Even through the life-and-death work of a mercenary, he’d managed to cling to his wretched life until the end thanks to his tenacious persistence and patience. And eventually, he’d seized this position.

Jedrian, confident his stubborn tenacity was second to none, decided to stake everything on this.

“Ahhng! Ah…!”

With a goal in mind, the man thrust his c*ck as deep as possible, determined to prevent his seed from spilling out, driving it all the way to the root to reach her deepest point.

When Laurencia’s head hit the window from his violent thrusts, he pulled her limp body close and shook his hips mercilessly.

Madness gradually filled his crimson eyes. Like brainwashing her, he repeatedly commanded.

“Conceive my child. Do whatever it takes to conceive. Then I’ll promise you a peaceful life. So!”

“Ahhng! Ahhh! Jedrian…!”

“Kugh!”

The man’s hips, charging forward powerfully like a stallion that never learned to stop, finally came to a halt with a thud just as her scream-mixed cry burst out.

His throbbing c*ck soon poured out a flood of hot liquid.

Kissing her trembling body all over while savoring the peak of pleasure, he whispered in the ear of the increasingly limp Laurencia.

“This is just the beginning. Tomorrow, the day after—I’ll pour my seed inside you constantly until I run dry, so take it all in.”

* * *

True to his word, Jedrian always kept his promises no matter what—he truly ravaged Laurencia for three straight days.

Helplessly swept away by the beast-like man’s endless l*st, she lost consciousness and woke repeatedly, unable to withstand the relentless waves of climax.

Whenever she opened her eyes, she invariably saw the shameless man’s face. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel him beside her—his menacing member filling her below.

She even seemed to have eaten meals with his thing inside her belly. But whether that was a dream or reality remained hazy.

The endless coupling finally made Laurencia fall ill.

At least thanks to that, she was released and allowed to return to her palace—at this point, she felt almost grateful for her frail body.

She stared into space with empty eyes.

She had no strength to move even a finger. Her battered body found even breathing painful.

But what hurt more wasn’t her body—it was her mind.

She felt her insides twist at how horrifying she found herself, moaning like a lewd courtesan in that man’s arms, feeling pleasure.

She’d tried to steel herself that it was just her body, but in the end, she’d essentially enjoyed that filthy pleasure too.

She’d cried out in ecstasy at the pleasure he gave, climaxing countless times in the traitor’s embrace.

What made her angrier was that despite this regret, when the situation came again, she’d surely be helplessly swept away once more.

Three years ago and now—for some reason, she couldn’t refuse him. In those situations, things never went according to her will.

‘Am I that trained by him? Or was I always such a lewd woman?’

Her eyes grew hot.

Laurencia gritted her teeth and swallowed her tears. She thought she had no right to cry, unable to overcome mere l*st.

The problem was this wasn’t the end.

As long as she remained in this imperial palace, there was nowhere to hide from him.

Which meant whenever Jedrian wanted, she’d have to spread her legs like a brothel woman, anywhere, anytime.

And when he tired of her, he’d send her to another kingdom again.

Just like three years ago.

She regretted returning.

But back then, she’d had no other choice.

No matter how much Asram’s customs allowed it, she couldn’t marry the son of the king who’d cherished her like a daughter.

She’d wanted to flee to another kingdom, but couldn’t because she worried about her father’s safety.

So she’d returned in the end.

Even knowing she’d end up like this.

“Haah…”

Laurencia forcibly pulled up her emotions that kept sinking to the bottom.

She couldn’t give up already.

‘I have to meet Father somehow, no matter what.’

Barely composing her weakened heart, she closed her eyes.

Whether from the medicine, drowsiness washed over her again. Rather than gnawing at herself with useless thoughts, sleeping seemed better.

Her consciousness grew increasingly hazy from the medicine’s effects.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, a strange memory flashed through her clouded mind.

‘Conceive my child.’

* * *

Waking late from sleep, Laurencia blinked her heavy eyelids, trying to clear her foggy mind.

Her body still felt heavy like waterlogged cotton, but fortunately wasn’t as painful as before.

Wiggling her fingers, she slowly pulled her arm from under the blanket.

