The staff member guided them to an interior hall where electric lights sparkled from the ceiling, though it was generally quite dark. It didn’t seem like a place to showcase artwork, but Adeline took a seat with Kailen in the semicircular arrangement.

Just as she was thinking the hall’s layout gave off an auction house vibe, a man who appeared to be the host announced they’d be conducting an auction of about seven items.

Kailen spoke in a tone suggesting he had no interest in this kind of auction—it wasn’t a bank or business acquisition, after all.

“Just pick whatever you want. Or just buy everything.”

“Alright, Kailen. This time I’ll really pick one. I’m going to keep my eyes wide open. Just watch—you’ll see what kind of eye I have.”

Adeline spoke boldly, but she truly couldn’t find anything that sparked her desire to buy as about three auction items were introduced.

“…”

Actually, Adeline knew well that these exhibitions and auctions weren’t about buying things—they were about buying people’s favor. Thinking of it that way, picking one or two pieces as decoration was nothing, but being with Kailen somehow made her look more seriously.

Was it the fifth item? Finally something she liked appeared. A landscape painting of an exotic land across distant seas on a small canvas.

It seemed like it would suit one side of the sunroom she often visited during the day.

So when she turned to look at Kailen—

“How does that painting loo—!”

Thud thud—the hand that familiarly lifted her skirt grabbed and tore at the garter holding her stockings, and startled Adeline nearly bit her tongue.

She’d thought she’d barely managed to push his hand away when they changed seats, but that had been a huge mistake. Like the sliding stockings, her eyes rolled silently back to land on him beside her.

“…”

Perhaps bored, Kailen had his long legs crossed and was leaning leisurely against the sofa with his eyes gently closed. With an incredibly nonchalant attitude, he kneaded the bare inner thigh where the stocking had disappeared, gradually coveting further inside.

Adeline tore her eyes from Kailen and hurriedly looked around. She was deeply worried whether the Durbell Count couple at the next table were watching them commit this lewd act.

At least it was fortunate the interior was dark. Otherwise, her face, which was boiling bright red like it would burst, would have been completely exposed.

Adeline pressed her lips tightly together and drew her legs together, grabbing and pressing down on his firm forearm with both hands. But with her strength, stopping Kailen was impossible. Instead, he grabbed her neat knees and spread them wide open in one motion.

He’s crazy.

Really crazy.

“Be good.”

Whether he knew or didn’t know or didn’t even care about Adeline’s heart that felt like crying, Kailen grabbed her waist with his other hand. Then he set Adeline down between his appropriately spread legs.

“…Kailen.”

She could feel his hard member pressed up against her lower abdomen touching her back.

She’d provoked him for nothing. If she’d known it would be like this, she should have just let him touch her thigh—that regret came only after she was trapped between his long legs.

Kailen opened his eyes and drew his index finger along the boundary between her underwear and crotch. He rubbed the sparse pubic hair. Along with the ticklish sensation, her lower abdomen trembled.

“I thought you wouldn’t wear them, but you wore them like a good girl.”

Adeline, who had squeezed her eyes shut in shame, nodded instead of answering.

Actually, this morning’s cream-colored box Kailen sent didn’t just contain a dress and dazzling jewels. Deep inside was women’s underwear made only of thin lace that Adeline had never worn in her life—hadn’t even known existed.

The moment she saw it, the excitement that had briefly risen was pushed to the corner and embarrassment flooded in.

How could he send something like this… Such vulgar underwear that only pr*stitutes would wear…

She’d agonized for a long time over whether to wear it while thinking such thoughts. But because Kailen had sent it, she ultimately wore it. 

There was also the aspect that if she defied his request, she’d have a hard time enduring the torment that would continue in bed after returning home.

“What if someone sees…”

“So what? A husband wants to touch his wife a bit.”

But she really hadn’t known she’d be harassed this way in a place like this. No matter how dim the view, weren’t there people next to them?

“…Ngh.”

