Chapter 2.3

Aness was only able to safely make it to her room and get a good night’s sleep thanks entirely to the help of the maid Dana. Quick-witted and considerate, Dana had lied to the Baroness that night and secretly waited for the youngest lady, Aness.

The Baroness, believing she had gone to bed early due to feeling unwell, postponed that day’s lesson on chastity until the next day.

Dana was shocked when she saw the state of the young lady who arrived home late at night on foot. Aness’s hair was completely disheveled, and her clothes were crumpled and messy.

‘Where on earth did she go?’

Exhausted, Aness staggered to her room and collapsed onto her bed, falling into a deep sleep. Dana, who had quietly followed her in, quickly checked the clothes the lady had thrown off.

It was a purple dress she had never seen before. It was an expensive dress that a poor family could never afford, so it was certainly suspicious.

And then, she found a surprising clue in an unexpected place. Even though Aness was so tired she could barely stand, she still changed into fresh underwear before crawling under the covers.

While Aness slept soundly, Dana examined her discarded underwear and was so shocked she nearly fell over backward.

It had been nearly ten years since she lost her husband, but there was no way she wouldn’t know. The underwear of an unmarried young lady, who had never even married, was soaked through with a man’s s*men.

It was clear to Dana that, as Aness had walked home right after intercourse, the man’s s*men that had pooled inside her had kept leaking out, soaking her undergarments like this.

At that moment, Dana immediately realized the gravity of the situation. The Baroness would never tolerate this. For the youngest Miss, who had just come of age, to have experienced relations with a man—this was something absolutely unthinkable.

The Baroness, who valued chastity more than life itself, was certain not to let this go.

‘Miss, what on earth has happened to you?’

Shocked, Dana gazed at Aness’s peacefully sleeping face, falling into deep worry about what to do about this situation.

It was clear that the innocent lady had fallen for the tricks of some reckless noble wastrel. Otherwise, who would dare lay hands so carelessly on the daughter of even a humble family?

Just who was this rogue? The scoundrel who trampled on the innocent lady’s chastity. Before she knew it, maid Dana was wiping away a tear and cursing under her breath.

***

Caron, who had just woken up, looked down at his own n*ked body. He stared blankly at the disheveled bedding before suddenly coming to his senses and jumping up from bed. Carefully retracing his memory, he muttered to himself.

“That wicked woman.”

Now, all the facts came back to him vividly. He remembered drinking tea laced with some strange drug the day before, losing his senses, and embracing the woman’s body.

“How desperate must she have been to plot something so shameless? She must have known I would refuse her.”

Since it seemed a proper marriage would be difficult, she had cowardly decided to take his chastity and use it as a weapon.

“Should I call her clever? To try to secure marriage by using such dirty tricks.”

Caron frowned and clenched his teeth. Of course, it hadn’t been such a bad night. He recalled how, even though it was his first time, he had been so aroused that he couldn’t stop himself.

Whenever the woman fainted from exhaustion, he would gently bite her neck to wake her, only to drive into her again, determined to satisfy his desire. He must have lost control from having been deprived for so long.

It had been his first experience, and for a first time, it was surprisingly good. He remembered how lovely she was, shuddering and moaning, and how he had nibbled her from her ears to her toes.

‘Hmm. It was certainly good. So this is what it’s like to be with a woman. My body feels light, as if I could fly, like I’ve shaken off twenty years of heaviness in one go.’

Outwardly, he acted angry about being tricked into this, but inside he kept recalling that thrilling moment with excitement.

He immediately summoned his loyal butler, Volteman.

“Take the family seal and go bring Abel, the young lady of the Strauss family, here at once.”

A command from the House of Perschtmann was as good as an order from the Emperor. He was determined to bring that bold and clever woman to his house immediately, issuing an order no one could defy.

‘She took my chastity, so of course she must take responsibility and marry me. I’ll grant her wish, just as she wanted.’

That clever woman had gone so far as to spike his tea with a drug to marry him, and in the end, her plan had succeeded.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll just have to revise my plans.”

Caron propped his chin on his hand and let a faint smile cross his lips. His plan to marry at thirty was now scrapped. He intended to marry the woman who had stolen his seed right away.

Since she’d taken his seed last night, pregnancy was as good as certain. Of course, she probably didn’t realize that yet.

Thinking of the previous night, Caron felt heat rising in his lower body again. He had never experienced such pleasure in his life.

He had always thought that sweeping down enemies on the battlefield was the greatest joy, but the excitement of last night’s wild escapade had left his heart pounding all over again.

Remembering those soft lips he had kissed countless times made him feel an unbearable thirst.

‘I’ll have to marry her right away and do this every night. To think I never knew how good this was—what a foolish life I’ve led.’

He pushed aside the work the Emperor himself had asked him to finish by today, and called Volteman, the butler who had just returned from his errand, back into the office.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

The butler, startled by the Duke’s gaze as he propped his chin and glared, asked nervously.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Pardon?”

When Caron suddenly questioned him with a frightening look, the butler was bewildered and didn’t know what to say.

“You’ve been married for about three years now, haven’t you?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“You never told me how wonderful it is to be with a woman. Why didn’t you tell me? If I’d known, I would have married much sooner.”

He’d always thought only of his duty to sow his seed and have children. He’d never imagined there could be such pleasure behind it.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I just never thought that was something that needed to be said.”

The butler bowed his head, looking a bit aggrieved. Did it really need to be said out loud? On the other hand, he was curious how the Duke, who’d never shown any interest in women, had suddenly become enlightened.

Had he perhaps visited a brothel for the first time and discovered a whole new world? But why, out of nowhere, the Strauss young lady? Well, there had been a marriage proposal from that family among the recent letters.

Volteman tilted his head in confusion. He had no idea that the Duke had secretly gone out the day before to meet a woman.

***

Meanwhile, the Strauss Ducal family was in an uproar. The Duke and Duchess had submitted a marriage proposal at their daughter’s urging, but hadn’t expected much.

Would that arrogant Knight Commander Caron even bother to look at the proposal? Even the old Emperor was at a loss with that young noble, whose standards were so high that ordinary noble ladies wouldn’t even catch his eye. Maybe a princess from a neighboring kingdom, but would he ever give his heart to a lady from his own country?

They’d submitted the proposal, but didn’t expect much, since their daughter Abel was plain in appearance, not very sociable, and had never even exchanged greetings with the Duke. So when they suddenly received word from him, they were bewildered.

Caron had sent the Perschtmann family seal, personally inviting their daughter to the Ducal residence, and even hinted that he would soon summon the Duke and Duchess as well. Anyone could see this was a clear sign of impending marriage.

“Abel, do you know what’s going on here?”

The Duchess of Strauss, looking puzzled, gently asked her daughter, who was just getting ready to go out. Landing the great Duke of Perschtmann was the pride of the family.

“Ah, n-no, I’m not really sure myself…”

Abel stammered, her face flushed red. In truth, she had no idea what was going on, but her heart was pounding wildly.

To be contacted directly by the Duke she’d long admired, and to be invited to his mansion—she would be meeting him alone.

‘How did Madame Boris pull this off? She really is amazing. I was so upset the other day, thinking everything was ruined when I fell ill, but what happened? Ah, I owe Madame Boris so much. How can I ever repay her? Thank you! I’ll never forget this kindness.’

Abel Strauss silently thanked Madame Boris from her heart, dressed herself up in a splendid gown, and finally set out for the Duke of Perschtmann’s mansion.

Her heart was about to burst at the thought of seeing the famed Duke’s face.