With You – 2
Just then, as if in answer to Chizuru’s plea, the door to Lukrov’s master bedroom opened with a dry clicking sound, and he appeared.
He was dressed in a white linen shirt and dark blue pants, with a strip of beige cloth wrapped around his waist. His beard was shaved clean, but his hair had grown longer than usual, and shadows formed below his eyes – as if he hadn’t slept well for days.
At first, he didn’t seem to notice that Chizuru was awake, and he walked around looking down, fiddling with the cufflinks on his sleeves. Then, as he quietly walked into Chizuru’s room, he slowly lifted his head.
Their eyes locked.
Lukrov opened his mouth slightly and let out a short breath.
“Chizuru.”
Chizuru’s chest was so full, she couldn’t reply.
‘Good morning, Lukrov. I’ve missed you. Why do you look so surprised? Please, come closer…….’
There were so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t say any of them out loud, and she just gazed at his face.
Lukrov seemed to have the same trouble finding the right words, and he gazed at Chizuru’s entire body with his lips slightly parted. His eyes were so earnestly passionate that his gaze alone set her whole body on fire.
“Lukrov……”
The only thing Chizuru could mutter was his name.
But there was no need for further conversation between them now. With blinding speed, Lukrov made his way to Chizuru’s bedside, knelt on the floor, and took his lover’s hand.
His lips slowly caressed Chizuru’s body; her fingertips, wrists, the crook of her elbow, shoulder, collarbone, neck, cheeks, and finally, her lips which he sealed with a devouring kiss. Chizuru gasped a little while tilting her head awkwardly, but she responded to the continuous hot kisses with equal passion.
“Ha….”
A sad sigh escaped in between their kisses. Chizuru raised her head slightly, letting the aftermath of her heated feelings wash over her.
Lukrov’s eyes looked down at her, and although his eyes were shadowed with fatigue, they were filled with breathtaking joy and love. Even though she was the one unable to move from the bed, she felt as if she had to protect him, so she wrapped her hands around his cheeks and smiled.
“Are you alright?”
When Chizuru asked, Lukrov looked as if he had been caught by a fox and raised his eyebrow.
“You must be tired… that’s why. You haven’t slept much, have you?”
For a moment, Lukrov seemed to consider the meaning of her words. But then she realized that she had ignited his passion. His jet-black eyes instantly burned with desire and excitement, and a wild passion that had lost its common sense and reason was about to erupt.
For some reason.
“Luk…”
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
He managed to keep his composure, but it was clear on his face that he wanted to unleash a beastly roar right now if he could. No proof needed – his shaking voice was evidence of this.
Chizuru braced herself and put into practice the very Japanese idea that perhaps she could calm the heat of this knight with a cute, affectionate smile.
She smiled.*1
At that moment, Lukrov cupped her face in his hands and quickly raised his upper body.
“ROAAAN!!!!”
Lukrov’s angry voice echoed throughout the castle, and it felt as if the sturdy stone walls were shaking. Perhaps the people in the city, if not everyone in the country, felt it too.
“Wha, whaa, what ……!!?”
Roan rushed out from the door that was connected to the master bedroom – the same door Lukrov came out earlier – and was in a full-scale panic.
Roan showed up wearing light clothes and his hair was disheveled, but he had a big smile on his face when he saw Chizuru and Lukrov entangled on the bed.
“Chizuru, you’re awake! Oh, thank goodness, I was wondering what was going to happen for a moment!”
Lukrov watched as Roan walked into the room, his footsteps loud.
“Get the hell out of here!” he exclaimed.
“What?”
“No ‘what’…. Pack up your men and your belongings now and return to your territory as quickly as possible. Don’t waste time and come back with your wife and children.”
“Eh??”
Roan scratched his head, glancing between the confused Chizuru and the wolfishly glaring Lukrov, seemingly pondering over what to do. Chizuru’s eyes flickered as a signal for help, but Roan didn’t seem to get it.
“I’m a guest.”
“A guest has to leave at some point.”
“F*ck that!”
Roan cursed resentfully, but there was some logic to what Lukrov said, so he couldn’t blame him, even if he was talking nonsense.
“Why don’t you at least explain why? Think about all the things I’ve done for you so far. I’ve been overseeing this castle for the past five days while you’ve been useless.”
Lukrov bluntly ignored Roan’s remarks.
“Go home quickly and come back as soon as possible. I’m getting married.”
“Huh?!”
“To be honest, I don’t care if you’re here or not, but my bride wants to invite you.”
