I Took the Heroine’s First Time in a Romance Fantasy Novel

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In the House of Duke Lenokhnen at the Royal Capital,

Casis, summoned by Duke Lenokhnen early in the morning, entered the office.

As he opened the door, he found the Crown Prince, Fedelian Rojino, seated.

Across from him sat Duke Lenokhnen, visibly struggling to suppress a fury that seemed ready to explode at any moment.

“……”

Casis’s eyes sank deeply as he realized the atmosphere was precarious.

“Sit down.”

The Duke’s voice was dry. Clearly angry, he was making an effort to contain his rage in the presence of the Crown Prince.

Casis took a seat on the sofa without saying much. He now faced Fedelian Rojino, who arrogantly smiled and held his head high.

Although Casis thought this attitude was disrespectful, he had no words to express it.

The small noble of the Duke’s household and the Crown Prince were expected to respect one another due to their positions. But the current situation was different; he was here to be held accountable for his crimes.

“Casis Lenokhnen, what a surprising mess you’ve made. It’s so outrageous that I can hardly bear to look at it, ha ha. How heavy this makes my heart,” Fedelian said with a smug smile. His icy golden eyes clarified the meaning behind his words.

You’ve really made a huge mistake.

So bad that I can’t even bear to see it.

“…Your Highness, I truly regret this matter.”

Duke Lenokhnen quietly opened his mouth. His voice was low and heavy.

“Regret?”

Fedelian tilted his head and scoffed.

“Since when has the Duke been so keen to express regrets?”

The air in the room froze. Casis’s breath was heavy, but he remained silent.

“It’s quite the amusing sight, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”

Fedelian’s sharp gaze fixated on Duke Lenokhnen. Under any ordinary circumstances, such a stare would have been unthinkable, yet with Casis’s guilt clear in this situation, he had the upper hand.

Especially since the Crown Prince himself was in charge of investigating this incident.

“I will do my best to mitigate the punishment for you, Duke Lenokhnen, but I can’t promise anything. Attempting to attack during a dungeon reconnaissance is equivalent to treason.”

If there’s a flood of demon beasts, the damage could be uncontrollable. But to interfere with the dungeon inspection mission? That’s clearly treason.

“Rest assured, small noble. You probably won’t be sentenced to death. But it will likely end with you stripped of all your powers and rights.”

Being stripped of all powers and rights meant death for a noble.

“…….”

Casis bowed his head, his fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged on the back of his hands, yet he remained silent.

“Too much greed inevitably leads to this kind of result. Make sure to ponder that deeply going forward. Though I wonder, with all your rights to be taken away, whether you’ll even have the means to be greedy.”

Fedelian looked at Casis with a smile. Though his mouth smiled, his eyes were sharp.

“I have nothing more to say, so I’ll take my leave. You will receive a summons from the Imperial family in a few days, so please attend the trial.”

With that, he left the office.

Click.

As the door closed, Duke Lenokhnen slowly opened his mouth.

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful?”

“…….”

“You fool.”

Tsk. Duke Lenokhnen shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“Are you so blinded by a woman that you’d sell the honor of the family? Did you think the noble society was easy? Did you think being the small noble of Lenokhnen would mean everything goes well for you?”

Casis bowed deeply at the Duke’s words. Though bitterness and anger still intertwined in his chest, he had nothing to rebut at this moment.

“I have no excuse.”

That was all he could say.

“Tsk.”

Duke Lenokhnen frowned, continuing to click his tongue. The sight of the eldest son of the Duke’s family being in such a state was nothing short of a disgrace.

“You won’t be sentenced to death, according to the Crown Prince. I won’t let it reach that point either. Until you receive your trial summons, keep your head down and cool off.”

With those words, Duke Lenokhnen waved his hand. It was a gesture to leave.

“I will take my leave. I am sorry.”

Casis stood up, bowed politely, and exited the office.

As he walked down the mansion’s corridor, he reflected.

‘… I was too hasty.’

