Raphael looked down at Amelia, who had fallen into sleep with a contorted expression on her face. A deep anger bubbled up from within him at the sight of her sleeping form. The scratches filling her cheek, her disheveled clothes and hair. Most of all, the sight of the ropes that had bound her hands and feet caught his eye.

The wrists and ankles were stained with blood from her struggles when she was trying to break free. Her skin was so abraded that it bled. He was angry with himself for not realizing the extent of the situation until it had gotten this bad. She must have been so scared that she didn’t even realize how injured she was.

“Ra… Raphael.”

Even her body, which had never been marred before, was now bruised. When he unwittingly gripped her wrist, drawn by her sweet scent, and saw the swelling, he vowed never to do it again. Her body, unlike his, was fragile and easily injured, even with just a little force. That’s why, on normal days, he always had to restrain himself desperately. Otherwise, he would lose his reason and might destroy her.

He suppressed his superhuman strength time and again, always with the underlying condition that he must never harm her, even in his moments of insanity. But now, before his eyes, lay Amelia, bloodied and every inch of her body intact.

“Rapha…”

“How dare you… Who told you to lay your hands on me?”

Raphael lifted his head at the pathetic fingers clutching his hand. The head maid, May. Yes, that was her name. The woman whose name he hadn’t even known until Amelia mentioned it. The woman who had hurt Amelia without understanding her place.

“Aaahhh!”

“Shut up.”

He crushed each of the fingers that had touched him one by one. He wanted to cut them off himself, but Amelia, who was injured, came first. Fearing she might wake up, Raphael magically sealed May’s mouth. The more he examined Amelia’s body, the more his anger rose, grinding his teeth in frustration.

If only he had arrived sooner… Her body was full of bruises. She was already in pain. It made a mockery of all the times he endured not to break her with his touch. As he cut the ropes, the blood that soaked the ropes dripped down. Even after using healing magic several times, he couldn’t be at ease.

“… I’m sorry.”

The painful expression had already left the peacefully sleeping Amelia’s face. Despite her comfortable look, he couldn’t hide his guilt. He wasn’t supposed to leave his post. No matter how urgent the matter was, he should have stayed by her side.

“…….”

Despite using a silence spell, May writhed and made unpleasant noises, and Raphael looked at her coldly. She crawled on the floor like a filthy bug, and Raphael’s expression remained icy. It was laughable how she tried to reach him in any way possible.

“Edward.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Move Amelia to… her room. And have her examined.”

“Understood.”

Raphael handed Amelia over to Edward, who appeared from the darkness. Edward’s touch was careful, as if he were handling something precious, and the bug’s thrashing intensified. The way it lay flat and wriggled on the floor was exactly like a bug.

“Why did this bug escape from here?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“My wife’s treatment is the priority for now.”

He felt like he should immediately inquire about the crime and cause a scene, but he couldn’t. Even though he already used healing magic on her, Amelia was still injured. There could be complications with her body. Raphael stroked her cheek and fixed her hair. Even in this situation, his wife was damnably seductive.

Her disheveled hair and the scent of blood seeping out. A sane person wouldn’t get excited by such a sight. But he was different. If he hadn’t desperately controlled his instincts, he would have succumbed to his urges and taken her right there.

The beast inside him wanted to come out, screaming, lured by the intensified sweetness of Amelia’s scent due to her bleeding.

“We’ll decide on the punishment later.”

“Then…”

He couldn’t bear the annoyance of having to personally hand her over with his own hands. He knew it was an unavoidable situation, yet he had to clench his fists so hard until they turned white.

Turning around, he saw the face of the head maid looking up at him with desperate eyes. She was a problem that he hadn’t dealt with properly. He left the finishing touches to Edward because he was busy.

“Cough… Master Raphael…”

As soon as he lifted the spell, she crawled over and prostrated herself flat. It was more than loyal; it was groveling. Raphael noticed that the head maid had feelings for him.

“I was wrong, I was wrong…”

“……”

But he didn’t mind it because it wasn’t harmful to him; instead, it seemed convenient to use her. Her competence as a maid played a part in that decision as well. Besides, her blind loyalty towards him was not something he could easily obtain. But had he known she would harm Amelia, he would not have allowed it.

“Please…, please.”

Now that he knew this creature, less than a bug, had shown hostility towards Amelia, he couldn’t just let it go. Despite having told Edward to handle it properly, she still hadn’t come to her senses.

“Who gave you permission to call out my name?”

“What… what?”

“I never did.”

If he hadn’t returned at the right moment, Amelia might have died. He had a strange premonition that he had to go back to her. It was more instinct than premonition. A signal was urging him to return to her immediately.

“How dare such a filthy bug touch someone.”

Raphael couldn’t hide his sneer at the sight of May, with her face grotesquely made-up, and begging. She grabbed her hair.

“You… agh!”

He grabbed her hair and lifted her into the air. He was angry that Amelia’s pretty silver hair was messed up. She must have been in pain. Because he was very cruel.

“I thought you understood your place well enough.”

He planned to return all the pain Amelia had felt exactly as it was. He usually didn’t bother to deal with bugs personally… But this time, he couldn’t just let it pass.

“Save me… please save me…”

“You could have died comfortably enough.”

Edward was more lenient compared to him. To put it badly, he was soft. That’s why he let go of prey that had been caught. Because of that, Amelia got hurt. He couldn’t contain his rage when he recalled the situation upon his arrival. He couldn’t even allow her to beg for her life.

When she saw her curl up to accept her death brought him a momentary pain so intense it felt like his breathing stopped. She thought she was a woman who didn’t matter even if she died. Since when was he like that. He begun to fear Amelia leaving his side.

“……”

The fact that Amelia almost left him terrified him. He almost lost her in an instant.

“Grrrgh!”

“I don’t usually enjoy the sound of a bug dying.”

He’s not like someone who has a bad hobby. He finds it strange to feel an emotion while killing something weaker than himself. Rather, it would be understandable to frown at the sight of something struggling not to die.

“I, I like you!”

Even as she spat out her confession while drooling in pain, there was not the slightest change in Raphael’s expression. It only grew colder.

“I’m serious… I have for a long time…”

“Your nonsensical feelings, it doesn’t bother me as long as they are not a problem.”

“I am better than… that b*tch… Ah!”

She wasn’t content with merely mentioning Amelia carelessly. His brow furrowed further at the derogatory word used for her.

“You shouldn’t even be speaking of her.”

“Uh… ugh…”

The urge to kill the woman before him right now was strong. Amelia hadn’t even suffered a tenth of this pain yet. She couldn’t be killed off this easily.

“I liked you first!”

The flailing arms trying to grab him were irritating. Those hands had surely caused her pain.

“Kuh…! Guh… Raphael…”

“Should I cut off your tongue so you can pronounce my name properly?”

“Why not me!”

Is that all she could muster to bear the pain? Raphael was so taken aback by the absurdity of the situation that he let out a snicker. She had changed her hair magically to silver, thinking it would sway his heart.

“Silver… You like silver hair, don’t you, Raphael.”

It was almost laughable how she seemed to change her tactics, trying to charm him.

“Is it because my eyes are not the right color?”

“……”

“Just, just wait a moment… I love you.”

She must be mistaking his silence for affection. And now, she said an awkward confession of love. It wasn’t even amusing to watch anymore.

“Unfortunately, I don’t deal with fakes.”

If she doesn’t understand her place, then she needs to be taught.