As she tried to wipe her forehead sticky with cold sweat, a cold towel suddenly touched her forehead.

Startled, she instinctively snatched the towel away. Then as she raised her gaze and met those eyes, she froze.

She’d raised her guard thinking it might be Jedrian, but someone she’d never seen before sat beside the bed.

“Wh-who are you?”

“You finally seem better.”

“I asked who you are!”

“Shh, there are watchers outside. Lower your voice. Unless you want to be dragged away again.”

Her gaze quickly turned toward the door as she shut her mouth.

The surroundings were quiet, but she didn’t think his words were lies.

Jedrian would definitely have posted watchers.

After a moment, Laurencia slowly lowered her gaze and regarded the unfamiliar man warily.

But she couldn’t see the man’s face properly in the flickering dim light.

As she tried to force herself up, a large shadow suddenly blocked her view and pressed down on her shoulder.

“What do you think you’re—”

“They told me to bring you immediately when you woke. If you want to go that badly, I’ll go out and tell them.”

Her pale face contorted at his light tone—she couldn’t tell if he was trying to help or threaten her.

But since she was the one at a disadvantage in this situation, she couldn’t press further.

As she glared at the strange man with wary eyes, he casually pulled the blanket up for her and stepped back.

Only then could she see the man’s face properly.

Blue eyes devoid of any emotion gazed at her with an unreadable expression.

Not understanding the situation, Laurencia glared fiercely at the black-haired man.

Just as a certain person belatedly came to mind, he spoke first.

“I didn’t expect you’d return half-dead after just a few days when he said he’d make you his mistress.”

“You…! So you were that slave after all.”

“You chose me yourself, yet you forgot in the meantime? I’m hurt.”

Her brow furrowed sharply.

She’d felt it briefly then too, but judging by his impudent manner, he definitely wasn’t an ordinary slave.

‘What is this? Could he be a spy who infiltrated as a slave? No, that can’t be. If he were a spy, Jedrian couldn’t have missed it. Not a man like him.’

In the past, the empire had suffered for a while from reckless wars.

Spies exploiting that chaos had come and gone through the capital like it was their own home, and the most skilled among them constantly changed faces to infiltrate deep into the imperial palace.

Armazé’s walls had seemed as solid as ever, but in reality, it was a precarious time—no different from a sandcastle that could crumble at any moment.

Then, a mercenary who led the final war to victory entered the imperial palace. The emperor immediately placed him in a central position and entrusted him with the empire’s security.

And that mercenary greatly exceeded the emperor’s expectations.

That was Jedrian.

After he took command of the military, spies could no longer set foot in the empire.

The man with an exceptional mind and keen instincts captured all remaining spies and made the empire solid again.

And now he directly ruled the empire. In this situation, there was no way a spy could be in the imperial palace.

After pondering for a moment, she suddenly frowned sharply.

If not a spy…

‘No way!’

Laurencia’s eyes flew open sharply as she asked outright.

“What’s your real identity?”

“As you know, I’m a slave.”

He shrugged, pointing to his scarred body with a shameless face.

The n*ked man’s body had countless scars just like she’d seen that day.

But that wasn’t the answer she’d been thinking of.

Belatedly hiding her emotions, Laurencia asked again in a calmer voice than before.

“Are you a watcher Jedrian sent?”

After a brief silence, the man let out a short sigh and gave an ambiguous answer.

“Half right, half wrong.”

As her eyes sharpened, he clicked his tongue and added an explanation.

“That man placed me in this position, so it’s right that he sent me. But I’m not a watcher, so half is wrong.”

As expected, her eyes flashed fiercely at the wordplay-like answer.

Now even a slave seemed to look down on her, making her anger boil.

But now wasn’t the time to blame him for that.

Forcibly calming herself, Laurencia asked again in a deliberately composed voice.

“Speak plainly. What exactly is your identity?”

“Hmm, it’s exactly as I said. Fine. If you promise me one thing, I’ll tell you everything as it is.”

“Promise?”

“Promise you won’t cast me out. If I’m kicked out like this, I’ll have my head cut off immediately.”

Her expression instantly hardened severely at his tone—not just informal but downright impudent.

But the man before her wasn’t just impudent—he was arrogant.