“Thank you, Chizuru. I’m so grateful that I might cry.”
And then Lukrov took Chizuru’s hand, kissed her fingertips gently, and smiled mischievously.
Lukrov’s smile.
The most powerful man, who was once known as the “Knight of the Raging Flame”. A warrior who saved the country …… with such power, strength, and fierceness that made one tremble just by approaching him. The smile drawn on the face of that man, who had never smiled at anyone in so many years, was now filled with joy.
She could not stop her body from tingling with joy.
“Lukrov….”
His big hand cupped Chizuru’s cheek firmly.
“Let’s get married as soon as possible. I don’t want to have to look around for you anymore. I’ll never let you out of my sight, not even for a moment. I should have done that from the beginning. Nothing good happens when I’m away from you for even a second.”
On the other side of the room, Roan was looking around dumbfounded, but both Chizuru and Lukrov just kept staring at each other. The red-haired knight shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the room through the door he had entered while grumbling to himself.
Smiling, Lukrov placed his forehead against Chizuru’s.
“The fever …… seems to be gone now.”
She gave a small nod.
Although her body still felt heavy, and a numbing pain attacked her joints whenever she tried to move, the high fever that tormented her for so long was completely gone.
Maybe it was the anemia that was making her head spin, or perhaps it was just Lukrov’s carefree smile.
“Umm …… How long have I been asleep?”
“Five whole days and a few hours.”
“That much?”
“Yeah.”
Lukrov sat up, one hand stroking Chizuru’s hair and neck with regret.
“Arde is making your meal now. She should be back with a bowl of soup soon, so let’s talk until then.”
Lukrov’s smile was so warm and happy that she could only smile back at him with the same warmth and affection.
“Okay~”
**
Notes:
1 So the smile here is different from normal smiling, how? Ask Japanese people :))). Anyways, the term commonly used for ‘smile, or a smiling face(a noun)’ is (えがお-Egao), but here, the term that was used is (にっこり-Nikori), which is used for smiling, the difference is that its a smile that shows emotions? I think that’s how I can describe it so it translates to ‘smiling sweetly, smile with a warm heart(verb)’. Also as you can probably assume that the pronunciation for the word is also funny that’s why it’s more used with SFX rather than day to day conversations.
With You – 2
Just then, as if in answer to Chizuru’s plea, the door to Lukrov’s master bedroom opened with a dry clicking sound, and he appeared.
He was dressed in a white linen shirt and dark blue pants, with a strip of beige cloth wrapped around his waist. His beard was shaved clean, but his hair had grown longer than usual, and shadows formed below his eyes – as if he hadn’t slept well for days.
At first, he didn’t seem to notice that Chizuru was awake, and he walked around looking down, fiddling with the cufflinks on his sleeves. Then, as he quietly walked into Chizuru’s room, he slowly lifted his head.
Their eyes locked.
Lukrov opened his mouth slightly and let out a short breath.
“Chizuru.”
Chizuru’s chest was so full, she couldn’t reply.
‘Good morning, Lukrov. I’ve missed you. Why do you look so surprised? Please, come closer…….’
There were so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t say any of them out loud, and she just gazed at his face.
Lukrov seemed to have the same trouble finding the right words, and he gazed at Chizuru’s entire body with his lips slightly parted. His eyes were so earnestly passionate that his gaze alone set her whole body on fire.
“Lukrov……”
The only thing Chizuru could mutter was his name.
But there was no need for further conversation between them now. With blinding speed, Lukrov made his way to Chizuru’s bedside, knelt on the floor, and took his lover’s hand.
His lips slowly caressed Chizuru’s body; her fingertips, wrists, the crook of her elbow, shoulder, collarbone, neck, cheeks, and finally, her lips which he sealed with a devouring kiss. Chizuru gasped a little while tilting her head awkwardly, but she responded to the continuous hot kisses with equal passion.
“Ha….”
A sad sigh escaped in between their kisses. Chizuru raised her head slightly, letting the aftermath of her heated feelings wash over her.
Lukrov’s eyes looked down at her, and although his eyes were shadowed with fatigue, they were filled with breathtaking joy and love. Even though she was the one unable to move from the bed, she felt as if she had to protect him, so she wrapped her hands around his cheeks and smiled.
“Are you alright?”
When Chizuru asked, Lukrov looked as if he had been caught by a fox and raised his eyebrow.
“You must be tired… that’s why. You haven’t slept much, have you?”
