“Oh…!”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

As he slowly sat up, his eyes glinted coldly and cruelly.

“I won’t care about love anymore.”

My heart felt another sharp pang of pain.

“…If there’s no love, then what is our relationship?”

“You belong to me and you can’t go anywhere.”

“I’m not your s*x slave.”

“s*x slave? That’s a nice term. Considering what we do… doesn’t it fit perfectly?”

His hand squeezed my n*pple roughly. I slapped his hand hard away, but he quickly grabbed my cheek and pulled me closer. A fierce kiss followed. My lower and upper lips were alternately bitten as his invading tongue explored every corner of my mouth. I tried to bite his tongue, but his grip on my cheek was too tight to maneuver.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

After a long kiss, he pulled away and gave me a chilling order. It was clear that he was determined to make me obey. I gritted my teeth and spat. The saliva hit his handsome face and dripped down. The man who had once called me a perfect lover was now nothing more than a monstrous creature, beyond reason.

With our faces so close, the spit landed directly on his smooth skin. Without a flicker of emotion, Theo took a black handkerchief from his inside pocket and wiped his face.

“You need to be taught a lesson.”

He spoke with finality as if making an unchangeable decision.

***

When evening came, the carriage stopped in a small town. Theo pulled me out of the carriage. In addition to the big brown carriage we had been traveling in, two others had followed, surrounded by four or five men on black horses. They were dressed in dark clothes, just like the men I had seen at the dock.

Worried that Mio might be among them, I turned my head to look back at the carriage. But Theo pulled me sharply, forcing me to follow him before I could see them.

The inn Theo had chosen was much bigger and more luxurious than the places Mio and I had passed on our way here.

“If you try to escape, I will kill the maid and her entire family.”

Theo said calmly as he sat down on a chair in the corner of the room.

“Wash up.”

I grabbed a towel and made my way to the bathroom on shaky legs. As I turned on the hot water, tears began to fall. Regret and self-blame flooded my mind. I had been naive, thinking too simply and comfortably about the situation. Mio may have helped a nobleman’s daughter escape, but Theo wasn’t just any nobleman – he was dangerous. How had he found us so quickly?

Noel had said it would take Theo three days to track me down, and sure enough, Theo turned up exactly three days later. It didn’t seem like a coincidence. Noel’s words weren’t just words. Whatever methods they were using, methods I couldn’t begin to understand had shattered my mind.

I couldn’t even remember what I was thinking as I was washing. My hands were moving mechanically and my mind was stuck on my regrets, playing them on a loop. I was fine, but Mio was in danger. Theo was casually threatening Mio’s life and that of her family. It was terrifying and I had no idea what to do.

Red marks from his grip marred my wrist and bruises began to form. Looking in the mirror, I noticed faint handprints on my neck. There were even marks where he had bitten me, signs of congestion. The woman staring back at me in the mirror had completely lost her composure.

I tried to calm myself, but I knew I needed more time. I didn’t want to go outside, and I certainly didn’t want to face Theo. But the longer I waited, the more I feared that his mood would get worse and that would put Mio in even more danger. So as soon as I finished the dishes, I went out. Theo was still sitting quietly in the same chair.

I cautiously walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. I wanted to ask about Mio, if she was all right and if she’d managed to get some sleep, but I didn’t dare. I knew it would only provoke Theo’s anger. Droplets of water from my still-damp, uncombed hair dripped onto my blouse.

“Doctor, why did you do something so stupid?”

The sudden question startled me.

It was the familiar title he used to call me – Cane. Cane had taken control of Theo’s body. I looked at him with trembling eyes as he sat in the chair, clearly uncomfortable in Theo’s clothes. Slowly he began to unbutton the collar that was tight around his neck and undo the cuffs on his wrists.

“Why is this guy wearing such uncomfortable clothes?”

He muttered, his eyebrows knitted in frustration. Once the clothes were loosened, Cane stood up and moved to sit beside me. His long fingers brushed my neck, gently touching the marks where the congestion had set in.

“I trusted you, Doctor,” he said, his voice slow and deep, with a hint of anger simmering beneath the surface. “That’s why I let you go. I didn’t tie you up, I didn’t lock you up. Both Theo and Noel believed in you too, but you had other plans, didn’t you?”

The weight of his words pressed down on me and I clenched my trembling hands together, unable to answer.

