It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 39

“Your Highness, the Tower Master has arrived.”

Once again, a bouquet of flowers had been delivered to the princess’s palace. But this time, Achilles didn’t just send a gift, he had come in person.

Charlize’s face turned bright red.

‘Why is this even more embarrassing than I thought it’d be!’

She had spoken to him with a straight face the morning after they spent the night together, but now, days later, she was overwhelmed by embarrassment.
Especially with the kiss marks he’d left behind still visible.

Yes—Achilles had only healed the marks in the obvious places. The rest, he had deliberately left untouched.

When Charlize went into the bath alone and stood in front of the mirror, she saw kiss marks scattered across her body.

Her chest, the soft skin of her inner thighs—even her back and buttocks weren’t spared.
Because of that, she had dismissed her maids and insisted on bathing alone.

Today marked the fourth day since that night.
Achilles had come by yesterday too, but she’d refused to meet him.

‘Because it was too awkward…’

Achilles hadn’t said much when turned away. He just left quietly—and didn’t try to visit again that night.

‘Maybe he thought I needed time to recover, since it was my first time.’

Honestly, she still occasionally felt a dull ache in private places.
Her back felt fine, likely thanks to his healing magic, but—

‘No—wait! He healed there, too!’

She clearly remembered the pain from the initial penetration disappearing with his magic.
So then why didn’t it feel totally fine?

‘Was it just… because he touched me so much…?’

“Your Highness?”

“Ah—yes. Please, let him in.”

Charlize decided she couldn’t keep sending him away forever. Four days was enough.
It was time to face him again.

She had experienced it twice now, so she didn’t take long to prepare and open the door herself.
As expected, Achilles was standing right there, as if he’d been about to knock.

“Your Highness.”

His face was expressionless as always—no hint of embarrassment at all.
Charlize glanced at him with a tiny glare, then dismissed the attendants and gestured for him to sit.

Since it had taken a while for her to get ready, refreshments had already been set on the table.

‘What do I even say…?’

“Are you upset because I didn’t visit you at night?” he asked suddenly.

…What?

Charlize’s eyes widened as she stared at him.
Achilles looked completely serious.

“I thought you might be feeling more embarrassed than expected, so I decided to give you time to calm your emotions. Was that the wrong decision?”

“Well… I mean…”

“I wanted to see you every night. I missed you, every single moment…”

His expression didn’t change, but his eyes had a gentle downward tilt that made him look oddly vulnerable.
He stepped closer and carefully wrapped his arms around her.

“I felt anxious… and, strangely, even angry. I couldn’t just sit still.
So—I made a lesson plan. Would you take a look at it?”

“Lesson…? You mean, magic?”

“Yes. I think I’ve figured out a way for you to learn magic more easily.”

He pulled a half-stack of papers from a subspace and handed them to Charlize.
She blinked, unsure of what kind of “lesson plan” this was supposed to be—but still began reading through it.

And then…

Wait, what??

Charlize’s face gradually flushed a deep red as she skimmed the pages.
She was beyond grateful that she had sent everyone away—because if even a single word of this leaked out, it would be catastrophic.

“Wait a second… Is all of this real?”

“I discovered it while using healing magic during our… time together.
I believed only strong willpower could move ‘Primordial Mana,’ but after spending enough time inside your body, it began responding to your emotions as well.”

“…”

According to this “lesson plan,” she was supposed to spend about two hours wrapped in his arms before even starting.
Not only that—throughout the lesson, he would need to monitor her mana levels and perform additional acts depending on her state.

‘How am I supposed to learn anything like this?!’

“If you learn magic and grow stronger than I am,” he said calmly, “you’ll no longer have a reason to fear me.”

“Achilles. There is a very serious problem with all of this.”

“What is it?”

Charlize stared at the stack of papers in her hand.

She was definitely going to burn them.

“How I’m supposed to learn it is one thing… but our wedding is only three weeks away. How am I supposed to become a stronger mage than you in that time?”

“That’s not possible, of course. But, Your Highness—
you did say I could study and research your powers. This lesson plan is part of that process.”

