WARNING! This chapter contains sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 54 – A Restless Night (Lone Moon)

To Dimitri's relief, the beasts attacking his forces hadn't taken much more to be driven off after the Wandering Beast's death. But his forces took significant losses from the attack: almost 1,400 wounded and at least 450 fatalities. It was a blow to his 30,000-strong army, which hadn't even crossed into the Empire. Fortunately, Rodrigue and Gilbert had led the men well, and the corpses of nearly a hundred beasts and monsters lay strewn across a one-kilometer front.

Exhausted from the battle, Dimitri had chosen to retire to his room in the villa, leaving the others to tend to the wounded. Margrave Edmund had been relieved at seeing Marianne's safe return and had deeply thanked Dimitri for slaying the Wandering Beast.

The king found it ironic that Theodore von Edmund had gotten what he wanted in the end. But he saw no reason to show ire toward his father-in-law. Margrave Edmund only wanted what was best for his adopted daughter.

As Dimitri sat on his bed, he watched Marianne as she wrung out a bloody cloth into a bucket. The queen had insisted on dressing Dimitri's wounds herself, worried that he might get an infection. Looking down at himself, the king saw the scars that covered his muscular body, with a new one on the right side of his waist.

He thought back to the Wandering Beast. Maurice had also been covered in innumerable scars, both old and new.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble this has caused, Dimitri," said Marianne. The queen had removed her dress and was now clothed in a nightgown.

"Think nothing of it," Dimitri replied. "I am just relieved that you are unharmed."

"But you…" Marianne choked for a second as she dropped her cloth to the floor and said, "You got hurt again… protecting me."

"I have told you before, Marianne: I would venture into the eternal flames of Hell and back for you."

Marianne, torn between remorse for Dimitri being wounded and her love for him, found herself smiling at him as a tear slid down her face. She wiped it away with a brief sniffle.

Then, standing up, the queen said, "Something… feels different. I… feel different."

"What do you mean?"

"I know this will sound silly, but… it feels like a great burden has been lifted off my shoulders now that Maurice has finally been put to rest, and his curse has been broken. It's as though the blood of a beast no longer flows through me. I feel human for once."

Marianne suddenly heard Dimitri stand up and stride toward her with haste. She then gasped in surprise as Dimitri wrapped his arms around her, prompting her to look up at him.

"Dimitri?"

"You are no beast, Marianne von Edmund," Dimitri said as he tightened his embrace around his wife. "And you never have been. You are the kindest, most beautiful soul I have ever known. Compared to you, I am a devil. A monster in human skin. A king who holds no right to his throne. A murderer who has taken countless lives. I have damned myself time and again, all for my revenge. But you… you are my light, Marianne. Even in the darkest of times, when I had all but given up hope, you have been there for me."

Dimitri couldn't find anything else to say as Marianne gazed into his one good eye.

"It does not matter to me what you are. Right now… now, I want nothing more than to be at your side."

Marianne was silent. Then, with tears of joy in her eyes, she moved up and met Dimitri in a deep, passionate kiss that seemed to last an eternity.

She only separated from him for a moment to tell him, "I want you, Dimitri. Please…"

The king's hands roamed the body of his queen as he led her to his bed. Though it embarrassed her whenever someone brought it up, Marianne had a surprisingly curvy figure, yet Dimitri did not value her exterior beauty over her other traits. For now, though, his hands traced their way across her body, down her waist and to her hip, with only her nightgown separating her from his touch.

The two didn't quite know what had come over them. They didn't know what was making them so passionate tonight. Perhaps it was their victory over the Wandering Beast. Perhaps they couldn't keep their feelings bottled up anymore. But it hardly mattered why. All that mattered was their love and their need to have one another.

Dimitri and Marianne sat themselves upon the king's bed, prompting the king to break their kiss. Marianne was about to ask why he had stopped when his hands moved to her shoulders, grasping the hem of her nightgown. Though he could easily have torn it away from her, Dimitri opted to slowly move the garment down her sides. Marianne, realizing his intent, slipped her arms out of the sleeves as Dimitri lowered the top half of the nightgown toward the queen's waist. With his queen now bare above her navel, Dimitri resumed their kiss, pulling her close. Marianne's cheeks went red with arousal as her breasts were pushed into her husband's chest.

Their lips separated again. Dimitri moved his mouth to her neck. Marianne gasped and moaned as his breath and his tongue ravished her collarbone.

"D-Dimitri… I… I've wanted this… for so long…" Marianne gasped.

Dimitri did not reply, but Marianne's words spurred him on as he cupped her right breast in his left hand. His coarse fingers were rough against her silky skin, but Marianne did not protest. His right hand stroked the small of her back as he continued kissing her collarbone.

"Ahh…" she moaned.

