Chapter 11 (Part 6) 

Swallowing the countless words she couldn’t bring herself to say, she tasted the metallic tang of blood from biting her lip too hard.  

But the Duke didn’t seem to understand her intentions at all. Or perhaps he didn’t want to understand.  

His hand trembled as he reached for her necklace, speaking desperately.  

“I can also give you such lavish dresses and jewels.”  

“This isn’t about that.”  

“If it’s what you want, I can do anything.”  

“You are not the Emperor, are you?”  

To dissuade the Duke, Therese decided to portray herself as a woman who craved power.  

“…Ah.”  

At the mention of the Emperor, the Duke’s confidence faltered, and his voice grew faint.  

“Then I will wait for you.”  

She remembered now. Even if they divorced, the Duke had once said he would wait for her.  

But now, the Duke’s opponent was the Emperor—a madman without blood or tears.  

“Why are you acting so foolishly, Your Grace?”  

“I’m sorry for being a foolish man. But I cannot live without you. I cannot love anyone else.”  

His reddened eyes focused solely on Therese, and his large hand hesitantly brushed her shoulder.  

The sorrow and frustration emanating from the Duke weighed heavily on her heart, but Therese forced herself to look away.  

“I really must go now.”  

If she stayed any longer, she would ruin all the resolve she had painstakingly built.  

If that happened, she might fail to protect the people she cherished most.  

When Therese tried to push his arm away with all her strength, the Duke spoke desperately.  

“Therese, will you truly abandon me?”  

The Duke, looking like a dog drenched in heavy rain, made her heart feel as though it would burst.  

‘Why are you making this so difficult?’  

It wasn’t easy for her to leave him behind either, so why was he complicating things further?  

When the Emperor had introduced Therese as his guest, everything had already been decided.  

‘Even if I don’t want to believe it, I must.’  

Because that was the only way to survive.  

“Even if I beg like this, will it not work?”  

Therese turned her head sharply to avoid his pleading gaze. But the Duke grabbed her chin and pressed his lips against hers roughly.  

“…Mmph.”  

Caught off guard by the sudden kiss, Therese pushed against his chest with all her might.  

However, the more she resisted, the more persistent his lips became.  

“Therese, tell me with those beautiful lips of yours. Tell me you no longer love me.”  

After pulling away slightly, the Duke whispered tearfully.  

“Wasn’t I your ideal man?”  

At his question, Therese couldn’t help but recall the past.  

In a steam-filled bathroom, the Duke had once pressed her to reveal who she liked.  

After he had discovered her diary, which mentioned her first love being Duke Richard, she had been utterly flustered.  

‘I already love someone else.’  

‘…’  

‘It’s not me, is it?’  

‘It’s the Night Wolf.’  

The Duke remembered every word she had said, and those memories filled him with such emotion that he struggled not to cry.  

“…Hmph.”  

As Therese remained silent, the Duke’s kiss deepened, and sobs escaped between their joined lips.  

“If you truly don’t want me, push me away.”  

He whispered lowly into her ear, pressing his body against hers.  

Even through her dress, she could feel the vivid outline of his arousal beneath his trousers.  

“Are you insane?”  

This was the Imperial Palace; someone could witness everything they were doing.  

Therese struggled fiercely to push him away, but the warm tears that touched her neck left her frozen.  

‘He’s crying.’  

Pretending not to love Jeremy was unbearably painful.  

Losing control, Jeremy lifted her dress, revealing the silk underwear clinging to her smooth legs.  

“Turn around, Madame.”  

After tearing the damp silk, he gripped her hips firmly.  

“Don’t… please don’t.”

“Tell me you don’t love me.”  

While gripping her hips, the Duke thr*st his manhood into her tender flesh.  

“…Ah!”  

Startled by the sudden penetration, Therese reached back and grabbed Jeremy’s arm.  

“No… Your Grace.”  

As she gasped for breath and turned her head, Jeremy pressed his lips to hers, breathing into her.  

“I am still your husband.”  

The sharp pleasure from Jeremy’s rough thr*sts left Therese’s mind numb. Holding the ends of her silver hair tightly, Jeremy moved like a beast, repeatedly thrusting in and out.  

Amid the sound of their bodies colliding, warm liquid splattered over them.  

“This is wrong…”  

Though her words denied it, deep down, she had missed Jeremy more than anyone.  

She had only resolved to suppress these feelings for his sake.  

‘I love you.’  

The words she couldn’t say dissipated into the rough movements between them.  

“Therese, you…”  

As he moved within her, Jeremy kept calling her name.  

The way he said her name was so tender, it made her even sadder.  

“I’ll do everything you ask, so please…”  

He was such a foolish man.  

He agreed to divorce her, said he’d wait for her, and now this.  

Just as sadness welled up, the strength of his thr*sts made her feel as if she might vomit. Overwhelmed by the unbearable pleasure, Therese soon reached her cl*max.  

“…Ah.”  

