I Want To Be Your First – R19 - Chapter 100

As he questioned them, he grabbed Ariel by her shoulder and separated the two. Ruth, who was choking as Berthwald grabbed him by the collar, didn’t miss that opportunity and got out of her grasp.

As Ruth panted with a red face, he pointed to Ariel and glared like she was a crazy woman.

“What… keuk, happened! That woman, to me…!”

“That woman?”

When a chilly gaze from Berthwald came in his direction, Ruth bit on his lower lip and corrected his words.

“The Countess was the one that suddenly pounced on me! I was staying still!”

“…Is that the truth, wife?”

Ariel looked at Berthwald’s mood stealthily, before taking a step closer to Ruth. Ruth, who was watching her, took two steps backwards quickly with a frown.

Though she didn’t want to disregard Berthwald, since this has happened, she wanted to end this properly. Ariel spreaded her hands outwards and crept towards Ruth.

Ruth, who was facing Berthwald, trembled like he was having convolutions when he spotted the approaching Ariel. While he was gripping his sword, he couldn’t bear to draw it, so he was agonising over what he should do.

“Why, why again? Why are you coming again? Don’t come!”

“Are you going to apologise”

“…Keuk, I didn’t do anything wrong, so why me! Are you crazy?”

“You’ll apologise, right?”

As Ariel approached with a grin and open arms, Ruth crossed his arms before his chest with a disgusting look on his face. He mumbled soundlessly that she’s a crazy woman, before continuing to speak unwillingly.

“Though I don’t know what misunderstanding you have! No, well, yeah! I’m sorry!”

It wasn’t an apologetic attitude, but it was enough. Ariel placed her hands together and bowed her head slightly, giving a bland apology politely, saying, “I’m sorry about scaring you too.”

As Berthwald watched the two of them, his face slowly became expressionless. He couldn’t seem to figure out what the hell was going on.

“Wife, please come here.”

Berthwald grabbed his wife’s arm and turned towards the mansion. He began to head to the mansion after looking at Ruth and Ariel alternately with subdued eyes.

Ariel followed him urgently, and soon began to gasp as she couldn’t catch her breath, and flailed her arms. The pace he set was so fast that she couldn’t keep up.

“C–count. Please let go of my hand for a moment! Excuse me…!”

Despite Ariel’s plea, Berthwald’s steps hastened silently. Anger could be sensed from his chilly expression.

The wildly fluctuating red silhouette signalled his agitated emotions. Ariel thought that remaining silent would be for the best and was dragged away by him.

Berthwald opened his mouth shortly after arriving in his room. He opened the door and set Ariel right in the middle of the room, before opening his mouth with his hands on his waist.

“Although I have a lot of things I want to ask, let me point out one important thing. Follow my words carefully.”

He brushed back his hair and glanced lightly at Ariel. There was an admonishing tone in his words.

“A noblewoman.”

“…noble…”

“Follow me. A noble woman.”

“A noble…woman.”

“With the exception of hands, would never make physical contact.”

“W, with the exception of hands, would never…make physical contact.”

“With a man other than their husband.”

Ariel blinked quickly with her mouth agape. She was wondering what he was trying to say, but was there a need to push someone for that?

Should she be honest about the fact that Ruth was rude to her? No, it was a little embarrassing to show him how short-tempered she was.

Without being able to solve her troubles, Ariel gave her excuses.

“About that… Count. I didn’t do that because I liked it. That man’s words were too much. That’s why I got a little angry.”

“I guess you didn’t hear me properly. Shall we start from the beginning again?”

“W—with a man other than their husband.”

He stared at her with folded arms and a disapproving gaze, and intimidated her to continue saying it quickly. Ariel averted her eyes and could only nod reluctantly.

“A—A noblewoman, with the exception of hands, would never make physical contact with a man other than their husband.”

“Alright. I won’t let it go again if something like this happens next time. I’ll punish you, even if you’re Ariel.”

Ignoring her question of what punishment, Berthwald brushed his hand on his chin and looked down at his wife coldly. The way she approached Ruth boldly had disappeared, and all that remained was her timid appearance of studying others’ moods and wiggling her fingers.

He didn’t know what happened when she was with Ruth, but when he saw his woman with another guy, his head seemed to have turned upside down.

Well… There seemed to be some misunderstanding in the atmosphere, and it seems that Ruth, that punk, had angered Ariel. If she was clear-headed, she wouldn’t have left the sublime man that was her husband to pounce on a lowly guy.

However, that reasoning didn’t seem to relieve his anger. Berthwald decided to give up on questioning Ariel, and instead brainwash her.

“Please come over here.”