Marianne let herself go limp in Dimitri's grasp, letting him use her however he wanted. His touch was not that of a masterful lover, with Dimitri occasionally rubbing her breast a bit too hard or his teeth brushing her neck, but it hardly mattered to the queen. She knew it had to be his first time doing something like this. It wasn't as though she had any experience at it either. She only knew the basics and the raunchy tales that Hilda had told her back during their academy days. The pinkette wasn't known for being chaste, and her stories had often left Marianne's face a beet-red, but she had picked up a thing or two from Hilda about sex.

She knew what was soon to come when she felt Dimitri's hand move the skirt of her nightgown up her left leg.

Then, realizing he was going to need her help, Marianne moved her hands down to Dimitri's pants. With great difficulty, the bluette helped her husband out of his trousers, revealing the king's own lance, which stood at attention. Marianne's blush deepened at the sight of it. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a man's genitals, but it was the first time she'd seen Dimitri's.

Dimitri, who finished raising Marianne's skirt and left her nightgown bunched up around her waist, released his grip on her and gently allowed her to fall back onto the bed. He gazed into her brown eyes before letting his one good eye roam over her body. Nearly naked, Marianne was the picture of beauty, laid bare before her husband as she began to spread her right leg.

"Please, Dimitri…" said Marianne. "Take me."

Dimitri was at a loss for words, and so he let his actions speak for him as he grabbed her waist and, after a second to line up, thrust his hips forward.

Marianne let out a gasp of pain as he entered her body. Hilda had told her the first time would hurt. She realized she hadn't been joking as a small trickle of blood left her core, signifying the end of her virginity. Yet with the pain, she also felt her heart beating like a drum as Dimitri, who had thrust all the way to the hilt, filled her completely. And when he pulled back, she felt herself desperate for his warmth to enter her again.

Her wish was granted as Dimitri thrust hard into her again. And again. And again.

"Ah! Ahh! Ahhh! Dimitri…! Dimitri!" Marianne gasped as she undulated in his grasp.

"M-Marianne…!" Dimitri gasped, watching her body shake with each thrust.

Marianne had never felt such pleasure before. Her mind was a mess as she continued to bounce up and down along his shaft. Her breasts, uncontained by her nightgown, flailed around wildly before Dimitri's eyes. He instinctively lowered his head to her right breast and engulfed her nipple in his mouth, leaving Marianne was left reeling in ecstasy.

In and out, the king plunged into his queen's depths. Her moans grew in volume and intensity as pleasure continued to overwhelm her senses.

Dimitri released her nipple and made another hard thrust, and this time Marianne let out a painful yelp. He had just struck her core with his lance.

Dimitri stopped briefly, thinking he was hurting her.

But then Marianne leaned toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she said, "Don't stop…! Keep going! Please!"

Emboldened, Dimitri continued to thrust, his strength driving Marianne's yelps up an octave. She had to stop herself from screaming, knowing everyone in the villa would hear her if she did.

Dimitri thrusts grew faster as Marianne felt her body almost burning with ecstasy. They knew they were close to their limit.

"I love you!" Marianne said with tears of joy. "I love you, Dimitri! I – I – AH! AHH! AAAAAHHHHH!"

Dimitri grunted loudly as the queen felt his seed pour into her womb. Seconds passed as the two remained still, with Dimitri pumping everything he had into his queen's core. The queen had stars in her eyes as she felt him fill her to the brim, leaving her with no doubts that she would end up bearing his child.

Marianne knew someone had probably heard her scream, but she didn't care at this point. The two settled from their climax as they gasped for breath, with Dimitri remaining buried to his hilt inside Marianne's body. His lance remained hard and strong.

"That… That was…" gasped Marianne, her mind barely able to form words.

Dimitri embraced Marianne in another deep kiss, knowing they weren't nearly finished.

…

Sylvain found Ingrid tending to Celdia in the villa's stable. The Pegasus had been injured in the fighting, though it wasn't too serious.

"Well, that was a rough one, wasn't it?" Sylvain said to the blonde.

"It was a bit touch-and-go, I'll admit it," said Ingrid. "But in the end, we prevailed, just like always."

"Yeah… just like always. You had me worried there for a bit, you know?"

"Shouldn't you be off flirting with some of the troops?"

"Nah, way too tired for that tonight. Figure I'll get some rest soon."

Ingrid said nothing for a moment as she continued to heal Celdia's left wing. Sylvain watched as the Falcon Knight finished her spell, prompting Celdia to give her an affectionate snort.

"Atta girl…" Ingrid said softly to her Pegasus. "You get some sleep now, okay?"

Ingrid left her steed and exited the stall.

Then, seeing Sylvain hadn't gone anywhere, she asked, "Is there something you want, Sylvain?"

