Chapter 1 (Part 2)

They said all she had to do was lie still in bed, and it would be over in a few minutes, but in reality, it was nothing like that. After stripping her, the Duke persistently examined her, as if intending to touch every inch from head to toe.

“It’s hardened here.”

When the Duke’s fingers caressed Therese’s cl*toris, her toes curled with excitement.

“Hng, Y-Your Grace.”

Therese never dreamed her body harbored such sensations. As he circled her *rect cl*toris, it felt like thousands of butterflies were taking off in her chest.

“P-please, stop.”

As Therese panted, relying on his arm, the Duke withdrew his hand. His fingers were slick with a transparent liquid.

“It seems you’re wet enough.”

The Duke, who had licked his fingers, pulled down his underwear with his other hand, and his *rect member bounced up and down.

Therese’s eyes were fixed on the large member.

The only things she had seen before were the dogs wandering in the garden and the horses in the stable.

‘It’s about the same size as a horse’s.’

She couldn’t understand why something so long and fearsome was attached to him.

‘He’s so different from the Duke I dreamed of.’

Shocked, Therese just blinked, and the Duke ran his hand over the bulging veins of his member.

“Quite a blatant gaze.”

“It’s not that.”

The thought that his member was too large for s*x lingered in her mouth. But saying something like that might invalidate this marriage.

‘My father’s only wish would turn to dust.’

Therese didn’t want to cause more worry to her father, who had a weak heart. Her father had raised her alone, doing his best after her mother passed away shortly after she was born.

‘I just have to close my eyes tightly once.’

Having given up resisting, Therese lay on the bed, clenching her fists tightly. Her attitude was like someone going into battle, causing the Duke’s face to twist oddly.

“Your Grace, I’m ready.”

Now, having completely closed her eyes, Therese wore a solemn expression, like a martyr.

“….”

Seeing her close her eyes, Jeremy made a troubled face at Therese.

After quickly gathering his turbulent emotions, the Duke positioned himself between Therese’s legs. Then, with his prec*m dripping manhood, he pierced her tender inner thigh.

“…Ahhh!”

As something hot and hard pierced her, Therese flailed like a small butterfly caught in a spider’s web. The Duke, who had bound her twisting waist and hands, whispered into her ear.

“You’d better hate me.”

“W-why….”

“Because I decided so.”

The Duke, who was staring at Therese intensely, replied coldly.

“….”

To become Duchess Richard, as her father wished, Therese gave up her freedom.

But surely, they didn’t have to hate each other.

If he wanted, Therese could have lived like a shadow.

The many words she still couldn’t convey soon turned into shallow breaths. Something hard entered her tender flesh without warning.

“Ah… Ahhh!”

Therese screamed in agony as if her body were being split in two. The Duke slowly pulled back his manhood and then thrust it in fiercely again.

“Y-your Grace. Please.”

Therese repeatedly called his name, not even knowing what she was pleading for. But the Duke continued his intense thrusts, ignoring her voice.

Her g*nitals burned as if on fire, and it felt like someone was shooting fireworks in her mind without permission. She tried not to react to the Duke’s rough actions, but the unfamiliar pleasure that came with the pain made it impossible.

“Hng….”

“Don’t hold back your voice. We need to let the audience know the play is going smoothly.”

The Duke, who spat out a cool voice, thrust his manhood even harder, and her body shook like a marionette with its strings cut.

The wedding night was stained with tears.

❖ ❖ ❖

Five years later, Therese stood precariously on the edge of the tower at the top of the castle, where the North wind howled fiercely.

“Duchess, please come down.”

The Duke, who hadn’t even fully removed his armor, stood at a distance, reaching out toward Therese. Looking down at the red blood that had fallen onto her pure white dress, Therese smiled faintly.

She had even taken poison in advance, fearing she might survive if she threw herself from the tower.

Now that she had decided to die, the husband who had ignored her for years had returned.

‘Now you finally see me.’

Once, she had tried so hard to catch even a glimpse of his gaze. But to him, she was still merely the Duchess.

