After the sixth climax, she couldn’t remember anything properly. Before losing consciousness, she thought she had been on all fours like an animal, her rear raised high in the air as she took Raiden’s member. 

Overwhelmed by waves of pleasure so intense they seemed to shatter her body, she cried and screamed until she completely lost herself. She had tried to resist acting like an animal, but what animal? She had been no better than a wild beast.

Rihana forced her heavy body upright and looked for Raiden. He was nowhere to be found—she was alone in the bed. Burning with thirst, she pulled the cord to summon her maid Mary and covered her chest with the blanket.

“You called for me, my lady?”

“Water.”

Her throat was so parched that speaking immediately caused a sharp pain in her throat. Her hoarse, cracked voice made it painfully clear how much she had screamed and cried the night before. 

Rihana took the water cup Mary offered and quickly moistened her throat. The cool water flowed down her throat, finally soothing the dry, stinging sensation.

“Where’s Rai?”

When she asked while handing the empty cup back to the servant, the absurd response flowed from Mary’s mouth that he was in the drawing room with Lady Sieran.

“Why is Lady Sieran at my mansion?”

“She came early this morning. She told us not to wake you and to bring Rai to her…”

Rihana immediately sat up. The quick-witted Mary hurried over with a robe and draped it over her body.

“Regular clothes, quickly.”

As Rihana strode quickly toward the bathroom, Mary promised to prepare them and disappeared from the room.

* * *

Lady Sieran was Casian’s stepmother, a woman who had become the late Marquis’s third wife at a young age. With only a three-year age difference between her and Casian, many rumors surrounded her.

Some rumors claimed she had married Casian’s father because of Casian, while others suggested that since the Marquis had died of an unknown illness shortly after marrying her, Sieran had deliberately seduced the Marquis knowing about his condition. 

None of the rumors painted her in a good light, but Casian hadn’t expelled her from the Marquis’s estate and properly fulfilled his duties toward his stepmother.

Of course, he didn’t see his stepmother as a woman at all. Rihana was well aware of this fact. 

After all, Casian never allowed Sieran to get close to him. He showed none of the kindness typically reserved for women. Only the polite and respectful attitude one would show to a family elder.

Having lived surrounded by women since childhood, Casian was thorough and perfect in drawing boundaries. 

Yet Sieran, who had her eye on Casian, was very displeased with Rihana, who was engaged to her stepson. Rihana wasn’t the type to treat family elders carelessly either, so she respectfully treated Sieran as her fiancé’s mother.

Perhaps that was why. There was no way to look down on someone more than this.

She didn’t care that a poor Baron’s young daughter had changed her fortune by becoming an old Marquis’s third wife. 

She thought it was right to treat Sieran the same way since Casian treated her as his mother. But coming to someone else’s house like this and taking her person without permission crossed the line.

Rihana flung open the drawing room door without knocking, where that shameless Sieran was. The moment she opened the door, her eyes widened to the point of popping out at the scene before her.

“Oh my, what a surprise. Don’t you know how to knock? Becoming the head of a Count’s family at such a young age must have made your home education this terrible.”

Sieran spoke while continuing to touch Raiden’s n*ked upper body in a vulgar manner and fondle his flaccid member without stopping. 

Raiden looked down at Sieran’s hands with an emotionless gaze. His face seemed resigned to something. Rihana felt a mixture of anger, pity, guilt, and jealousy that made her feel like her vision would flip.

“What are you doing?!”

Rihana quickly walked over, grabbed Sieran’s wrist, pulled it away, and pushed her back. Sieran staggered backward from the sudden force. Rihana stood like a shield in front of Raiden and glared at Sieran, who was grimacing while holding her grabbed wrist.

“Did you just push me?!”

“I asked what you’re doing, my lady.”

“‘Doing’? Did you just call it ‘doing’ to me?”

“I’m asking what you’re doing with my person in my house.”

“Ha!”

“Get dressed, Rai.”

Rihana spoke to Raiden without turning her head. Raiden began putting on his clothes from the floor without answering. Listening to the rustling sounds behind her, she glared at Sieran with murderous intent.

“Hah, you really do have a dirty way of looking at men’s faces.”

Watching Sieran speak while licking her lips as she looked at Raiden getting dressed, Rihana imagined gouging out her eyes.

“Is it really that upsetting that I touched your slave a little?”

Rihana’s brow furrowed at Sieran’s words.

“He’ll soon become part of our household, so that thing will become our property too. What’s wrong with a family elder touching it a little beforehand? It’s not like it will wear out.”

“…”

“How dare you treat me like this when I’ll soon be your mother-in-law?”

Both child and parent—how could they think exactly the same way when they shared no blood? Rihana let out an annoyed sigh and spoke to Sieran.

“I’m not yet a person of Lewandes but the head of Ariella. And even if I become a Lewandes, you have no right to touch my people without my permission.”

“What?”

“If you’re dressed, leave now.”

Again, she spoke to Raiden without turning her head. Raiden silently turned and left the drawing room. Only after Raiden left and the door closed did Rihana speak.

“Above all, coming to ‘someone else’s’ house like this without prior word, early in the morning no less, and calling my person without the ‘owner’s’ permission to commit such shameless and filthy acts—this is truly disgraceful behavior for a noble.”

“What, what?!”

“I’ll tell Marquis Casian about this incident.”

“Hey!”

“I will definitely hold you accountable for the crime of stripping my person n*ked, humiliating him, and sexually harassing him by groping his body.”

“You think touching some slave’s body once will be considered a crime?!”

“Yes. Unfortunately, it is a crime. The current owner of that person is the head of Ariella.”

“Rihana!”

“Since I’m not even your daughter-in-law yet, your son should have told you to refrain from calling my name carelessly.”

“…!”

“What business brought you to my mansion?”

“…”

“Please don’t tell me you came early in the morning to sexually ass*ult that boy.”

“What did you eat wrong?! You used to fawn over me trying to get on my good side, and now you’re acting like this…!”

“Yes, I did that. What was an engagement anyway? I stupidly endured and accommodated everything for you, treating you like my real mother-in-law. Foolishly.”

“…!”

“Since your son will likely break off his engagement with me and become Her Imperial Highness the Princess’s companion, you won’t have to see that foolish me anymore, my lady.”

“…What?!”

Sieran’s pupils trembled slightly.

Casian thinking of breaking his engagement with Rihana? That was absolutely impossible. He definitely had feelings for Rihana. Whether it was because she was his fiancée or not, his eyes were different when he looked at her compared to other women. 

That damned Princess had been clinging to Casian and seemed to have developed a somewhat deep relationship with him, but his gaze toward the Princess was definitely not love. So there must be a reason why he was entertaining the Princess. 

A broken engagement? Casian would never do such a thing.

“Please leave now, my lady. And please ensure there are no more incidents of barging into my house like this.”

“Barging in! What kind of language is that?! And our son would never break his engagement with you. You seem to be mistaken about something…”

“That’s a matter for your son and me to discuss separately later. It has nothing to do with you, so please leave now.”

“How do you plan to face me when you marry my son if you act like this!”

“Well, even if we do marry, I suppose I’ll see you the same way I do now.”

“What?”

“As my husband’s stepmother who committed shameless and filthy acts in my house.”

“Hey!”