Katarina’s preparations to become the Marchioness of Lorhast were proceeding gradually. However, she was still confined to Fendrick’s bedroom, unable to go outside.

Everything was being arranged without her knowledge.

Fendrick loved her, but that did not mean he trusted her.

Having disappeared without warning or trace once before, he felt he had no choice.

The window of the room in which Katarina was staying could only be opened with a key, and the door was locked from the outside.

A maid brought her meals each day, and she had everything she needed in the room.

There was no reason for her to leave.

Watching Katarina sleep in his arms, Fendrick often found himself thinking.

‘If I proposed to you, would you accept?’

No, he couldn’t imagine it, even with her resting quietly against him.

If anything, she would become even more desperate to leave.

In that case, there was only one option left to him: to propose without telling her first.

He didn’t need an engagement.

Once the preparations were complete, he would hold the wedding immediately and not allow her to leave the bedchamber afterwards.

Of course, this was not something he could tell Katarina.

Who would believe a man who said he had locked someone up in order to marry her?

Fendrick leaned against his desk and laughed for a long time.

He had no idea how to untangle this relationship.

‘If we marry like this, you’ll resent me. But that’s fine. You’ll belong to me forever anyway.’

He gathered the neatly arranged documents on the desk and headed to the bedroom.

Katarina sat blankly by the window, dressed in a nightgown. She must have heard the door open, yet she didn’t turn around.

Seeing the plates of cold, untouched food on the table, he frowned. It had been more than two hours since the maid brought her meal, and she hadn’t taken a single bite.

“Lina. You skipped your meal again.”

He tapped the fork lightly, speaking as if scolding her without real anger.

“Are you not hungry? I told you to ask if there was anything you wanted.”

“How long do you plan to keep me locked up?”

“I told you—just for a while.”

“And how many days is ‘a while,’ exactly?”

Katarina spun around to look at him.

“I won’t run away. Please let me out. Let me go back to serving as a maid. I can stay by your side all day. If you want, I’ll follow you whenever you go out. Just let me leave this room. Please, my lord…”

Her form of address had shifted back to my lord.

Fendrick remained silent. When he didn’t answer, Katarina turned her gaze toward the window again.

“Do you know something? I spent my whole life confined, but at least in the convent I could walk around inside the building. What’s the difference between this place and a prison cell?”

“Eat first.”

“No.”

“Really? Then there’s no helping it.”

He set the fork back onto the table.

“It’s cold now. I’ll have them bring more. The kitchen will keep cooking until you eat at least a little.”

“Then make sure they’re paid extra. They might end up working all night for several days.”

Her sharp retort earned Fendrick a faint, amused smile.

Stepping towards the window, he took Katarina’s chin in his hand and forced her to face him. Gazing down at her, he noted her stubborn refusal to meet his gaze before pressing his lips to hers.

His hand closed over her chest beneath her nightgown.

Katarina clenched her teeth, refusing to part her lips.

This only seemed to endear her to him further.

With a quiet laugh, Fendrick pushed open the front of her nightgown. She was wearing nothing underneath. Her pale, fully exposed skin immediately drew his gaze, and he lowered his head without hesitation.

Katarina tried to push him away, but she had refused food all day and was weak. Perhaps because she had eaten nothing, her body reacted even more sharply.

“Haah…”

Against her will, a small sound escaped her the moment his mouth brushed lightly against hers. Her lips parted as she tried to stifle an involuntary gasp, and Fendrick took this as an invitation to kiss her again.

Idly toyed with her sensitized skin with one hand while his tongue slid between her lips.

Katarina’s muffled breath dissolved into his. Only after a long moment did Fendrick finally lift his head. She hastily pulled her nightgown closed and spoke through unsteady breaths.

“You said you’d buy me clothes.”

‘So you can run the moment you put them on?’

As long as she had nothing to wear but a nightgown, she would stay here and wait for him.

“Later.”

Fendrick set the documents he had brought from his office onto the small table beside the bed.

