His gut twisted again at her speaking without looking at him properly. Leave without even seeing her face properly. She said he would know if he checked. He couldn’t stand this woman who spoke so boldly only with words.

She must think I won’t do it.

“So Duke. Please…… Ah!”

Plink plink.

Without warning, when Elroy grabbed the front of Annelie’s dress and started undoing the buttons, a small scream burst from the woman’s lips. Soon after, she covered her own mouth while rolling her eyes around checking if anyone was passing by, then looked up at him with reddened eyes. It was a look demanding what he was doing.

Finally satisfied that she met his gaze, Elroy opened his mouth. A predatory, leisurely yet rough atmosphere floated above his hands.

“You said to check, Miss Heich.”

“……!”

“I’m checking since you told me to, is there a problem?”

Plink plink plink. White flesh was revealed the collar loosened. Elroy clenched his teeth with all his might to keep from pressing his lips to that skin. It was a difficult urge to resist, knowing how soft and sweet that smooth skin tasted.

When her round shoulders and the pink protrusion between her undergarments were revealed, it was truly a critical moment. He knew too well how good it felt to roll that in his mouth. How good the woman’s reactions were when he sucked on it like that. Forcefully swallowing the saliva that automatically pooled in his mouth, Elroy continued undoing the buttons all the way down almost like tearing them.

“Duke!”

Nelie hurriedly raised her hands to stop the Duke. However, her powerless resistance was blocked relentlessly by the hands undressing her.

Though she had told him to check, she hadn’t expected to be undressed like this in a place where someone might pass by. She grew worried that someone walking through the village might see. Come to think of it, this man had a habit of undressing her regardless of whether others could see or not. Though he would respect her wishes if she cried……

“……If you want.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll do everything I can for you.”

Words that were spoken with the same purpose in different situations. Unlike his usual poisonous words, they had felt particularly gentle.

The moment she recalled his voice from then, Nelie pleaded in a small voice. Her panting breaths mixed with her entreaty.

“Not in a place like this.”

“……”

“In a place like this, like this…… I don’t want this, Duke.”

Though it was an answer she squeezed out with courage, the Duke’s eyes were cold. He seemed like an inquisitor interrogating a criminal, making her feel sad. The next moment, when she thought she didn’t even have the right to feel sad, Nelie’s heart became even more tangled.

She shouldn’t have gotten involved with this man in the first place. Even if she felt upset now, the Duke wouldn’t wipe away her tears.

The Duke’s tone was cold.

“Then where should we do it, Miss Heich?”

“……”

“If you hate it here, will you let me into your house?”

The Duke’s gaze turned toward the low-roofed house not far away. It was Nelie’s house.

She could only shake her head reflexively at those words. She definitely didn’t want to do this in the house where her father was. The Duke’s eyes grew even deeper.

“You hate that too?”

“……I……”

“Then what should we do? You’re the one who said to check.”

At his demanding words, Nelie took deep breaths. The Duke moved his hands coldly while watching her shake with uncertain eyes, not knowing what to do.

In truth, Elroy was just as upset.

‘She really won’t let me into her territory.’

Though he had come all this way to find this woman, she said mean things telling him to leave. And she drew a clear line. That she wouldn’t let him into her house. Yet she had the audacity to tell him to check, shaking him up.

Any thought of being considerate of the woman’s circumstances had long disappeared. All that remained was the obstinacy and stubbornness of a man who had come down here to find this woman.

“You hate doing it at home, and it doesn’t seem like there’s anywhere else to take you.”

“……”

“Then I’ll have to keep checking here. Right?”

Her pale body was revealed under the moonlight with his next touch. Rounded shoulders, br*asts swollen as if pleading to be held, a smooth upper belly, and a slightly protruding lower belly like any other woman’s.

The pale light sprinkled gently on the protrusions that stood stiff with tension. It looked like fine sugar powder had been sprinkled on them, making saliva pool in his mouth automatically.

He didn’t know if other women drove people this crazy. He didn’t know about other women anyway. But Elroy secretly felt certain. That Annelie Heich would be the only one who could make him like this.

He had taken her several times using Jerome as an excuse. But Elroy now knew. He would have undressed and made the woman cry even without that excuse. He did it now too. He probably would have done this even if she hadn’t told him to check.

Elroy clenched his teeth. In his imagination, he had already buried his face in the woman’s nape and grabbed her br*asts. He wanted to gently caress the protrusions hanging from her br*asts then twist them repeatedly, biting and sucking until they swelled red. Then he wanted to turn the woman around while she cried with sweet breaths and roughly engrave himself inside her wet insides.

Until her soft, tender walls remembered the shape of his c*ck, until she couldn’t take any man but him. He wanted to train her until she couldn’t do without him.

What held back that impulse was the woman’s face that looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. Moreover, if the woman really was pregnant, early relations could harm the child.

‘That shouldn’t happen.’

Until then, Elroy had been certain that Nelie’s words were a kind of bluff. Though she impudently told him to check, how could he tell if she was pregnant or not just by undressing her? It’s not like he had the ability to see through flesh.

She must surely have some certainty about being pregnant. She was just trying to push him away……

‘Trying to leave me again.’

When he thought of it that way, he couldn’t stand it. Any thoughts of treating her gently and showing respect were swallowed up by the anxiety that had caught up. Without hesitation, his hands undid the buttons, and finally the dress slid down her skin and fell completely to the floor. Soon after, her underwear came down.

Then there was silence for a while. An atmosphere full of embarrassment, not knowing what to do, filled the surroundings. Nelie bit her lip and held back the feeling of wanting to cry and the shame. Meanwhile, the Duke’s gaze sweeping over her whole body was too hot.

Soon, a sigh like an exclamation leaked from the Duke’s mouth while he stared intently between Nelie’s legs.

“……Ha.”

Elroy roughly swept back his disheveled bangs. It was ridiculous how his lower part was getting hard even in this situation. Since it didn’t seem meaningful to dress her again now, he absentmindedly took in Annelie Heich’s body with resigned eyes.

All of this suddenly felt like a foolish act.

It felt even more so when he recalled himself rushing down here saying he would find this woman, imagining a child that looked like her. Would this emptiness be resolved if he took the woman now like he thought earlier? If he made her have a child even now……

“……Are you satisfied now, Duke?”

A wet voice was heard. Reflexively looking at the woman’s eyes, they were already flushed red.

“Have you…… seen enough?”

Her resigned words made his chest sink. Suddenly everything felt overwhelming, like the ground he stood on crumbled bit by bit.

“You understand now. There’s no child.”

So I won’t interfere with your marriage to the princess of Lambert. No useless bastard will be born.

Swallowing those unspoken words, Nelie’s mood plummeted to its worst. More than anything else, the fact that desire for her body still rippled in the Duke’s eyes made Nelie feel more miserable.

‘I’m just a smokescreen.’

Yet this man wants my body instead of being faithful to the princess. He’s a man who would get aroused by any woman. I ended up giving my heart deeply to such a man.

Despite the deep disappointment shaking her heart, Nelie forced herself to speak. After all, if the ring really disappeared, she would be the one at a loss, not the Duke.

“If the ring happens to be lost, I’ll do my best to find it. I won’t let you suffer any loss. No, I’ll compensate you no matter what.”

Even though her heart hurt so much, her stomach still fluttered when she looked at the Duke. She really was a spineless, stupid girl. She deserved to be treated like an easy woman, and had nothing to say if she’s treated like a mistress.