Recalling her touch, his raging anger slowly transformed into s*xual desire. He wanted to pull up that dress right away, bite the peak at the end of her br*ast fully, and torment the woman who would open her eyes in surprise, as if punishing her. If he pinched and twisted the protrusion of the woman who had worried him endlessly and bit her entire body to leave marks and make her cry, it would be quite a good revenge.

On the other hand, instead of waking the woman, he also wanted to lift her from that cold floor and lay her on the warm bed of the townhouse. Instead of undressing her and exploring and enjoying her tender body, he wanted to cover her with a fluffy blanket up to her neck, place a chair beside the bed, and watch her sleep all night. Just that would be a sight better than most decent works of art.

It was while he was loosening his tight formal attire, contemplating what to do that the woman’s eyes flew open.

“……”

Annelie Heich raised her upper body even in a half-asleep state. Her eyelids blinked dully, apparently not properly grasping the situation. The dress that had ridden up to reveal the underside of her br*asts went back down as she raised her body.

Elroy watched the fabric rustle back into place and coldly spat out,

“You sleep well in a place like this.”

Her small, round shoulders trembled. He couldn’t feel more foolish for finding that pitiful. Soon, a small voice entered Elroy’s ears.

“…Your Grace?”

Meanwhile, Nelie was also greatly surprised.

She remembered entering the newspaper office and barely closing her eyes after trying to settle on the hard floor. She regretted not having anything to cover herself with, but her fatigue quickly led her to the world of sleep.

But her eyes flew open without knowing why she woke up.

‘What is this?’

She felt the air around her distorting. She became certain that something undeniable was looking down at her. A sensation similar to a sense of crisis climbed up Nelie’s spine.

‘This has happened a few times before.’

It was a very intense déjà vu.

The moment she looked around with a chilling feeling, even in her drowsy mind, a pair of familiar pale green eyes greeted her.

The Duke was leaning against the workbench in the storage room, looking down at her. The man who should have remained at the party venue had his forelock falling down and his collar unbuttoned. In an excessively disheveled appearance unlike his usual self. It was quite a disconcerting sight.

‘Am I seeing things?’

She wondered if it was a dream, but when she gently pinched her thigh, she felt a vivid pain. Nelie, who belatedly grasped the situation, moved her lips a few times before opening her mouth.

“Weren’t you supposed to remain at the party venue?”

“……”

“Why are you here……”

Elroy frowned in the middle of hearing her words. Why did that question bother him so much?

Looking back, Annelie Heich always asked Elroy these kinds of questions. Why are you here, where is this place, why are you giving this to me?

A clouded voice flowed from Elroy’s mouth.

“That’s for me to decide.”

“……”

“I’m more curious about something else, Miss Heich.”

“Yes?”

“For instance, why you are here.”

The moment she heard those words, Nelie unconsciously frowned and quickly relaxed her expression. She didn’t want to tell the Duke what she had experienced. Just recalling those vulgar words made her heart sting. Among those crude words, one naturally came to mind.

‘…Mistress.’

The words that claimed she was Duke Elroy Tevant’s mistress, and that she must have used her body to gain benefits from him.

Even thinking about it again, she couldn’t bring herself to refute those messy and wicked words. The guilt of winning an award unfairly filled her heart.

However, the guilt and the anger from being insulted in any way were separate matters. She had accepted the Duke’s kindness without knowing she was his mistress.

Though others might think it foolish, Nelie was genuinely upset. If she had known his purpose was to keep a mistress for his enjoyment, she wouldn’t have accepted anything from the Duke. It would have been better if he had said he was doing this to stop her from drawing lewd illustrations.

But confronting the Duke about it would be meaningless. He was the kind of man where it would be a relief if he didn’t sneer at her instead.

‘So don’t say anything, Annelie.’

While she was trying to control her surging emotions, a cold voice flew in again.

“Looking closely, Miss Heich.”

The Duke’s smooth voice stabbed Nelie like shattered glass.

“Even when I provide good things and places, you don’t know how to accept them.”

“……”

“Were you in a position to refuse such things?”

Her eyes automatically grew hot upon hearing his words, spoken like giving alms. Nelie put strength in her eyes to avoid crying and opened her mouth.

“…About rejecting what Your Grace provides……”

Nelie looked up at Elroy with clenched fists and slowly rose from her seat.

“It’s not like I’ll… die right away.”

“Ha.”

“I, I was getting along fine.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Before Your Grace came looking for me, I was more or less……”

“Living by mooching off in a place like this and doing indecent work is ‘more or less’? Do you really think that?”

Once again, sharp fragments of words flew in. He was definitely a man who had scooped up poison from pigments and filled his mouth with it.

Nelie put strength into her lower lip, but her expression couldn’t remain calm. Seeing her eyebrows fluttering and trembling, Elroy swallowed a sigh. He didn’t feel at ease even after spitting out his harsh words.

He didn’t mean to sharpen his words. He hadn’t wanted to see that kind of face, yet he ended up saying such harsh things. The more he recalled the woman sleeping in this cold, narrow place dangerously at this late hour, the more his subsided irritation began to rise again. Especially since she had thrown away everything he had given her. Without even a word to him.

Moreover, despite making a face like she was about to cry, her bold answers remained the same.

“Yes. I’ve told you every time. That such places are where people live, and such things are people’s occupations.”

“If you’re going to insist like that again……”

“At least.”

Nelie inhaled and slowly exhaled. The truth she had come to know herself.

“I think I was living a more honorable life than hearing that I sold my body, branded as Your Grace’s mistress.”

“Sold your body?”

“Yes. I……”

Nelie swallowed and opened her mouth.

“…I won’t stand by Your Grace’s side like that.”

At least not in a way that would insult her like that.

The end of her words came out slightly trembling. After spitting them out, the suppressed indignation rose up her throat, causing havoc and leaving scars on her chest. Annelie quietly covered her mouth. If she didn’t, all sorts of words would spill out. Her insides churned like they were about to turn over.

If he intended to make her his mistress, he could have at least told her from the beginning.

Why would a man like him act like he had leverage by mentioning defamation and charges? A man like him would have had plenty of women throwing themselves at him without her.

If he was going to play the mistress game for a short while, he could have at least pretended to be affectionate. Why did he sometimes look at her with those eyes and kiss her? While saying he was monitoring whether she was properly using contraception, why didn’t he check if the contraceptives were actually decreasing or not?

Why didn’t he show dislike when she leaned on him? Why did he tolerate all her rough sleeping habits when they slept in the same bed? Why did he…

When her hand entered her blurring vision, Nelie held her breath. There was her finger with a faint bite mark. She realized a beat late that the Duke’s gaze was also resting on that finger.

“……”

After exhaling her held breath and rubbing her finger hard before hiding it behind her, the Duke’s face turned icy cold. Nelie looked at the Duke, trying to stay calm.

Elroy, watching Annelie like this, nervously brushed his forelock. Unlike usual, the stubborn blue eyes he revealed gave off an ominously foreboding aura.

“So you ran away from the nice house I gave you and chose to be here.”

“I……”

“Drop this ridiculous stubbornness, Miss Heich.”

“Your Grace.”

“I’ll say it again. You’re not in a position to be picky……”

“Position or such things don’t matter.”

When Elroy was about to respond, the woman opened her mouth.

“I’m not going back, Your Grace.”