For a moment, Lukrov seemed to consider the meaning of her words. But then she realized that she had ignited his passion. His jet-black eyes instantly burned with desire and excitement, and a wild passion that had lost its common sense and reason was about to erupt.
For some reason.
“Luk…”
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
He managed to keep his composure, but it was clear on his face that he wanted to unleash a beastly roar right now if he could. No proof needed – his shaking voice was evidence of this.
Chizuru braced herself and put into practice the very Japanese idea that perhaps she could calm the heat of this knight with a cute, affectionate smile.
She smiled.*1
At that moment, Lukrov cupped her face in his hands and quickly raised his upper body.
“ROAAAN!!!!”
Lukrov’s angry voice echoed throughout the castle, and it felt as if the sturdy stone walls were shaking. Perhaps the people in the city, if not everyone in the country, felt it too.
“Wha, whaa, what ……!!?”
Roan rushed out from the door that was connected to the master bedroom – the same door Lukrov came out earlier – and was in a full-scale panic.
Roan showed up wearing light clothes and his hair was disheveled, but he had a big smile on his face when he saw Chizuru and Lukrov entangled on the bed.
“Chizuru, you’re awake! Oh, thank goodness, I was wondering what was going to happen for a moment!”
Lukrov watched as Roan walked into the room, his footsteps loud.
“Get the hell out of here!” he exclaimed.
“What?”
“No ‘what’…. Pack up your men and your belongings now and return to your territory as quickly as possible. Don’t waste time and come back with your wife and children.”
“Eh??”
Roan scratched his head, glancing between the confused Chizuru and the wolfishly glaring Lukrov, seemingly pondering over what to do. Chizuru’s eyes flickered as a signal for help, but Roan didn’t seem to get it.
“I’m a guest.”
“A guest has to leave at some point.”
“F*ck that!”
Roan cursed resentfully, but there was some logic to what Lukrov said, so he couldn’t blame him, even if he was talking nonsense.
“Why don’t you at least explain why? Think about all the things I’ve done for you so far. I’ve been overseeing this castle for the past five days while you’ve been useless.”
Lukrov bluntly ignored Roan’s remarks.
“Go home quickly and come back as soon as possible. I’m getting married.”
“Huh?!”
“To be honest, I don’t care if you’re here or not, but my bride wants to invite you.”
“Thank you, Chizuru. I’m so grateful that I might cry.”
And then Lukrov took Chizuru’s hand, kissed her fingertips gently, and smiled mischievously.
Lukrov’s smile.
The most powerful man, who was once known as the “Knight of the Raging Flame”. A warrior who saved the country …… with such power, strength, and fierceness that made one tremble just by approaching him. The smile drawn on the face of that man, who had never smiled at anyone in so many years, was now filled with joy.
She could not stop her body from tingling with joy.
“Lukrov….”
His big hand cupped Chizuru’s cheek firmly.
“Let’s get married as soon as possible. I don’t want to have to look around for you anymore. I’ll never let you out of my sight, not even for a moment. I should have done that from the beginning. Nothing good happens when I’m away from you for even a second.”
On the other side of the room, Roan was looking around dumbfounded, but both Chizuru and Lukrov just kept staring at each other. The red-haired knight shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the room through the door he had entered while grumbling to himself.
Smiling, Lukrov placed his forehead against Chizuru’s.
“The fever …… seems to be gone now.”
She gave a small nod.
Although her body still felt heavy, and a numbing pain attacked her joints whenever she tried to move, the high fever that tormented her for so long was completely gone.
Maybe it was the anemia that was making her head spin, or perhaps it was just Lukrov’s carefree smile.
“Umm …… How long have I been asleep?”
“Five whole days and a few hours.”
“That much?”
“Yeah.”
Lukrov sat up, one hand stroking Chizuru’s hair and neck with regret.
“Arde is making your meal now. She should be back with a bowl of soup soon, so let’s talk until then.”
Lukrov’s smile was so warm and happy that she could only smile back at him with the same warmth and affection.
“Okay~”
**
Notes:
1 So the smile here is different from normal smiling, how? Ask Japanese people :))). Anyways, the term commonly used for ‘smile, or a smiling face(a noun)’ is (えがお-Egao), but here, the term that was used is (にっこり-Nikori), which is used for smiling, the difference is that its a smile that shows emotions? I think that’s how I can describe it so it translates to ‘smiling sweetly, smile with a warm heart(verb)’. Also as you can probably assume that the pronunciation for the word is also funny that’s why it’s more used with SFX rather than day to day conversations.