"Just wanted to ask you something," Sylvain replied in an unusually serious tone. "Ingrid, what do you think about what that monster said to us? It said it knew our ancestors, the Ten Elites. Who was he, anyway?"

"It's like His Majesty said: it was a liar and a beast."

"You really think that?"

"That thing was just trying to distract us with its drivel. There's no way it could've known the Ten Elites."

"I'm dunno about that, Ingrid. You know what happened when Miklan got turned into a Black Beast. When that thing died, it left behind that sword."

"It could've just been someone who had no Crest. Just like your brother."

"That's cold, Ingrid. But what if it was right? What if it really did know them?"

"He called Daphnel a 'drunkard' and said Lamine tortured people, Sylvain. Do you really believe any of that tripe?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but–"

"But nothing, Sylvain! I don't wanna hear it!"

Sylvain stopped, realizing he wasn't going to convince Ingrid of anything. Yet this worried the redhead. Ingrid was clearly in denial about what the Wandering Beast had said. But what if it was right? What if their ancestors hadn't been the paragons the people had been led to believe?

Of course, he saw some logic in Ingrid's choice of ignorance. Something like this could shake the army's confidence if it got out. They were lucky that none but the four of them had heard the Wandering Beast's testimony.

"I'm going to bed," Ingrid said crossly. "I suggest you do the same, and that you don't speak of what that monster said to anyone."

"Yeah, sure," Sylvain replied as Ingrid stormed past him.

He knew, though, that he wasn't gonna sleep soundly that night.

…

The first signs of spring heralded the following morning, with birds and melting snow signaling the changing of the season. The Loyalists, though still somewhat tired from the previous night's fight, set about packing up their camp as best they could.

Mercedes finished putting on her earrings as she made her way to Dimitri's room in the villa. She knew the king needed his rest, but he was also going to need breakfast.

The cleric knocked on the door to the king's room and said, "Your Majesty? Dimitri, are you awake?"

There was no reply.

Absentmindedly, Mercedes gave the door another knock, pushing it open as she said, "Dimitri, are you–"

Mercedes stopped immediately upon seeing Dimitri and Marianne in the same bed, naked beneath the bedsheets. They were still asleep, but Marianne had one arm around Dimitri's neck.

The cleric went red-faced as she hastily shut the door.

"Mercedes, is His Majesty awake yet?" said Rodrigue as he approach her, making Mercedes jolt in surprise.

Flustered, Mercedes moved herself in front of the door, spreading her arms to block any passage as she said, "Oh, R-Rodrigue! P-Please give Her – I mean His Majesty her – his privacy, please!"

Rodrigue was confused for a second with Mercedes's behavior, but it only took another moment for him to realize what she meant.

"I see." Rodrigue smiled and said, "Thank you for informing me, Mercedes."

Mercedes's face flushed a deep crimson as she realized she had given the two lovebirds away.

…

It would take until the late afternoon before the Loyalist army was ready to march again. Dimitri and Margrave Edmund stood at the entrance to the villa as Marianne and Mercedes sat in their carriage.

Mercedes did her best not to look Marianne in the eye, but she could see the queen was far happier than she had been in a long time. Marianne kept her gaze locked on Dimitri as he spoke with her adoptive father.

"I wish you luck in your campaign against Emperor Edelgard, King Dimitri," said Theodore. "And once again, I thank you for your aid in vanquishing the Wandering Beast."

"You need not thank me," said Dimitri. "Our goals simply coincided for a time."

"Regardless, you have done a great service. I must return to my territory soon. Claude expects my army to march alongside his own against House Gloucester. But rest assured, I will do what I can to persuade Claude to stay out of your path."

"Do as you wish, Margrave."

Margrave Edmund turned and began to walk away from Dimitri. But after a few steps, he stopped and said, "I am glad that you and Marianne love each other so. I have always wanted her to be happy. Farewell, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. May we meet again."

Dimitri gave Theodore no reply as the nobleman mounted up and rode off with his entourage. However, once Margrave Edmund was far enough, the king gave a brief smile.

He then turned back to his army, ready once more to lead them against the Empire.

Insert Lion King song? Nah.

If you've seen any other of my smutfics, you'll know I can be a lot more explicit with that sort of thing. However, I intended for this to be a romantic sex scene, not an erotic one, so I had to get creative with my euphemisms.

Also, I know the chapter was mostly centered on Dimitri and Marianne consummating their love, but was I out-of-character with Ingrid and Sylvain? Does it make sense that Ingrid would want to deny what they heard from the Wandering Beast?

We're next going to go back to the Dukedom, but this time I want to concentrate on Cleobulus and Kronya. I let the latter live for a reason, and I want to get a chance to flesh her out a bit.

Question, though: Should I add Shez to the story? They'd obviously differ heavily from Three Hopes, but would it feel contrived if I added them at this point?