A Cold (3)

In the tense atmosphere, Ethan quietly reached his hand toward my chest.

I kept my eyes tightly shut, waiting for his touch while making sure he wouldn’t notice I was awake.

“S-sorry, Lillith…”

‘…Here it comes.’

He even apologized in a whisper while touching my chest? There was no doubt-this was clearly the first step toward satisfying his desires with my sleeping body.

Shortly after those words, just as expected, Ethan began slowly undressing me, loosening the front of my nightgown piece by piece.

I pretended not to notice his touch, keeping my eyes closed and focusing all my senses below my neck.

-Sliiide.

“……”

-Thump, thump.

W-what is this…?

For some reason, I don’t know why, but my heart is pounding so hard…

He’s just undressing me while I’m asleep, so why does my chest feel like it’s about to burst?

Maybe it’s just my mood, but this feels way more intense than when I usually give Ethan his “rewards.” Was it because of the guilt of doing something I shouldn’t?

Of course, the one doing something wrong was Ethan, not me. I was just pretending to be asleep to confirm his feelings for me and, as a bonus, to get some blackmail material I could tease him about later.

-Sliiide.

‘W-wow, he really undid it…’

I never expected Ethan to be this bold with me.

I smiled quietly in my heart at his daring actions toward my sleeping self.

Even though my wariness toward Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot had lessened a lot, it seemed his desires for me were still intact.

Right, now that I’ve confirmed that, this is enough. If I wake up now and ask him what he’s doing…

“……”

…But how do I wake up?

If I suddenly open my eyes and confront Ethan now… wouldn’t that be a little too awkward?

Now that I think about it, it is. Pretending to be peacefully asleep this whole time and then waking up the moment he starts undressing me… is practically admitting that I was faking it.

And strictly speaking, he hasn’t “crossed the line” yet, so if I wake up now, I might not get any solid blackmail material. He could easily make excuses like, “You looked hot, so I was trying to cool you down” or “I was changing your sweat-soaked clothes.”

‘I need to get more concrete evidence.’

To do that… I had to wait for Ethan to cross the line a little further.

Like openly groping my chest with his hands, or maybe even using his mouth.

Or, if he secretly tries to insert himself into me while I’m asleep…

‘T-then he’d be caught red-handed for sure.’

No way would I accept some excuse like an oil tycoon “accidentally” slipping and entering me.

To create that “definitive situation,” I couldn’t recklessly wake up just because he undressed me.

It wasn’t that I was expecting him to go further than this-I just needed undeniable proof.

While waiting for Ethan’s next move with that thought in mind, I felt something touch the largest fatty part of my body.

-Squish.

“Nngh…!”

“……Lillith?”

Oops. Out of habit.

I was so tense that the moment Ethan’s hand touched me, I accidentally let out a moan. I couldn’t suppress my usual reaction when he groped my chest.

“Lillith? Are you awake?”

“……”

“Are you asleep? Or… are you pretending?”

Please, just let this slide.

There was nothing more awkward than waking up right now.

I was pretending to be asleep to catch Ethan in the act, but if he found out, I’d be too embarrassed to even lift my head-forget about blackmail.

If Ethan asked, “Why were you pretending to be asleep?” I couldn’t just say it was to blackmail him. In fact, he might even turn it around and call me the perverted one.

If I knew he was undressing me but didn’t open my eyes, the only explanation would be that I was waiting for him to go further.

…It’s a little embarrassing, but I have no choice but to push through with the act.

“Nngh… E-Ethan-nim…”

“……”

“Not so sudden… Nngh…”

Desperately acting like I was “sleep-talking,” I prayed in my heart that Ethan would just let this go.

To cover up the moan that slipped out, I had to pretend like I was dreaming of something similar happening.

Plus, if I acted like I was dreaming of such things, Ethan might get bolder-turning this crisis into an opportunity.

-Thumpthump, thumpthump.

“……”

“……”

“Oh, just your usual sleep-talking.”

Phew.

Somehow, I think I managed to fool him.

Luckily, this wasn’t the first time I’d muttered in my sleep, so Ethan seemed to buy it.

‘…When he says “usual sleep-talking,” he just means I talk in my sleep normally, right?’

Surely, I don’t call Ethan’s name in my sleep or anything like that…? Nah, no way.

Ignoring Ethan’s concerning remark, I focused again on his hand reaching for me.

Ethan slowly rubbed my chest, teasing my sleeping body.

Gradually, he grew bolder, kneading and teasing me, kissing me, and if I showed no signs of waking, he’d probably try to fully take me.

But the next sensation I felt on my chest wasn’t Ethan’s rough touch-it was something soft and damp, like a wet cloth.

-Swish, swish.

‘…Huh?’

-Swip, swish, swip.

‘Wait, is this…?’

The sensation of a damp cloth wiping over my chest, stomach, waist, and sides.

Even without opening my eyes, it was unmistakably a wet towel.

‘Wait, is he just wiping me down…?’

Not taking advantage of my defenseless, sleeping body?

Well, of course, wiping down a sick patient is standard nursing procedure, but… after building up this much tension, is wiping me down all he’s going to do?

Sure, Ethan’s hands occasionally brushed against my bare skin, but even that was just part of cleaning me.

Like lifting one breast slightly to wipe the sweat from the crevices or propping me up to clean my back and waist.

In other words, aside from those brief touches, Ethan was solely focused on wiping my sweat away.

Meaning, there was no blackmail material to be had here.

‘If you were going to do this, you could’ve just woken me up…’

…Of course, I know. Ethan was just trying to take care of me in his own way.

The best remedies for a cold are plenty of sleep and warm fluids. He probably wanted me to rest as much as possible.

Completely unaware of how let down I felt after all that tension, Ethan methodically rebuttoned the front of my nightgown.

“……”

After that, he repeated the same process with my lower half. He boldly pulled down my pants, and for a moment, I thought he might actually do something, but again, all he did was take out another wet towel and wipe me down.

He didn’t even touch my underwear. Probably because he thought there was no need to wipe there.

In other words, Ethan had no ulterior motives from the start-he was just trying to clean me up.

Which meant the only one with dirty thoughts… was me.

‘No, no, that’s not it.’

Honestly, this was a situation anyone would misunderstand.

A man reaching for a sleeping woman’s body and undressing her-how could anyone not jump to conclusions?

It’s not like I’m particularly perverted. This time, Ethan really did something misleading. Seriously.

-Sliiide.

“…Phew.”

After redressing me, Ethan let out a satisfied sigh.

Normally, I wouldn’t have cared, but for some reason, his cheerful tone today… annoyed me a little.

If the situation was set up this perfectly, he should’ve at least acted like a man and taken me.

Even if cleaning me was his main goal, he could’ve at least groped me a little roughly while he was at it.

Why go this far just to focus on wiping me down? Why tease me like this and then stop halfway?

Why get my body all worked up with his hands… and then smile like he’s accomplished something great?

“……”

“…Lillith?”

“……”

“Are you awake? How do you feel?”

“……”

“I brought sugarcane tea. Want some? You were sweating a lot.”

After touching me all over, he had the nerve to say that the moment I opened my eyes.

I grabbed his collar and pulled his face toward mine.

-Smooch.

“Hngh?!”

…I don’t even know anymore.

If you’re going to get me all worked up, you’d better take responsibility to the end.