Having rolled in the battlefield his whole life, it was always Duke Lenokhnen—his father—who devised the plans.

All Casis knew was how to mercilessly slash the enemy with a mana blade; he wasn’t skilled at things like this.

Had he approached it more cautiously, the thought of her being stained by Johan Harsen would not have muddied his rationale.

But he had no intention of giving up here.

‘Even if I fall into despair, I will not abandon Fransia.’

Having lost everything, it was now his turn to take action.

*

As usual, Johan, who was working, heard some news.

It was news that Casis Lenokhnen, who held the position of Deputy Head of the First Public Affairs Officer, had been dismissed.

That position would naturally be taken by the assistant of Casis Lenokhnen.

‘Things are going well.’

They say the enemy of your enemy is your ally. That damned Crown Prince helps out in moments like this.

Though the ugly intentions didn’t sit well with him, the Crown Prince’s position was the best tool to deal with Casis Lenokhnen.

‘The trial will be held later, I suppose.’

The Imperial family had to grasp the background circumstances, so it would take quite some time.

Yet, there’s no way he could escape. That Crown Prince would latch onto him.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

When Johan, lost in thought while striking the desk with a stern expression, was interrupted, Fransia tilted her head curiously.

“I feel like things are going quite well. Casis Lenokhnen, who was aiming for Fransia, has now been identified as the perpetrator of this attack and is on the brink of total collapse.”

Smiling, Johan petted Fransia’s hair as it draped beside her. She seemed to enjoy the gesture, holding onto his hand and feeling warmth.

“I’m glad. That man is finally facing the consequences for his actions.”

Using the hand he had stroked her hair with, Johan playfully touched Fransia’s cheek. Fransia accepted the touch gently.

“Everything will go smoothly from here on.”

Her skin felt good. Smooth, soft, and warm—quite addictive. Johan found himself unconsciously continuing to stroke her.

“…How long will you keep doing that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It just feels so nice that I couldn’t help it.”

“I’m not angry about it.”

As Johan quickly pulled back his hand, Fransia grasped it again and placed it against her cheek.

“You can touch me anytime you want, anywhere. I’m yours, after all.”

As Fransia played with Johan’s hand, she smiled bashfully. Her ruby-like eyes gazed at Johan with the crimson hue of a heart.

“There’s probably no man as happy as I am.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I have Fransia.”

“Hehe, that’s right. I belong to Johan.”

Fransia glanced around, realizing no one was there, and then nestled into Johan’s arms.

“Mmm….”

Taking a deep breath, she inhaled Johan’s scent. Her shoulders slightly trembled, seemingly quite satisfied.

“Shall we take a stroll around the Royal Capital today? We didn’t get to go together last time…”

As she softly raised her head nestled against him, Fransia asked. Perhaps disappointed that they missed the harvest festival together before, her eyes held a determined glimmer, wanting a definite answer.

Seeing this adorable sight, Johan nodded as he stroked Fransia’s hair.

“Sounds good. The dungeon inspection is over, and things with Sanburgh have stabilized, so we should be able to leave early. Let’s explore before heading back to the mansion.”

Fransia’s face brightened at Johan’s enthusiastic agreement. Johan found it remarkable that he could read her emotions just by looking at her face.

“Alright! I’ll quickly finish up my work then. You won’t change your mind, right?”

“Of course not.”

With her fists clenched tightly, Fransia focused on processing the documents laid out on the desk. Her eagerness was quite pleasing to see.

‘But I don’t have any documents to handle right now.’

Since recently, he had taken on a series of designated and special missions, thus there were no papers coming down for him.

‘Well, if I made her do any more work, that would be exploitation.’

When Ludella’s designated mission was assigned, a huge incident occurred, and during the dungeon inspection mission, with the attack came a flood of demon beasts.

It was only natural that work wouldn’t be pouring in.

Nobles serve in positions where the public officials directly under the Imperial family were not like the so-called black companies.

“Harsen Archmage.”

