“Damn, damn.” 

At Elliope’s moans, Kallian cursed harshly and bit her ear roughly. His beastly canines dug into the soft, tender flesh, eliciting another scream from Elliope’s throat. 

“Ugh… ugh…” 

“Your Highness.” 

Hearing him call her “Your Highness” instead of “Grand Duchess” felt odd, yet strangely fitting. 

After all, he had never seemed to think of her as a real Grand Duchess. 

Rumours had long suggested that he did not like women, and combined with the fact that the Grand Duke of Ilmos – his master – hated her, it was not surprising that he had always been cold to her. He had never given her the courtesies or escort that a Grand Duchess would normally receive. The protection he offered was always superficial and obligatory. 

Sometimes his gaze hurt her more than the Grand Duke’s cruelty. His cold, indifferent eyes seemed to reflect the contempt that everyone in the Grand Duchy of Ilmos held for her. 

And yet here he was, calling her with such a heated voice and doing these things to her. 

A tingling sensation spread through Elliope’s br*ast. The thought of those things only made her body heat up more, the illicit pleasure setting her nerves on fire. 

The bitterness she had felt as she watched her husband fondle pr*stitutes, the humiliation she had been forced to swallow countless times – all of it now turned into waves of pleasure that washed over her. 

Elliope lifted her head. Her husband’s lifeless body, still in the glass coffin, lay before her. 

And there she was, entwined with her husband’s most loyal subordinate. 

In front of his corpse, no less. 

A flash of guilt scorched her mind, only to quickly dissolve into pleasure. The depravity of what she was doing gripped her like a predator sinking its teeth into her neck. 

‘Isn’t this sinfully sweet, almost intoxicating?’ 

‘I should have asked them to leave his eyes open when they embalmed him.’ 

The absurd thought burned through her mind. She knew it was horrible, but she couldn’t stop herself. 

I should have asked for his eyes to be kept open during the embalming – so that even in death he could witness this scene and engrave the sight of me on his lifeless retinas. 

‘So that… even in hell he would burn with rage.’

Theodor hadn’t loved her, so this wouldn’t break his heart. But he would feel the sting of humiliation. The sight of the woman he despised and discarded entwined with his most trusted knight, right in front of his own lifeless body, would be an unbearable affront. 

The thought of him seething with rage, thrashing and screaming in fury, gave her a strange sense of satisfaction. Even if it resulted in him beating her in his rage, she imagined she would feel relieved, even relieved. 

In truth, though it was rare, Theodor had struck her before. When his hand landed on her soft cheek, the pain was shockingly intense.

‘If he struck me this time, it would probably hurt even more.’ 

But the relief would outweigh the pain. 

‘Why have I lived so foolishly all this time?’ 

The reflection of herself in the glass coffin holding her husband was shockingly suggestive, even to her own eyes. Her rounded br*asts, partially exposed by her dishevelled clothes, bore red handprints. A slippery liquid ran down between her legs. 

Following the trail of liquid led to a large, thick hand repeatedly penetrating the most private part of her body, a place she had never even realised could feel such sensations. 

“Ah… ugh…” 

Eventually the fingers withdrew, leaving strings of viscous fluid between them. The cold air rushed into the space they had left, making Elliope shiver. 

As she shivered at the sudden chill, something much hotter and larger than the fingers pressed against her lower body. 

“Ah…” 

Unwillingly, her body stiffened. Though she couldn’t see it, the overwhelming sensation was undeniable. 

She remembered the lessons her maids had given her before she left for the Grand Duchy, teaching her what happened between men and women. But even with that knowledge, she could hardly believe it. 

She couldn’t believe that something like that could enter her body… 

“Ah-!” 

“Damn…” 

Kallian grabbed her slender waist and began to slowly insert himself. 

Although this was her first experience, Elliope’s body gradually adapted. This was only possible because the drug in the wine had taken effect, causing her body to react and prepare itself thoroughly. 

The invading heat was overwhelming, almost too much to bear. The sensitive inner walls of her body clung to the intrusion, trembling and refusing to let go. 

Another curse escaped Kallian’s lips. 

“Damn… Elliope.” 

He called her name. 

Elliope felt a fever rise in her head. Being called by her name instead of “Your Highness” stirred her body even more than she had expected. Something boiling and uncontrollable seemed to ignite deep inside her br*ast. 

Kallian, as if to make her fully aware of the moment, slid his hand under her arms and pulled her backwards, lifting her torso. Her br*asts swayed dramatically with the movement. 

Watching her, Kallian reached out and cupped her br*ast again, his touch rough and deliberate. 

For a man rumoured to be unfamiliar with women, his actions were surprisingly skilful. 

“Ha… ah… I never imagined… your body would be so soft.” 

“Mm…” 

His hands repeatedly cupped her reddened br*ast with firm intensity, leaving no doubt as to his intent. 

Each time Kallian pulled back and thrust again, thick fluid dripped from Elliope’s p*ssy. Her pale b*ttocks, struck repeatedly by his hips, quickly became warm and flushed.

