Chapter 286: Calm Morning

Peace and serenity were disturbed when the first light of morning crept through the window.

It was soft and golden—spilling across the bedroom in slow, deliberate waves. It touched the walls, the floor, the crumpled sheet, and with it, the room began to wake. The painting of the dragon, which had seemed so alive under the shadow of the night, now hung muted—and ordinary, its colors flattened by the honesty of the daylight.

On the bedside table, the candle had long since died, leaving behind only a quarter of its wax.

Even the scent of smoke had already disappeared from the air.

On the queen-sized bed, two bodies lay in a comfortable tangle in the quiet aftermath of their passionate night. Kai rested on his back, his posture stiff even in slumber, as though his body had forgotten how to fully surrender.

His left arm was stretched to the side, and it was upon that arm that Matilda’s head lay.

Her dark hair spilled over his bicep like spilled ink. Her leg was crossed over his legs, and her hand rested lightly against his bare chest, rising and falling with the slow rhythm of his breath that was comforting to feel.

As soon as the sunlight finally reached her face, Matilda stirred.

Her eyelids flickered, and then opened, though only barely.

In her vision, the world was a messy blur. She sucked in a slow breath through her nose, the air cool against her skin, and let out a quiet moan as she stretched. Her body uncoiled like she was a cat after a long rest.

All her limbs ached pleasantly, sore in a way that would remind her of the night before.

Matilda rolled to the side, seeking the last remnants of warmth, and then rolled back.

But this time, her side pressed against something solid—warm.

She turned and lifted her gaze, only to see Kai’s face, not too far away from her own.

Kai was still asleep in a well-needed peace.

Even though the pale sunlight had already reached his face, there was no sign of him waking up from his sleep. Frankly, this was her first time seeing Kai sleep like this. So defenseless and peaceful.

Just then, memories came rushing back all at once.

The darkness, the quiet confessions, and the way he caressed her like she was something really precious. Heat bloomed across her face, and she felt the red flush all the way to the tips of her ears. ’Did last night really happen? I really did it with him.’

She bit her lip at the memories.

But a small, unbidden smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as her fingers brushed her heart-thumping lips.

Remembering how much desire Kai was emanating through his kisses made her steam.

And then, she focused on Kai again.

He looked so calm like this. So unburdened.

It was all she wanted him to do last night, so the sight of this made her happy inside.

Her fingers moved before she could stop them, reaching out to trace the edge of his jaw. The touch was light, barely there—but she could feel the really faint roughness of his skin beneath her soft fingertips.

Seeing him like this was good.

All she wanted from the surprise last night was to help him end the day on a good note.

And if she could, she also wanted him to be relaxed.

Of course, she thought she would only be able to do one of the two, but to her surprise, both goals that she wanted to achieve were reached. ’You suffered a lot. It’s good to rest well like this once in a while.’

"Ergh..."

Just then, Kai stirred.

A soft groan escaped his lips, and Matilda’s heart lurched.

In one swift motion, she turned away, pressing her back to him, pretending to be asleep with the practiced stillness of someone who had done this before. Normally, her family would try to wake her up during weekends.

So, pretending to sleep was well within her capabilities.

Matilda held her breath, listening.

But the bed remained still—Kai wasn’t waking up.

She peeked over her shoulder, and when she saw that his eyes were still closed—she let out a long, quiet sigh. "I should let him sleep some more." She muttered, thinking that Kai must’ve been exhausted from last night.

Going that hard had taken its toll on him.

On both of them, to be exact.

Matilda sat up slowly, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She paused there, her bare feet brushed against the cool floor, and rubbed her face with both hands. Her body felt heavy, sore from top to bottom, but it was a good kind of sore.

Not because the soreness didn’t bother her, but the memory tickled her stomach.

The room was bright now as the sunlight fully settled.

Somewhere outside, the academy was beginning to stir as students prepared for the morning exercise. But for a minute, she allowed herself to sit there—naked and half-dreaming. It was a small, stone moment.

One she intended to keep for as long as she could.

But a minute is not a long time.

Matilda rose to her feet and then stumbled.

She needed to hold onto the bedside table—almost knocking the red dragon mask over as the soreness reached the place between her legs. And her legs themselves were very weak, unable to gather too much strength.

"Kai..." Matilda clicked her tongue and bit her lower lip.

It was her first time.

And fortunately, probably because of Kai’s foreplay, it didn’t hurt as she thought it would.

Even then, it was still her first time, and yet Kai didn’t hold back at all.

"What am I going to do later?" She complained, already thinking about the morning exercise.

