SMITTEN

This has no steamy scene, sorry. But it's a good read; a budding romance between two of our side characters. ;) I hope you like it. :D

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"You can cover your ears if you want to," Lord Emilio said to Rosalia in a concerned tone.

Both of them were outside the King's Chamber as both of their masters were inside for the royal procreation. 

Lady Aisha's cries could be heard from where they were. 

To be honest, Lord Emilio was surprised. It was the first time that he heard such emotional expressions during the King's procreation.

'Certainly, all the royal wives and concubines were oriented to not be expressive to the point of overpowering the King during procreation,' he contemplated..

He didn't know why the King was allowing Lady Aisha to be explicit during their copulation. 

'Was it perhaps because she came from another world? Or was he taking satisfaction in it that much?'

With that, Lord Emilio's face reddened. 

It wasn't every day he could hear a lady expressing her delight in an intercourse. And it somehow made him both uneasy and surprisingly thrilled.

"It's alright, my lord. I'm glad that Lady Aisha seemed to be having a wonderful first night with the King," Rosalia responded as she swayed sideways. Her dark eyes gleamed in the light of a nearby lamp.

"It is a pearl in the sea to be with someone whom you want to be with for the rest of your life," Rosalia added dreamily.

Lord Emilio nodded his head as he agreed with her.

In their Kingdom, most marriages were held for political reasons. 

'It is either to strengthen one's bloodline and equities. Or to increase one's power or influence in the land,' Lord Emilio pondered.

In this case, the union of the King and Lady Aisha was to extend the lineage of the King in the throne. 

There is a great risk of producing an unqualified offspring. But now he understood the King's decision to still advance with the plan. It is better to take risks than to have no offspring at all.

He decided to give Lady Aisha a chance.

Still, he doesn't believe that these feelings will last.

"Emotions will fade through time," Lord Emilio's jaw clenched as he responded to Rosalia's idealistic opinion.

He looked outside the window and saw that the full moon was already shining brightly in the evening sky. 

The night creatures seemed to be rejoicing at that time as well.

"The emotional exhilaration of these events were only momentary. Tomorrow everything will be back to normal."

Just then, Lady Aisha's noises slowly vanished. It seemed like the copulation had finally ended and they could rest for the night.

His feet made a wide stance as he put his hands behind his back and lifted his chin. 

Lady Aisha will be coming out anytime by now to be escorted back to her chamber with Rosalia and the rest of her female servants.

Indeed, the doors of the King's chamber opened. But there was no Lady Aisha. 

Instead there was a court noble who bowed down to them and expressed the wish of the King.

"The King wishes to extend the period until the allotted time, my lord," she said.

"The Lady would stay?" Lord Emilio reiterated in disbelief.

He cupped his jaw-dropped mouth.

He gazed at the court maid who was still bowing down at him waiting for his response even with his obvious dislike.

"Could the King be delighted with our Lady, too?" Rosalia turned to her fellow female servants with her eyes wide open and her lips almost reaching her ears.

Lord Emilio rubbed his chin as he mulled over it. Ever since he has served the King, he has never stayed for a long time.

'What's with Lady Aisha that differentiate her from the rest? Is she perhaps the Chosen One?'

Maybe the reason why the King couldn't produce a child then was because he only stayed with a woman during the royal procreation once. Then he would wait for his seed to flourish within her womb.

But with Lady Aisha and his obvious fondness for her, it looked like he would try to impregnate her more than once.

'Somehow it would be beneficial.'

He wanted the King's lineage to stay on the throne. He doesn't have anyone in mind who could replace him.

"Alright, we will wait," Lord Emilio finally decided to speak as he went back to his position.

'Do I have a choice?' Lord Emilio muttered to himself.

He and the King's male servants together with Lady Aisha's female servants should wait for their masters to return to their chambers before they can take a rest.

They were all aware about it so each made their own way to stay awake through the night.

Some yawned. The others stretched their backs. While the others rubbed their eyes.

