‘I thought I’d been found out.’

Left alone in the room, Selina recalled what had just happened.

For a moment, she had even felt relieved at the thought that she might be taken straight to the basement—so much so that her skin had trembled. When someone had suddenly touched her cheek, she’d feared she’d been exposed…

‘But I don’t know whether this situation is fortunate or unfortunate.’

The ropes binding her hands were extremely uncomfortable. She tried to free herself, but they were tied so firmly that she couldn’t budge them an inch.

She wanted to check for anything she could use as a tool, but with a black blindfold covering her eyes, she couldn’t move around freely.

“If that pig gets angry, he beats people without restraint—top-grade or not. If you want to survive, you’d better suit his tastes.”

Those were the words of the woman she had met before coming here.

As she changed Selina’s clothes, the woman had spoken in an indifferent tone—as if men taking their captives however they pleased was nothing out of the ordinary.

‘Then the clothes I’m wearing now are to his taste?’

She tried to remember what she had been wearing before the blindfold was put on.

It was a thin, red dress that was so sheer it left little to the imagination.

Although it was called a dress, the neckline plunged deeply, the fabric clung tightly to her waist and hips, and every curve was exposed. To make matters worse, the light, flowing material barely covered her thighs.

With her hands bound, she was left lying on the bed, unable to move.

‘If I could summon Ari, escaping this place would be no problem at all.’

The reason she had dared to come here in the first place was her faith in spirit arts.

But there was something she had overlooked.

To summon a spirit, both hands needed to be free. She had to draw the sigil in the air to call one forth.

And now, with her arms completely immobilized, that was impossible.

‘Is there some way to undo these ropes?’

Selina forced herself up and off the bed. Hoping her hands might brush against something useful, she flailed her bound arms about, searching for any object she could feel—

Clack.

The door opened at that very moment, and someone entered, carrying with them the stench of unpleasant spices.

“Ah. So this is where you were.”

That greasy, oil-soaked voice unmistakably belonged to the owner of the thick hands that had touched her cheek earlier.

Selina instinctively stumbled backward.

At the same time, something sharp caught against her fingertips.

‘Scissors…?’

If so, she could cut the rope binding her wrists.

But at that moment—

“Got you!”

The man wrapped his arms around Selina and slammed her down onto the floor. His massive body crushed her beneath him; it wasn’t just heavy—it hurt so badly she could barely breathe.

“Now, swallow this first.”

As he tried to force something into her mouth, every hair on her body stood on end in violent rejection.

Summoning all her strength, Selina slammed her head forward.

“Argh! You crazy b*tch!”

Despite his bulk, his stamina was pitiful. With a shriek, the man collapsed easily.

Now was her chance.

She pushed herself up and reached for the scissors she had felt earlier—

“Why. Planning to kill me with that?”

The man’s voice dropped into something vicious. He looked furious enough to snap her neck on the spot.

“I don’t tolerate things that dare bare their fangs at me. You think you can wound me and get away with it—!”

Knock. Knock.

The sharp rap at the door shattered the murderous tension.

“I’m busy. Leave.”

But the knocking came again. His anger boiling over, the man yanked the door open and shouted,

“I told you to leave—!”

He cut himself off mid-sentence.

“Ah—e-elder, what brings you here at this hour?”

The sound of him dropping flat to the floor in supplication followed.

“I—I was wrong. Please—please don’t tell the boss!”

After a brief exchange in low voices, the man strode back into the room and hauled Selina to her feet.

“You’re d*mn lucky.”

“Of all things… I never thought the elder would take an interest in a woman who isn’t a Thalia hostage.”

Muttering that, the man left the room. The sound of the door closing followed.

‘Is it finally over…?’

The surroundings fell quiet, and Selina thought—for the moment—that the danger had passed.

Swish.

A strange hand suddenly reached out and lifted her chin.

“W-who—?”

She flinched and stumbled back.

At that moment, she remembered how the man had addressed someone as “elder.”

‘Don’t tell me… this is him?’

Selina stiffened her neck and tried to identify the person before her. But the blindfold blocking her vision allowed her to see nothing more than a vague silhouette—and from that, only that the person was male.

He lifted her chin again, this time gripping it firmly so she couldn’t pull away.

“Ugh…”

A faint groan slipped out. She tried to resist, but it wasn’t easy.

‘He’s different from the one before.’

The air pressing down on her shoulders felt heavy—so heavy it was as if her entire body had been bound, rendering her unable to move. Even if she could use spirit arts right now, she wasn’t sure she could stand against this man.

Slowly, his hand rose to brush her earlobe.

