Chapter 61: Beyond Desire And Liking

I spent several weeks getting closer to Althea by spending more time with her, and over time, she began to get used to and open up to me. Although I used most of my free time to get close to her and continued to maintain physical intimacy with her, it seemed like it would take some time for her to express her feelings. In fact, because of her character, she might never confess her feelings.So, I need to encourage her to take the first step.

The thing that would force her to take the first step, of course, is jealousy and fear of missing out. That's why I frequently told Althea that I was visiting Roxanne or Avanne. Now, as I was preparing to visit Avanne again, Althea stood sulking in a corner of my room, glaring at me.

Just because of this, I took longer to get dressed and, finally, sprayed a generous amount of perfume, which is considered a luxury in this world.

"Is all of this really necessary?" Althea grumbled.

"Well... Avanne doesn't like it when I smell bad," I said. Of course, this was a lie. Avanne had never said I smelled bad, but Althea didn't need to know that. The point was to give Althea the message that I made an effort for Avanne. Besides, if I'm going to have a harem, my girls need to get used to each other.

They shouldn't overreact when I show affection to another girl.

I heard a muffled grumble from Althea, and knowing I had to make a move, I approached her. She became flustered as she saw me coming closer, but she didn't move. I brought my face close to hers and put my hand on her chin. Even though she tried to suppress her emotions and looked at me coldly, her blushing face rendered all her efforts meaningless.

Although she was pretending to be aloof, the loud beating of her heart showed that even this slight gesture excited her greatly.

"If you want, I can make sure to smell good when I come to you too," I said.

When I finished speaking and took a few steps back, she let out a deep breath. I had indirectly told Althea that I could show the same care for her as I did for Avanne. She might not understand the underlying meaning of my words now, but when she's alone and reflects on our recent intimate moment, she will definitely understand.

Watching her expression, I took a few more steps back and headed for the door. Just as I reached the threshold, I heard her soft, trembling voice from behind me.

"Wait," Althea said, her voice filled with hesitation, but also determination. I slowly turned around and looked into her eyes, reading the mixed emotions on her face.

"I don't want you to go," she added, averting her eyes. This unexpected declaration caused a slight warmth to form in my heart. It had taken Althea a long time to open up and express her feelings, but even this small step was significant progress.

I approached her and gently placed my hand on her shoulder. "Alright, I'll visit Avanne a few hours later. Is that what you want?" I asked.

She nodded her head like a chicken, and I couldn't help but smile at the scene. "So, what do we do now?" I asked.

Althea looked at me with determined eyes. "You can do with me whatever you do with those women," she said.

This time, I couldn't stop myself from laughing at her words. Althea glared at me angrily. "What's so funny? Did I say something amusing?" she demanded.

"No. But what do you think Avanne and I do when I visit her?" I asked.

Althea furrowed her brows and looked at me. "How would I know? Does she sit on your lap?" she asked innocently.

"Well, technically yes. Sometimes she wants me to, but most of the time I'm on top," I said with a neutral expression.

"What? What does she want you to do?" she asked.

Well, it's natural for an inexperienced virgin like her to be ignorant about sex in this world. Moreover, without pornographic videos or magazines in this world, her behavior is understandable. Still, people in this world usually have some knowledge about sexual relations.

"Well... We play adult games," I said.

"Then you can play with me too; after all, I'm an adult," she said, nodding her head.

"Oh, but Althea, I can't play those games with you," I said, adopting the expression of a man about to do something very wrong.

"Why not? I'm just as much of an adult as you are," she said, raising her voice.

"But if we play that game, something could happen—" I said, using my acting skills to pretend I was embarrassed.

Althea furrowed her brows and looked at my supposedly embarrassed face. "What could happen?" she asked angrily.

"Well... You could get pregnant... But don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't want you to have my child—" my words were suddenly cut off because I saw Althea clench her fist.

"!!!!!!!!!"

Her expression was constantly changing: embarrassment, anger, jealousy, desire, and indecision, but mostly embarrassment was shining on her face. Seeing her face and even her ears turn red, I tried to take a step closer. I could see Althea struggling with her thoughts.

Suddenly, she ran towards me, pushed me with her hands, and ran towards the door, opening it quickly without closing it behind her. As I watched her run away with all her might, I couldn't help but smile. The conversation we just had wasn't planned, but it wasn't bad. After all, everything I said today would occupy her mind in the coming days and make her keep thinking about me.

