UWTD 377: Charming

After the meeting, Artoria’s day went by in a blur. Training with the knights, separate meetings with the Knights of the Round Table and Merlin, reports on corruption or any suspicious movements by the lords and officials. Before she knew it, night fell, and Adam arrived at her room. He prepared the dinner as usual, making himself comfortable in the room.

“Exquisite! This seafood tempura is to die for!” Once a month, Adam would make her fresh fish that he caught from who knows where. But Artoria only focused on the taste of the dishes more than anything else.

“Eat more, there is more than enough.” Because of Artoria’s vicarious appetite, Adam developed a new way of cooking, Remote cooking.

As long as he had made the dish once and had ingredients in his space pocket, he could skip the preparation and cooking steps to arrive directly at the finished product. Cutting down time by a lot.

“I am so full.” Satisfied, Artoria leaned back into her chair, crumbs and rice grains around her lips.

Adam removed the table and piled up dishes before handing Artoria a napkin and a basin of warm water. Grateful for the gesture, she washed her face with the water and patted herself dry with the napkin.

“So, what did you need me for?” Adam asked, remembering their arrangement from before.

“W-Well…” Artoria froze for a moment, but stood up. “Wait here for a minute.”

Watching her enter the walk-in closet in the bedroom, Adam tilted his head in confusion. Did she have something in there to show him?

‘It must be important if she is that flustered.’ He was only half correct.

Five minutes later, Artoria walked out of the closet. However, she had removed her royal garments and crown. Her golden locks were still in their usual bun, but only a white bathrobe covered her body. Unlike before, she hadn’t pulled Caliburn, so her growth wasn’t halted in any area.

At the age of twenty, Artoria’s figure had matured far beyond what it had been before. The white robe accentuated that figure more, clinging to her curves and making one’s imagination run wild.

“Artoria?” Seeing her flushed face, Adam understood what she wanted to talk about.

“We have to do this eventually, and for a long time too.” She said, even though embarrassed, her voice had a lot of reason. “We certainly cannot do it all at once, so I wanted to repay you little by little.”

She looked up at him, her cheeks red. Her heart beat so loud she was sure he could hear it. Although it was true that she had to repay him according to the contract, she had her own reasons to initiate it.

She had become more conscious of his presence in recent years; being near him made her life easier. It made her feel better. It made her forget about the pain that tormented her. Artoria wasn’t a young girl inside; she understood why she felt that way. And, she knew the name of that feeling very well, even though she had never experienced it before.

So, she wanted to confirm if it was really true. If she actually had those feelings towards Adam, the man who saved her, the one who told her to be happy. While she was wondering about how to go about it, her trusted advisor showed her a way.

“Merlin said that even if the mind denies, the body knows the truth. So, I want to see what my body wants.” Artoria’s fingers held Adam’s right wrist. She brought his hand up and placed his palm against her face.

The big hand covered half her face. Rugged, calloused, but it had a warmth to it. The warmth from his hand seeped into her cheek, and blood rushed in her face. Yet she didn’t feel embarrassed; she leaned into the hand, letting his finger brush through her golden bangs, closing her eyes to better feel it.

“Won’t you help me, Adam?” She opened her moist, clear green eyes. “Help me find out what you are to me.”

Seeing her act like a cat, rubbing her face on his hand, Adam felt the bit of hatred he had for Merlin vanish. That indecent sage had surely set up Artoria with that advice, but Artoria was smart enough to know that. However, she still chose that method because it lined up with the circumstances, and it worked well for them.

Artoria lacked the understanding of romance, and he still had a lot to learn. So, instead of making clumsy attempts at it, she decided to make a bold move using the contract to her advantage.

And it wasn’t just her who had been wondering about things. Adam himself had grown attached to Artoria more than he expected. He knew from the start that she had charisma that attracted people, but he saw beyond that that she was like any other person.

He started to like that genuine side of her and spent more time with her than he needed to. He even took actions that he didn’t need to just because he wanted to help her; it wasn’t about the contract at that point. Adam had understood that Artoria was a good person.

Someone he wanted to spend more time with. Someone he wanted to know more about.

He had come a long way from the start; he wanted a person he could share his life with. A family that would be with him and support him, and he understood that Artoria was that type of woman. She was stubborn, but also gentle. Above all, her loyalty knew no bounds.

“Adam…” Her voice was a whisper and also a question: would he take the step forward?

He answered by raising her chin with a finger. Artoria closed her eyes and leaned in, even if grown, she had to stand on her toes to reach his lips. Adam moved closer to. A second later, their lips touched.

A soft and mellow clash that sent a wave of explosions all over Artoria’s body. Adam pulled her closer by the waist, kissing her moist lips while caressing her cheek.

‘So warm… I want more.’ Strangely enough, her first kiss tasted like vanilla cake. However, she didn’t dislike that.

Her body felt hotter, but the places their bodies met were on fire. She gasped as his hand slipped into her robe, grabbing her bare flesh, the large fingers digging into her butt. She leaned into him, swaying with a light head.

He was all over her, his lips tasting hers, his body pressing on her. However, in that moment, Artoria felt light as a feather. She weighed nothing in his arms. The thoughts of duty and responsibility fell to the floor with her robe.

When the silver thread of saliva between their lips broke, Artoria’s senses returned. The cold air blew between her legs, but her body burned for more. She stood in front of him, naked. Although embarrassing, his eyes on her body felt strangely comforting. The more he looked, the happier she felt, and the more she wanted to show him.

“You are beautiful.” Adam felt mesmerized.

The Artoria he first met had a boyish face; her mannerisms, too, made her the furthest thing from a woman. However, she still held a strange beauty. And now that her body had matured, her breasts and hips had taken proper shape, and she had truly grown into a woman. A beautiful woman that every man would want.

‘Beautiful… am I?’ His words made her heart skip a beat.

Which woman didn’t like being called beautiful? It’s just that she had lived as a man her whole life that she never got that compliment, at least not from anyone she wanted it from. But now she did receive that compliment, and from the person she had an interest in. From the person she had grown to like.

She walked over to him, and even if she didn’t know how women walked, the slight sway in her wide hips was enough to put Adam in a trance. Artoria took Adam’s top off, admiring the muscles he had hidden beneath the loose linen. She caressed the wide, scarred chest and touched his burly biceps with affection, finally looking at his sharp face.

She knew his strength, not from the muscles and scars alone, but from the way he carried himself. All that strength, and he still had kindness in him; maybe he was only kind to her, but that was enough for Artoria.

“You’re charming too.” She smiled. “A bit too charming.”

Artoria had fallen into the hole called love.

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See you tmr with a new chapter.