‘I… did say that, didn’t I…?’

Charlize looked up at him, her face burning red with embarrassment. Achilles’ expression was dead serious.
He actually intended to go through with this—this ridiculous and utterly indecent plan.

“You… You’re joking, right? Or is this what you meant before—using ‘research’ as an excuse for something lewd?”

“I’m not that shameless.”

Charlize stared up at him, speechless, and then buried her face in his chest.
They were still wrapped in each other’s arms, so it was easy to do.

‘Learning magic is obviously a good thing… but to use that kind of method for something as noble and profound as magic…’

She was genuinely conflicted.
Part of her wanted to reject the whole idea on the spot—but she still liked Achilles.
And with the wedding feeling increasingly inevitable, a part of her began to think… maybe it was worth a try.

At the very least, having a way to defend herself wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“Even if I agree to learn magic… where am I supposed to practice? This is the palace, you know. There’s a training yard, but nowhere suited for this kind of… activity.”

“Does that mean… you agree to my lesson plan?”

After a long pause, Charlize slowly nodded.
Achilles gently stroked her flushed cheek before speaking.

“There’s a magic training hall in the northern estate that belongs to you. I’ve had my disciples make preparations there. It’s ready for use.”

“Y-Your disciples? Do they know what we’re doing?!”

She nearly shrieked. Achilles gave her a puzzled look.

“I didn’t explain the details. They only know it’s for magic research purposes.”

‘Thank goodness…’

Relieved, Charlize straightened up and tried to sound firm.

“I’ll agree to learn magic, but on one condition.”

“I’m listening.”

“You absolutely cannot—under any circumstances—tell anyone how I’m learning it! Got it?! This secret goes to the grave with both of us!”

“……”

Achilles silently looked down at her.
It was partly due to the height difference, but his expression seemed thoughtful.

“Is it really that embarrassing?”

“O-Of course it is! If you don’t promise, I won’t do it!”

“I promise.”

It wasn’t a hard promise to make.
Achilles had no intention of telling anyone about her powers anyway.
To him, Charlize was his most precious treasure.

“Then let’s leave immediately.”

“Wha—no! Not right now!”

He had been about to use long-distance teleportation when he paused, confused.

“Why not?”

“I have to explain it to people! And I need time to prepare…”

“You yourself said time is limited. Even if we cut into your sleeping hours, it may not be enough. Whatever you need, I’ll retrieve it for you.”

“And how exactly are you going to get His Majesty’s permission?”

Achilles, who had lost his parents at a young age, didn’t quite grasp the need for permission—but he could tell Charlize was clearly uncomfortable about it.

“I’ll persuade him.”

Charlize, confident he wouldn’t succeed, smirked slightly.

“Fine. If you get the Emperor’s permission, I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll be staying at the northern estate—Charlize’s property—until the day before the wedding.”

The Emperor choked on his tea the moment Achilles barged into his office with that statement.
Fortunately, Achilles deflected the liquid with magic. The unfortunate target who ended up soaked was a palace official.

“What on earth…! I understand that you and my daughter are to be married—but the wedding hasn’t happened yet!”

“Her Highness still feels uneasy about the marriage. I wish to stay outside the palace with her and ease her concerns.”

Ease her concerns?

The Emperor stared, baffled.
He had assumed Charlize had already accepted the marriage and had completely let his guard down.

‘Has she not forgotten about Viscount Valter Bianchi after all? I thought what happened recently would’ve ended things for good…’

Valter, newly released from house arrest, had been unusually quiet.
The Emperor had expected him to try and approach Charlize right after the Tower Master’s title ceremony—but it seemed the humiliation had left him too ashamed to face her.

“Hmm…”

Charlize was normally calm and well-behaved, but she had a tendency to act on impulse when something upset her deeply.
The Emperor grimaced as an unwelcome image came to mind—Charlize standing at the altar shouting, “I can’t go through with this wedding!”

“…Very well. I’ll allow it.
But officially, you’re traveling to the north to retrieve the wedding gifts on my behalf. The princess is simply accompanying you to help.”

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