Chapter 7

Since it was the room where Lennox was staying, the belongings had not been cleared out and remained as they were.  

Baron Dermann’s room was larger and more luxurious than Ellen’s. Expensive items were placed everywhere, as if to flaunt wealth. Suddenly, Lennox thought of Ellen’s room and her. Compared to the wealth of the Dermann family, her room was modest. There didn’t seem to be any precious items, and even the dress she wore when they met again was plain. Both the room and her dress were less than what she had in the Valère Viscountcy. If Baron Dermann had truly cherished her, such a thing would never have happened.  

“…….”  

Lennox picked up a box nearby and opened it. Inside were expensive men’s accessories.  

Ellen didn’t wear jewelry, not even simple ornaments.  

Without hesitation, Lennox threw the box toward the window. Clang. The box smashed through the glass, landing outside. Faint screams from the servants could be heard.  

He opened the wardrobe. It was filled with clothes made from fine fabrics.  

The dress Ellen wore was not made of expensive material.  

Swish—he pulled out all the clothes and threw them out the window. His sensitive ears caught the sound of clothes fluttering as they fell.  

On the vanity, which was more extravagant than a woman’s, were all sorts of men’s perfumes. There were even some rare ones.  

Ellen’s vanity held only simple perfumes.  

He ruthlessly threw the perfumes outside.  

Lennox began to destroy Baron Dermann’s room, the disgusting space where he had stayed with Ellen after their marriage, piece by piece. With an expressionless face, he slowly and thoroughly destroyed everything, wishing that the memories and past of Baron Dermann and Ellen would be broken and disappear.  

“Burn it all. Everything in here.”  

“Yes.”  

The servant, who rushed in at the loud command, trembled and bowed. Several more people entered, and the sound of cleaning filled the room. Lennox looked down through the broken window at the servants gathering the items he had thrown out. The garden, where Ellen and Baron Dermann must have walked together. The autumn garden was beautiful with colored leaves, but to Lennox, it looked dreadful. He closed his eyes tightly. When the room was almost cleared, Lennox spoke to a servant.  

“Call Ellen.”  

“Do you mean Madam?”  

“Call Ellen.”  

“Yes. I’ll bring her.”  

The quick-witted servant noticed Lennox disliked Ellen being called ‘Madam’ and corrected himself before hurrying out. Once the servants were gone, the room became quiet. A bird flew in and landed on a branch outside the window. Lennox watched the bird preen its feathers. After a moment, the bird flapped away. Right after, a familiar and longed-for presence was felt behind him.  

“You called for me…”  

Her voice was calm, unlike the happy laughter she had shared with her daughter earlier. Lennox, arms crossed, didn’t turn around. He was so focused on Ellen that he didn’t need to look to know how she felt.  

“Yes.”  

“What is it?”  

“Have you ever stayed in this room?”  

“……”  

“Answer me, Ellen.”  

“A few times, at the beginning of our marriage.”  

“And after that?”  

“I never came in.”  

“Why?”  

“He didn’t like me coming into his room.”  

“I see.”  

Lennox slowly turned his body. His red eyes were so calm that it was impossible to read his thoughts. Ellen didn’t avoid his gaze and looked back at him. His large, thick hand touched Ellen’s cheek. As he stroked a scratch, Ellen winced slightly at the sting.  

“You still haven’t treated this wound.”  

“I didn’t have the chance.”  

“Wait.”  

Lennox fetched medicine himself, soaked gauze, and applied it to Ellen’s cheek.  

She should have rejected his touch. But suddenly, before the bet began, she wanted to indulge in a small luxury. Ellen quietly entrusted her cheek to his rough, warm hand that felt almost tearfully gentle.  

“Did that man hit you often?”  

Ellen didn’t answer. Lennox clenched his teeth at her silence.  

“And yet you ask me to spare him?”  

“He’s my husband. He’s my family.”  

“Nonsense!”  

Despite his harsh tone, his touch was careful.  

“He’s not your family.”  

‘That’s right, Lennox. He’s not my family.’  

Lennox was right. Ellen had never truly accepted Baron Dermann as family. She kept asking Lennox to spare him, hoping he’d be disappointed and leave. She had to part ways with Lennox so he could survive. He shouldn’t be entangled with her.  

