After the duel with Harold, it took Ethan over an hour before he was able to get back on his feet.

That meant that the fatigue had really built up in his body. Swinging his sword at nearly the same pace for almost two hours against a Sword Master—it was no surprise.

‘…Still, he was pretty impressive.’

At the very least, just the fact that he hadn’t given up, even though he was a Sword Expert facing off against a Sword Master, was enough for Ethan to get passing marks in my book.

The way he persisted to the very end, managing to win a round against a Sword Master, was more than admirable. If I were a normal woman, I might have thrown myself into Ethan’s arms after the duel, like some naive village girl.

Of course, I had self-control, so I didn’t recklessly throw myself at him. Instead, I sat quietly beside Ethan as he lay on the ground, waiting patiently for him to recover and get back up.

After all, he had just finished dozens of rounds with a Sword Master, so I could afford to wait however long it took.

“How does it feel to finally win a round against your master, Young Master Ethan?”

“…I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel.”

“Pardon?”

“If you think about it, this wasn’t really a complete victory. I only won a round because I deliberately wore down my father’s stamina. I didn’t actually beat his swordsmanship.”

“I don’t think the details are that important, Young Master. What matters is the result: you won a round against Master Harold, didn’t you?”

“…I guess that’s true.”

“Or… are you subtly rejecting the ‘reward’ I promised you because you don’t like it?”

“N-no! That’s not it at all…!”

Fortunately, he had somehow remembered my promise to give him "everything." After all, Ethan had crossed swords with Harold all this way to fulfill that very desire.

“I distinctly remember what you said, Lilith—that you’d give me ‘everything’ if I won even one round against my father.”

“...Yes, I’m glad you remember that.”

Hearing those words from Ethan’s mouth made it feel even more real. I realized that the moment I’d be giving him my virginity was fast approaching.

There was no running from it now, and honestly, I didn’t want to. Giving Ethan my first experience was something I was more than ready for.

“You said it yourself, Lilith. That if I won the next round against my father, you wouldn’t regret giving me everything.”

“That’s right, Master Ethan.”

“Well... they say the first time is rough for a girl, but Lilith, even if it hurts, you’re okay with that, right?”

“...That’s fine, Master Ethan. I’ve been prepared for that ever since I first saw... your size.”

“...I see.”

When I bluntly said that I was prepared, Ethan looked a little apologetic.

Of course, I had no intention of making him feel like he owed me anything. Given everything he’d put in and accomplished, whatever I could offer him felt like the least I could do.

It was only a temporary victory, so I couldn’t call him a Sword Master just yet. But still, for a Sword Expert to win even once against a fully powered Sword Master—that was something to be proud of.

“So, Master Ethan.”

“Hm?”

“When do you plan to take me for real?”

“...”

“With today’s duel, you’ve earned the right to claim me. That means you can ask for your ‘reward’ anytime, anywhere.”

“Right….”

“For the record, I’m ready anytime. If you wanted to take me tonight, that would be fine. If you can’t wait that long, we could even do it right now, in the great bath….”

“Wait, Lilith. I get that you’re excited, but let’s slow down a bit, okay?”

“I’m not really excited. I was just wondering when Master Ethan would want to claim his reward...”

“Well, there’s no need to rush, is there?”

“Huh?”

“If this is going to be my first time with you, I think I need a little mental preparation. ...And if we did it today, honestly, I might not have the energy for it.”

“...”

Well, I guess that makes sense.

Ethan had just finished a full-power duel with Harold. So, his excuse about being a little drained was understandable.

Even Harold, the Sword Master, had needed Ditmeyer’s help just to stand after the fight. Considering that Ethan, a Sword Expert, had been the one receiving those blows, it was only natural he’d be exhausted.

There were still two days left until classes resumed, and as long as we got it done before then, there wasn’t any real problem.

If Ethan got a good night’s rest today, he’d probably be fully recovered by tomorrow.

He wouldn’t need to push himself to continue training tomorrow either, since he had already won today. So by then, Ethan would have his strength fully restored and wouldn’t be lacking in energy.

And when that time came, I wouldn’t even need to make the first move—he’d be more than eager to take me himself.

‘Just one more day… just one day….’

If I could hold out for just one more day, I’d be able to finally get rid of this troublesome virginity and be free from the duties of a saint.

So, I decided to hold out for that one day and wait for Ethan to take me the next night. But, unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan.

…Instead of waiting passively for Ethan to make the first move, I realized that was far too risky, and our first time ended up happening in a rather different way.

 ⁎ ⁎ ⁎
     

That evening, after Ethan won the duel against Harold, he rested for a while and then got up as if everything had returned to normal.

It was as though the duel with his father, the Sword Master, was just part of his daily routine. Despite having claimed a victory, it was as if he didn’t even consider it a significant achievement.

Watching Ethan act like nothing had happened made me feel a bit bewildered.

‘Is he going to forget he beat Harold, just like that?’

After all, it was a victory he earned, one I promised him “everything” for. If he brushed it off so easily, it would feel like all that anticipation was for nothing.

Of course, with Ethan’s obsessive personality, the idea that he’d forget something about me was hard to imagine.

‘I can’t just keep bringing it up, though. He might start thinking I’m some kind of lewd maid.’

The reason I had decided to give Ethan my body was because he had shown me his determination and dedication, and he had kept his promise to win the duel against Harold in order to claim me.

It wasn’t because I was desperate to sleep with him or anything. So, all I could do was calmly wait for the moment when Ethan would decide to take me.

After spending a day following our usual routine, I lay down quietly in the servant’s quarters adjacent to Ethan’s room.

Thinking about Ethan taking me tomorrow, I figured I should get some good rest.

‘Tomorrow, at last.’

After tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to say I’m a virgin anymore.

As a former unicorn, it gave me mixed feelings. It was one of those identities that I’d always carried with me, and now it was about to disappear.

‘It’s a little scary to think I won’t be a virgin anymore….’

But as a former unicorn, offering my virginity to a man I had decided to love for the rest of my life seemed like a fitting way to lose it.

There was no more beautiful way for a heroine to lose her virginity than this. A heroine’s purity was ultimately about offering her one and only experience to the protagonist, making her complete.

The value of chastity lies in saving it for the most precious person, for the most special moment. I didn’t care what others thought about their own purity, but that was my philosophy.

Now, with only one day left before that moment would come, my heart was racing too fast for me to sleep.

‘Tomorrow, with Ethan…. Tomorrow, with Ethan…. Tomorrow, with Ethan….’

Calm down, Lilith. It’s just your first time.

It’s just a normal act of love that any adult man and woman would go through. Getting nervous or excited about such a simple and common thing is just silly.

It’s not like I’m some country girl experiencing her first love. I’m way past the age for that.