Chapter 21

‘A mere heir of some rural lordling, not even the proper successor, dared to defile that face….’  

To tarnish the noble and cruel lord he had served his entire life, to reduce that face—one he had pledged eternal loyalty to—to nothing more than an object of lust….  

Yes. He was angry at Randolph. That dog who served the First Princess, that bastard who licked his lips at the thought of bedding a virgin girl who bore the Princess’s face. And, irrationally, he was angry at the woman herself, cursed to be born with that face and destined to be humiliated by scoundrels….  

“…Ah!”  

Karel leaned forward and grabbed her chest. Normally, he might have pretended to tease her n*pples, but now his hands were rough, almost squeezing them cruelly.  

“Sir Knight, ah, it hurts….”  

That bastard might have only stolen a glance, but Karel knew everything hidden beneath her clothes. The supple texture that filled his hands, the hardened peaks that responded when he lightly grazed them, the curves that deepened into a valley when he pressed them together with one hand—these were things only he knew.  

And that bastard might have only seen the pale, delicate nape of her neck where a few strands of hair had fallen loose. He would never know how many marks Karel had left beneath the scarf tied tightly around her throat.  

“Hah… ahh….”  

He knew how she trembled with pleasure when he trailed kisses down her spine.  

“Ah… ugh….”  

He knew exactly where the blunt head of his manhood needed to press to make her gasp and moan.  

“Hah… ahh… ah! Ahh….”  

He knew how her body arched when she reached her climax, how her trembling entrance gripped him so tightly it felt as though it would swallow him whole. And when she finally caught her breath, her back and chest rising and falling, he knew how she looked then, too.  

Only he would know.  

At least until today.  

***

“You… don’t know your age?”  

“Pardon? Me?”  

The man finally spoke as he entered her for the third time.  

The linen cloths used to wipe away his earlier release—spilled across her back and face—were crumpled and scattered across the bed. The pungent scent of his release mingled with the smell of sweat, making the air thick and humid. Frost clung heavily to the glass window, forgotten behind the drawn curtains.  

The woman’s question was met with silence.  

He simply grasped her legs one by one, spreading them apart as he moved his hips slowly. Thanks to the fluids that had flowed freely all night, his movements were unhindered.  

Her chest, swaying gently with his rhythm, rose and fell in time with her labored breaths.  

“Well, um….”  

Her response came out as a mix of words and gasps. Her bare chest heaved with each breath.  

“Actually, I turned twenty last autumn….”  

Ah.  

A faint, unreadable relief crossed the man’s face. He had heard Selma say she wasn’t yet of age, and despite that, he had pounced on her like a beast. The guilt only hit him now—after he had entered her again.  

“The innkeeper said you were still a child.”  

“Well, um, Selma worries a lot….”  

Her nose flushed red.  

Despite the roughness of his thrusts, the woman had found some pleasure in their union, having been driven to climax multiple times that night. Her body, drained of strength, had surrendered to his movements, though her overly sensitive core continued to react, leaving her weaker with each passing moment.  

The man said nothing more, simply gazing down at her as if urging her to continue.  

“Well… ahh… the village elders said that once I became an adult, they’d marry me off to someone of high status….”  

It was the first time he had heard her speak so much.  

Perhaps even she found it strange, as her tone was subdued, her words slow and deliberate. Her breaths, laced with her words, grew increasingly ragged, adding an unintentionally sensual undertone. Even with his slow movements, he could feel himself growing harder within her.  

“So… they dressed me up like this.”  

As her weak smile flickered across her face—  

“Like that man earlier.”  

“Ah, well….”  

At Karel’s intentionally cold words, the woman’s expression darkened immediately.  

So, she knew.  

‘If that’s the case, shouldn’t this have never happened?’  

Perhaps the distance between Eldorff and the capital meant their views on chastity were different. But for someone of noble blood to take a commoner as a spouse based solely on appearance… it was bound to be an issue. Across Cambiano, it was common for women to be cast aside under the pretense of lost chastity. For a commoner woman with no family to return to, being abandoned would be even more devastating….  