All the other students would surely notice if she slowed down; they always did. Matilda tried to walk, but her body refused to move normally. She had to widen her steps, or push out her hips slightly, anything to avoid friction and highlight the soreness between her legs.

"I feel like I’m walking like a penguin."

Matilda headed for the door, wanting to head to the spare bedroom upstairs.

She had placed her change of clothes beforehand in case last night happened.

But then, she passed by a mirror on the wardrobe door and then paused, seeing something.

Matilda walked back to stand in front of a mirror and gasped.

"Kai...!" She grumbled in frustration again, realizing that her neck and even her chest were filled with kiss marks. Kai had made a canvas of her body with her lips as the brush. She touched the prominent one near her upper neck. "How am I going to hide this one? I know I said anything, but isn’t he being too reckless?"

She combed her hair back in annoyance and continued.

Of course, she didn’t forget to take Kai’s black shirt that she hung on the coat rack last night— and wore it to cover herself. As she headed for the staircase—the sound of the doorbell rang loudly, stopping her mid-track.

Matilda frowned. "Who is it this early in the morning? Bree?"

A smug smile crept to her lips.

Just the thought of seeing Bree’s face already grew her anticipation.

But then, she shook her head. "I can’t do that. Kai wouldn’t want me to do that."

Deciding that acting childish would only stir unnecessary drama—especially when Bree was involved, Matilda resolved to wake Kai. But first, she peered through the peephole to be more than certain that it was Bree.

Her eyes widened slightly when she realized that it wasn’t Bree.

Not at all.

It was the woman who guarded the front gate, Danara.

And she was holding a box that was as big as her own body, struggling to keep steady.

Matilda rushed back into the bedroom to take the keys from Kai’s blazer, making sure that she did it silently so that the sleeping prince didn’t wake up, and then went back to the front door and opened it.

"Good morning..." Dinara said with a trembling voice. "May I ask for Red Prince Kai?"

"Give it to me." Matilda took the box from her easily.

And then, she looked at the poor woman again, who was already panting this early.

Of course, the box weighed nothing for Matilda, but it weighed a ton for Dinara.

"What’s this?" Matilda asked.

"I am not sure—the academy instructed me to deliver it to Red Prince Kai." The words came between heavy pants as her skin was slick with sweat from the effort of carrying the box. She tried steadying herself, and then asked, "I’m sorry, but who are you again?’

"A member of Red Prince Kai’s group," Matilda answered. "He’s still asleep right now, so I’ll accept it. Good work."

"Ah. Okay. I apologize for interrupting."

"No worries. Go and take a breather before going again."

Matilda closed the door behind her and then brought the box to the dinner table—which was directly across from the master bedroom. She placed the box on the table with a heavy thud, and then grabbed a knife from the kitchen.

As she was about to open the box, the master bedroom’s door swung open.

Kai walked out while yawning.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Really well."

"Come here and see this delivery. It’s for you."

Kai rubbed his face with both hands as a low, lazy groan escaped his throat.

Every muscle in his body ached, and the bed not too far behind him still held the warmth of sleep like a promise he wasn’t ready to break. He wanted nothing more than to crawl back to the bed and let the morning pass without him.

But he knew he couldn’t.

Red Prince or not, skipping morning exercise wasn’t an option.

At least, that’s what he thought.

He padded across the floor with quiet steps and came up behind her.

Kai’s arms naturally slipped around her waist—pulling her gently against him as he lowered his head to look at what Matilda was doing over her shoulder. "Delivery? What delivery? I wasn’t expecting anything."

Even as he asked that, he didn’t really care about the answer.

His mind was fixed on her natural scent, and he let himself sink into the comfort of it.

"Something from the academy," Matilda said, shrugging.

She didn’t react to Kai’s closeness at first.

Her hands continued their work as the knife cut through the plaster that sealed the box.

But when Kai’s lips found the sensitive spot below her ear, and she felt the unmistakable press of his arousal against her backside, her entire body went rigid. Her hand shot up, and she then pushed his face away.

"It’s morning, Kai," She said, her voice shaking from her restraint. "Last night’s privileges no longer apply."

"The sun is still not properly up yet, so technically, it’s not morning yet."

"Don’t play around with it. Besides, that kind of thing is reserved for the night, not during the day."

"Does that mean I can ask for it again later tonight?"

"Eurgh... You only hear what you want to hear. Do you want me to open the box or not?"

"Alright. Alright."

Kai laughed under his breath.

Just then, she finished opening the box and looked inside.

Kai leaned in from the side to check and gasped when he saw what was in the box.