Chapter 24

“That’s not too much to ask.”

As he toyed with the flesh that couldn’t be held with one hand, pushing and groping it as if lifting a heavy load, Rabiana bit her lip hard. Watching her barely suppress a sound was amusing—like a doomed prey struggling in vain.

When he pressed down firmly on the stiff peak, her chin lifted. Into her slightly parted lips, he pushed his fingers. Just two, yet even that seemed too much for her, and she tried to pull her head back. He pinned down her fleeing tongue with his fingertips, while the other hand moved in slow, swirling circles as he pleased.

“Hh, hng!”

“Take this, and do your job properly.”

Rabiana’s brow furrowed slightly. Even in her dazed state, she couldn’t understand the words that rang sharply in her ears. Twisting her head, she pulled away from the fingers that had invaded her mouth. She gasped for air.

“…Wh-what do you… mean…?”

“What else would your job be, My Lady?”

It was only then that she realized what his hand, pressing firmly into her stomach, implied.

The necklace Alberto gave her wasn’t a gift. It was payment. The shock sent a sharp ache through the back of her head.

She hadn’t misunderstood.

Just because Alberto had shown a sliver of weakness, just because he’d treated her a little more gently, she had never once believed he had feelings for her. And yet, there was no way to remain unscathed by such humiliating words.

“A bribe to encourage better effort.”

“…Encouragement…?”

“For the price of bearing my child, it’s dirty cheap.”

How could someone say something so cruel? Rabiana had done nothing wrong to Alberto.

If she had any fault at all, it was merely existing. But why did that mean she deserved this kind of humiliation?

“Who knows?”

Alberto tugged at the nape of Rabiana’s stiff neck, twisting his lips into a smile.

“If you give birth exactly how I like it, I might give you even more.”

A serpent’s tongue wrapped itself around her body.

***

The Roen estate’s physician had never seen such madness in his entire life.

He was sixty years old and believed he’d seen nearly everything that could happen within this household throughout his career. But a man who pushed his own wife to the brink of collapse—Alberto was the first.

‘How could someone do this to another person…’

The physician, who lived in a nearby village, had rushed over the moment Alberto contacted him. The urgency in his voice had made his heart drop.

And it truly was serious—though the one in peril wasn’t Alberto, but his wife.

The physician looked down at the unconscious woman with deep concern. Though she was wearing a nightgown, her exposed neck was covered in bite marks. Even her wrist, slightly visible where her sleeve had ridden up, bore not only similar marks but bluish bruises.

He must have been rough. Anyone would mistake this for violence, not intimacy.

“…You did get the Madam’s consent, didn’t you?”

The physician, eyeing the man who had once shown no interest in women but was now acting like a brute, shot him a sharp look.

Alberto, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, furrowed his brow deeply.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Then why did you take it this far? She’s already frail to begin with!”

In the Roen estate, the physician was the only one who could raise his voice at the duke.

Alberto’s face turned somber. He let out a sigh, covering his eyes with one hand.

“I don’t know myself.”

“…”

“I just got so angry in the moment… Ever since I met this woman, everything’s been a mess.”

Life before marrying Rabiana had been monotonous.

He would handle his duties as a duke, then sleep.

He’d take the occasional walk to maintain his health.

Even if his routine shifted slightly one day, by the next, he would return to the exact same pattern, completing every task as expected and living a life of order.

But after the marriage, Alberto had started acting unlike himself.

He accompanied Rabiana on walks not in his schedule, wrote her letters, allowed her into his personal space. There were reasons for it, but regardless, Rabiana had become a variable in his life—completely unpredictable.

“When you’re angry, you should talk things through. You can’t treat the Madam like this.”

“I’m reflecting on it.”

Still, as the head of a noble house, that was the limit of the physician’s admonishment. He clicked his tongue and prescribed a restorative tonic for Rabiana.

While his assistant went to prepare the medicine, the physician stole cautious glances at Alberto.

Alberto, who had been gazing at Rabiana with a conflicted look, narrowed his eyes when he sensed someone’s gaze.