Just as Johan was idly spinning the pen, trying to stave off boredom, someone called him.

“Oh, Sir Merdin, what brings you here?”

It was Merdin, whom Johan had been friendly with for some time.

“The Commander wishes to see you.”

“…The Commander?”

Fransia, who had been quietly processing documents and eavesdropping, suddenly turned her head sharply. Her eyes were trembling.

“Is it possible that another mission has come down…?”

Her worried question. Because they had a date to stroll around the Royal Capital together, if a mission came down, it would naturally lead to a cancellation.

Johan gently tucked back a strand of hair from Fransia’s side and smiled.

“It probably isn’t a mission. We’ve dealt with several in quick succession recently.”

“Well, that’s a relief….”

Seeing Fransia downcast with unnecessary worries, Johan smiled reassuringly before addressing Merdin.

“Let’s go now.”

“Yes.”

They stood up and headed to the Commander’s Office. After three knocks, Johan opened the door to find Fedelian awaiting him.

“You’re here.”

Nodding, Fedelian gestured to the sofa. It was amusing that he had no intention of maintaining any formality.

He probably figured he didn’t need a mask anymore, given he knew everything.

Johan sat on the sofa.

“You’ve heard that Casis Lenokhnen has been dismissed, right?”

“Of course.”

“It was handled well. The trial will be held.”

“What do you think the trial’s outcome will be?”

“Hmm.”

Fedelian stroked his chin, narrowing his brows before he spoke.

“Given the position, the death penalty is impossible. He will likely be stripped of all his powers and rights. He will no longer be the small noble of Lenokhnen. It’s either he rises from the bottom or sinks completely. It’s one of the two.”

The punishment he would receive was as expected. Unfortunately, there was no helping that part. The Duke’s family was involved, after all.

“Anyway, the reason I called you here is all about this. You have taken on numerous missions recently, and assigning yet another would be quite unethical. You’re free to go.”

If Casis were in charge, he would have heaped a mountain of tasks upon Johan. Unlike Casis, Fedelian knew well how to separate work from personal matters.

“Understood.”

Just as Johan turned to leave the office,

“Oh, Harsen Archmage.”

Fedelian called him back once more.

“What is it?”

As Johan tilted his head in confusion, Fedelian spoke with a calm gaze.

“I’ll ask again, but has anything happened between you and my fiancée?”

Fedelian’s tone was indifferent, but his eyes were sharply observing Johan’s reaction.

“I’m concerned about her state recently. She seems distracted. She isn’t handling her work properly and often appears dazed during conversations.”

Currently, Ludella was unable to handle most of her tasks. To be precise, her processing speed had noticeably slowed down.

“It seemed to start from the moment she went on missions with you. I was wondering if there was something during the attack, so I thought I’d ask you.”

In truth, he wasn’t truly worried about his fiancée. He had merely heard from the Empress that his fiancée seemed strange lately.

He was simply inquiring out of courtesy. He had no interest in Ludella; she was just an eyesore that could obstruct his future.

“…I’m not sure. There’s nothing specific that comes to mind. Perhaps she was just deeply shocked. I think she’ll recover with time.”

In fact, there were suspicious points, and Johan had a feeling that Ludella harbored feelings beyond friendship for him. However, he wasn’t foolish enough to voice that outright.

If he pointed out that she couldn’t look him in the eye, stuttered, or behaved oddly, she would immediately catch on.

“…Is that so? I see.”

With a nonchalant expression, Fedelian waved his hand. His actions clearly conveyed that Ludella was merely a tool to him.

“I’m leaving now.”

Thinking of Ludella left him with an unpleasant feeling, but Johan concealed it and politely bowed before exiting the office.

As he walked through the public official’s corridor, he offered a slight smile.

“I’ve handled work, so now I’ll focus on the date with Fransia.”

His steps were light.

Casis’s downfall was just the beginning. This path wouldn’t be endlessly smooth, but he needed to concentrate on the present moment.

Fransia was waiting for him.