Sleepless Night (2)

-Rustle.

“……”

“Huu, huu…”

“……”

The sensation of sheets brushing against me, vividly felt even in the darkness.

And the sound of Ethan’s excited breathing, which I’d heard countless times before, began to seep tension into my heart.

‘…No way.’

Ethan, are you seriously masturbating next to me right now?

When did you let go of my hand? I’m pretty sure we fell asleep holding hands-my right hand and Ethan’s left-just before…

-Squeeze.

“Hup…?!”

-Flinch.

“……”

…Oh, we’re still holding hands.

Well, masturbation is something you can do with just one free hand anyway. And since Ethan is ambidextrous, it wouldn’t matter whether his right or left hand was free.

More importantly, it was Ethan’s reaction just now. The moment I squeezed his hand to check if we were still holding each other, he abruptly stopped what he was doing and sharply inhaled.

‘He really was doing it alone, wasn’t he…’

Well, having once been a man myself, I didn’t have the slightest intention of criticizing Ethan for masturbating.

After all, teenage boys’ sexual urges aren’t something they can control even if they want to, and once a man experiences his first ejaculation, he becomes a slave to his desires for the rest of his life, even if he barely has the strength to lift a spoon.

In fact, I’d discovered traces of Ethan relieving himself in the bathroom or toilet several times before, but I never mentioned it and turned a blind eye. It wouldn’t be proper for an exclusive maid to bring up such things in front of her master.

…However, this current situation bothered me a little.

To think he’d satisfy his urges alone while lying next to me in the same bed, even holding my hand. I had no idea how to handle this.

‘If it’s that unbearable, he could just ask…’

There were no boss monster subjugation schedules tomorrow, and Necromancy Research class ended early, so we had about three days of free time ahead.

Professor Mamari had even kindly said we could use the villa for another day if needed.

If Ethan had really said he couldn’t hold back and asked, I wouldn’t have refused. But the fact that he was doing it alone like this was hard to understand…

‘…Honestly, he’s being needlessly considerate.’

That side of Ethan was, frankly, kind of cool.

Keeping his promise to me as both his temporary lover and exclusive maid, and not bringing up actions that might make me uncomfortable-I couldn’t help but fall for him all over again.

If anything, I found myself growing more and more attracted to him the more I learned about him after we became lovers.

“…Lilith?”

“……”

“Are you… awake?”

Whether it was because my breathing had changed or because of the sudden tight grip on his hand, Ethan cautiously asked in a quiet voice.

For his sake, I decided to pretend I was still asleep.

“…Zzz, zzz…”

“……”

…Honestly, I wasn’t sure if my acting was convincing. After all, I had no way of knowing how I breathed or what sounds I made in front of Ethan when I was asleep.

If anything, Ethan probably knew better than I did-just like how I remembered his sleeping habits and breathing patterns better than he did.

But by pretending to sleep like this, I was giving him one last chance. A silent message to finish quickly while I “slept.”

“……”

-Rustle, shhh…

“……?”

But despite my clear signal, Ethan didn’t continue what he was doing. Instead, he carefully pulled up his clothes and shifted from lying on his side to facing the ceiling.

As if his arousal had completely faded.

“……”

“……”

…Huh?

Wait, he’s stopping?

Just like that? After being so absorbed in it moments ago? He didn’t even seem to have finished…

While I was baffled, Ethan showed no signs of continuing and simply lay there, trying to sleep-a reaction I hadn’t expected at all.

‘I was kinda curious, honestly…’

How exactly did Ethan masturbate? Who did he think about while doing it?

One might wonder why I’d be curious about how a guy does it, but Ethan’s case was different. And now that he’d suddenly stopped, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Of course, I understood that continuing after realizing I was awake would be embarrassing.

But as someone who knew the frustration of being interrupted right before climax, I couldn’t help but feel guilty, as if I’d ruined his private moment.

‘Though maybe I was just imagining it…’

Lately, I’d been hearing the term “lewd maid” thrown around so much that my way of thinking might have gotten a little warped.

So, to confirm whether Ethan had really been masturbating, I pretended to toss and turn, letting my free hand slide down toward his lower half.

-Squirm.

“……”

-Tap.

“Hup…!”

Ethan let out a slightly tense breath as my palm brushed against his lower body.

It felt somewhat firm, but I couldn’t be sure if he’d been in the middle of masturbating.

-Squish.

“Hup…?!”

-Squeeze, knead…

“Li… Lilith?”

…Huh? Was I wrong?

