Chapter 2 – Part 9

“Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”
 
“You’re not afraid of this.”
 
The Duke’s words were spoken like an expletive, and there was no smile on his face. Contemplative, Liese could only clench and unclench her ice-cold hands. Gazes of varying emotion exchanged in the tense air currents.
 
Marcus suddenly straightened up from his chair. Looking at the pile of letters on the desk, he casually picked them up. There was no hesitation; it seemed as if they were prepared for this.
 
He walked towards the fireplace and tossed the bundle of letters into the flames. The various colored envelopes, undoubtedly from women, burned, and the flames seemed ready for this event, despite the cool weather.
 
Liese anxiously watched as the carefully written letter turned into ashes.
 
Marcus slowly approached her, as if nothing had happened. Even though his pace was not fast, Liese, who faced him directly, trembled like a startled rabbit, looking at the Duke’s face, which was now leisurely leaning against the edge of the desk.
 
Unexpectedly, Marcus stood only a couple of steps away, facing Liese. Although she was slightly trembling, there was still some distance between them.
 
“Come closer.”
 
An order came straight away. The startled Liese slowly approached Marcus. There was still about a foot of space between them.
 
“Closer.”
 
The Duke’s mood did not seem favorable. Without hesitating, Liese stepped closer. The scent of sandalwood, which intensified as if waiting, enveloped her.
 
It was too close. Marcus’s breath brushed against her forehead, and she could smell his warmth and cologne on the pale skin of his chest. My heart thudded uncontrollably.
 
She was about to lower her chin when Liese saw her hands and feet tingling at the level of his eyes.
 
“Keep your head up.”
 
She couldn’t help but react to the cold voice above her head. The Duke’s half-forced gaze pierced Liese like a dagger. Marcus only had to reach out, and he could grab her by the throat.
 
“What do you want from me?”
 
Liese asked, unable to hide the agitation in her voice.
 
“What do I want?”
 
Marcus smirked, as if he’d heard a joke. His eyes met Liese’s for a moment. The man’s eyes, which resembled a cloudy sky, had a fierce glint in them. It was an ominous sign.
 
“Get on your knees.”
 
Liese stopped breathing. A series of panicked gasps escaped her lips. Cruelly, he twisted the corners of his mouth upward and grinned.
 
“You said you had your own boundaries, and I want to know whether or not you’re crossing them by giving in to me.”
 
“…Your Grace.”
 
“Then kneel.”
 
“Your Grace, please….”
 
“Come on.”
 
The gruff voice urged the man before him to simply crush Liese’s will to protest.
 
She had no choice; she must do whatever the Duke asked, as she had promised.
 
As she looked up at Marcus, her pale green eyes glistened with a hint of moisture, and the hatred and resentment she felt for him was palpable.
 
Liese clutched the hem of my dress tightly once. Then her knees, which were shaking in her dress, moved in slow motion.
 
Her chest heated with shame, but she didn’t stop. She bent my knees, staring straight at him. Marcus watched her face carefully as it sank lower and lower.
 
When he finally saw her kneeling between his legs, the corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
 
Nothing about her was unsatisfactory. The clear tear-streaked eyes, the flushed cheeks, the shame-stained lips, the right eye level.
 
He felt an intense rush of pleasure, the kind you only feel when the person you want to defeat finally raises the white flag. His chest heaved with excitement.
 
Her dull eyes were still filled with disgust for the Duke. It was a face that rekindled his pride again and again.
 
“Don’t sit still and try to please me.”
 
Marcus tapped Liese’s cheek playfully with his fingertip.
 
“You may not be good with your body, but you’re good with your mouth, so why don’t you try flattering me?”
 
“Is that what His Grace desires?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“…Why?”
 
“Because it’s amusing?”
 
A hand with a chilly touch gently stroked her face. Liese resisted the urge to tightly shut her eyes. Her teeth chattered so violently that her molars felt like they might shatter.
 
“Why are you trembling like that?”
 
A suppressed chuckle descended upon her forehead. His thumb glided softly over her eyelids, as if consoling her. The Duke was genuinely enjoying himself.
 
“You make me feel like a bad person when you’re the one who said you’d do anything.”
 
“…”
 
“Lieselotte. Right?”
 
Liese bit her lips forcefully to prevent tears from streaming down her face. The taste of metallic blood filled her mouth, but she held back her sobs with all her strength. She didn’t want to reveal her most vulnerable side to such a wicked man.
 
At that moment, someone knocked on the office door. Liese flinched, as if struck by lightning. She didn’t want to show this humiliating state to anyone in the world.
 
“Your Grace, your friends have arrived. Viscount Bryson and Baron Miller.”
 
The Duke’s friends. The man who had chosen only unpleasant deeds during his short intoxication. Liese desperately clutched the Duke’s thick wrist, which was still probing her cheek.
 
“Please, Your Grace.”
 
Liese looked up at Marcus with an earnest expression.
“Let me go. Please allow me to return to my position.”
 
“I didn’t know you still cared about your dignity.”
 
Marcus tilted his head sympathetically, wearing an expression of pity.
 
“You don’t want to show anyone you’re weak, do you?”
 
From outside the door, Trevor Miller’s drunken uproar could be heard. Liese tightly gripped the Duke’s wrist with both trembling hands.
 
“Please, I beg you.”
 
“Isn’t that what it means to throw away your noble dignity and wear a maid’s uniform, or to bow down flat in front of me and obey me? The latter seems to be the better option.”
 
“Please let me leave, Your Grace. I implore you.”
 
Marcus looked down at the pleading Liese.
 
“Your Grace…!”
 
