“Did I ever need more honor than this?” 

 Only those who have awkwardly seized their positions obsess over honor. An absolute ruler needs no honor. Just as some people’s criticism of God’s incompetence hasn’t shaken His authority for thousands of years. 

 The same was true for House Chesterfield. Sensing something wrong, Celian slowly felt behind her back. 

 “I’ll come back tomorrow morning. You seem quite drunk right now.” 

 The man’s eyes flashed. 

 “No.” 

 ……The doorknob wouldn’t turn. 

 Though she had been called to his room dozens of times, this was the first time the door had been locked. Panicked, Celian turned and frantically shook the doorframe. It only rattled, showing no signs of opening. 

 A languid voice brushed past the ear of the woman clinging to the door in panic. 

 “I ordered them to lock the door whenever you come to my room. Everyone listens to me well now.” 

 She felt an arm wrap around her waist. A scream reflexively burst out, but Celian barely gathered her wits and pleaded. 

 “Please tell them to unlock the door. I won’t run away. I’ll undress right now. I’ll undress so please just don’t lock the……” 

She felt his hot breath beside her earlobe. 

 “We’ve f*cked more than once or twice, why such hurry? It’s as if you have someone to meet.” 

 “……” 

 “You seemed close with Doctor Owen, were you planning to run away with him?” 

 Her body was lifted up. Celian screamed. 

 “Izer, let go!” 

 “Now you finally call my name.” 

 The man put her down. Her final destination was the bed, in the deepest part of the room. Ridiculously, moving away from the locked door actually made rational assessment of the situation possible. 

 He easily trapped her between his arms her body that had bounced up from the impact of being laid down. Celian’s heart sank at the words, his face cold as he looked down at her.

 “How much were you promised?” 

 “What?” 

 “The price for playing with me, how much was it?” 

 She’d been found out. All the blood in her body turned cold. 

 Contrary to his terrifying words, the man’s expression was relaxed. The opposite of what Celian had expected, thinking he would be angry. If Celian had been as relaxed as the look on his face suggested, if she could have seen the bulging veins on Izer’s hands, she would have recognized his false facade. 

 She had no such composure. Izer’s question struck down on her pale face. 

 “I see you have no intention of answering. It’s fine, I understand.” 

 Celian realized why Izer had changed. To Izer, Celian’s resignation was the final task given by his adoptive father. In reality, the reason Harris told her to leave and the reason Celian decided to leave were polar opposites, but any excuse for that would be pathetic. 

 Harris had told Celian to leave Izer. 

 Celian had decided to leave Izer. 

 This undeniable truth covered the cold bed. Then another terrifying truth rose to Izer’s lips. 

 “How much was the price?” 

 “……A thousand pounds.” 

 She felt ashamed even as she spoke. An incredulous retort struck down. 

 “That’s all?” 

 It was twenty years’ worth of Celian’s salary and enough to buy a house in the capital. It was definitely not a sum to be dismissed as ‘that’s all.’ But to Izer Chesterfield, it was indeed just that. 

 Their different reactions to the same amount of money perfectly reflected their positions at opposite extremes. 

 The savage voice asked again. 

 “And?” 

 “If I didn’t obey, he said he would sell Beth to Count Winston……” 

 Izer ground his teeth as he listened to the trembling woman lying down. This was just like Harris Chesterfield’s sinister schemes. He threatened to hand over that young child to William Winston? 

 “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

 The hands that had been gripping the sheets seized both her wrists. 

 “Did you think I couldn’t help at all?” 

 Even as a cuckoo, he was still a Chesterfield. Though he might resent Celian, he wasn’t the type to turn away from Beth, that young child. 

 Why didn’t you ask me for help earlier, why didn’t you reveal his vile scheme to me and ask me to protect you…… 

 Being generous, he admits he acted aggressively at first. The sins he committed against her were not easily forgivable. 

 But they had been together for nearly four months. She even saved his life. If she had just said one word — I saved you so save me too — everything could have been different. 

