I Married the Beautiful Female Protagonist In Order To Survive

57. Chess! We played chess all night!

Sunlight, bright and cheery. Birds singing sweetly. It was morning.

And yet, during this time when any normal person would be lazing in bed for a few extra moments of bliss, Zerola was sitting ramrod straight at the table with an unprecedented solemnity. He was gazing out the window at the meticulously manicured beauty of the Great British Royal Palace.

No, to call it gazing would be far too simple. Gazing implied some sort of accompanying thought. But Zerola, at this moment, was so utterly calm that even his thoughts seemed to have ceased. Tranquil, serene, a stillness of heart, a peacefulness. His mind was blank, sensing all, like a sage after meditation, his consciousness wandering the cosmos.

And what was this sage pondering? Profound matters, naturally…

The past, and the future. Such weighty concerns.

His mind rapidly replaying everything that had transpired last night, a bead of sweat trickled down Zerola’s neck. He began to contemplate the future: how exactly to avoid being silenced by the Great British Empire.

Because… last, last night things had truly progressed! They were adults, yes, but strictly speaking, still just students at the Academy. What, what was he going to do? No, rather than *what to do,* he should be considering *how to proceed.*

The fact that Flora was an untouched maiden was something he had thoroughly ascertained last night. Even thinking with his backside, he knew he had to take responsibility. But, thinking with his backside again, just *how* could he possibly take responsibility? A penniless, even his birth was questionable, practically popping out of a rock kinda guy, what kind of responsibility could he possibly shoulder?

Oh, how he wished he could rewind to last night. But even so, if given the chance… he feared he’d still be unable to resist.

Finally, a voice from nearby broke Zerola’s “sage state.”

“The trees outside… are they *that* fascinating?”

“Not as fascinating as you!”

The cheesy line escaped his lips. Almost on instinct, Zerola whirled around, looking towards… uh, the girl in the bed. Flora had awakened and was now clutching a pillow to conceal the exposed skin of her chest.

The morning light was bright, and the lingering flush on her face was surely evidence that she hadn’t quite “recovered” from last night. Her hair was disheveled, the bedding rumpled, clothes scattered haphazardly across the room. Everything testified to what had taken place here just hours before. And… whether it was his imagination or not, Zerola felt that something had changed. Not just in the girl before him, but even in the sound of her voice just now, there was a hint, a mere *suggestion* of a certain allure.

In the next instant, Zerola’s treacherous brain replayed the previous night’s events again, and he found it even harder to meet her gaze. Fortunately… they were both novices, both equally inexperienced. Flora, too, couldn’t maintain eye contact. They both averted their gazes, and the room fell silent, broken only by the sound of their heartbeats and the rustling of fabric.

Eventually, Flora spoke first.

“You understand, right?”

“Understood, understood! I understand perfectly!”

Zerola nodded furiously. “You don’t even need to say it, I know, responsibility, responsibility. Definitely responsible! You can use me as your errand boy for the rest of my life!”

Though the previous night was a product of the atmosphere, Zerola felt the greater blame lay with him. After making such firm promises back at the Academy, that they would “take things slow” after reclaiming Flora’s power. But no, he was swept away by the moment, influenced by Flora’s subtle “hints,” and shamelessly indulged his primal urges. This made Zerola suspect that he might be nothing more than a randy stallion.

And so, with a clear head after the night, what could he do? Immediately make amends, of course!

However, that reply felt…off.

“You wouldn’t understand a thing!”

The next moment, Flora hurled a pillow straight at him, then covered her chest with her hand, her face flushed with a delicate annoyance. “I told you not to…to speak of what happened, not yet. As royalty, we have a deliberate process for these things. Announcing something rashly will only stir up a hornet’s nest. You haven’t understood a single thing, have you? All you remember is last night, is that it!?”

She was right! But Zerola wouldn’t admit it even if his life depended on it. He could only clutch the pillow, still faintly warm from her, and grin awkwardly.

Now it was Flora’s turn to feel uneasy. Crossing her arms wasn’t much of a solution, not when she was completely bare. She shifted uncomfortably, a shy tremor running through her, before her gaze drifted to a corner of the room.

“Don’t look… even stable stallions aren’t as brazen as you. Bring me some clothes…”

She paused, adding, “…the…the things underneath too…”

Then, while Zerola spun around, scurrying to choose clothes, Flora reached down to massage her legs, still aching. Before he could even think to turn around and catch her, she spoke, quickly.

“Not that one! The white, cotton one!”

“No short skirts! What, you think I can wear a short skirt today? Did you not listen to a word I said earlier?”

After even a light touch sent a wave of soreness through her legs, Flora herself began to regret the events of the night before. In short: she hadn’t stopped him, things had gotten a little intense, and now her lower body throbbed with a dull ache. For safety’s sake, skipping classes seemed wise.

A moment later, seeing Zerola kneel on one knee, presenting the clothes one by one like a tribute, Flora’s mood brightened, just a little.

“I can’t go to the Academy today.”

“Understood, understood!”

“Don’t ‘understand’ in that way! Play dumb for me!”

The yell made her legs ache again. Infuriated, Flora didn’t want to look at him for another second!

“Alright, you can leave now.”

“Eh? Shouldn’t I be carrying you out?”

“Out! Haven’t you seen enough after staring all night!?”

As she shooed Zerola away, Flora added, “Fetch my sister and Henry. My writ is by the table; that will get you through unhindered. If any maids question you on the way, tell them you were simply keeping me company over a late-night game of chess, understood?”

“Understood, understood! Chess, we played chess all night!”

“Ah…”

Watching Zerola skip off, Flora rubbed her forehead and sighed.

There was no point in dwelling on “regret” now. What happened last night was Flora’s “proof” to herself: breaking free from the expected roles and procedures, choosing a more… liberated path.

Actually…it wasn’t so bad.

It’s just that her body couldn’t take it…

“He doesn’t understand how to take care of someone, not even a little…”

Alone, Flora dared to peel back the bedsheets – revealing a landscape of bruises blossoming along the delicate curves of her waist.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch… at this rate, I can’t even walk…”

I confess, I dashed this off in half an hour, could probably write it with my eyes closed.