Episode 52. Retinel (3)

In the morning, nothing beats a hot stew. I had it for dinner last night too, but so what? It’s delicious.

Winnie looked at me with a ‘aren’t you getting tired of it?’ expression, but she had a guilty conscience, so she was just picking at her own food.

“Did I say we’d be staying in Retinell for three days?”

“Huh? Yeah… if we go around buying things, that’s about right?”

Winnie answered timidly, probably because she got caught last night. She doesn’t need to be so scared. If it was something else, maybe, but Winnie was so hot last night that I was satisfied, so I didn’t feel like getting angry. It’s cheeky of her to try and use me as a masturbation tool in secret, but I’ve done plenty of things where I just used my mouth and ended it, so I have no right to say anything.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I have a lot to buy, so it would be nice if you could just help me carry things.”

“Then let’s buy the light stuff first thing this morning. I’ll take care of my business quickly and come back in the morning, so we can buy the heavy stuff then.”

I spent more time on the way here than I thought, so this seems like the right way to move quickly. Winnie’s voice, hearing my calm voice, seemed to improve, and she spoke in a much brighter tone.

“Are we moving separately?”

“No, I’ll finish quickly in the morning.”

“If you can finish it in the morning, let’s just go together. Why move separately?”

“Huh?”

“No, well. You said you’d tell me why you came here, right? It’s a bit much if you don’t tell me when the answer’s right in front of my nose, isn’t it? Or are you going somewhere shady that I can’t go with you?”

“It’s nothing like that.”

I didn’t expect her to still remember something I said in passing when we were leaving. It’s not a strange place. If Winnie herself wants to go, there’s no reason not to go together, so I quickly finished breakfast and got up from my seat.

On the way, I held a bunch of white flowers I bought from the old woman and headed to the outskirts of the city. As the number of people decreased and we reached a deserted mountain, Winnie seemed to be feeling doubtful.

“Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve come here with someone else…”

“Oh, really?”

Even before the regression, I had never come here with anyone. No one in the Eulstein Family knew about this place, and no one in the Mountberne Family had any reason to come here. Winnie smiled brightly, as if she was happy to hear that it was the first time. After walking for about fifteen minutes from the outskirts of the city, we reached our destination.

On the outskirts of this city, there was a cemetery that had existed since Retinell was a small village, not a city. I could see a gravedigger with a younger face than I remembered. Before the regression, he was a complete geezer, but now he has far fewer wrinkles.

“What brings you here in the summer, Naeuri?”

“I had something to do. Thank you as always.”

“You even know how to say cheesy things.”

I handed him some money as encouragement, but he didn’t accept it. He’s consistent in many ways. We passed through the main gate and entered the cemetery.

“Is this a place you come to often?”

“Yeah, every year. Usually I come in the winter. This is the first time I’ve come in the summer.”

In my subjective experience, it’s only been a few months since I came. I remember not being able to come during the last winter before the regression because of the barbarian invasion that was rampant. It’s been half a year since I visited again, but it feels like I haven’t been here for two years.

Fortunately, my legs knew the way and moved. Just as I remembered, a neatly maintained tombstone came into view. I placed the bouquet of flowers in front of the empty tombstone and sat down in front of it.

“…Is this the person you were going to meet?”

“Yeah.”

Winnie also hesitated and sat down next to me. She read the few words written on the tombstone.

“Diana… no last name. Who is she?”

“She’s my mom.”

“Huh?”

“To be exact, she’s my birth mother. The person who gave birth to me.”

“Why isn’t your mother in the Mountberne Family, but here…?”

I could see that Winnie was flustered. I guess I would be too if I heard it for the first time. Vera had told me even after the regression, and I knew it from the documents before the marriage, but Winnie didn’t know anything about it. I don’t like talking about these things, but I felt sentimental, and the stories of the past flowed out smoothly.

“Diana died giving birth to me. I heard it was a winter night. A normal village girl dying while giving birth… it’s a common thing.”

“But she’s your mother… why do you call her that?”

“I’ve never even seen her face. And there’s someone else who played the role of mother. Otherwise, how would I be a noble? A pitiful child who lost his mother as soon as he was born is taken in and raised by a lord and his wife who lack children… it’s a kind of heartwarming story. On the surface.”