 The woman whose lips had been trembling answered in what seemed like a tired tone. 

 “No. It was the opposite.” 

 “……” 

 “The Young Duke was perfectly Chesterfield after all.” 

 ‘Chesterfield’ — to Izer, that was clearly an insult. 

 It meant having a rotten inside beneath a seemingly proper exterior. It meant that Izer himself was just as much trash to her as the Duke, so much that Celian couldn’t confide about the Duke’s threats. 

 The man gave a bitter laugh. 

 “To you, I was a Chesterfield.” 

 To think he believed he could restore their thoroughly ruined reunion — there was no greater delusion. 

 All the numerous methods he had devised to win this woman’s favor flashed through his mind. The explanations he could give in detail, the jewels and dresses he was ready to drape all over her body…… 

 Anger boiled up. 

 “Ha……!” 

 He had endured even after hearing the conversation between his adoptive father and this woman. 

 He had waited for her to tell him the truth. He would have understood even if it wasn’t a misunderstanding. I’m sorry, I had no choice, I didn’t want to do this — even words like that would have been fine. 

 If you had shown me even a bit of sincerity, I could have forgiven you with just that. 

 But you come being carried by another man, dressed as if just out of bed, and say you’re leaving. 

 That you’re leaving me…

 “You can’t go.” 

 You must exist for me. Because that’s how I can live. I don’t need your love anymore. Because I have something better than your love — you yourself — by my side. 

 A heavy weight pressed down on Celian. The woman screamed. 

 “No, let go!” 

 The woman who had been submissive for so long was especially rebellious today. This must be her true feelings. Izer forcibly spread her lower body with his legs as he straightened his waist. Her fists hit his shoulders repeatedly, trying to push him away. How pathetic. 

 No matter how much she struggles, she can’t overcome the innate difference in physical strength. Izer reached out with one hand to open the drawer while pinning her down. The means he had tried not to use finally emerged from the drawer. 

 The woman’s body stiffened at the sound of metal. 

 Thanks to that, things became easier. Izer smiled cruelly as he put handcuffs on her wrists. It wasn’t until he raised her connected wrists above her head and used his necktie to fix the middle of the handcuffs to the bed that the woman, who had been frozen stiff, started thrashing. 

 “Aagh!” 

 It was a convulsive scream. Yes, you must be afraid. I didn’t want to do this either. Izer smiled as he stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth. Celian Berienne — the name with its threads unraveling trembled at its owner’s lips. 

 “Don’t try to throw up. This is our beautiful memory.” 

 “Hmph!” 

With the handkerchief stuffed deep into her throat, the name was no longer discernible. It didn’t matter. Reality was more important than text.

 The boy who once believed in stories written in text lowered his hand while kissing her cheek as the first step in indulging in a living, breathing female body. 

 The corset covering her chest and waist was revealed between the halved blouse. Skilled hands tore at the corset and pulled down her briefs. Her legs kicked at him in place of her bound hands. 

 “Do I need to bring out ankle cuffs to make you behave?” 

 At those words, the woman’s struggling stopped. In truth, whether her feet were bound or not made no difference in her ability to escape, but perhaps she wanted to remain even a little bit free.

This woman would have no more freedom.

 His red lips kissed the round ar*ola. Her response with each of his touches was welcome. 

 The body’s honest reactions were proof of who owned this body. That fact was quite satisfying. 

 Fear clouded her sky-blue eyes. Though this wasn’t their first intimate encounter, she instinctively realized something. That the Izer until now and the Izer from now on would become completely different people. 

 If traces of Ren remained in the Izer until now, from now on he would be the ‘Duke Chesterfield.’ 

“Ugh!”

His fingers were stuck in the dry vaginal opening.  Celian’s legs were spread open, and strength entered her body.  As soon as she closed her eyes tightly, an order flew in.

“Open your eyes, Lian.”

“Ugh, ugh!”