense?
Also, wasn't he taking a bit too long? It had already been nearly half an hour.
Was he scrubbing his skin off? At first, Yaelle was curious and even a little excited.
But as the minutes dragged on, she lost both patience and interest. Sitting on a stool, she yawned and stared blankly at her fingers.
"Ahh—" Yaelle let out a big yawn. She decided she wouldn't wait any longer.
She walked over to the bed, took off her shoes, and climbed in. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
She began to snore softly as she slept.
When Maxim finally came out from behind the screen, this was what he saw.
That small figure was curled up in the innermost corner, wrapped in the blanket with only her head peeking out.
She was lying on her side, half-leaning forward, hugging part of the blanket tightly and pressing it under her legs.
She looked completely relaxed and sound asleep. It wasn't her fault though.
She had been here for months and her internal clock had adjusted. Plus, it was past 11 PM already.
She had traveled most of the day, then walked around town for another few hours. She was completely exhausted.
Maxim smiled helplessly, all his nerves and embarrassment gone. He thought she really didn't mind anything.
He didn't wake her up. Instead, he quietly walked to the bed, lifted the spare quilt, and got in beside her.
Warning: The following content contains intimate scenes. Reader discretion is advised.
This was his first time sharing a bed with a woman, and that woman happened to be the one he had admired for many years. To say he didn't have a single thought would be a lie. But looking at her sweet sleeping face, he really couldn't bring himself to wake her.
So he forced himself to fall asleep and tried to push away all the messy thoughts. But things didn't go as he wished. The more he tried to forget, the clearer the memories of their earlier closeness became.
He tossed and turned in bed until the middle of the night before finally giving in to the exhaustion and falling asleep. While sleeping, Maxim suddenly felt his body getting hotter, like he was lying in a furnace. Half-asleep, he moved and realized he was surrounded by warmth.
He tried to push the heat away but found that his hand was wrapped up by something. He opened his eyes and looked down, only to see a pale arm wrapped tightly around his wrist. The heat was coming from that arm.
Maxim froze and tried to pull away, but the other person seemed to sense it and held him even tighter. Feeling helpless, he closed his eyes again, hoping to fall back asleep. If this kept going, he didn't know what he might do.
But just as he closed his eyes, he felt something wriggling into his arms. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see Yaelle slowly crawling onto his chest. Then she buried her face into his embrace.
Her small frame gave off a soft fragrance, making Maxim's heart beat faster. He took a deep breath and looked carefully at her face. Her eyes were shut tightly, and she seemed to still be asleep with a faint smile on her lips.
Looking at her peaceful expression, a strange emotion welled up in his heart. Maxim sighed softly and gently reached out, wanting to touch Yaelle's hair. But just as his fingers were about to brush her hair, she suddenly moved.
He quickly pulled his hand back, afraid of waking her. But she didn't wake up and simply adjusted her position. Then she nestled even deeper into his arms and slipped from her own blanket into his.
She wrapped her arms and legs around him like an octopus. Feeling her breath and warmth against his body, a powerful urge began to rise within him. This was driving him out of his mind.
Maxim looked at the beautiful woman in front of him and started breathing heavily. His gaze grew more and more intense. If he didn't do anything now, could he still be called a man.
He wasn't a monk. Following his desires, he kissed her tempting lips, and his hands started to wander. Yaelle felt something warm brushing her face, and it tickled.
She tried to wave her hand, but it was caught by a stronger one. Then she slowly woke up, realizing someone was pressing against her lips and pinning her hands.
She became fully awake in that instant. She remembered waiting for Maxim to finish his bath and had fallen asleep while waiting. In her sleep, she felt cold and instinctively searched for warmth.
She found something that felt like a hot water bottle and hugged it tightly. That hot water bottle tried to move, so she wrapped herself around it. Wait, was that hot water bottle actually Maxim.
How embarrassing. And what was happening now. Her eyes flew open and met a pair of deep black eyes burning with fire.
They looked like they were about to devour her. "Mm…" She wanted to speak, but her lips were tightly sealed and she could only let out a muffled sound. Maxim let go of her lips, breathing heavily.
He said in a hoarse voice, "Yaelle, don't move." Then he kissed her again, not giving her any chance to resist. His kiss was forceful and domineering, making it impossible for her to fight back.
Yaelle's mind went blank. Her body slowly softened, and she began to respond to him. Their breathing became faster and faster, and the atmosphere turned more and more heated.
Just then, she suddenly came to her senses. She used all her strength to push Maxim away and gasped, "What are you doing." Maxim looked at her flushed face and her moist lips.
His desire grew stronger, but he held himself back. He softly said, "Yaelle, I feel terrible." Yaelle widened her eyes and froze for a moment.
She knew this would happen sooner or later, but she hadn't expected it to happen in a place like this. No, it couldn't happen in an inn. Maybe she was being too sensitive.