As they were doing that, Lady Aisha started being vocal about her emotions again. This time it was louder and more pleasing to Lord Emilio's ears, making his wings shoot up in response.

He immediately cleared his throat as he defended himself. 

"I was surprised. Are all humans like that?" Lord Emilio complained in a rough voice as he controlled his wings so it could return to its normal state again.

Rosalia seemed to sense his apprehension as she asked him directly.

"Why, my Lord? Haven't you heard those screams before?" Rosalia asked him with her twinkling eyes.

"Of course I have," Lord Emilio immediately fended himself.

He has been to brothels to act out some royal tasks. 

Though he didn't spend time with a woman, he has also heard shrills like that before. 

But then he was irritated by it. He felt like the harlots were just faking them to please their lords. 

But Lady Aisha sounded sincere like she was in the higher heavens, enjoying whatever the King was doing to her.

'That counts as an experience, right?' he asked himself, feeling not convinced at all by his answer.

Glancing at Rosalia, he felt like she was asking a personal question which she should not do to a Lord. 

So he returned the sarcasm to her as he asked, "How about you, Rosalia? Have you done it before?"

Rosalia's face turned apple red, making Lord Emilio's lips curve up. It was what he wanted.

"I have not, my Lord," Rosalia immediately shook her head. 

But she added, "But I want to give it to the man I will marry someday. I don't want to deprive him of the pleasure of knowing that he pleases me."

Lord Emilio was stunned with her audacity.

It seemed like she was heavily influenced by Lady Aisha's blunt manner of speaking.

But he became more curious with Rosalia's personal background. 

To be honest with himself, he also wanted to hear those noises from his wife. If he will get married. 

"I was not aware that you have a fiance, Rosalia," Lord Emilio commented. 

One of his blonde eyebrows shot up as he crossed his strong arms. But he sounded more friendly than before, even if he wanted to make it more authoritative.

He gazed at Rosalia's petite face as they went downturn and pouted her lips. "No, I don't, my lord. I guess I'll be Lady Aisha's chambermaid for life."

Lord Emilio's forehead scrunched up as what she was saying could be true. There were maids of Lords and Ladies who didn't get married just to serve their masters until they got old.

However, Rosalia was too beautiful to remain a spinster.

"What do you look for in a man? I might know one who could be a match for you," Lord Emilio inquired.

Indeed, he knows a lot of men from Lords to knights and servants, being the King's personal watchman. 

But he was also interested to know what her preference was.

Rosalia's eyes twinkled as if it was her first time to be asked about it. She seemed to be excited to share herself that she even clutched her hands to her chest.

"I want a Lord for a husband," Rosalia said with her plump cheeks lifted up.

Lord Emilio was taken aback by her bold utterance of her ambitious fantasy. 

Lords can marry servants, but it was a rare case. 

Most often Lords marry someone who was on the same status as them. He himself wanted to do the same thing.

"I admire your preference and your straightforward answer. But why do you want a Lord specifically?" Lord Emilio implored.

He bit his lips as he shouldn't have asked that since he knew Rosalia's family background. 

He knew that she came from an impoverished family. He expected her to say that but she didn't.

"I want to change the image of women servants in the society, my lord. Our social status doesn't dictate how well we could run our household," Rosalia pressed her lips in determination.

That was an answer that Lord Emilio was not expecting to hear. 

Indeed, servants were still servants in the eyes of the nobles even if they had married Lords.

Lord Emilio was about to praise her excellent answer when she added, "And besides, Lords are more physically desirable to marry." 

Rosalia giggled and faced the other servants who agreed with her, too, as they cackled silently with her.

Lord Emilio's lips couldn't help but pressed together to prevent a smile from creeping up. Rosalia was both mature and childish for her age. 

His eyes twinkled as a longing crept in his heart to know more about her.

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The secret to a happy marriage is finding the right person. Most often, they are those who you love to be with all the time.