Berthwald waved his hand while leaning against the window and approached him after a moment of hesitation. Perhaps due to how they rushed, the ribbon at her chest loosened.

Berthwald grabbed her waist, pulled Ariel toward him, and re-tied the ribbon relaxedly.

“I know that my wife had enjoyed living freely before our marriage. You’d hug the servants’ children regardless of gender, and grapple with each other while playing on the ice, or squeeze together to play in the garden pond while the Duke was away.”

Since he received reports of Ariel’s daily life through a spy every day, there’s no way he didn’t know about her habits. This woman took the physical contact between a man and a woman too lightly. Ariel wondered, “How did the count…”, but Berthwald interrupted her quickly.

“In any case, it was probably fine in the North, but aren’t we in a different place? Such a thing shouldn’t happen in high society. No, even amongst commoners, those that are wives would never do such a thing. What’s more is that you’re the mistress of the Janssel family. Shouldn’t you be aware of and act according to your position?”

“Y—yes.”

Ariel bowed her head and replied in a sullen tone. The way her hands curled and her nails trembled was… It’s starting to look pitiful.

…This isn’t it.

Berthwald bit on his lower lip lightly and let go of his true intentions with a sigh.

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or something else, it’s easy to think about it in the opposite direction. Would you mind if I hugged someone other than you?”

Ariel raised her head quickly and looked at the red silhouette before her. When she thought of two silhouettes entangling together, her brows distorted slightly on instinct.

“…That’s, of course that’s…”

“You don’t like it?”

Ariel nodded slowly, and pressed on her right chest.

The yellow baby shoes that Berthwald bought were carried around in her corset, and she would press on it whenever she felt uneasy or nervous. It has become a habit of hers in a few days.

The affectionate gesture melted Berthwald’s anger without his realisation, and he smiled.

“I’m like that too.”

Berthwald touched the beautifully knotted ribbon with his index finger and slid his finger slowly. After brushing his palm against her slender waist, he moved his hand to her back and pushed her closer into his embrace. After teasing Ariel’s chest, her face was buried in his chest.

“Actually, things like the nobles were just an excuse. I didn’t want my wife clinging to someone else.”

Berthwald rubbed the tip of her ears with his lips and pulled Ariel’s waist closer with both hands. Their attached lower body was pulled flush against each other. Berthwald took a long breath and took her scent into his nose deeply.

“Ah, I’d forgotten about it, but this reminds me. Let’s slowly get started, since we’re back at the mansion.”

“What?”

Hmm, a voice that contained laughter permeated her ear.

“Before we departed from the Nedik. Didn’t you make a promise in the carriage? Can’t remember it?”

His index finger continued to tease her earlobe, while small breaths entered her other ear. The odd behaviour caused Ariel’s shoulders to tremble.

The lips on her cheek slowly slid down her chin. While the action was gentle, there was a strong desire within her gestures and actions.

Before she got drawn into his pace, Ariel quickly recalled the promise she made in the carriage.

If it’s the words she said before departing from Nedik, perhaps.

“Did you have a pleasant time with Father?”

“Yes! It was very fun. Father-in-law is really good at fishing, swimming, and cooking. It’s regrettable that we couldn’t go fishing in the sea together. Ah, I should have made rose jam.”

“I wasn’t very happy.”

As he cut off her words, Berthwald trailed off his words with a sad voice. When Ariel asked, “Why, why?” out of courtesy, an answer came like he was waiting for it.

“My wife kept paying all her attention to Father, so I felt like I’ve become a solitary person. I was originally distant from my family members, and even my wife turned her back on me, just like…It felt like I was on an island alone, or I was left alone in the night sky… In any case, I felt so bitter.”

“Oh… is that so…?”

She didn‘t know what to say. Just as he had mentioned, Ariel had neglected her husband while having fun with Richter.

No, they were together during meals, and cuddled together when they slept… She was faithfully by his side, but that wasn’t enough?

“I’m sorry. It was so… Um, it was so much fun. I must have neglected the Count…”

When she smiled awkwardly and apologised, Berthwald tilted his head. As Berthwald looked downwards at her, he spoke in a slightly lower voice.

“Well… there’s nothing to be sorry about. Don’t worry about it, as that’s how families are originally like. If you’re feeling bad, it can be solved when we’ve returned to the mansion.”

“…Even so.”

“If it’s really weighing on your mind, promise to grant me a wish. What do you think?”

His voice and the action of sticking out his pinky were quite innocent and cheerful. While thinking he was just whining perfunctorily, Ariel laughed and hooked her little finger with his. She remembered replying to him with, “Anytime!”

But it came up suddenly, like this?

“A wish…?”

While she murmured while looking at him searchingly, Berthwald smiled and nodded.