‘Do you even know my name?’

Therese clenched her fist as she alternated her gaze between the man and the ground below.

With just one step, she could be forever with the land she loved.

She wasn’t unafraid, but she had no lingering attachment to life.

Only the guilt of leaving her father behind.

Feeling the wind growing stronger, she sensed it was time.

Duchess Richard, Therese, originally came from a merchant family. Her father amassed immense wealth, second only to the Emperor, through trade. He bought a baron’s title with money and gradually nurtured his ambition.

‘At least a Duke should be considered as a son-in-law, right?’

Though it seemed like a joke, Baron Demori succeeded in arranging the marriage between the renowned Duke Richard and his only daughter, Therese. Rumors abounded that it was the result of supporting the Emperor’s war with immense weapons and gold.

‘A Duke son-in-law bought with money.’

The marriage, held amid shameful rumors, was hell for both Therese and the Duke.

Thus, Therese became the only blemish and disgrace in the Duke’s life.

‘Is it because you come from a lowly family that you act like a harlot?’

That was what he said when she held his hand after he returned after a year.

‘It’s best if you live as if you’re dead.’

That was the advice she heard by chance when they met in the hallway.

The countless insults the Duke hurled at her became daggers that tore at her heart.

‘It’s awkward for both of us, so it’s best not to think of appearing before me.’

The only times Therese could stand by his side were at the wedding, the wedding night, and the ball hosted by the Emperor. Even then, the Duke was mostly absent, off fighting on the battlefield.

Breaking away from her past thoughts, Therese moved her parched lips.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“……Hmm.”

At her whisper, Jeremy made a sound that was neither a groan nor a sigh.

He was now deeply regretting.

But he knew well that regret always comes too late.

“It’s dangerous, so come here and let’s talk.”

“……Talk.”

At the simple word, Therese’s eyes stung. She had cried so much that now she couldn’t cry anymore.

There were so many moments when she wanted to talk with him.

Therese just always wanted to share something with him.

But each time, he ignored her and gave her only contempt.

“Yes. Talk.”

When Therese responded for the first time, Jeremy urgently took another step forward. Every time he moved, the light reflected off his armor, making it sparkle.

“……Ah.”

Indeed, Jeremy Richard was like a star in the sky.

Someone she should never have dared to desire.

Seeing the resignation in Therese’s eyes, he threw off his helmet. The helmet, stained with blood, rolled away, and his sweat-drenched blond hair fluttered in the wind.

“Though I know it’s late, there’s something I must say to you.”

He hesitated for a moment, looking at Therese’s small, frail body that seemed like it would scatter like dandelion seeds at any moment.

“I was wrong.”

He knew well that a simple apology wouldn’t suffice. But Jeremy didn’t know what to say to hold onto Therese now.

He only fidgeted with the bundle of letters he held, biting his lip. Every story of hers that he had never received was contained within those letters.

In truth, he knew nothing about Therese.

He hadn’t tried to know her and had only rejected her all along.

At the time, he believed that was the best.

After gazing at Jeremy’s face once, Therese slowly opened her mouth.

“I will not forgive you.”

As foolishly as I loved, believed, and waited for you.

And for the child who never saw the light of the world.

Thinking of the child, a wave of guilt rushed over her.

The child who died in her womb without ever receiving his father’s acknowledgment.

“If there is a next life, let’s not meet again then, Jeremy.”

Having spoken his name for the first and last time, Therese leaped from the top of the tower. As her body floated in the air, tears she thought had dried up fell like rain.

At that moment, she heard someone’s voice.

‘My child, how pitiful.’

It sounded just like her mother’s voice, who had passed away when she was a child.

They say that before you die, you think of loved ones you can no longer see.

Therese shook her head silently.

‘Mother, please don’t look at this pathetic me now.’

As a cold wind brushed her cheek, she heard the voice again.

‘This time, be sure to find happiness.’

Just as a flickering light seemed to envelop her, the whole world fell into darkness.