Chapter 3. Intertwining Bodies

“You suddenly stopped calling for me every day.”

“……”

“I thought it might be because you wanted me to entertain you first, as you had asked before, Miss Ailexia, so I came to you directly, but you didn’t allow that either.”

‘……What?’ An unavoidable bewilderment spread in Iella’s eyes as she listened quietly. Entertain, what… entertain…? She barely managed to swallow the question that almost slipped out unintentionally.

“But today, even when I asked for permission at the door, there was no response, so I thought, ah, you must have been indulging in a new game all this time. Because you always did.”

While Iella struggled with her raw thoughts, his face suddenly drew closer, just like during their first meeting.

“So now, I would rather ask you. Is this still part of the game, or…”

“……”

“Is it another one of your whims?”

Whim?

The moment she tried to understand the meaning, a sensation that made all the hairs on her body stand on end enveloped Iella.

In the purple eyes that met hers, a deep contempt briefly flickered and then disappeared. If she hadn’t known about their relationship, she wouldn’t have noticed it in such a fleeting moment.

“Or…, was it because my preparation was insufficient again, and I dared to displease Miss Ailexia?”

However, with the continued sarcastic tone, she was sure she hadn’t seen wrong. There was no need to question the meaning and sincerity of the emotions that had surfaced in his eyes. It was clear without having to ponder.

Just like the flames that couldn’t be hidden in his eyes, the deep-seated hatred and contempt that couldn’t be concealed.

For a moment, it felt like she had been hit hard on the head with something blunt. Iella’s body stiffened again with tension.

She had been complacent. She had seen how he looked down at her, his tone and gestures towards her, all disguised with politeness.

She had felt the impure defiance hidden within him, the attitude that he didn’t even want to touch her, until just now. She had let her guard down just because he saved her from falling.

‘There could be another meaning behind it.’

Realizing her foolish complacency, Iella’s face turned pale. Only then did the crucial detail she mustn’t forget start to flash in her mind.

‘Ambivalence’

The word that best represented the narrative between Ailexia and him, the leash that bound him with mixed emotions. And the moment these emotions were perfectly named hatred, the tightly pulled leash finally snapped.

It was the moment when he personally killed Ailexia with his own hands.

‘Why couldn’t I think of this earlier!’

Iella felt like crying. Before, she couldn’t recall it no matter how much she racked her brain, but now, in this situation, it came to her. As a result, the fear of death seemed to rush towards her quickly. Iella bit her lip hard to stifle the scream that was about to burst out and hurriedly moved back.

She didn’t have time to think about how he was looking at her. If she stayed close to him, her vision would go dark, and a chilling sensation would creep up her spine, paralyzing her rationality. She could only think of getting away from him before that happened.

But he didn’t let her move away. He immediately stepped forward and roughly grabbed Iella’s hand. In an instant, her vision flipped, and she felt a soft sensation on her back.

When she reflexively opened her eyes, he was right above her. He was covering her with his large body, blocking any escape route and movement. However, his hands were pressing down on the bed beside her head instead of grabbing her delicate wrists.

Even though he could easily grab her slender wrists right next to him.

At that moment, the moonlight that entered the room cast their shadows on the wall. It looked like a large beast was about to devour her. But what Iella saw was different. The light also fell on him.

Because of that, while one side of his face was clearly shown with sharp features, the other side was shadowed and covered in darkness. The contrast was chillingly eerie, making her body tremble as his cool lips moved.

“Please give me a reason.”

His eyebrows furrowed as if to assert his displeasure with the situation.

“If you tell me clearly, I could at least pretend to fix it, ah.”

Then suddenly, he stopped speaking and looked at her sharply. Startled by his sudden intensity, Iella flinched, and her hands moved slightly. In response, his large hand reached for her delicate wrist but stopped in midair, grabbing only empty air despite the fluid movement.

With his head lowered, she heard his voice muttering through clenched teeth.

“Is it not me?”