The touch of his hand on Liese’s cheek sent a strange heat through her. In her urgency to plead, Lise hadn’t noticed the change in the air.
 
“Please, I beg you…!”
 
“To kneel and beg under the feet of a man you despise to the point of death… I guess you’re quite desperate.”
 
Marcus muttered to himself.
 
“Leave for today.”
 
And then, he silently gave his permission. It was an answerless and somewhat lenient act of kindness.
 
Liese quickly stood up from her seat. The office door opened abruptly. Trevor and Eric walked in through it.
 
“Marcus, I just saw a maid who was killing it. She was definitely bigger than that Haley, according to my eye, which is more accurate than a tape measure… huh?”
 
Trevor, speaking with unclear pronunciation due to being heavily drunk, stumbled in his speech. Liese, unable to hide her flushed face, hurriedly passed by them.
 
“What’s with her? Why is she so embarrassed? What on earth did you do?”
 
A mocking sneer pierced through the air. Liese, like a small animal escaping a trap, rushed out of the office.
 
Her tattered heart ached beyond words. She was horrified and disgusted that a duke would tear others apart just for the fun of it.
 
The tears that hung in the corners of her eyes refused to fall, and the only thing that consoled her was the shabby relief that she was not seen crying in front of such a cruel man and the hope that there would be an end to this disgrace.
 
However, could the mess of wounds be healed without a trace? That was something she couldn’t be sure of.
 
***
 
Marcus stood by the window where the bright sunlight streamed in. Fingers tapping on the window frame like playing a piano, he gazed quietly at the scenery beyond the glass with half-lowered eyes.
 
The glistening blue of the river, the carriages rolling over the bridges, the crowds bustling about the central square—these were all things he saw every day and found meaningless.
 
He soon heard a knock on the door, and two maids entered the room, quietly suppressing their footsteps. They were the household maids working in the main mansion.
 
“Clean up.”
 
As they efficiently started cleaning the floor strewn with glass shards and cigarette ash, Marcus’ attention was on the glass ashtray he had thrown at Trevor in disgust as he staggered in earlier.The maids would have cleaned up the bloodstains by now if Eric hadn’t taken him out immediately.
 
The thought crossed his mind of how many people had hastily left his office today.
 
A wry smile escaped Marcus as he lit a cigarette. The observant maids had already placed a new ashtray on the desk.
 
Marcus watched as the maids left the room, disappearing like shadows.
 
The woman resembled her, even though she had been blurred by memories. Despite the differences, their similar age, clothing, height, and build made them hard to distinguish without paying attention. Marcus had never paid attention, considering maids to be as natural as water and air beside a Duke.
 
However, for some reason, this woman aroused his curiosity.
 
For a long time, he had seen and ignored hundreds of maids holding his cup. Even excluding the time he lived an independent life as a military officer, a maid under the authority of a Duke was always a presence taken for granted.
 
There was no reason to take notice of them; their different backgrounds were of no consequence.
 
Yet, why did this woman seem oddly ambitious?

He wanted to poke and prod her for a long time, to see when he would break down and cry. He wanted to see what part of her he could crush before she gave in to him completely.

Marcus’s eyes, clouded with memories, stared at the spot where Liese had knelt.

She’d looked at him like she hated him, even as she swallowed her pride. Even when she was mesmerized by him on the lakeshore, her face was fierce, as if she were glaring at her worst enemy.

Despite her slender frame, she was quite stubborn. Marcus liked that about her.

No matter how strong her will, it would eventually be crushed by him.

The cigarette in his fingers burned without a puff. Marcus continued to write.

There was a knock at the door, and a small hand grabbed his wrist and shook it without fear. She looked up at him; her eyes narrowed as if she were about to cry, and she begged him to let her out.

He couldn’t deny that he was distracted by her parted lips and wet tongue.

“…Dirty maid.”

The contempt for Liese dripped from his lips in a white smoke, but the image that filled Marcus’ mind was of a different sort.

What would it be like to hear the moans that escaped her lips with her wet breath, to see her sobbing and crying out his name with a face not unlike her own… to have his hands full of her.

As he imagined it, Marcus realized that he was rapidly becoming aroused. He laughed at the absurdity of the sensation of suddenly growing in size without even using his hands, but he didn’t stop imagining.

He wondered what her voice would sound like if he buried his nose in the nape of her neck and rubbed his lips against her petal and grassy scent. He wondered if he would have to tear off her cloak like a nun to get her to stop sobbing.

It was only when Marcus felt like he wanted to lick the tears streaming down from her small face like a dog that he ran his large hand down his face.

“Lieselotte.”

He murmured her name amidst his breath. It was a name that didn’t feel awkward on the tip of his tongue.

Marcus looked down at the floor where Liese had knelt. The reality was not as clear as his vivid imagination. The woman was not in his grasp.

His gaze returned to the window. The meaningless scenery remained unchanged. The Melir River with its clear water, carriages passing over the bridge, and the bustling crowd in the central square—all looked as meaningless as ever. The summer breeze has already filled the air in the city.

“…Ha.”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped him. It was a laugh that found meaning in something so insignificant. What did it matter, after all?

But when he recalled the eyes with a fresh color, he stopped thinking about the futility of it all.

The scent of warmth flowed in through the window. Summer was just around the corner. And by the time the approaching season was in full swing, the woman would have already left the mansion and disappeared.

The fact bothered Marcus more than he cared to admit.

He tossed the half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray. Without bothering to think further, he opened the door to the adjoining bathroom.

Before he could think further, it was essential to clear the muddled mind contaminated with useless fantasies.