As soon as I got a proper grip on Ethan’s member, which wasn’t as hard as I’d expected, my earlier assumption that he’d been masturbating seemed a little off.

But since he was clearly awake enough to call my name, how was I supposed to explain his awkward behavior earlier?

‘Or did he just lose his erection from nervousness after realizing I was awake…?’

That was entirely possible, so I still couldn’t be sure whether he’d been masturbating or not.

Thus, to be absolutely certain-

I decided to slip my left hand into his underwear as naturally as possible, trying to determine if he’d really stopped because of me or if it had all been my imagination.

-Slip.

“…Lilith?”

-Slide, slither…

“Lilith, you’re awake, aren’t you…?”

Ignoring Ethan’s voice in my ear, I forced my left hand deeper into his underwear, reaching for his member.

-Squeeze, knead.

“Li… Lilith…?”

Half-erect, not fully hard.

-Rub, rub.

“W-what are you… doing?”

A faint warmth lingered, likely from friction or residual arousal.

And then, when I moved my fingers to the very tip to find the most definitive evidence-

-Sticky.

“Hup…!”

‘…Just as I thought.’

The slick, viscous fluid coating my fingertips confirmed it. Ethan had definitely been masturbating next to me moments ago.

There was no other explanation for this unmistakably sticky pre-ejaculate at the tip of his…

-Slip.

“Eeek?!”

Just as I reached that conclusion, I suddenly felt someone’s hand slide into my underwear. When I turned my head and saw Ethan lying facing me, I immediately realized whose hand it was.

“E-Ethan, Young Master…?”

“…What are you doing, Lilith? Didn’t we agree not to do anything lewd unless I beat Father in a duel?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Young Master. What lewd act could I possibly have done?”

“Maybe start by taking your hand out of my underwear before saying that, Lilith.”

“…At first glance, it may seem like a lewd act, but this is a misunderstanding, Young Master.”

“Oh? What misunderstanding?”

“…I was merely confirming whether you had indeed been masturbating earlier. It was absolutely not an act driven by impure intentions toward you, Young Master…”

“From where I’m standing, the act of sticking your hand in my underwear to ‘confirm’ is already pretty lewd, don’t you think?”

“……”

Well, when he puts it like that, I don’t have much to say.

If it had turned out he wasn’t masturbating, I would’ve just let it go. So from my perspective, this felt unfair.

And now that it was confirmed he had been, that meant his sexual urges had built up excessively, so then…

Then, well…

‘…Now that I think about it, it was kind of a lewd act.’

Even I had to admit it this time. What I’d done was pretty close to the behavior of a “lewd maid.”

“My apologies. I acted out of concern that you might have been masturbating, Young Master.”

“Yeah, sorry. I guess all the things that have happened with you lately have built up my desires more than I realized. Especially with you sleeping right next to me-I couldn’t control my lust.”

“I should have been more attentive. I apologize, Young Master.”

“So, what now? You found out I was masturbating-are you going to scold me and say I don’t deserve a reward?”

“…How could I? I am merely your exclusive maid. Managing your… release is not part of my duties.”

…If anything, helping you relieve your pent-up urges at the right time would be closer to an exclusive maid’s job.

“Then?”

“…As your exclusive maid, I believe assisting in relieving unbearable sexual urges is also part of my duties.”

“But the rewards were only supposed to happen when I beat Father, right?”

“I don’t plan on full penetration, so this is slightly different. …I was merely going to use my hands to help you release your desires.”

…I know. I know how forced this justification sounds.

But with both Ethan and me so busy with external activities this semester, opportunities for him to duel Harold had become rare. If I didn’t do this, any intimate acts between us would be impossible.

So I wanted to maintain at least some boundaries while helping Ethan relieve himself. …And, well, I might have built up some desires of my own.

“Just using your hands means it’s not a lewd act?”

“…It is still a lewd act, but it won’t count toward your reward quota.”

“Does that apply to you too?”

“…Huh?”

“For example, like this.”

-Poke.

“Hyaah, eek?!”

Ethan’s fingers slid deeper between my thighs, brushing against a much more sensitive spot.

Just a light touch-barely grazing the entrance-but the sensation was unmistakable. Noticing my reaction, Ethan smirked and made an offer just as lewd as mine.

“Then let’s just touch each other like this.”

“…Huh?”

“You must have built-up desires too. While you help me relieve mine, I’ll help you with yours. That’s fair, isn’t it?”

“…Understood, Young Master.”

To be honest, it wasn’t a bad offer for me either.