“Congratulations. As of today, you’re Katarina von Altenrot.”

“And who is that supposed to be?”

He removed his jacket as he answered.

“There’s a small territory in the southern empire—Altenrot Barony. Not far from the Shaieren Convent. Your father was Baron Altenrot, and he passed away five years ago. The estate went to his only daughter, Katarina von Altenrot. Those are your birth records and the baron’s will.”

Katarina didn’t even glance at the papers.

She felt too drained for outrage.

“You made me a noble?”

“Yes. It’s a small estate, but it brings in income. Enough to live comfortably without working for the rest of your life.”

Katarina looked up at the man undressing piece by piece, her eyes tightening with disbelief.

‘Again. He did something enormous without telling me a single thing.’

He clearly had no idea why she was so angry.

The contraceptive method hadn’t changed. If Fendrick had told her beforehand, everything would have turned out very differently.

If Katarina had known sooner, she would have backed off before her feelings had grown deeper. There would have been no intimacy, and they would not have been hurt.

Katarina bit her lip and glared at him. Fendrick responded with a single question.

“Are you not pleased?”

“Thrilled, to think you would bestow a noble title on your bed plaything—I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.”

A crease formed between Fendrick’s brows.

“Don’t be sarcastic. This is, after all—”

“Yes, of course. All for my sake, I’m sure—ah…!”

Before she could finish, the sash of her nightgown slipped loose, and his hand slid inside without hesitation.

Katarina knew provoking him would only make the night rougher, yet the words had escaped her again.

“Lina.”

“Please call me Lady Altenrot. It’s a useless name, but at least I should make use of it now, ah—!”

He slipped his hand lower, his question low and steady.

“Why? Do you want to leave the room that badly?”

Her stomach lurched.

Fendrick was preparing everything for her, yet the one receiving it rejected everything he gave. Unable to accept that rejection, he spoke through clenched teeth.

“Let me out—ah…!”

“Then where would you prefer it instead? Your beloved library? Your old maid’s room? I had it left untouched—you must have been saving it for moments like this. It might be interesting there. I wonder how well it muffles sound. Or does it not matter if everyone hears?”

He pressed deeper, widening his fingers, his thumb tracing deliberately. Katarina clung to his arm, breath hitching.

“Ah—m-my lord…!”

Fendrick frowned. He no longer wanted to hear my lord, nor your excellency, from her lips.

“Call me Fendrick.”

“…The only person who can touch my body as he pleases is—ah—only… my lord…!”

Fendrick’s jaw tightened.

So it meant that Fendrick, not her master, had no right to her. That if he were a man—just a man—he shouldn’t be doing this.

“If that’s what you want, then there’s no helping it.”

In the next instant, Katarina was spun around and slammed against the wall. The hem of her nightgown was swept aside, and a massive p*nis drove into her exposed backside.

“Ahhk!”

As he forced his way in before she was properly prepared, Katarina dug her nails into the wall, scratching at the surface.

“What should I do? It seems your master was born a beast.”

“Ah!”

Fendrick hadn’t intended for things to escalate to this point from the outset. Although Katarina had become increasingly critical of him, he thought today might be different. After all, he had secured her a noble title.

It seemed he had been profoundly mistaken about her.

The past few days had followed this exact pattern. No matter what he brought her, Katarina didn’t bat an eyelid. Eventually, his frustration would boil over, leading to a hasty and forceful encounter.

Even when he tried to be gentle, it was no longer easy. His body, having once found release through Katarina, was all too familiar with the sensation. Once he was inside her, maintaining his sanity became impossible.

He would thrust his hips like an animal, only coming to his senses after he had violated her so severely that she fainted.

That day was no different. It began with him pinning her against the wall and ended with him lifting her into the air and entering her so deeply that she couldn’t even attempt to flee. Still, he fought to restrain himself from falling into a rut. It wasn’t until dawn, when her voice was hoarse and her face was wet with tears, that Katarina finally fainted.