Winnie swallowed at the word ‘on the surface’. She’s listening well.

“The girl who died giving birth to the child wasn’t married, and she was a maid working in the lord’s castle. So who would be the father of that child? Unless she had a virgin birth like the Virgin Mary, it’s obvious. The lord had an affair and had a child, and he felt bad about it when the mother died, so he adopted me. When I think about it now, I’m surprised that my adoptive mother didn’t hit me.”

My father and adoptive mother, who had noble dignity, didn’t treat me carelessly or anything like that. They were just indifferent. Even when their older only son bullied me, they only stopped him to the extent that it wouldn’t cause problems. When my father died, that superficial restraint disappeared, and the tyranny of that son, my half-brother, became even worse.

“But it’s not like she’s not family. Look at the wedding, no one came. Since no one takes care of me, I come here alone and do this. I used to come only on bad days like my birthday, but this is the first time I’ve come for something else.”

“Why is your birthday a bad day…?”

“…It’s the anniversary of her death.”

“…”

I could feel Winnie not knowing what to do at my gloomy answer.

“Well, don’t you have anything you want to say to your mother? Like telling her something in front of her tombstone.”

“I’d be embarrassed to do something like that.”

“If you’re embarrassed, I’ll stay far away. I won’t listen.”

It seemed like Winnie had just heard a lot of things somewhere. Who actually says that out loud? Everyone just does it in their heart.

“It’s okay. Still, it’s not bad to leave a bouquet of flowers for the first time.”

“You haven’t done it before?”

“Where are there flowers in winter? She must have received a lot of snowflakes instead of flowers.”

“…There are flowers that bloom in winter too.”

I didn’t know there were such things. I thought she only knew about medicinal herbs, but it seemed like she knew a lot about flowers too.

“I’ll bring you some next time I come.”

“…”

Does that mean she’ll come to Retinell with me next time too? It was definitely better than coming alone, but since it’s so far away, I hesitated to bring it up. It could also mean that she’ll give me the flowers when we leave.

“No, but if you were going to come to a place like this, you should have told me. My clothes are too bright.”

“I wasn’t planning on coming here in the first place, so it’s okay.”

I’m grateful that she came, so what does it matter what she’s wearing? Her bright clothes with a mix of blue didn’t stand out that much. There’s no one else coming except me and the cemetery caretaker, so Diana would be happy if a pretty woman came to say hello.

“Mom, having that, it’s not really a good thing.”

Winnie suddenly said something out of the blue. She didn’t seem to be holding back a laugh or being playful while watching my reaction, so it seemed like she was saying it to sincerely comfort me.

“My mom was a completely crazy woman. I was so tired of her while I was living.”

Winnie’s mother must be the previous Count Melbourne. I’ve never seen her.

“I don’t mean she was really crazy, she just did weird things. That old hag is the reason why our family is called witches. She should have just stayed still, but she had such a bad temper…”

“Witch?”

“She didn’t do anything bad, that old hag. She’s just mean-spirited.”

I guess she’s treated that way because she knows a lot about strange medicines.

“When she was always meeting men when I was young, I couldn’t even lift my head. I was so happy when she gave me the title of countess and left? And…”

Winnie started to badmouth her mother, the former Countess Melbourne. The way she was barely squeezing out the curse words as if she was squeezing out her memories, the intention behind her saying that suddenly seemed so transparent that it was even more comforting. It’s already been forty years for me, so I didn’t need comfort, but.

“Are you bragging that you have a mom to me now?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“I know. You don’t have to force yourself to say bad things because of me. I’m not a child… it’s been decades.”

“Oh, really? No, I didn’t make it up. It’s what I usually think…”

Was I too sentimental? It seems like I made Winnie worry about me for no reason. At times like this, Vera would just hug me silently and comfort me. This was Winnie’s own way of comforting me. It’s like having a friend, so it’s not bad.

“I’m done with my business, so let’s go buy some medicinal herbs.”

“Okay…”

I turned around and left the cemetery first, and Winnie followed a little later. I was getting hungry because I had been climbing the mountain since morning. I should tell her to have lunch.