After the intense happiness and pleasure, a wave of sorrow and emptiness crashed over her.  

Jeremy, too, seemed to feel the same as he held her in his arms, unable to speak for a long while.  

“I-I’m sorry.”  

With trembling hands, he adjusted her disheveled dress and smoothed her hair.  

Even as she accepted his touch, Therese stared only at the painting on the far wall.  

She desperately wanted to kiss his face and feel his warmth again.  

At that moment, Jeremy spoke cautiously.  

“Madame, please do not forgive my insolence.”  

“Insolence? It’s fine because I enjoyed it too.”  

She wanted to appear as though she were someone who had merely indulged in a fleeting night of passion. So she spoke as calmly as she could.  

“…You enjoyed it?”  

Jeremy, bowing his head low, spoke in a gloomy voice.  

She felt as if she might cry at the sight of him, but she held back.  

The only reason she hadn’t rejected him was simple.  

Therese desperately wanted him, too.  

‘But you mustn’t know that.’  

If he did, Duke Richard would risk his life to confront the Emperor.  

‘This is how I protect you.’  

Without looking at him, Therese finally opened the door and walked down the hallway.  

Fortunately, the Duke didn’t follow her, and Therese walked forward, staring blankly ahead.  

It felt as though she had forgotten how to breathe. She staggered as she walked, unsure of where she was headed.  

“…Ha.”  

Her lower body still burned, as if it carried Jeremy’s lingering love. Thick, sticky fl*id, like her own tears, trailed down her silk stockings.  

“…Hic.”  

Swallowing the despair that surged within her, Therese kept walking.  

***

Baron Demori was allowed to stay in the Imperial Palace until he fully recovered. The Emperor emphasized to Therese several times a day that this was an extraordinary privilege.  

In the guest room, Therese gently held her father’s wrinkled hand.  

“It’s such a relief, Father.”  

Though he had regained consciousness, the Baron still hadn’t regained his strength.  

“Therese, are you alright?”  

Baron Demori, patting her hand, spoke cautiously.  

“Of course. I’m fine.”  

“My dear, I’m fine, so—”  

“It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s kindness, isn’t it?”  

Therese forced a smile, but the Baron’s expression only darkened further.  

“I’m asking if this is truly what you wanted.”  

“Father, I’ve heard that if something like this happens again, it would be truly dangerous.”  

Avoiding her father’s question, Therese instead looked at him with concern.  

But today, Baron Demori was determined not to back down when it came to his daughter’s happiness.  

“Tell me honestly.”  

“…Ah.”  

Her father’s worry was so palpable that Therese’s smile faltered.  

‘There are too many of the Emperor’s eyes and ears here.’  

In addition to being wary of the Emperor, there was another reason she couldn’t speak honestly.  

‘Even though people called him a money-crazed man, I know how much my father loves me.’  

If he learned that she had made this choice to save him, Baron Demori wouldn’t be able to bear it.  

‘I can’t let him collapse again.’  

“I’m really fine.”  

“But Therese…”  

“I just hope you recover quickly, Father.”  

Seeing his daughter continually avoid his questions, Baron Demori could no longer bring himself to ask anything.  

Though he didn’t know the exact reason, it was clear something terrible had happened. And behind it all, the Emperor stood firm.  

The abnormal glint in the Emperor’s eyes during dinner was still fresh in his memory. He had acted as though he wanted to attack Duke Richard.  

‘What in the world happened?’  

Baron Demori had believed his daughter was living a happy married life. That was why he hadn’t worried, even when he was away on business.  

But now, leaving his daughter in the Imperial Palace made his bed feel like a bed of thorns.  

Both the head steward and Baron Demori had witnessed the Emperor’s madness up close.  

His closeness to the Emperor was all for his daughter’s sake. No one recognized him as a noble, even though he had purchased his title as a Baron.  

‘Doesn’t it smell like something rotten?’

That was what Baron Demori had heard the first time he entered a club exclusive to nobles.  

Starting from nothing, he had risen to become the Empire’s top merchant.  

Having endured all sorts of hardships since childhood, such humiliation meant nothing to him.  

‘But I will never let my daughter endure such things.’  

That was why he had decided to get close to the Emperor. He had provided enormous wealth to the newly crowned Emperor and, in return, had been granted the authority to amass even greater riches.  

But with gains always came losses.  

The Emperor’s greed exceeded his own, and he continued to make unreasonable demands of Baron Demori. To meet these demands, the Baron had to spend more than half of the year expanding his trade network.  

The recent incident had occurred while he was returning from Urcana, a region known for its mines.  

His keen instincts, honed as a merchant, told him this was no ordinary matter.  

‘Therese is in danger.’  

Baron Demori was a man who would spare nothing for his daughter. Even if it were a monster instead of the Emperor, he wouldn’t give Therese up.  

Gathering his thoughts, the Baron spoke gently.  

“Therese, I will always be on your side.”  

“Thank you.”  

Holding each other’s hands tightly, they exchanged false smiles meant to reassure one another.