Then, upon discovering Liana, his brow furrowed for a moment before returning to its blank expression. His black hair, still damp as if he had just finished bathing, hung in disarray.

Perhaps it was because of his unusually tall stature—it felt as though a massive shadow was pressing down over the entire room.

“If only you had held on a little longer… you could have lived to see the revenge.”

Some say that revenge is a feeling like raging flames. But in Shed Lester’s eyes, there was no such fiery passion. Instead, there was a coldness so frigid it seemed it would burn at the slightest touch.

Faced with that chill, she felt herself freeze solid, as though the smallest shock might shatter her into countless pieces.

His cool gaze flicked briefly toward her legs before shifting indifferently to the table. Without a word, he sat on the sofa and poured himself a glass of brandy.

Liana didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. The only sound filling the room was the crimson liquid flowing into the crystal glass.

Though they shared the same space, it felt both as though they were divided by glass, and as though they were almost touching. Perhaps it was because the scene before her overlapped with one from years ago.

At that moment, Liana recalled the source of the déjà vu and the strange sense of alienation. Back then, it had been Liana—no, Luise—seated on the sofa. And Shed, just as she was now, had stood in silence, watching her without a word.

Their beginning had been the exact opposite of this moment. That was why this situation felt both familiar and strange.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed when the transparent glass touched Shed Lester’s lips. The crimson liquid slipped past his lips as he took a slow sip.

His gaze, sharp and steady, returned to her. Startled under his eyes, Liana hurriedly looked away.

Shed said nothing as he held the glass, simply staring at her. Liana felt like a statue—not a work of art, but a crude, graceless figure.

She stood motionless in the middle of the room, enduring his appraising gaze, as though he were assigning value to every detail. It was as if his eyes pierced straight through, exposing just how pitifully flawed she was.

As though trying to cover her own defects, she clutched her arms tightly.

Then, a dry voice—so flat it might have sounded dull at first—echoed through the air.

“To think the noble young lady would dress like that… all for me.”

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

In that instant, heat flushed across Liana’s face.

“Make her useful.”

That was the only command Shed had given the servants.

He hadn’t meant it the way they took it. All he wanted was for her injured leg to be treated so that she could work as a maid. Nothing more.

But his subordinates had understood it differently.

Heat of humiliation rose across her face.

“…I’ll be going now.”

Realizing the misunderstanding, Liana lowered her head. She had planned to speak with him when he arrived, to gather the courage to say she didn’t want this. To ask him to let her go. To tell him, Surely you don’t want this either.

If this wasn’t the place he had originally intended for her, then perhaps it was for the better. There was no need to be ashamed.

She limped toward the door, almost fleeing.

But then—

“I don’t recall giving you permission to leave.”

The cold voice that came from behind froze her steps in place.

It was a command.

When she slowly turned her head, his indifferent gaze was fixed on her.

“Didn’t you enjoy the baron’s favor?”

At those words, Liana couldn’t hide the collapse of her expression. From the emptiness in his face, she could see what she meant to him.

“To the servants, it seems you’re nothing more than that kind of woman.”

Shed’s low, mocking tone brushed the air as he idly stirred the brandy in his glass.

She had no rebuttal. The reality she had lived with every single day for years now came crashing down, more painfully than ever.

“…It doesn’t matter. There’s nowhere lower for me to fall.”

Hiding her dry tears, she forced her voice to remain steady. She had endured too much already to let such words wound her further.

Then—clack. The sound of the glass being set on the table cut through the silence.

A moment later came the slow, deliberate sound of footsteps.

They stopped.

Above her, eyes as merciless as they were arrogant looked down, as if a collector had just finished appraising a statue.

“Then… take it off.”

His voice rang out—sharp, devoid of warmth.

In his command to undress, there wasn’t the faintest trace of desire. If anything, it carried the chill of anger.

And Liana understood.

She was nothing more than a cheap statue, easily shattered. He wasn’t cherishing her, he was testing her, toying with her.

A cheap diversion, nothing more than a way to kill time.

“You said there was nowhere lower to fall. What’s wrong? Can’t do it?”

Shed looked down coldly at Liana, who stood with her arms crossed tightly over herself, refusing to undress.

Liana couldn’t form a single reply. The moment she parted her lips, her trembling voice would betray the tears hiding within.

Then Shed’s body slowly leaned toward her.