His long fingers rubbed up and down the split visible even over her underwear. To suppress the m*an that reflexively burst out, Adeline bit her lips hard enough to make a distant sound.

Since he seemed to like these dragonfly-wing-like underwear she wore, she prayed his hand would only stay on top of this underwear.

Please.

She so desperately hoped he wouldn’t invade even inside the underwear that had been slippery and wet for a while now, but his snake-like wriggling fingers had already spread the underwear and entered, smearing the love juices she’d released.

“How much have I touched you…”

She could predict the rest without hearing it. Something like how much have I touched you to already be dripping like this, or you should flow moderately because it’s slippery and hard to find the hole. 

She’d already heard such words plenty in bed. He’d even wiped the love juices she released with the back of his hand like it was bothersome.

How humiliating that was. Each time she felt like an irredeemable wh*re.

He spread the overlapping l*bia and found the extremely sensitive protrusion, rubbing it in circles.

Actually, because of his member that was too large to handle, while insertion was overwhelming, honestly she also really liked when he gently touched her cl*toris. 

That “liking” apparently didn’t discriminate by location. She felt her vaginal opening twitch at the undeniably thrilling sensation.

Hah… No. Not anymore…

As Kailen gently rolled her cl*toris, pinched and pulled it like confirming it was firmly swollen, love juices poured out. Adeline unconsciously twisted her waist and crossed her legs.

But then Kailen suddenly gave a warning.

“Dear, don’t tense up.”

Her vision went dark.

“Unless you want me to put it in right here.”

“…”

He lightly kissed the pure white nape of her neck exposed by her neatly pinned-up hair and whispered.

“Relax your p*ssy.”

“Hic…”

Surely he wouldn’t go that far.

She thought that, but a trace of anxiety rushed in. Adeline had no choice but to gently uncross her legs.

She could fully feel the fl*id she’d dripped flowing down along her perineum. At this point, the problem wasn’t the underwear—she should be worried about this sofa her bottom was pressed against getting soaked.

The auction was reaching its end. She also thought about what would happen if the love juices she’d released dripped onto the floor as they walked out of this auction hall.

Adeline was so afraid of showing such a vulgar sight that now she wanted to die. The tears she’d been holding back burst out.

* * *

The night was already deep, and the estate was quiet like it was holding its breath.

Kailen was alone in his study.

Cigarette smoke slowly spread between the pile of documents spread on the table. With his body leaning against the chair back, he had a cigarette in his lips, seemingly opening a gap in his busy day for a moment.

In the night’s stillness, he was enjoying a rarely permitted leisure.

But then.

The study door burst open.

Before Kailen could lift his head, colorful velvet boxes began appearing on the desk one by one.

The owner of the small hands stacking them neatly was Adeline.

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Don’t play dumb, Kailen.”

Kailen belatedly stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and looked up at her. The remaining smoke crossed his vision, but his expression was calm.

Adeline bowed her head like she was choosing her words for a moment.

She didn’t want to grab him like this when he’d just returned home after doing hard work all day. 

She also knew how precious their time together was as newlyweds. She didn’t want to ruin that time this way, and she didn’t want to show him this side of herself.

But this was clearly an issue that needed to be addressed.

“…How did you know about this?”

Her voice trembled faintly at the end.

The jewelry she’d sold to raise funds to send to her mother Luise had been delivered to her this morning.

“A jeweler who came to the estate said Lord Belliche bought them back and came to return them. He said if you check, you’ll see there’s not a single flaw, so don’t worry, then left.”

“Lord Belliche… Kailen? Kailen bought these?”

The moment she heard those words, Adeline felt her mind go white.

How does he know about this?

Adeline wanted to run to his company immediately but barely suppressed it. Going to find someone doing official work to confront them about a private matter wasn’t acceptable.

But now he’d returned home. Adeline thought sufficient conditions had been given to speak now.

“Kailen, tell me. Did you put someone to watch me?”