Episode 52. Retinell (3)

As I opened the door to the inn, that unique medicinal herb smell that lingered in the Melbourne mansion wafted out.

“Oh… you’re here?”

“You should ventilate the room.”

I put down the box containing the medicinal herbs and opened the window. As autumn approached, a cool breeze rushed in.

“When you’re doing it, your nose gets used to the smell… I forgot.”

“Where did you get that?”

“They lent it to me on the first floor. Next time, I should carry my own personal brazier. To charge money for lending something like this…”

Winnie was boiling something with a personal brazier that seemed to have been borrowed from the inn. As I stared at the mysterious color, Winnie cleared up my curiosity.

“I’m making what I can make here in advance. Once I’m done processing everything, the volume is reduced several times, and since I have time, I should reduce the luggage.”

That time was all time that was made because I carried the luggage. At Winnie’s request, I took out a root of grass from the box I had just been holding and handed it to her. The appearance of the nameless grass that went into the opaque pot soon disappeared.

“You didn’t say it would take three days just to do this, did you?”

“No, no. It really takes three days, okay? There’s something that I reserved yesterday that will come out tomorrow.”

Winnie said, stirring the pot quickly. After going to the cemetery yesterday, I was busy going around buying all kinds of medicinal herbs until today. It felt like my nose was pickled in the unique scent of the medicinal herbs. Every time Winnie’s ladle disturbed the surface of the water, another scent leaked out from the gap. Hmm, I feel like I can taste the bitterness just by smelling it. Who’s going to eat that?

“It’s done~”

Winnie tasted it from the bowl and smiled with satisfaction. She scooped another ladle into the bowl and handed it to me.

“Here, try it.”

“…This?”

My mouth… no, my thoughts are the problem. I only thought about it once in my head, but I didn’t expect it to be me. Seeing my hesitant expression, Winnie urged me on.

“This is really good for your body. Especially for men. Since there’s no other man to verify the effect, I’m giving it to you to eat specially.”

“Ugh, my body’s still fine.”

“They said you should take good care of yourself when you’re young so you don’t suffer when you’re old.”

I remembered my own body before the regression that I had forgotten. The strength that was falling as time went by, my aching body.

‘Yeah, I should take care of myself when I’m young.’

I didn’t want to use my luckily rejuvenated body recklessly. I closed my eyes and swallowed the liquid into my throat as if I was taking medicine. No, it is medicine.

Even though I tried not to focus on my tongue as much as possible, the passing taste was so bitter that I shuddered.

“Cough, cough.”

After finally emptying the bowl, I felt a little wronged.

“So what’s this good for?”

“If it’s made well, the effect will come out soon!”

In the midst of the confusion, I was led to my bed by Winnie’s hand. I kept coughing, but Winnie even pulled up the blanket and covered me, so I looked completely like a patient. It’s late, should I just sleep like this? There was no place to swing my sword while staying in Retinell. I shouldn’t neglect my training.

I could see Winnie tidying up the room after laying me down. Winnie usually lives alone in that big house, so the way she’s cleaning up the things now looked quite natural. I peeked at the bare skin that was slightly visible every time she moved her body in comfortable clothes. We’ve seen each other naked and had sex, but peeking through the clothes like this had another charm.

“Being like this…”

“Yeah?”

“Um, it’s hot.”

I vaguely slurred my words. The thought of marriage with Monica, a proposal with Vera, and a common-law marriage with Winnie… I decided to stop with just the thought. I couldn’t really guess how Winnie would react if she heard this. Would she like it? Or would she feel guilty about Monica? It wasn’t a box I wanted to open. My relationship with Winnie is just right as it is now. This state where I have a slight advantage, that is.

“What, that’s it?”

Hoo-

When Winnie turned off the big light, darkness fell in the room. The brazier that was moved far away was still simmering the medicine without turning off, emitting a small light. Thanks to that faint light, Winnie’s smooth thighs, which were not wearing anything, reflected the light. Unlike the first day, Winnie was closing her eyes to try and sleep on the bed next to me, which was placed right next to mine, as if she was tired.