With each breath that drew closer, the scent of brandy stung her nose. From beneath his long, dark lashes, eyes the shade of deep amethyst fixed on her.

A droplet slipped from his damp hair and fell onto the pale curve of her chest. The cold bead of water trailed down the line of her cleavage.

Liana’s lips trembled as she swallowed hard, her heart racing so wildly her head spun.

She had believed she would feel nothing. That no faded memory could shake her again.

And yet, her foolish heart had begun to beat once more, in the same rhythm it remembered from long ago.

With a face both noble and detached, the man tightened the air around her with practiced ease.

Liana squeezed her eyes shut as he drew close enough to almost touch.

At that moment—

“Then I’ll be the one to bring you down. All the way to the bottom.”

His cool breath grazed her ear.

And with it came a sudden, overwhelming force.

Her body, so easily handled, was flung onto the bed beside them.

“Ugh!”

Although the maids had carefully pinned her hair, it fell loose across the white sheets. The collar of her dress was open, revealing her pale chest.

The silk dress clung loosely to her limbs. A faint pain flared in her leg, which had only just healed.

He looked down at her ghostly pale skin as he untied his robe. When it slid off, revealing a hard, scarred body, it was as though someone had taken a chisel to flawless marble and carved cruelty into its surface.

Unable to look at those long-standing wounds, Liana squeezed her eyes shut. She knew their origin. They were all her fault. She had made him that way.

The weight of old memories pressed down on her, sharp and merciless.

“Luise.”

That familiar voice brushed her ear, dragging the past into painful clarity.

His broad frame pressed down over her, holding her captive.

Like a bird caught in a snare, she could beat her wings in desperation, but there was no escape.

This place stood on Shed Lester’s land, a space that belonged solely to him. And she was nothing more than a maid.

Biting her lip, Liana tried to stifle her trembling breath.

“I told you not to bite your lips.”

With his eyelids lowered, Shed’s gaze burned down into her.

At the sight of his gaze, edged with irritation, Liana parted her lips.

“I’m sorry…”

Her pale lips trembled.

She had no excuses to give, no future she could promise.

All she had to give him was a feeble apology—one that could never ease his pain, nor do him any good at all.

“I’m sorry, Shed…”

For an instant, ripples stirred in his violet eyes.

At last, the tears she had been holding back slipped from the corners of her eyes, trailing down to dampen her ear.

In that moment, his grip on her tightened, as though he might crush her wrist.

And in his eyes—eyes that had been nothing but cold—there flickered, for the first time, a spark like fire.

“…D*mn it.”

Shed cursed under his breath and released her as if flinging her away.

As though every last trace of interest had drained from him, he rose to his feet.

Snatching up the robe that had nearly slid from the bed, his large hand pulled it over his body.

He ran a hand through his damp black hair with a sharp, irritated motion, then cast one last glance down at Liana before striding out of the bedroom.

“…..”

Bang!

Shed slammed the door shut and strode down the corridor in long, unyielding steps.

“M-Master…!”

Werner, and the waiting servants flinched, pressing themselves against the wall and bowing their heads in alarm.

They had no way of knowing what had taken place inside.

What was clear—more clear than ever before—was that Shed Lester, master of the ducal house, was furious.

“Who told you to bring that woman into my room?”

Shed’s gaze bore down on Werner as he spoke.

His voice was low, leveled, without a single rise or fall—yet it made the servants’ hearts pound violently.

“Y-you said… to make her useful, sir.”

“To hell with it. When did I ever say to bring a woman into my bedchamber?”

“T-that… it’s just…”

Werner nearly blurted out his protest, then choked it back at the last moment.

‘Wasn’t this the first time he’d ever brought a woman himself?’

Shed Lester had never allowed even harmless old women or children to be brought in—let alone courtesans.

Even his own fiancée had been so neglected by him that rumors spread. And yet, now, a young, beautiful woman?

There could be only one reason.

They had heard reports from the knights. That he had carried her on his back. That he had treated her injured leg himself. So they were all certain. This woman had to be the one.

But now—he was saying she wasn’t?

‘Impossible… No, could it be true? Really…?’

Cold sweat trickled down Werner’s back.

Shed Lester’s gaze was lethal.

The steward swallowed hard and lowered his head.

“Yes, Master.”

At Werner’s reply, Shed turned on his heel and strode away, his steps heavy and unrestrained.