She desperately wanted to know what was going on. But the situation was far from normal, and the fear was so overwhelming that she could barely breathe.

“Boss. I brought her.”  

“Bring her in.”  

A low, ominous voice echoed from inside the room. The man carrying Riena over his shoulder swung the door open carelessly as soon as he received his orders. Without hesitation, he threw her onto the floor like a piece of luggage.  

“Agh!”  

Riena glared at the man, her nerves on edge. She wanted to shout at him, demanding how he dared treat someone of her noble status like this. But she knew better—this wasn’t the time to act out.  

Inside the room, a large man sat on the bed. Leaning back comfortably, he stared at her with an expression that was not just indifferent but outright annoyed. His muscular body, bare from the waist up, looked as solid as armor.  

It was the first time Riena had ever seen a man’s bare torso, but the dark, chilling aura he exuded made it impossible for her to look at him directly. 

Trembling uncontrollably, she kept her gaze fixed on the floor. She felt pathetic for being so terrified of a thug, but the fear consumed her entirely.  

A faint chuckle broke the silence, prompting her to cautiously lift her head.  

His gaze was dry and harsh, like faded paint on an old mural. Was it his lifeless stare or his unkempt black hair that gave him such an ominous presence? Whatever it was, his dark aura overshadowed even his handsome features.  

The moment she saw him, Riena instinctively knew he was the master of this mansion. Fear gripped her heart. Just meeting his gaze felt like being crushed under an enormous weight.  

The man rose from the bed and strode toward her. He didn’t spare her a glance, heading straight for the man who had brought her. Without warning, he swung his massive hand and slapped the man’s cheek hard enough to send him sprawling to the floor.  

“You crawl in here like this? Took you this long to bring one lousy girl?”  

“I-I’m sorry!”  

Muttering irritably, the man dusted off his hand as if the slap had dirtied it. Riena stared at him in shock, her mouth slightly agape. She hadn’t been the one hit, yet the pain felt contagious, making her wince.  

He turned his cold gaze to Riena and approached her. The floor creaked ominously under his heavy steps.  

“Uh!”  

A rough hand grabbed Riena’s hair, pulling it upward. His face remained unnervingly blank, devoid of any emotion. Was he even human? Even in such a dire situation, absurd thoughts crossed her mind.  

It forced her to meet the man’s pitch-black eyes.

His dark, glossy eyes, like polished pebbles, showed no emotion. They moved slightly up and down, evaluating her, like she was an object to be priced.

“Do you think this one could fetch a decent price?”

No one answered the man’s dry question. Riena squinted her eyes shut, gripping his hand tightly with both of hers. The pain in her scalp felt like her hair was being ripped out.  

“A noblewoman, huh? The eccentric ones will like that.”

Riena summoned every ounce of strength she had to glare at him. Her instincts screamed at her to escape from his grasp. But she felt trapped, suffocated by the impossibility of it. A fear so vast she couldn’t measure it consumed her.

The man suddenly sighed and released her hair, only to grab a small sword from the table nearby. In one swift, fl*id motion, he slashed the throat of the man who had brought her. The movement was so quick and precise that it was impossible to follow with the n*ked eye.  

The man collapsed onto the floor, clutching his neck as blood gushed out like a waterfall.  

“If she’s damaged and I get even one coin less for her, it’s on you,” the man muttered coldly.  

“S-sorry…”  

Even as he lay dying, the man tried to apologize, but his strength drained away, and he crumpled to the ground. Riena’s mind spiraled into chaos.  

“Don’t do anything you’ll have to apologize for in the first place,” the man said, clicking his tongue in irritation. He dropped the bloodied sword carelessly onto the floor. The ornate handle, once beautifully carved, was now stained red.  

Riena’s face twisted in terror. He was completely insane. She wanted to scream and run, but her body was frozen stiff. All she could think about was escaping.  

“Hey.”  

His voice was sharp and impatient. Riena flinched instinctively.  

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something to you?”  

“N-no, it’s not that…”  

“Smile.”  

He raised his dark eyebrows, staring at her with an unsettling intensity. Riena forced a smile that didn’t quite reach her lips.  

“That’s supposed to be a smile?”  

He grabbed her hair again and threw her onto the bed. Running a hand through his own hair, he looked her over as she lay sprawled across the mattress.  

Riena froze, staring at him like a frightened animal. Any movement felt like it would provoke him into killing her on the spot.  

The man climbed onto the bed and straddled her, his gaze fixed on her trembling form. His eyes roamed over her, studying her intently, though his intentions were impossible to discern.  

“Ugh…”  

He tilted his head slightly, then suddenly pressed his hands against her cheeks.  

“Ah!”  

She winced in pain, her bruised cheek throbbing where the other man had hit her earlier. Seeing her reaction, he smirked and pressed his fingers against her forehead instead, as though toying with her.  

His touch felt mocking, but Riena couldn’t protest. She endured it silently.  

After playing with her face for a while, his gaze shifted downward. Her delicate neck and collarbone caught his attention. Her rapid breathing made her chest rise and fall visibly.  

His curiosity didn’t end there. His fingers, which had been tracing her cheek, moved down to her collarbone. The lace-trimmed fabric of her dress, tailored to accentuate her figure, strained against her movements.  

With a frown, as though deep in thought, he suddenly ripped the dress apart. The sturdy fabric tore like paper under his grip, exposing her chest.  

“Stop! Please, don’t!”  

Riena desperately tried to cover herself, but he was faster. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head.  

Humiliation burned through her. She felt like she might die from the shame. Though her governess had briefly mentioned intimacy, her nanny had drilled into her the importance of maintaining dignity as a noblewoman.  

Her tear-filled eyes met his cold, calculating gaze.  

“Let go!”  

“What’s with the attitude? Are all nobles this clueless? No sense of self-awareness or understanding of their situation.”  

He stared openly at her exposed chest, his expression unchanging.  

“And yet, here you are, all perked up.”  

He spoke with deliberate mockery, squeezing her br*ast like it was a toy. His gaze locked onto her n*pple, his eyes gleaming with amusement.