Keiichiro’s heated, hardened length was gently pressed against Hina’s moistened bud.
Slowly, teasingly traced, her sweet nectar clinging to his tip.
And then, just like that, he slowly sank deeper into Hina.
His lips twisting slightly, Keiichiro let out a sweet sigh.
Hina whimpered softly at the unfamiliar heat and hardness, her body trembling slightly.
“Ah, ahh…!”
Something quietly ignited deep within her chest.
Her senses sharpened, her honeyed passage tightening and loosening in rhythm with Keiichiro’s movements.
As if her body couldn’t help but react each time it welcomed him in.
Keiichiro moved gently yet deliberately, deepening his strokes.
Hina’s body melted, her dripping sweat staining the sheets.
She no longer had the composure to look at Keiichiro’s face. But the sweet breaths that occasionally brushed her ear told her he, too, was lost in pleasure.
The thought made her inner walls clench around him reflexively.
“Ngh… Hina…!”
As he called her name, Keiichiro thrust deeper, his hips striking against her again and again.
In that moment, Hina’s thoughts began to whiten—a wave of heat surging from the depths of her body.
“Ah, ah… Aaahhh…!”
A wordless cry escaped from the back of her throat.
Something hot burst inside her, and at last, Hina came violently.
At the same time, Keiichiro’s movements, filling her depths, sank in even deeper.
Her body trembled again at the sensation of his heat spilling into the very core of her belly.
In the silence, only Hina’s ragged breaths and Keiichiro’s warm sighs overlapped.
Still held tightly in his arms, Hina buried her face in his chest.
She could still feel him inside her. Her flushed skin was damp with sweat, her heart pounding loudly.
Pleasure and a dull, lingering ache.
Between them, her consciousness blurred, her mind hazy.
Eventually, Keiichiro’s body shifted slowly.
Reluctantly, he pulled his hips back, his warmth slipping out of her.
Immediately after, something faintly warm trickled down between Hina’s thighs, staining the sheets red.
Their gazes simultaneously fell upon that vivid mark.
For just a moment, a shadow passed over Keiichiro’s eyes.
Not joy, not satisfaction… but something that looked almost painfully apologetic.
The moment she met that gaze, a sharp pang struck her chest.
“…Forgive me. Did I push you too hard?”
His voice trembled in his throat.
So sincere, so gentle—it hurt her heart even more.
Hina slowly shook her head.
It had hurt, yes. But that pain was proof of their connection.
This was what she had chosen.
“No… I’m alright.”
As she spoke, Hina, too, stared at the bloodstain on the sheets.
It felt as though something had been carved into her heart, an indescribable emotion swelling in her chest.
—With this, her purpose was fulfilled.
Or so she thought.
But immediately, a voice inside her denied it.
Not yet.
It wasn’t over.
Unless the engagement with the Shinomiya family was called off, everything would be meaningless.
Unaware—or perhaps aware—of Hina’s turmoil, Keiichiro murmured softly.
“…If it’s what you wish, you can stay in this house forever.”
Unexpected words fell against her ear.
“As a maid, as anything. As long as you… can live smiling, that’s enough.”
It wasn’t a confession, nor a plea.
Just the quiet prayer of a man who cherished her deeply.
Those words seeped slowly into Hina’s heart.
The tension left her shoulders, and tears spilled from her eyes.
“…Thank you…”
She felt something inside her unravel.
This was fine, she told herself. The engagement with Shinomiya—she no longer had to go through with it.
Marriage might no longer be possible.
But that was alright. She still had her path as a pharmacist. If she could heal others, that alone would be enough to live by.
After a long silence, Keiichiro draped a yukata lightly over Hina’s shoulders.
Gently, as if smoothing her disheveled hair, he rested a hand on her head and stroked it.
“Hina. …This is as far as I can go.”
For a moment, his words felt like rejection.
But she reminded herself—this was the path she had chosen.
“…Yes.”
Hina, too, answered softly but firmly.
“I’ll be away on business starting tomorrow. For about a week.”
“I see. …Take care.”
Keiichiro hesitated for a moment, then asked her:
“When will you see Shinomiya next?”
“…In three days.”
Three days. If she met Shinomiya then, everything might be decided.
But Hina was no longer pure.
That alone would change everything—.
“I see.”
Keiichiro nodded slightly and averted his gaze.
Something unspoken passed between them.
“…Even if something happens, I won’t be able to help you right away. You’ll have to… handle it alone. Can you do that?”
At his question, Hina nodded with unwavering resolve.
“Yes.”
Keiichiro smiled faintly, his eyes narrowing.
Hina, too, steeled herself, quietly wiping her eyes.