Duke Howard moved close enough for their breaths to mingle. Annette’s startled body flinched.

“Still, this is not right, is it?”

They said Duke Howard was popular enough to have a stalker. Was that stalker Annette? What did he mean by that night? What night? She asked him to f*ck her, and he agreed?

She tried desperately to remember the former Annette’s thoughts, but nothing came to mind. Instead, a voice flashed through her head.

‘Lift your hips.’

‘Isn’t this a relationship that will end after I f*ck you once anyway? Enjoy it while you are letting me use your body.’

‘If you want more, shake your hips.’

The man’s voice from her vague memories matched Duke Howard’s voice and manner of speaking. That meant…

Could that memory really not have been a dream?

She pieced together the fragments of her hazy memories and replayed them over and over. The day she possessed Annette’s body gradually came back to her.

Aaaaaah!

Annette let out a soundless scream. The incident she thought was a dream was real!

Wait. Why was she going through something like that as soon as she came to her senses? Did the real Annette die while having s*x with that man?

Judging from the current situation… Annette seemed to have died during s*x. She finally slept with the man she loved, was overwhelmed with bliss, and clearly died from s*xual exhaustion.

Ah!

Putting together the various pieces of information that came from Duke Howard’s mouth, she finally understood who the real Annette was. She was the woman who stalked him and died after having s*x with him.

Of course this Annette could not remember the original Annette. She was a nameless character.

She was merely an extra added to emphasize Duke Howard’s s*xual prowess and how women admired him.

There was only a single line of description. That was all.

Yet Annette came to work at Duke Howard’s estate without fear, not knowing any of that.

In other words, from Duke Howard’s perspective, his stalker infiltrated his home once again.

How could this happen?

So much information poured in before she could prepare herself, leaving her confused. Having to face Duke Howard in this state was so absurd that it made her angry.

Why did no one tell her this? Someone should have at least given her a hint. Ah, come to think of it, Mrs. Granville said something meaningful before, did she not?

‘You still want him?’

The man she meant was Duke Howard, not Kynel?!

Annette was shocked and confused, not knowing what to do. Duke Howard’s voice brought her back to her senses.

“What are you thinking about? Are you racking your brain for a way to smooth over this situation?”

“N-No.”

“Did we not make a promise then? You agreed not to bother me anymore after we slept together once. Yet you broke it so quickly.”

Why did she make such a f*cking promise! If she did not, she would not be in this awkward situation now!

“What do you want by approaching me again? Do you want me to sleep with you again?”

“It is n-not like that.”

“What do you mean, it is not?”

Duke Howard pushed Annette against the wall. His large body trapped her in an instant.

A bad feeling flashed through her mind. Annette tried to escape his embrace, pounding against Duke Howard’s chest, but it was not easy.

“Then why are you avoiding my gaze?”

That is because I am gauging your mood.

He glared at her so fiercely. Who could look directly at him? It was unfair since the other maids did the same thing, not just Annette.

“B-Because you are looking at me too frighteningly.”

She needed to speak with confidence, but her eyes wavered because she had something to feel guilty about. His eyes narrowed more and more as he looked at her. Her heart pounded wildly.

“What ulterior motive are you hiding?”

No. I am trying to seduce your younger brother. She wanted to tell him the truth, but Duke Howard’s gaze was too fierce for her to say it.

“I-I do not have any.”

“You do not? Then why is a noblewoman like you working here?”

“I-I need money.”

“Money?”

Duke Howard tilted his head to one side, like he could not understand. It seemed he did not know that the Bathurst family went bankrupt. It was unrelated to him, so it was only natural that he did not know.

“The Bathurst family went bankrupt. That is why I need to earn money. I was only working here because I heard that I could earn quite a high wage if I worked for a week.”

“You certainly have all kinds of excuses.”

“It is true. After my father died, the family passed to my uncle. That is why I need to earn money myself.”

She also planned to seduce his younger brother while she was here. Of course, she swallowed the words she most wanted to say.

“The best method would be to meet a wealthy nobleman. Was that not why you approached me again?”

“The method you mentioned is the best one right now, but how could I dare do something like that?”

It was not a lie, so she hoped he would believe her. His opponent was not easy to deal with, however. He still did not trust Annette’s words at all.

It might be better to reveal the truth honestly at a time like this.

“Also, I… have someone else I secretly love now.”

“Are you trying to distract me and muddle through this?”

“It is true. Please believe me.”

“Who is this new person you secretly love?”

“I cannot answer that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it is my private life.”

“Tell me.”

Duke Howard’s eyes turned cold, like he would not leave her alone if she refused to speak.

She wanted to confess immediately that she liked Kynel, but there was no way the man who believed Annette loved him would believe her if she said, I have fallen for your younger brother.

If a woman who secretly loved the older brother now turned her attention to the younger brother, Duke Howard would likely become even more enraged, thinking she was targeting the men of his family one after another. That concern forced her to stay silent.

“Ha! You cannot even tell me who it is. How am I supposed to believe you?”

Annette continued to show no sign of speaking, and a hostile atmosphere filled the space between them.

Then Duke Howard slammed both hands against the wall. Annette flinched violently and stole a glance at him as he pressed his body closer.

The duke lowered his face. She could feel his hot breath. Her heart pounded.

He tilted his face as he looked down at her. His hand touched her ear. Carefully and slowly. It was a trivial touch, yet her whole body tensed.

His gaze upon Annette was hot. He looked at her with sharp eyes only moments ago, but now his gaze was lewd.

The tension between them was so taut that it would not have been strange if their lips met. Even the rims of her ears seemed to burn.

That strange atmosphere continued when the duke suddenly bit Annette’s ear.

“Ow!”

It hurt, yet a thrilling sensation swept through her entire body at the same time. Annette looked at Duke Howard in surprise. A sneer formed at the corner of his lips.

“Your ears were sensitive, weren’t they?”

He bit her earlobe again, then blew a soft breath into her ear. Her body flinched without her meaning to. She could tell he knew it was an erogenous zone and was deliberately stimulating it.

“D-Don’t do that. Let me go.”

“Do you think I will believe you when you say that with your face flushed so red?”

His hand flipped up her dress, then slipped beneath her skirt. The moment it touched her thigh, goosebumps rose all over her body.

“W-What are you doing?”

She tried to struggle violently, but it was useless. Her hands were tightly held, so resisting only made her body press closer against Duke Howard’s. A powerful scent came from him.

“What am I doing? I should be asking you. You are this wet.”