Additionally, she would start getting mentally accustomed to sexuality.

For now, since Althea left, and I had no other business, I decided to visit Avanne in the hidden mansion I planned to go to.

---

** (Avanne's POV)**

In recent days, apart from some headaches and nausea, my breasts had become unusually sensitive. And since it's been over a month since my last menstrual period, I'm now very likely pregnant... Although this news made me very happy at first, I couldn't help but develop some concerns because of constant thinking.

Moreover, I'm even more unhappy because I can't go to a temple and have a priest check to confirm my pregnancy. Although I know that pregnant women experience emotional fluctuations, I hadn't expected my feelings to change so frequently.

When I heard the door of my bedroom open, I looked at the door. Ethan entered, looking at me with his blue eyes as if he could solve all my problems. He smiled at me with that bright smile and headed to the window before approaching the bed.

"Please don't draw the curtains."I said in a tired voice.

"Okay" Ethan said, and he climbed onto the bed. I felt his hand caressing my stomach over the blanket. Normally, whenever he visited me, my energy would immediately rise, and I would happily cling to him, but now I'm far from normal.

Ethan brought his face closer to mine and kissed my lips gently. He took off his top clothes, revealing his broad shoulders and visible muscles. In the past, seeing this sight would instantly make my lower lips wet. Actually, they were starting to get wet again... Additionally, the scars on his body always invoked a feeling of tenderness in me.

Once again, my hands moved involuntarily, and I caressed some scars on his chest. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Ethan kissed my lips again, and after a while of kissing, he moved to my neck. After spending some time on my neck and making me feel good, he came close to my ear.

"I missed you..." he whispered.

Those three words triggered something inside me, but... I tried to control myself and bit my lip. After all, I had heard stories where pregnant women had miscarriages after intercourse. I couldn't risk that. I couldn't lose my baby for just one night. But I didn't know what to say to Ethan.

"Um... Ethan. I'm not feeling well right now," I said hesitantly.

I secretly knew that my relationship with Ethan was always a one-sided platonic love affair. But fortunately, my body pleased him, allowing us to be together. However, if I didn't give him my body now... I was very afraid he would leave me.

"Hmm? Are you sick?" he asked with a concerned look. Though his response surprised me, I nodded my head without moving my lips.

Ethan got up from the bed and, while I watched him curiously, he took something out of the pocket of the jacket he had previously removed. My eyes widened when I saw what he had pulled out. I didn't know why he had taken it out.

"You've been ill for days, and this doesn't seem like a normal illness. So you need to drink everything in this vial" he said.

As my eyes widened in astonishment, I was about to respond when he said, "If you refuse this vial, I'll throw it out the window right now" while heading towards the window.

"No, no! Don't throw away the potion!" I shouted.

"Then will you use it?" he asked.

I had no choice but to nod. The potion was a treasure. A golden-colored potion! It was an incredibly valuable potion with effects I had heard of but never see in my life. I could only buy at most two small vials if I sold all my wealth. But of course, even buying two small vials was because of the incredible growth of my viscountcy, thanks to Ethan.

When I took the vial in my hand, I looked at Ethan's face. I tried to read his expression, but saw that he was waiting for me to carefully drink the potion. I smiled involuntarily. I hadn't expected him to give me this potion just because I was ill. This brought a warmth inside me. An idea crossed my mind...

Maybe Ethan was starting to like me too... With that thought, I lifted the vial and drank it down to the last drop.

It was definitely the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. I licked my lips, thinking that this taste would stay on my palate for a few days. I stroked my stomach. After all, this potion would benefit my baby in my womb more than me. In fact, the golden potion was most beneficial for babies in the womb. Perhaps Ethan had guessed that I was pregnant and had given me this potion...

But looking at his face, I realized that this was unlikely.

"Good, now lie down. It should start showing its effects within a few hours" he said, pulling up the bedspread and covering me.

I watched in astonishment as he did this. When he pulled me close and embraced me, I looked into his eyes. "It's late, so it's best if we sleep" he said, stroking my cheek.

Feeling the warmth spreading inside me, I adjusted my stomach into a comfortable position before snuggling up to Ethan and closing my eyes. I had never felt so good. For the first time, I realized that Ethan was showing interest in me outside of my body. Maybe he had always been this way, but I hadn't noticed... Anyway, to enjoy this moment.

I snuggled up to Ethan even more and plunged into the best sleep of my life, surrounded by his soothing caresses on my waist.