…But what did it matter? It wasn’t his problem.  

He was marching toward death, jaws wide open to swallow him whole. And it was this witch who had seduced him.  

Karel thrust his hips sharply. The woman’s chest heaved with the motion, and a soft, muffled moan escaped her lips.  

“If he knew what you were doing right now, would he still drool over you?”  

“Ah… that’s….”  

“If he knew you came running to warm my bed every night….”  

“Hah…!”  

“If he knew you were lying beneath me like this….”  

“…Ah….”  

“If he knew you had already shared your body with me, that you could no longer be a bride….”  

It was practically a curse. Randolph’s lust wasn’t even her fault.  

“Well, that’s….”  

Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes as her face crumpled. She had only wanted to be close to the man who drew her in. She hadn’t considered how her lowly status might cause problems. Was the knight angry because of the lord’s third son, the one waiting to take her away?  

But her own will had no place in any of this. Falling for the man before her, having her fate decided by others… none of it had been her choice.  

‘Was it wrong to seek him at night? But….’  

But, that was the only choice left in her life….  

Even amidst this, the man relentlessly pushed against her inner walls. His movements were harsh, almost like blows, as he pressed the tip of himself against the place that made her shudder. The lingering echoes of her previous climax quickly gave way to signs of pleasure once more. Blushing deeply, she murmured her response.  

“Still… ah, it feels… good….”  

It feels good that you accept me, Sir Knight. That I can be used to ease your pent-up desires and warm your cold bed on this freezing night.  

It feels good that you kiss me, that you touch my unworthy body with such urgency, as if I were indispensable. It feels good that you lose control because of me, that you find release at the very end of your restraint.  

I feel good because it’s you, Sir Knight.  

Her clumsy words carried the weight of her feelings, though they were simple in expression.  

A faint moan followed. On the edge of the climax he had driven her to, tears welled up and trickled down her flushed cheeks.  

Seeing this before him, Karel thought his heart was moving in a way he didn’t understand. Had he ever felt such a tight grip on his chest before? Perhaps it was similar to what he had felt when he received the news that his mother had passed away long ago.  

Perhaps it was because he pitied this woman, who shared a fate similar to his mother’s. 

But if he pitied her, he should feel disgusted with himself for being unable to take responsibility for her. He should hate himself for still holding her in his arms, even after learning of her circumstances.  

‘But, what else can I do…?’  

He had never imagined taking her back to the capital. To even consider that, he would have to think about his life in the capital after this expedition. But he truly believed this was the end for him.  

The two orders he had been given:  

To traverse the Gray Mountain Range, infested with magical beasts, and bring back proof that the Light Dragon had not awakened. Or, if it had awakened, to kill it.  

Karel did not think he could accomplish either task.  

No, it was more accurate to say he refused to entertain the possibility.  

‘If I don’t return, then perhaps that’s your fate as well.’  

Especially since the last look his lord had given him was so cold….  

Could I even survive and return?  

An expedition he himself did not believe in was destined to fail.  

Karel pressed on, forcing himself to continue the act. He plunged into her, his manhood swollen and taut from her tightness. Amidst the overwhelming pleasure, he clung to his fraying sanity, balancing precariously between fear and exhilaration. He was barely holding himself together.  

If he were alone, he would have spent this bleak time swallowing despair. Instead, he drowned it in the mind-numbing bliss of their union.  

Perhaps he clung to her even more because he knew he couldn’t take responsibility. If he couldn’t take responsibility once, then it wouldn’t matter if it happened a thousand times. And so, he threw himself into this act over and over, using her kindness as an excuse to keep himself grounded.  

She was like an anchor dropped into the depths of a lightless ocean.  

It would have been easier if she were simply driven by lust. If that were the case, he wouldn’t hate himself so much for leaving her behind.