“If he really thought of you as family, he wouldn’t have done this.”  

“No. Even my father raised his hand against me. There’s nothing my husband can’t do.”  

Suddenly, Ellen’s view flipped and her body was pressed into the bed. The medicine rolled onto the floor, giving off a sharp scent. Ellen stared up at Lennox, who looked down at her, baring his teeth.  

“Why do you say things like that?”  

“Because it’s true.”  

“Ellen.”  

“Lennox. Don’t forget. Even you, a stranger, destroyed my country and my home, the Dermann family. So what’s stopping my husband?”  

“A stranger? Me?”  

Lennox was shocked and looked dazed for a moment, then his expression hardened. Seeing his face, Ellen’s heart ached. But she showed no sign and calmly looked at his shadowed face. Lennox stared at Ellen’s face for a while before slowly speaking.  

“I never thought I’d hear that from you.”  

“……”  

“You once told me you’d become my family.”  

“You still remember childish words? How foolish, Lennox.”  

“Yes. Foolishly, I still remember them.”  

“Forget it. All of that.”  

“……”  

“Now you and I live in completely different worlds. I’m a noble of the fallen Kursh Kingdom, and you’re a knight of the Aryan Empire. You even destroyed the place where I lived.”  

Ellen slowly raised her arm and cupped Lennox’s cheek. Her soft fingertips touched his slightly rough, masculine jaw. Cherishing his cheek, Ellen spoke coldly.  

“The childhood play is long over, Lennox.”  

“Yeah. It’s over. I’m only realizing that now.”  

His thick hand slipped between Ellen’s waist and her red hair. He gently cradled her waist and head, then kissed her lips—the lips that had spoken such cold words.  

Ellen’s eyes softly closed. She had only spoken harsh words, but his kiss was so gentle and sweet that it made her want to cry. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing close to him. Honestly and naturally, she surrendered to his kiss. When her mind grew hazy, his lips parted slightly. His breath was warm.  

“Ellen.”  

At his call, Ellen lifted her trembling eyelashes. His red eyes, burning with seriousness and desire, instantly captured her gaze. She felt a strange urge to be engulfed by that desire and nodded lightly.  

“Yes.”  

“I still don’t know why you wanted to break up with me back then.”  

“……”  

“If you really hated me, why aren’t you rejecting this situation now?”  

“How could I reject the Commander of the Aryan Empire’s knights who destroyed this estate?”  

“Is that so?”  

Lennox’s lips curled into a crooked smile. Her words stabbed him with countless daggers. Hiding his bleeding emotions, Lennox spoke sharply.  

“Then I have no reason to refuse either.”  

His hands tightened around her waist and head. Ellen kissed his cheek softly, as if comforting him. With just that small gesture, Lennox’s grip loosened for a moment.  

“I’m alright, Lennox.”  

“……”  

Ellen was carefully laid back onto the bed. As Lennox’s hand slowly stroked her back, her dress loosened. When her pale shoulder was exposed, his lips descended. Each time his lips left a red mark on her white skin, her dress slipped lower. His lips grazed her nape softly. Unfamiliar yet familiar, Ellen quietly offered her nape, sliding her hand inside his collar. Feeling his firm collarbone and muscles, she let out a small sigh. His lips left her nape. Lennox looked down at Ellen with eyes burning even hotter than before, and boldly tossed aside his clothes. His sun-kissed skin and solid, muscular body were revealed. He settled over her, and Ellen hugged his back, sighing at the pleasant warmth and weight. His hot lips teased her nape. Slightly long black hair tickled her cheek. The sound of his kisses on her skin was sweet. Everywhere his lips passed, heat bloomed. Her nerves tingled along the trail of his kisses. Ellen ran her fingers through his hair, her eyes languid.  

It was ironic—lying with Lennox in her husband’s room.  

He was no longer a retainer of Viscount Valère, nor a knight of the Kursh Kingdom, but a knight of the Aryan Empire, and now he desired her body. Ellen didn’t mind. Her harshness toward him five years ago now seemed meaningless.  

Ellen curled up, holding his head tightly. His movements paused for a moment. His breath grew hotter. His back rose and fell deeply.  

“Ah!”  

At that moment, a sharp but thrilling sensation made Ellen cry out softly and her body arch.