“Ah…”

She swallowed back the sound that had almost escaped at the unfamiliar sensation. Amused by her reaction, perhaps, he let out a small chuckle.

Then he moved his hand to the nape of her neck and pulled her closer. Before she could evade him, he wrapped an arm around her neck and began kissing her.

‘W-what is this…?’

She had never heard of this so-called elder before. He arrived like an uninvited intruder and immediately started doing these disgusting things, yet she couldn’t resist.

It was as though he already knew where her weaknesses lay. There was no way the touch of a faceless stranger could make her feel this way otherwise.

The fact that her body had betrayed her terrified her more than anything.

“P-please… stop…”

Selina pleaded in a pitiful, barely audible voice, but the man did not stop.

His hand roamed over the skin barely concealed by the thin dress.

Was it because her eyes were covered?

Strangely, she thought she could smell the same tobacco scent she associated with Calix.

That familiar smell stirred old memories, and with them came a dizzying fog that made it difficult for her to think clearly.

But the moment the man lifted the hem of her dress—

‘No. Get a hold of yourself.’

Selina’s mind snapped back into focus.

“Stop.”

She shook her head firmly.

“End it here. If you don’t want to regret this later.”

Cornered, she spoke to him in a steady voice.

“You won’t walk away unharmed after laying a hand on a duke’s daughter.”

She loathed the fact that her father was Duke Bryson. And yet, in a situation like this, she found herself invoking his name—how bitterly ironic.

‘Please…’

Just then, the man reached out toward her.

So it really won’t work, she thought, biting down hard on her lip—

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, the ropes binding her wrists snapped.

Before she could even process what had happened, the man tossed something toward her—then left the room without a single word.

‘W-what just happened…?’

With the ropes gone, her hands were free in an instant. She hurriedly tore off the blindfold and took in her surroundings.

Selina stood alone in a lavish room, something clutched against her chest.

An outer garment—something to cover herself.

‘Was he someone who needed to stay in a duke’s good graces?’

Perhaps, realizing belatedly that she was the duke’s daughter, he had given her the cloak to settle his conscience—even if only a little.

As she slipped on the outer garment and scanned the room, Selina noticed a strange vial lying on the bed. The moment she read the label on the bottle, her face twisted.

It was a drug used to forcibly induce heat in animals.

“That bastard is insane.”

Realizing that this was what the foul-smelling man had tried to force on her earlier made bile rise in her throat.

She didn’t like the so-called elder either, but at least he had helped her avoid the worst possible outcome. For that, at least, she had to be grateful.

Steadying herself, Selina prepared to leave the room.

‘I’ll go down to the basement and find out who the blond man is.’

Even after everything she had just endured, her resolve to confirm whether Calix was alive had not wavered in the slightest.

Creeeak—

She carefully opened the door and stepped out.

Most of the building seemed to be connected by staircases. If she followed them downward, she should reach the basement.

“Huh? Y-you—how are you here?!”

She ran into a man in the narrow corridor. A bundle of keys hung from his belt—the same one she had noticed earlier.

If those keys opened the basement, then this was perfect.

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

“Get back inside. This isn’t a place for you to wander around.”

The man pulled a small dagger from his pocket and threatened her.

But now that her hands were free, there was no reason to fear a mere lackey.

Selina raised her fingers and drew a sigil in the air.

Almost immediately, a silver light shimmered at her fingertips.

Bright and luminous like moonlight—this silver glow was Ari’s true nature.

She kneaded the flickering light as though molding clay, shaping it into form.

“W-what are you trying to do?!”

The man recoiled in panic at the unfamiliar sight—but before he could retreat, a blinding flash erupted, stealing his vision.

Temporarily blinded, he collapsed to the floor and lost consciousness.

After confirming that he was completely out, Selina removed the key ring from his belt.

The spirit art she had used condensed light into a single point and fired it like an arrow, striking in an instant. It could have been lethal—but she had no desire to kill him, so she limited it to knocking him out.

‘Now—quickly, to the basement.’

Before anyone else noticed what had happened, she had to get down there and finish this.

Selina hurried down the stairs.

The steps creaked beneath her feet as she reached the first floor—

‘There’s no basement?’

Her vision swam.

The staircase that should have led underground simply… ended.

‘This has to be the right building…’

Heart pounding, Selina scanned her surroundings, searching desperately for another way down.

Just then—

“A woman escaped!”

A loud shout rang out from upstairs. It had already been discovered.

“Which one?!”

Footsteps thundered as people rushed down from above, joined by others pouring in from outside.

‘If I ran away now, I would never find out whether Calix was still alive.’

She might have no choice but to fight them.

Selina bit down hard on her dry lips.