Despite her struggles, William Winston was persistent.

The hand that had been kneading her br*ast fumbled at the back of her neck, and the dress loosened. The satin, unable to withstand the weight, fell helplessly downward.

William gagged her mouth, turned her body around, and pushed her against the wall. Her sky-blue eyes, filled with fear, were as pretty as a deer’s. The other hand that Celian was trying to use to stop him frantically groped her br*asts that had swelled above the corset.

The woman shuddered and moaned.

“Hic, hmm-“

“Lian, I missed you.”

It was a dreamlike voice. And cruel. Usually, William acted as if he had a screw loose, but when things didn’t go his way, he became infinitely cruel.

Just like now. As if the woman’s resistance was making things difficult, the man clicked his tongue and reached into his pocket. The knife in his hand opened with a click. Celian’s movements stopped.

“I’ll have to cut it. Okay?”

A cold metal sensation touched below her navel. Looking at the frozen Celian, William smiled maliciously.

When the knife that started moving from the abdomen was about to pass the solar plexus, he put down the knife and forcefully tore off the remaining corset with his hand. The woman’s hands, which reflexively tried to cover her chest, were caught.

William pressed his waist against her and whispered.

“Don’t scream.”

Celian nodded with fearful eyes. Only then did the man remove the hand that had been covering her mouth. The er*ect c*ck inside his pants mercilessly stabbed at the woman’s p*ssy, which was only covered by a pair of underwear.

The man lowered his head and started sucking on her br*asts. Celian pushed him hard and screamed.

“Is anyone the-mmph!”

“You b*tch, really!”

It was her last struggle, but the push failed. Following the rough hands, a large cloth bundle entered her open mouth. It seemed to be a napkin.

He muttered while stuffing the napkin deep into Celian’s throat.

“Our family has already suffered enough because of you. Who would have known that bastard would show up as a young duke?”

“……!”

“Neither he nor I want that incident to come to light, so we keep it buried. But Izer still looks at me like he wants to kill me. He always uses his left hand even though we all know he can use his right hand perfectly well. Petty bastard.”

The man continued speaking while holding her hands together in one of his.

“He’s quite pitiful too, isn’t he?”

His excited voice grew a bit louder.

“I thought you two had some deep love affair based on what you said, Lian. The price was too high for him just serving a noble lady in bed a few times because he couldn’t refuse.”

“Mmph!”

“Of course, I’m still angry that it was your one-sided love, but… Ah, why do they make women’s clothes so unnecessarily complicated!”

It took quite some time to remove her half-stripped dress and undergarments. William lowered his voice again.

“Let’s do it quickly and get it over with, okay? I have such good memories from that time. If I had known I’d see you again like this, I would have prepared!”

“Hmmph……!”

The woman’s struggles against the wall intensified. William showed a crooked smile.

“You remember too, don’t you? It was good, right? Don’t worry, I’ll make it even better. I just got divorced, so why don’t you become my mistress? You like being a mistress, don’t you.”

No. Celian struggled while crying. She hated the idea of being violated by William Winston more than death itself. Wearing clothes that reminded her of her glorious past, that day that had thrown her into the abyss was about to be reenacted.

The man’s g*nitals rubbed against her p*ssy. His glistening eyes were directed at Celian’s half-exposed br*asts. Nothing suited his taste more than a beautiful woman crying while half-n*ked.

He would have achieved his goal if someone’s voice hadn’t intervened.

“William.”

……It was Izer.

Reason returned to eyes that had been full of lust.

William bowed his head deeply and then turned only his face back. The situation was too embarrassing to show his c*ck that was still er*ect as if ready to thrust into the woman at any moment.

After all, this was the Duke’s mansion, and Celian was now Izer’s person.

The hand oppressing her disappeared. Celian swallowed her tears and gathered the split corset in front of her. She wanted to pull up the dress to cover her body, but the clothes were too heavy for that.

Izer spoke directly to William as if he had no interest in her.

“William, let’s play poker. Everyone’s waiting for you because the numbers don’t match.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

William, who had been inwardly nervous, fumbled. Izer left first, as if he had no intention of waiting for William to tidy himself up.

William seemed to think he shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer. He looked back at Celian, licking his lips, but eventually gave up and followed Izer.

The footsteps of the two men faded away. Celian sat down with a blank face. It was hard to realize what had just happened. She closed her eyes, leaning against the wall, too exhausted to even think.

Whether it was sleep or unconsciousness that awaited her, she never knew.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, it was dawn. As soon as she realized she was tangled in the dress, the memory of before she fell asleep came back, sending chills throughout her body.

“……”

The woman who was bringing her hand to her ear stopped.

There was someone in the room.

The chair she used for embroidery creaked as it moved. A man’s shadow fell over the woman sitting on the floor.

It was one of the men who had entered this room without permission today. Celian looked up at the man with reddened eyes.

Izer’s mouth opened.

“You’re still in this state.”

“……Is that any of your concern?”

She regretted her sharp words as soon as she uttered them. After all, Izer had saved her from William.

Celian stumbled to her feet and corrected her words.

“I’m sorry. My words came out wrong. Thank you for earlier.”

Izer, who had been staring at her, moved.

The hand that had been fiddling with her nape dropped, and a faint sound was heard. It was the sound of the necklace falling to the floor.

The hand that had finished its purpose traced her earlobe. Thud, thud. The earrings from both ears fell to the floor alternately.

Celian slowly took a deep breath.

If she moved carelessly now, she might step on the jewels. They were too expensive to damage. The jewelry she received today would be quite helpful in raising cash.

Her thoughts were in vain as soon as a crushing sound was heard. It was the sound of the man’s foot smashing the jewels.

Celian lowered her eyes.

That action seemed to inform her of her reality. That Celian Berienne couldn’t escape. Not from Duke Chesterfield, not from Izer, not from this house, not from her past.

Izer twisted his foot and looked at Celian with cold eyes.

Such jewelry doesn’t suit her now. It wasn’t like playing with dolls, and he felt nauseated by his adoptive father’s behavior of dressing her in a dress similar to what she used to wear when she was happiest.

He even presented her in that state in front of William Winston. Heat rose inside him. Izer pulled down the dress mercilessly.

At that point, the woman began to struggle weakly. She had remained still until he removed her necklace and earrings, but it seemed she couldn’t bear having her clothes removed.

Izer loosened his grip. The woman who had been standing collapsed in front of him. The torn corset revealed over the almost removed dress was provocative.

It was a work created by Winston, a lecher who wouldn’t be moved by ordinary stimuli. No man would be unmoved seeing this sight. The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Blood rushed to his lower body. Izer unconsciously took another step towards her. The dress that the woman sitting on the floor had been desperately clutching fell back down to her waist.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She thought that even if she had shown her n*ked body like last week, it wouldn’t be as embarrassing as this. At least the door was closed. She wouldn’t have to show this miserable sight to others.

The man who had been sitting with his knees up lowered his head. The man’s lips brushed Celian’s cheek and then nuzzled her neck. It was an explicit message of seduction.

She felt his stubbly chin. Celian inhaled.

Izer muttered as he bit her neck. He was also drunk now.

“I feel like a bastard. To put it bluntly, I don’t feel like a person with any sense.”

“……”

“Look, even now. Even though I know he made you wear that dress to irritate me……”

He had obviously fallen for the trick and came to her room. He had resisted the urge to thrust into the unconscious Celian immediately.

The corset that had barely been hanging on the dress finally fell to the floor. The hand that had been kneading her fully exposed br*asts moved uncontrollably downward. The hand that parted the messy folds of the dress finally grasped the bush, and Izer lowered his head, laughing at his own state.