The sound of skin against skin echoed endlessly. Kallian continued to whisper in her ear, his low voice far harder to bear than the overwhelming sensation of their bodies pressed together. 

“If I had known you had such a… hot body.”

A tingling sensation wrapped around her ear, like a feather teasing her from within. 

“Ah…” 

“I should have taken you from the start.” 

“Ugh… ugh…” 

“Damn, instead of that wretched bastard Theodor von Ilmos, it should have been me…” 

Kallian’s words fell into her ear in broken fragments, each more startling than the last. 

“That wretched bastard, Theodor of Ilmos.” 

Was this not the man who had once shown unwavering loyalty to her husband? 

For someone like him to speak such words – it was almost unimaginable. 

‘How strong must be the *phrodisiac in that wine for this to happen?’ 

The man who had once looked at her with nothing but contempt was now completely consumed by her, unable to restrain himself. And she, accepting his fervent advances with twisted delight, couldn’t suppress the laughter that once again bubbled up. 

It seemed the maid had performed her task with remarkable precision. 

A laugh, almost a sob, escaped her lips. 

“Ha… haha… ahaha… ah!” 

The hard p*nis driving into her pressed deep into her most intimate place, making Elliope’s fingertips tremble uncontrollably. 

Kallian grabbed her chin, pulling her face closer as if to kiss her. Seeing the heat burning in his blue eyes, Elliope turned her face away, deliberately avoiding his lips. 

As she avoided the kiss, a spark of frustration flickered in his eyes. 

“Ah!” 

The relentless rhythm of his movements continued. Elliope squeezed her eyes shut, but when she opened them she saw her reflection in the glass coffin. 

Her lower body, completely surrendered to Kallian, her br*ast exposed and wide open, her face crumpled in ecstasy, her lips parted as she stared blankly ahead. 

She should have felt utterly humiliated, spreading her legs for another man in front of her husband’s lifeless body. She should have been terrified that at any moment someone would walk in and condemn her. 

Instead, a hollow laugh escaped her lips. 

“Ha… haha…” 

Despite the overwhelming shame and humiliation boiling inside her, she laughed uncontrollably. 

It was absurd how liberating the moment felt. Even as her eyes fluttered shut and her body trembled weakly, the sensation lingered. 

And then, suddenly, she felt warmth flood through her. 

At that moment, Elliope coughed up the blood she had been holding back. 

“Cough…” 

“…Elliope.” 

A voice, warm yet strangely tender, rang in her ear. 

“Elliope?” 

Kallian’s panicked voice cried out as he realised something was wrong, his alarm growing as he noticed the hot blood running down her pale chest. 

“What is this…!” 

Thick fluid gathered and dripped down her thighs. She felt him pull away abruptly, her skirt falling back into place as his weight left her. 

“Elliope!” 

Elliope closed her eyes. 

“Please, please! Elliope!” 

The desperate voice echoed in her ears, but she had no desire to open her eyes. 

Could there be a more shameful death than this? 

Elliope had long since poisoned her own glass. Regardless of what the maid had added to the wine, her plan had been to share the drink with the next person to enter and drop dead on the spot. 

But things hadn’t gone as planned. 

The one who entered was Kallian, not someone she had expected. The *phrodisiac the maid had mixed into the wine proved to be far more potent than expected, and the poison she had procured was painfully slow to take effect. 

Clearly, whoever had supplied her with the poison hadn’t taken her seriously. Unless they wanted her to suffer for a long time before dying, they would never have given her such a slow-acting poison. 

It was only because her recent physical activity had caused her blood to circulate more quickly that the poison had finally begun to take effect. 

As a result of this series of completely unforeseen events… she was now dying, having been with her late husband’s faithful servant, right in front of his corpse. 

Some might call it divine punishment, pointing fingers and condemning her. They might deride her as a truly depraved and wicked woman. 

‘I must look very pitiful now.’ 

Would Kallian try to call for a doctor? She hoped he wouldn’t. She would rather that only Kallian witnessed her death – this miserable and shameful end. 

She didn’t want anyone else to see her like this. 

Of course, her life had been shameful from the beginning, so it wasn’t surprising that it would end in shame. 

But considering that her life had already been one of endless shame… it didn’t seem necessary to add the detail that she had died after lying with her husband’s servant in front of his corpse. 

But in the next moment, another voice whispered in her mind: 

“No. Your shameful death will be the shame of your husband and father.” 

If that was the case, then perhaps this shame wasn’t so terrible after all. 

If her life had to be like this, at least it would stain her. Let her name be an indelible stain, a shame that could never be washed away. 

Thinking this, she felt strangely at peace, as if the thought made everything a little more bearable. She even began to feel indifferent to the fate of her lifeless body and the reputation it would leave behind. 

“Ha… ha…” 

A faint, dying laugh lingered on Elliope’s lips. 

“Elliope!” 

A heartbreaking scream echoed in her ears. 

And then there was only a long, endless darkness.