“Do you have more to say?”

“…I believe we need to have a serious conversation. About the Madam’s condition.”

Alberto, who had expected no more than a scolding for being a piece of trash, turned to Rabiana in surprise at the unexpected remark.

The physician looked unusually solemn. At his silent signal, Alberto gave a slight nod. His gaze turned toward Rabiana, sleeping as if unaware of the world.

The physician opened his mouth. What followed was a conversation Alberto hadn’t anticipated.

A heavy silence settled over the bedroom.

***

When Rabiana awoke, she was in someone’s arms.

She felt bare skin pressing against her body as she slowly lifted her heavy eyelids.

Flickering candlelight came into view. A warm amber glow filled her sight.

She stared blankly at it until a voice came from beside her.

“You’re awake?”

“…”

The one holding her was Alberto.

The man who had spoken to her so cruelly now showed not even a trace of guilt.

He didn’t look the least bit drowsy.

“Why…”

Rabiana’s voice, in contrast, was hoarse and worn.

Her throat stung, and she swallowed hard.

“Why are you… like this…”

“Because you’re very weak, My Lady.”

What did that have to do with anything? Rabiana bit her lower lip, her fingers brushing the necklace around her neck.

“The physician.”

“…”

“Said that to conceive well, your body needs to be kept warm. Especially in your case—he said you naturally run very cold.”

His words, spoken with concern for whether she had a body suitable to bear his child, completely disregarded Rabiana’s personhood.

As the fresh wave of shock settled, Rabiana realized something.

From the very beginning, she had placed far too much hope in this kind of relationship.

The human heart is a fickle thing.

She hadn’t forgotten that this marriage only persisted because of her usefulness in bearing a child.

And yet, even the smallest hint of affection shown toward her had opened her heart, leading her to entertain foolish hopes.

Rabiana hadn’t even realized she’d begun to expect anything from him—

Not until she found herself wounded by every word Alberto said.

“You can just cover me with a blanket. Or… if I put on clothes…”

“When your body temperature drops on the battlefield, there’s no better warmth than another’s.”

Alberto had once gone to war. He was seventeen when the imperial palace summoned him.

At the time, news had already spread widely that the Roen estate had found an heir.

The head of the Roen family had seemed surprised, but could not defy the will of the palace.

Alberto’s deployment had been driven by personal matters.

At seventeen, he had been invited to the palace.

It was originally an invitation from the crown prince, who had been impressed by the dancing of the Roen family’s two unmarried daughters.

But the lord, having only daughters, insisted that Alberto accompany them.

And on that visit, he caught the eye of the crown prince’s youngest sister—the youngest imperial princess.

He hadn’t shown her any particular attention, but the princess proposed marriage.

The emperor flew into a rage. He declared he would never give his daughter to a dog that merely guarded the northern lands.

Soon after, he pushed Alberto into a battlefield destined for death.

Of course, Alberto returned victorious, and in return, he was granted freedom.

Still, one could not say the youngest princess had no part in his sudden decision to marry.

It solidified the belief that he needed to wed and produce an heir before anything like that could happen again.

“This isn’t a battlefield. And I’m… not even that cold…”

Before she could finish speaking, Alberto’s rough palm slid over her belly.

The faint heat rubbing against her skin sent a chill down her spine.

Warmth spreading over her cool arms felt eerily like a shiver from cold, and her body trembled.

“Mm…”

Rabiana clamped her hand over her mouth, startled by the sound that escaped.

She was far more sensitive than most. It was a survival instinct—every nerve in her body always alert.

The development of her senses, excluding sight, made that inevitable.

Even so, she felt ashamed. Like some uncontrollable animal.

“When I touch you like this,”

His hand brushed over the goosebumps rising along her arm.

“You get the warmest.”

“…ugh”

Rabiana flinched.

Why did that hand feel so especially hot as it touched her?

She worried that those heated fingers might soon press into her most delicate places again, crushing and breaking her down until they drew out more shameful sounds.

Sensing her body go rigid with tension, Alberto let out a short laugh.

“I’m not going to do anything right now.”