* * *
The sound escaped before I could stop it. I slapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late.
It felt as though my voice echoed endlessly in the steam-filled bathroom.
Ateol watched me with amusement before shifting me to sit on his lap, my back against his chest.
For a moment, I felt relieved that I wasn’t facing him—until I sensed something strange pressing between my legs.
I jolted in shock, trying to pull away, but Ateol wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me still.
All my squirming only made it worse, as if I were deliberately rubbing against him.
My face burned bright red.
Ateol’s laughter rumbled against my ear.
“Can I touch you?”
Would he really stop if I said no?
That question was meaningless.
His hand was already on my chest.
Before I could even answer, he let his fingers glide down, firmly grasping the flat plane of my chest.
My body flinched at the touch.
Though it was only our second time, it felt disturbingly familiar.
Water sloshed softly around us as Ateol continued to explore my chest and stomach with his hands.
At first, I held back my voice, but as the tingling sensation spread from my core, soft moans escaped before I could stop them.
“Mm… ngh…”
Ateol chuckled and pressed his lips to my temple, then playfully blew a warm breath into my ear.
A shiver ran down my spine.
“W-what are you doing?!”
“We’re just getting started. If this already flusters you—”
“Getting star—ah!”
My words turned into a gasp before I could even ask what he meant.
Ateol’s large hands squeezed my chest together, sending a sharp jolt of sensation through me.
The rough palms that had just been massaging my stomach slid lower, pressing against my thighs.
Then, with a teasing flick, he nudged my half-hardened length underwater.
My shoulders jumped.
Worse, I could feel Ateol growing against my lower back.
“Y-you… why are you getting hard?”
“To be honest, I’ve been aroused for a while now.”
I thought I misheard him.
Since transmigrating into this novel, I’d never once heard someone say anything that vulgar.
“A prince shouldn’t talk like that…”
“I’ve always had a filthy mouth. Even in the imperial palace, everyone knows that.”
It was something to be proud of.
And more importantly, it was true.
After all, no one else in the imperial palace spoke as rudely or acted as brashly as the Fourth Prince.
Even he admitted it himself, claiming that if there were a competition for being the most foul-mouthed, he’d take second place only out of sheer misfortune.
There was no room for rebuttal. But wait… when exactly?
“What do you mean, ‘when’?”
“After you almost suffered that disgraceful act at the hands of those tentacles. At the time, I was only thinking about how to get you out of danger. But afterward, when I actually saw you… I was quite shaken.”
“…….”
I recalled my reflection in the mirror from earlier.
My wet clothes, barely clinging to my body, disheveled and unkempt.
The translucent, cloudy liquid smeared over my skin…
It was a pathetic sight.
And yet, he—Ateol—was aroused by that?
Was he out of his mind?
I had to get away from him.
His hands were starting to wander to dangerous places, and the presence pressing against me between my legs was getting harder to ignore.
I grabbed his arms with both hands, shoving them away as I quickly got to my feet and took a couple of steps back.
But just as I did, my body wavered and was effortlessly pulled back.
The water made any resistance futile.
My vision spun for a brief moment before settling on Ateol’s face.
He was smiling lazily, his golden lashes wet from the water, framing those jewel-like crimson eyes.
His straight nose, well-defined lips—everything about him exuded an overwhelming sensuality.
Maybe it was the way the water clung to his skin, but the sight was almost too much.
Still gazing at me with that seductive smile, he suddenly pulled me in and kissed me.
At first, I resisted.
The sound of water splashing echoed loudly before gradually quieting.
His tongue pushed into my mouth, teasing the roof before entwining with mine.
He played with it until the base of my tongue tingled, his lips still pressed against mine as he murmured—
“Stick your tongue out.”
As if bewitched, I obeyed.
Ateol took my tongue between his lips and sucked.
A dizzying sensation rushed through my head.
By the time he finally let me go, after gently biting my lower lip, I was panting heavily—not just because I had forgotten to breathe, but because my heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst.
Did Ateol have some kind of hidden stat for seduction?
Was that why my affection toward him suddenly spiked, making my heart race like this?
It didn’t make sense. Why did it feel so… good when he touched me?
Ateol pulled me even closer onto his lap.
Our hardened lengths brushed against each other, hesitation evident in the brief pauses between contact.
I instinctively glanced down, my expression troubled.
Ateol took my arms, guiding them around his neck, before slipping a hand underwater.
“I don’t intend to take your first time here. I do care about setting the mood, you know.”
“J-Just a little…? What does that even mean?”
“This.”
“Hngh—!”
He wrapped his large hand around both of our lengths, easily encompassing them, and started stroking them together.
“Haa… ngh… mmm….”
“More.”
Even Ateol’s voice was filled with breathy tremors.
“Let me hear you.”
“Nngh, no… ah… hngh…!”
His thumb rubbed over the slick tips, amplifying the pleasure.
I clung tightly to his neck, gasping.
Even though I reflexively protested, the sounds escaping my lips betrayed me.
The muscles beneath my arms and hands twitched, tense from the heat and moisture clinging to my body.
“Ah… ahh…!”
“Hold on, just a little longer. Let’s… together….”
“No… ngh, let go…!”
Just as the heat in my stomach coiled unbearably tight, Ateol gripped the base of my length firmly.
The pleasure that had been on the brink of release was suddenly blocked, leaving the sensation ricocheting wildly inside me.
I writhed in protest.
“Let go… I—hngh… don’t….”
“Just a moment.”
Ateol’s voice was thick with desire, his breath hot against my ear.
A strange sensation, like the tickling sweetness of having eaten something too sugary, filled my entire body.
I was going crazy.
The urge to let go was unbearable.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I raked my nails down his back, and he finally loosened his grip, gathering both of our lengths in his hand and stroking rapidly.
The sounds of our breathless gasps mingled in the humid air.
My vision blurred white, and with a final wave of pleasure, everything burst.
“Ah… hngh….”
“Haa….”
I was completely spent.
The heat in the water went unnoticed as I panted, my body drained of all strength.
Ateol caught my limp form, carrying me out of the water.
Slowly, he poured lukewarm water over me, starting from my toes.
But I was too exhausted to think.
When I squinted at my status screen, my stamina was down to 3.
The gauge was only half full.
No wonder I couldn’t even lift a finger.
And just like that, I blacked out.
* * *
