Chapter 543: A Night for the Two of Them
After announcing their relationship to their friends, Tauro and Aeris visited Marquis Vandyne the very next day using Ragune’s Dimensional Corridor, to greet him for the first time in a year and to formally announce their relationship.
The Marquis was surprised just by the fact that a year had passed, and at first was exasperated that they still hadn’t been dating until now—but seeing how happy his daughter Aeris looked, he decided that was more than enough.
Mei, the Marquis’s new wife and formerly Aeris ’s personal maid, burst into tears of joy upon hearing that her former mistress and Tauro were now in a relationship with marriage in mind.
Aeris scolded Mei, telling her to pull herself together since she was her mother now—yet she ended up crying along with her anyway.
After finishing their report, Aeris met with the twins, played and rocked them to sleep, and after staying the day in the Vandain Marquisate, they decided to stay the night as well.
Separate rooms were prepared for the two—but Aeris went to visit Tauro’s bedroom.
She was dressed in her nightclothes, but Aeris, already an adult and beautiful woman, looked extremely alluring.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
Tauro felt his heart racing at the sight of her, but since they couldn’t exactly talk in the hallway, he let her into the room.
“I was thinking we could sleep together.”
Aeris already exudes the charm of an adult woman, but inside she was still a young girl when it came to those things, so her words likely meant exactly what they she said.
Understanding that, Tauro replied with a wry smile,
“Well, yeah… we can’t really sleep together when everyone’s around.”
He complies and climbs onto the bed.
Aeris followed, slipping under the covers and snuggling up close beside him.
Then she turned slightly toward Tauro and gently takes his right hand in both hands.
“…I’ve wanted to do this.”
Her face flushed red as she said it shyly.
Caught off guard by Aeris’s pleasant scent and her bold action, Tauro felt the blood rush to his head and tensed up—but he squeezed her hand back and turned to face her.
They ended up gazing at each other, but since both of them were shy and had little knowledge of such matters, nothing happened—only the sound of their pounding hearts as time passed.
“…Please take care of me from now on.”
Still holding her hand, Tauro rested his forehead against Aeris’s, closed his eyes, and spoke softly.
“…Yeah. Me too. —Well, we have to get up early tomorrow, so shall we sleep?”
Aeris replied happily. She let go of his hand, slipped a bit deeper under the covers, and hugged Tauro tightly.
“!—Aeris ?”
Tauro was startled by the sudden closeness, feeling her against his entire body—but her embrace was so gentle and comforting that he didn’t feel tense.
“…being with you like this, Tauro, makes me feel calm…”
Resting her forehead against his chest, Aeris murmured this—and before long, she began breathing softly in her sleep.
Tauro lightly hugged her back. Feeling just as at ease, he soon drifted off to sleep as well.
The next morning.
When Aeris opened her eyes, Tauro was already awake, lying beside her.
“Good morning.”
As Tauro greeted her, Aeris responded.
“Good morning… Ah—thank you for staying by my side until I woke up.”
Aeris was still sleepy, but she noticed Tauro’s concern and thanked him with a happy smile.
She then got out of bed and headed back to her own room.
Watching her leave, Tauro thought to himself as he stood alone in the room:
“Sleeping beside my girlfriend, huh… I never experienced this even in my previous life, but this is really nice.”
Satisfied and pleased with his first experience, Tauro got ready for the day.
At the front entrance, Marquis Vandain had gathered with his wife Mei, the twin siblings, and the True Saint Maria —the guardian of the marquisate—to see Tauro, Aeris , and their companions off.
“Tauro-kun. Please continue to take care of my daughter. —And one more thing. You’ll be an adult in a year. When that time comes, let’s have a drink together.”
Clearly fond of Tauro, the Marquis was in high spirits, promising to share a drink with him once he came of age.
“When that time comes, I’ll find some good local sake and bring it along,” Tauro replied.
“Dad, we still don’t know what will happen in the future, so don’t get ahead of yourself.”
Aeris tried to rein in her father, who was getting carried away.
“Aeris , it’s every father’s dream to share a drink with their daughter’s husband, you know?”
The Marquis replied with a surprisingly serious expression.
“That’s exactly why you’re jumping the gun. Tauro might get tired of me someday, you know.”
“That’ll never happen!”
Tauro and the Marquis replied in perfect unison, without a moment’s hesitation.
Seeing the two of them, Aeris smiled, clearly pleased.
“Hehe. All right, I get it. Tauro, let’s get going now. —Ragune, will you please.”
Aeris takes charge of the situation and asks Ragune to open the Dimensional Corridor.
“What, already? It’s been a year—why not stay a bit longer?”
“If we want to come, we can always come anytime.”
Aeris said, kissing her twin siblings goodbye, then joined hands with Tauro and the others.
Ragune opened the Dimensional Corridor, and as Tauro chanted Spatial Transfer, the group returned to the northern city of Swen.
“…They’re gone, huh. Sigh…”
Marquis Vandyne let out a disappointed sigh.
“I’m glad that Lady Aeris is doing well.”
Said Mei, still calling her “Lady Aeris ” out of habit from her days as a maid.
“I’m truly glad things finally progressed between her and Tauro-kun… She looks happy, so I suppose I should be satisfied. —Ah, right. I need to inform Count Graundewald as well. Cheeps, prepare a letter.”
With that instruction to his butler, Marquis Vandyne headed straight for his study.