The castle maids led Lianna away and gently lowered her into a large bath.

They repeatedly washed her body with warm, rose-scented water.

They cleansed every inch of her body carefully before working expensive, fragrant oils through her silver hair.

Then, treating her as though she were a noblewoman of high birth, they knelt at her feet and groomed her fingernails and toenails with great care.

After being brushed repeatedly, her silver hair fell in silky strands down her slender back.

Busy hands soon dressed her in a thin slip dress embroidered with intricate patterns.

They draped a pale violet shawl over her shoulders; it was so sheer that the soft outline of her skin remained visible beneath it.

Once the apricot-colored pigment had been carefully brushed onto her lips, the preparations were finally finished.

The maids bowed respectfully and withdrew from the room quietly.

Only the head maid remained to guide her.

Now that the banquet had ended, an oppressive silence engulfed the castle.

It felt as though a thick darkness had consumed the entire building.

The only light came from the torches burning along the endless corridor.

Lianna silently followed the head maid.

Although she was walking on solid stone floors, it felt as though her feet were sinking deeper and deeper into a swamp.

The closer they got to the Grand Duke’s chambers, the slower she walked.

The head maid occasionally glanced back at her, but never urged her to speed up.

How long had they been walking for?

Eventually, they came to an ornate door adorned with intricate carvings.

No matter how slowly she walked, she still ended up here.

The head maid lightly knocked on the door.

After announcing Lianna’s arrival, permission to enter was granted almost immediately.

The heavy doors slowly swung open.

Lianna carefully stepped inside.

Behind her, the door closed silently.

Calix stood near the window with his arms crossed, gazing silently into the darkness outside.

The dim moonlight spilled across his figure.

Lianna clutched the shawl around her shoulders tightly.

“I never imagined… that Your Grace would summon me.”

Calix turned his head.

His golden eyes settled on her.

After hesitating briefly, Lianna parted her lips once more.

“I truly didn’t expect you to call for me.”

Calix pulled himself away from the window and slowly approached her.

His oppressive gaze fell upon her.

When she lowered her eyes instinctively, he seized her chin and forced her to look at him.

“What a ridiculous thing to say.”

His voice was cold.

“Wasn’t it you and the Count who staged that pathetic little performance in order to enter my bedchamber?”

In response to Calix’s sharp accusation, Lianna’s eyes trembled faintly.

The commotion at the banquet had been entirely the work of Count Chester.

She had never intended any of it.

However, she knew that any explanation she gave to this man would sound like nothing more than an excuse.

“…So you knew all along.”

Calix let out a quiet laugh.

A crooked smile curved along his lips.

“I was curious to see just how far the Count intended to make a fool out of me.”

“……”

Lianna found it difficult to look him in the eye.

Ultimately, even if it was for Joel’s sake, she was no better than Count Chester.

What was the difference between them when she was trying to do the same thing?

But it was far too late to turn back now.

Slowly, Lianna lifted her head to look at Calix.

The thought of sharing a bed with this man left her feeling strangely unsettled.

All her life, she had imagined that her first time would be with someone who was special to her.

‘Does this man truly not care who the woman is?’

Were men really capable of lying with women they did not even like without hesitation?

“Your Grace… did you truly summon me because you desired me?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

Feeling as though she had crossed a line, Lianna instinctively fell silent.

She worried she might have offended him, but Calix did not rebuke her.

Instead, he merely looked down at her with an expression that seemed to say, If you have something to say, then say it.

“At the banquet… it seemed like you disliked even having me pour your drinks. So I was simply wondering… why you would call for me like this when I’m clearly not someone you favor.”

When Lianna finally finished speaking hesitantly, Calix’s golden eyes widened slightly.

Then the mocking smile lingering on his lips deepened further.

“You.”

His voice carried amusement.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a talent for making people laugh?”

“I don’t understand what you—”

“What you just said may very well be the stupidest thing I’ve heard in my entire life.”

It was a blunt accusation that she knew nothing about the world.

Lianna’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

“Men, are creatures who—”

He suddenly tugged at the shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

The thin fabric fluttered down onto the floor.

“—once they’re aroused, can’t rest until they take whatever stirred their desire.”

Calix lowered himself slightly and murmured the words into her ear.

His warm breath brushed softly against her skin.