“……”

“I’m asking if it’s not me but another man you’re bringing in now.”

With those last words, he lifted his head. The purple eyes that met hers up close were swirling with all sorts of emotions, as if they were about to explode.

Ah. An indescribable emotion swept over Iella.

There was something deeply submerged in the depths beyond the flames she had seen before. A possessiveness based on base desires and a longing for the one who didn’t give it to him.

‘It’s not all hatred yet.’

Confirming this, a strange relief seeped into her anxious heart. She didn’t have time to worry that his ambivalence towards her was more clingy and dark than love.

The fact that it wasn’t completely irreversible yet allowed her to breathe, her previously choked breath now rushing in hurriedly. But her silence seemed to be taken as a different meaning, and his frown deepened.

With a short sigh that sounded like a lament, a dangerous aura began to emanate from him. A twisted smile formed on his cool lips.

His eyes filled with anger, and the deep longing that she had glimpsed disappeared completely. By the time Iella noticed, it was already too late.

“Just how…!”

This time, his hands grabbed her wrists roughly, pinning them to the bed. Without a moment to avoid, she was helplessly captured and completely restrained by him.

“How much more do you need to humiliate me to be satisfied?”

However, Iella couldn’t bring herself to shake off his hands.

The purple eyes that looked at her, at Ailexia, were stained with unknown wounds, contorted. The beast that had shown contempt and desire was now like a desperate puppy thrown out in the rain, crying out pitifully.

Begging her to stop and look at him.

Seeing that pitiful sight, Iella’s lips moved slightly, but suddenly his eyes changed.

“…No. You would find even this very satisfying.”

“……”

“No matter what I think or feel, you don’t care. As long as you are entertained, that’s all that matters.”

He spat out his words like a growling beast, then suddenly lowered his head. As soon as she felt his hot breath on her pale neck, a sharp pain followed as he bit down hard.

“Ah!”

She screamed in pain, but Iella couldn’t keep up with the situation. In the meantime, he tore off her dress, roughly grabbing her now exposed breast.

“What are you… doing, ugh!”

“Seeing you pretending to dislike it right away, it seems you were waiting for this.”

“What do you mean, ah… it hurts!”

Iella struggled with the pain she felt for the first time. She didn’t even have time to think about what was happening to her or why she had to go through this. It just felt like something terrible would happen if she stayed like this.

“You cry out that you like it rough, so what’s the problem? Ah, should I kiss you gently?”

“Ha, I’m not Ailexia, umph…!”

It was the moment when she finally uttered the truth in her dizzy mind. With a sneer, he devoured Iella’s lips. When her mouth opened to speak, he easily invaded the gap.

While Iella froze in shock with her eyes wide open, he moved inside her moist mouth with familiar ease. He roughly entangled her tongue with his, sucking deeply and stealing her saliva. Unintentionally, Iella swallowed the mixed saliva.

He loosened his grip on her breast and began to gently knead it, rubbing the ripe red peak with his thumb. A sensation different from fear tickled her lower abdomen.

‘This is strange…!’

It was truly strange. It felt odd. The sensations from a body that wasn’t hers couldn’t be described any other way.

Meanwhile, he tilted his head to delve deeper. His increasingly persistent actions eventually left her breathless. Just as Iella raised her free hand to push against his chest, she heard it.

– ‘Intertwine your bodies.’

An unknown voice instantly dominated her body. More precisely, Ailexia’s body.

– ‘That’s how you’ll survive.’

Before she could understand the meaning, her consciousness began to blur. Simultaneously, her body moved against her will.

The hand she raised pressed against his shoulder as if to push him. Following her touch, he moved, and their positions reversed, with him lying down and her on top of him.

“Of course.”

Looking up at her, he sneered again. Muttering as if he had expected this, he took her hand and guided it under his shirt. She felt his firm chest and its warmth.

“Since it’s all equally miserable, enjoy it as you wish. …Until I lose my mind completely.”

With a sorrowful look in his purple eyes, this time, she initiated the kiss.