“Cane, it’s not that.”

“Shh. This isn’t the time for excuses. You’ve run out of chances.”

He murmured, pressing his cold fingers tightly against my lips. His eyes swept slowly over me, a cruel flicker dancing in them. I froze, like prey caught in a predator’s gaze.

“I guess I’ve been too soft on you because I like you more than I realized… and now I truly regret it.”

His words sent a chill deeper than any of Theo’s outbursts ever could. Cane was the one who had torn apart my carefully controlled world, forcibly introducing pleasure into the confines of my existence. His methods had never been gentle. He had always been deliberate and relentless, molding me to his will with precision. He hadn’t failed to condition me – my body had surrendered completely to the sensations he had induced.

“I should have trained you more perfectly,” he mused, his voice soft but full of menace. “You’re just too beautiful. I let myself get weak.”

Cane clicked his tongue softly and the tension made it hard for me to breathe. His fingers continued to run through my hair, his expression pensive, as if pondering some mistake on his part.

I had no idea how to talk to Cane or how to handle this dangerous moment. Silence seemed to be my only option as my mind raced with worry for Mio and fear for my future.

“Now I understand you very well.”

He said suddenly and yanked at my hair with a sharp tug. The pain shot through my scalp as he forced my head back, leaving me gasping for breath.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

His voice was laced with cruel amusement. I opened my eyes to meet his gaze – his eyes gleaming with something sinister, a smile twisted on his lips. Fear overwhelmed me and I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for what was to come.

It felt like I was about to be swallowed whole, but Cane just left me to wash up. When he returned, he held me tightly as he fell asleep. I struggled to breathe, slipping in and out of a restless sleep under the weight of his embrace.

In the early morning, as soon as he awoke, he took me again. It was as intense and consuming as ever, his passion overwhelming me. He kissed my lips as I moaned in pleasure, his hands tracing my body again and again.

Afterward, we cleaned up, washed away the remnants of the night before, and left. I didn’t see Mio all the way. The men in black didn’t even look my way, as if I were invisible. I couldn’t understand their connection to Theo – these men who moved like extensions of his will. Who were they in Seyon’s closed society, and what power did Theo have to command them so effortlessly?

The carriage sped on without stopping, not even for lunch. Cane handed me some dried meat and water, but I shook my head, unable to eat. My mind was consumed with thoughts of Mio – had she eaten, was she safe? My worry for her was unbearable and left me with no appetite.

Cane didn’t say anything when I refused to eat. He hadn’t spoken or touched me since we’d started the trip, keeping a silent distance. I pretended to sleep, and although it was an act at first, I occasionally drifted off from sheer exhaustion.

Somehow we had managed to cover a two-day trip in just a day and a half. It was late at night when we arrived at Goldrain Mansion. Although I’d only had a bottle of water all day, I still had no desire to eat. The weight of worry and exhaustion made me numb.

The familiar fields and towering walls of the mansion came into view, stirring something unsettling in me. I stared blankly at the front gate, ominous in the darkness, with its eagle sculpture perched above it, casting shadows. A wave of nausea hit me as I remembered the fleeting sense of freedom I had felt when I left this place just four days ago. It had been nothing more than a brief, empty moment.

As the carriage approached, the gate slid open silently, like an automatic door. The three black carriages that had been beside us glided through without hesitation. The men inside moved with ease as if they had traveled this road countless times before.

Soon the fountain appeared, and behind it, the mansion came into view. Its great structure, shrouded in shadow, loomed like a crouching beast waiting in the night. The oppressive air hung heavy and I felt trapped once again in the very place I had hoped to escape.

Cane stepped out of the carriage first, holding the door open as he glanced back at me. A faint smile lingered on his lips, but his eyes gleamed like a hawk stalking its prey. My body shook as I stepped down, the cold air biting my skin. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I began to search anxiously for Mio.

Then I saw her. She was being led out of the third carriage by the men. She looked exhausted – her hair was disheveled, her eyes vacant. It was clear that she hadn’t had a proper wash or rest. When our eyes met, my heart ached. Mio smiled weakly as if to reassure me. But it only made the knot in my chest tighten.

I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Cane!”

I shouted his name, my voice breaking into a desperate cry as I clung to his arm.

“Let Mio go!”

The tears I had been holding back all day fell in droplets. Cane looked down at me, his expression indifferent.

“Why?”