When I wake up, dim light is already pouring into the room through the gaps in the curtain. However, it isn’t moonlight, but the first weak rays of the early morning sun.

I feel refreshed this morning. The stress I had felt earlier  was gone thanks to the landlady’s comfort.

Well, midway she ended up drinking one glass after the other, resulting in something going way beyond comforting, though.

Wondering whether she had already left, I looked next to me, just to sigh in relief. Shaela is peacefully sleeping while facing my way. The blanket has flipped over, revealing her seductive contours from the shoulders all the way down to her hips.

She had mentioned that she couldn’t stomach being compared to other women, but I consider her to be very attractive. A voluptuous chest, a tight waist, and a plump butt.

I like Farnese or Kurotsuchi’s slim body line, but I also like the landlady’s sensual figure.

My eyes wander to her left hand. Probably because she had been scrubbing and washing stuff, her skin is slightly rough. But, what drew his attention the most is her ring finger. A silver ring――most likely her wedding ring――twinkled at me.

When I lift my line of sight, feeling somewhat guilty, her sleeping face enters my sight. It is filled with peacefulness and innocence like that of a little girl.

The landlady moves her mouth a bit, tears spilling out of her eyes.

Maybe she’s dreaming about her late husband. No, I’m sure she’s got to be seeing him there right now. After losing him, she should have experienced many painful and sad things. I suspect she was almost crushed by the sorrow and loneliness. And yet, she protected the inn with its restaurant for almost two years. And on top of that, all by herself.

She had told me that she had visited to comfort me, but maybe she actually wanted to be comforted by me.

…I guess that would be a way too convenient interpretation.

I smile wryly. But, if she needs some comfort and I am able to give it to her, it’ll make me happy.

I pull the blanket over her body, and look up at the ceiling.

“…I’d really love to take it easy today, but…”

A plethora of things waited for me to be done.

"Gnnh,” the landlady groans next to me, causing me to shut up.

As might be expected, even I would feel very sorry if I wake her with my monologue.

"Oh well, let’s sleep for a bit longer.”

I close his eyes. I am convinced that I had more than enough sleep, but in the end sleepiness assails me in no time.

***

Once I wake up, the landlady is staring at me with a smile on her lips. Unlike yesterday night, she doesn’t mind being completely naked today morning, and at some point, without me noticing, she has started to use my arm as a pillow.

“Oh, did you finally wake up, sleepyhead?” The landlady embraces me, presses a kiss on my forehead, and giggles bashfully. “Somehow I feel ashamed. I talked about consoling you and all that, but in the end I didn’t have the composure to follow up on it.”

“I see,” I answer and breathe out in relief.

“Why are you relieved about it?” Shaela furrows her eyebrows quizzically.

“Because I understood that you were serious about me. Besides, if you had told me that what we did yesterday was all just an act, I’d have lost all trust in women.”

“I-It’s not like I’m serious about you or anything.”

The landlady sits up, pressing her hands against her chest. Her skin has taken on a pink color, making her look truly erotic.

Her placing her right hand atop her left must stem from her remembering her husband. It somewhat pisses me off that her dead husband is tying her down so much. No, that’s probably me being jealous. I just want her to pay more attention to me instead of a dead guy.

The landlady glances at me, “What’s with that face you’re pulling?”

“What kind of face is it?”

I sit up as well, and then touch my face all over with a hand.

Well, I won’t be able to tell even if I do this.

“The face of an abandoned puppy.”

“That’s because you said that you’re not serious about me.”

“T-That’s…,” fumbles the landlady around. 

“J-Just a bit. I’m a bit serious about you, okay?”

“Just a bit, huh?” I mutter with a sigh.

“I-I’m serious about you! I mean it! So, don’t pull that face with me, alright?” The landlady corrects herself in a fluster. 

“B-But, I told you last night as well. I’m troubled since I’m not that young anymore. I’ve put on weight around my waist compared to my younger days, and my stamina has declined as well…”

Her voice continues to grow weaker towards the end, before becoming completely inaudible.

“No, no, that’s not true at all. Landlady, you’re young and pretty.”

“Well, even if you tell me something like that… In the first place, you have beautiful girls, Suzy, Gheyna, and Brita, don’t you Milord?”

“I’ll cherish all of you.”

The landlady stares at me with a startled expression.

“No, that’s…bad in various ways, isn’t it?”

“It’s normal for a noble to be surrounded by lovers, no?”

"So is it okay for me to take last night as you being serious about me?”

“W-Well, I was serious,” the landlady mumbles, her face blushing.

Her behavior is too charming for me.

“…Landlady.”

“Wha――aahh!?”

Noticing the blanket being pushed from below, she gasps.

“We did it s-six times last night! Are you some kind of monster!?”

“I cannot help it because you’re so damn lovely.”

“Nah, please give me a break.”

When I grab her shoulder, the landlady tries to brush my hand away. But her strength is too weak. I put more strength into my hand.

Of course, she should have been able to resist him if she really wants to, but instead, the landlady lays down on the bed.

I flip over the blanket, revealing her voluptuous chest.

“…How beautiful.”

“W-What are you talking about!?” She exclaims shrilly, but her eyes are moist and her cheeks flush.

I spread her legs, and slid his own body in-between.

“For mercy’s sake, please forgive me. Because we did it six times, I’m hurting all over. Besides, even my husband never did…” The landlady averts her eyes from me and crosses her arms in front of her chest.

Her wedding ring twinkles at me for an instant, upsetting me a bit.

“I might have an unexpectedly strong desire to monopolize.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“I want to dye you with my color.”

“W-W-W-Wh-What a-are y-y-y-you saying!?”

Her face is now beet red.

“It’s fine, right?”

“…”

The landlady turns her face away when I check back with her. She murmurs with a voice that is no more than a faint whisper, “Please forgive me.”

I don’t know whom she is begging for forgiveness, but I turn his dick in her direction.

At that moment, knocking could be heard from the door, causing the landlady to breathe out in relief.

“C-Come on, someone is at the door, you know? How about hurrying and getting out of bed?”

“No, stopping after having come this far is asking a bit too much. They’ll come again, if they got any business with me――”

"Oh, noooo!"