Lianna flinched and took a step back instinctively.

Was he saying that he found her sexually appealing?

Despite the men at the banquet openly staring at her, he had not reacted at all.

Had he still desired her?

When she had become the center of humiliating attention in the banquet hall, it was Calix who had helped her escape.

Despite knowing that she had approached him with ulterior motives, he had helped her when she was in trouble.

Even if it had only been out of pity.

How foolish of her to think he might actually be a decent person!

In the end, she was probably just a disposable tool to him.

Something to satisfy a fleeting desire.

Nothing more than that.

Even though she already knew this, an unfamiliar ache still spread quietly through her chest.

As Lianna silently struggled to steady herself, Calix spoke again.

“I think we’ve had enough conversation.”

At some point, Calix had sat down on the edge of the bed.

In a low voice, he ordered her to come closer.

Lianna forced herself to take a few steps forward on her trembling legs.

This was the only way to save Joel.

She had already decided not to waste the second chance fate had given her.

That was why she had come this far.

Lianna quietly lowered herself onto the bed.

Even when her back touched the sheets, what was about to happen still did not feel entirely real.

But the moment Calix began to undress her, her senses snapped sharply awake as though ice-cold water had been poured over her.

“Ah—!”

With one sharp tug, the thin shoulder strap slipped down, exposing her pale skin.

Unable to muster the strength to resist, she stood helplessly while Calix effortlessly stripped her n*ked.

The moment his large hand brushed against her undergarments, Lianna bit down hard on her lower lip.

Had she not prepared herself for this before coming here?

Then she would have to endure it.

Barely managing to suppress her instinctive urge to push the looming figure away, she forced herself to remain still.

When the last of her undergarments were removed, the trembling running through her body worsened.

Calix narrowed his eyes as he watched the woman shaking like a fragile leaf, despite having barely touched her.

It was almost amusing.

She had walked into his bedchamber willingly, yet anyone looking at her now would think he was forcing her.

At the banquet, too, she had acted as though she had never poured drinks for a man before.

She was truly skilled at appearing innocent.

Sometimes experienced courtesans would deliberately pretend to be untouched.

Scoffing inwardly, Calix began to remove his upper garments.

‘Ah…’

Intentionally or not, Lianna’s gaze wandered towards Calix’s n*ked body.

Unaccustomed to seeing a n*ked man, she did not know where to look.

True to his reputation as an exceptional warrior, Calix had a powerfully built, sculpted body like carved marble.

Yet strange geometric markings and unfamiliar symbols spread across his upper body.

And somehow…

They did not resemble ordinary tattoos.

There was something deeply ominous about them.

Why did she feel that so instinctively?

She could not explain it.

She simply knew.

But this thought did not linger for long.

Soon, Lianna’s gaze lowered further down his body.

Even without any visible arousal, his sheer size alone was enough to make her chest tighten with fear.

Without realizing it, Lianna swallowed hard.

In theory, at least, she understood how relations between a man and a woman worked.

Whenever girls her age gathered together, such conversations would inevitably come up in idle chatter.

But truly…

Was it even possible for something like that to fit inside her body?

An instinctive fear made her tremble uncontrollably.

Yet, seemingly uninterested in her concerns, Calix moved closer.

“Your Grace, wait… please wait just a moment.”

Panicked, Lianna hurriedly pushed against him.

At the touch rejecting him, a faint crease formed between Calix’s brows.

“After coming all the way here, are you still pretending to be innocent?”

“That’s not it.”

Lianna lowered her gaze.

The moment she stepped into the room, she had abandoned her pride.

And yet, perhaps there was still something she could not entirely let go of.

“Before you take me… please promise me one thing.”

Calix looked down at her silently, as though telling her to continue.

Lianna bit down tightly on her lip.

“Please help Count Chester enter central politics.”

So, ultimately, that was the deal.

If the Count got what he wanted, she would be able to take Joel to see a renowned physician in the capital in return.

Calix could not possibly know the full details of her circumstances, but he had probably realized by now that she and the Count had struck a deal of some kind.

As expected, Calix showed no surprise even after hearing her request.

“A provincial low-ranking noble seeking entry into central politics…”

One corner of his lips curled upward mockingly.

“So that’s the price they placed on selling you.”

Then he laughed softly.

“You’ve valued yourself quite highly.”