I wanted to have another round today since we put the beds together, but I wasn’t going to be the one to say it first. There’s no way I can beg her to do it first in a pathetic way. I imagined myself clinging to Winnie, and Winnie using that to control me. Hmm, I don’t think it’ll turn out that way because of my personality.

I said it was hot earlier because I had nothing to say, but now I was really hot because my body was heating up. It wasn’t like the heat when I was sick, it really felt like I was overflowing with energy and my whole body was getting hot. I kicked off the blanket and even took off my top, but it was still hot. Eventually, I got up from my seat and headed to the window.

I picked up the kettle and drank water. The sudden surge of energy completely drove away my sleep.

‘Is the effect of what I ate earlier that good?’

Maybe it was because I was kept so hot that I was sweating, but the medicine seemed to work even faster. It felt like it had only been an hour since I ate it, but the effect was already this good. I admired Winnie’s ability in my heart and looked at her, and our eyes met.

“…”

“…Isn’t that, hard?”

I thought she was sleeping. Winnie’s eyes were directed at the front of my pants, which were bulging as if they were about to burst. There are times when your penis feels bigger after taking medicine, and this time it was the same. The penis, which seemed to have twice as much heat gathered in it than other places, as if it was really good for men, had grown to a size I had never seen before.

“It’ll go down if I leave it alone.”

Winnie gave me a knowing look at my answer and smiled mysteriously.

“Instead of that, shouldn’t you take it out once? It’s going to be hard to hold back soon, right?”

Under the rolled-up clothes, I could see sky-blue underwear that seemed to shine in the faint light.

“Is it similar to what I ate last time?”

“That time it was the unprocessed raw material, but this time the side effects have been eliminated and the amount has been increased, so the effect will be even better…”

Then that’s a relief. Last time I passed out after cumming a few times, so I couldn’t use the increased stamina. Winnie got up and lowered my pants. I felt a sense of liberation as my penis touched the cool air. Winnie also took off her clothes and became naked.

“I got a little hot too after eating some…”

Saying that, Winnie grabbed my hotter penis with her hand. Looking up at me with pleading eyes as if she wanted me to do it, she started to move her hand back and forth. I could feel her small, cool hands as if she was rubbing ice on me.

Isn’t this the same as asking me to do it? More than anything, it seemed like the effect of the medicine wasn’t going down as time went by, but getting stronger. I put my arms behind Winnie’s knees and lifted her up. Winnie, who was looking for a place to hang on, wrapped her arms around my neck. Because of her buttocks that naturally fell down, her moist vagina naturally met my penis.

“I’m putting it in.”

“…Okay.”

My penis went inside Winnie, who had become accustomed to accepting my thing easily. Winnie’s body, which was looking for a place to support itself, clung to the rod that had entered her, squeezing it tightly. I felt a different kind of tightness than usual, perhaps because of the tension of not having a place to support herself on the ground.

Chup-

Winnie, who was hugging my neck, kissed me. While kissing like that both up and down, we continued to have sex until the effect of the medicine wore off.

Haltjak-

Edward doesn’t kiss after using oral sex. After learning that, Winnie preferred to suck his penis after sex as if she was cleaning it. This way, she can kiss as much as she wants, and she can also suck his penis.

“With this much, Vera Ajumma won’t suspect me even after doing it with me, right?”

“I think she still would.”

Winnie’s vagina was still dripping white liquid. She was lucky that she had also taken the medicine, otherwise she would have been exhausted with the number of times we had done it. After cleaning his penis, she lay down next to Edward and snuggled into his arms. She felt a little sorry for her friend, but,

‘She didn’t really like him anyway.’

She wouldn’t have any feelings for Edward, so she decided to assume that she wouldn’t hate it too much even if she was doing this. She felt more comfortable thinking that Edward would have chosen Vera instead of Monica even if she wasn’t there.

“I’ll go to the grave one more time tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to go one more time since I can’t come often.”

“…Can’t you not go?”

I didn’t want her to feel bad about what was going to happen tomorrow. But Edward’s mind seemed firm.

“I’m going to go alone, so don’t worry about it.”

“No, let’s go together.”

She wouldn’t get hurt, but it seemed better to be by his side.