【 Prologue 】

In the silent study, the firewood in the fireplace crackled and burned.  

Staring at the flames radiating intense heat, Rivera fell deep into thought. Due to the sudden heavy snowfall, the roads were blocked, and she couldn’t return home.  

As she sipped warm milk and gazed at the fire, boredom overcame her, prompting her to scan the study. Searching for an interesting book among the ones lined up on the shelves, she stumbled upon a book without a title or author, unlike the others.  

Curious about what it was, she opened it, only to find a spectacle of flesh spread out before her eyes. It was an erotic book.  

“Ah!”  

Rivera covered her mouth.  

The owner of this mansion, Adrian Risen Bartman, was famously known as the cold-blooded Duke—a man of icy beauty. There wasn’t a soul in the Empire who didn’t know of him.  

He was often called the “Black Lion” because he always wore black armor and was the one who led the Empire to victory in the war against the Western Kingdom.  

The fact that such a man had hidden this kind of book in his study made Rivera unable to suppress a delighted smile.  

‘My friend reads dirty books!’  

It was a revelation that even he was, after all, a man.  

But the joy of discovering a different side of her friend was short-lived. Rivera couldn’t resist the temptation and secretly flipped through the book Adrian had hidden away.  

“Wow…”  

The depiction of young men and women tumbling around on a bed was akin to watching high-level acrobatics.  

As she skimmed through the book filled with various positions, Rivera wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. She had to finish reading it before the owner of the room returned.  

‘I can’t resist. I’ll hide in the corner and read…’  

Just as she was about to lock the door and hide in a corner, Rivera froze upon seeing Adrian standing at the door.  

Thud.  

‘When did he get here?’  

Startled, she dropped the book in her hand.  

She wasn’t the only one frozen like a statue. Adrian, upon seeing the book in Rivera’s hand, turned bright red.  

Hurriedly picking up the fallen book, he was stopped when Rivera reached out to grab his wrist.  

“W-Wait a moment.”  

She gripped his wrist tightly.  

“Give me five minutes.”  

“…Let go.”  

She felt as though he might cry if she held on any longer, but the Iron-Blooded Duke shedding tears was surely…  

‘Possible.’  

As Rivera’s grip loosened, Adrian clutched the book to his chest and took a deep breath.  

This was trouble.  

Rivera instinctively covered her ears, only for Adrian to erupt in anger.  

“Why on earth do you touch someone else’s belongings without permission?!”  

Indeed, it was wrong to meddle with things belonging to others without asking. But Rivera had plenty to say in her defense.  

“Isn’t it normal for a grown man to be interested in s*x? Why are you so angry? Do you think I knew it was that kind of book before I opened it?”  

“You should’ve asked before looking.”  

“I told you, I didn’t know! And you never said anything when I looked through other books before.”  

“T-That’s…”  

“Does the book wear out just because I read it? No, right?”  

Adrian tried to retort but shut his mouth tightly. He seemed like he wanted to win the argument, but he had never once triumphed in a quarrel with Rivera.  

She wanted to tell Adrian to hand over the book so she could check the rest of its contents, but when he clammed up like that, it was hard to persuade him.  

‘If only he’d come in a bit later. I was curious about the positions for… you know, the back.’  

It was a shame.  

‘What would it feel like to… you know, from the back? It must be thrilling, right?’  

With a naturally curious personality, Rivera couldn’t help but wonder.  

As her thoughts wandered, she glanced at Adrian.  

‘He’s a man too, after all…’  

Adrian flinched, his shoulders trembling as if he were caught off guard.  

‘…? What’s with him?’  

He seemed troubled, as though he had read her mind.  

‘No way… surely not.’  

Rivera chuckled inwardly.  

‘That’s impossible.’  

This wasn’t some story from a novel.