Chapter 32

“So, this is the Elplü Whiskey he boasted about. The woman who was to indulge in it didn’t even know its value and spat it out.” 

The woman, unable to process his sarcasm, barely soothed her burning throat as she looked at Karel. Cough, cough. Under her flushed eyes, suppressed coughs kept escaping.  

The man, who had been gazing down at her nose for a long while, said nothing. Instead, he took another sip of whiskey and lifted her chin. Once again, he pressed her cheeks to force her mouth open, tilting his head over hers.  

Her violet eyes trembled violently in the shadow of his looming figure, anticipating the harsh sensation that had burned her mouth earlier.  

Why does he want me to drink this…?  

With a face full of fear, she obediently accepted the golden liquid into her mouth. Cough. Reflexively, she nearly spat it out, but she clenched her lips tightly to endure. Unable to swallow the scorching liquid that briefly touched her throat, she puffed her cheeks and watched the man’s face.  

“…Mm.”  

The inside of her cheeks felt as if they were being burned, causing her brows to furrow. The spot where Randolph had slapped her had collided with her teeth, leaving a tear.  

Only then did she realize her mouth was injured. On top of that, the corner of her lips, where the whiskey had leaked, throbbed painfully. It was the spot Randolph’s rough hand had split open.  

As the woman processed the pain inside and outside her mouth, Karel silently stared down at her.  

‘Ah… He knows I was hit.’  

His downward gaze was cold and unyielding, but she interpreted it as kindness.  

After all, he had saved her.  

Gulp. As if under a spell cast by his icy blue eyes, she swallowed the contents in her mouth. Her throat burned as if scalded, and the lingering alcohol on her tongue felt unbearably hot.  

The taste of aged oak barrels and the pungent smell of disinfectant lingered in her mouth.  

Meanwhile, Karel took another mouthful of whiskey, pulling down her chemise past her navel as he leaned toward her. The old, tattered chemise, already worn out from Randolph’s rough handling and tearing, bunched weakly around her pelvis.  

Her thin patience reached its limit.  

Rattle. The tightly shut shutters trembled faintly under the Fairy Mother’s fierce wrath.  

Karel’s lips covered hers. The golden-brown liquid, warmed in his mouth, invaded hers harshly, tearing through her throat. She endured the sensation of her mucous membranes burning.  

When his lips swallowed hers entirely, the metallic taste of blood mingled with the whiskey.  

As his body leaned further into her, the kiss deepened. Her cheeks and lips burned, but she barely managed to welcome his intrusion.  

Karel’s hand gripped her full hips, pulling her closer as he removed her chemise. Meanwhile, his other hand traced the curves beneath her chest, following the ridges of her ribs and the soft flesh of her stomach.  

His touch was dry and meticulous, as if confirming that everything was as he remembered.  

And when his hand finally reached the bush below—  

“…Hmph.”  

Her lips parted, and a soft moan escaped as his firm fingers traced the folds of her intimate area. Unlike when he licked her wounds or disinfected her with whiskey, this sound carried a completely different tone.  

Swallowing her barely audible cries back into her mouth, Karel delved into her entrance. Her dry mucous membranes clung to his fingertips.  

This wasn’t what he had imagined.  

In the fantasies that fueled his restless mornings, she was always the temptress—a witch who seduced him with an abundance of moisture, enticing him with her allure.  

So, you didn’t want this much.  

You didn’t miss me that much.  

Without considering that her fear from the day’s events and the pain of the harsh disinfection might have caused this, Karel interrogated her with his probing fingers.  

After all, this lewd witch would eventually become aroused again.  

“Ugh, hmph…”  

Her dry walls clung stiffly to his rough fingers. The friction intensified as his fingers pushed deeper, scraping against the textured inner walls.  

Meanwhile, his other hand pressed down on her chest, twisting her n*pple as if reprimanding her. Even Karel didn’t realize that his actions carried traces of resentment.  

While his lips, cautious of her injured mouth, avoided further intrusion, they found new targets. He nibbled at her chin, her earlobe, and eventually buried his face in her neck.  

His craving to inhale her scent consumed him.  

The once dry, fishy smell of her skin was now mixed with the lingering fragrance of the whiskey he had spilled. It was the only scent he could indulge in without feeling repulsed.  

“Mm, ugh, ah…”  

His rough movements below caused her to tremble. She simply braced herself with her hands behind her back, letting him explore her body. His probing fingers lacked gentleness, blindly stirring her insides.  

She focused solely on the sensations he evoked, surrendering herself to his touch.  

How could I express my desires?  

To her, he was the kindest man for saving her life. If he wanted to soak her walls and thrust himself inside, that was his prerogative.  

Her only wish in this moment was to fulfill the request she had made weeks ago—to spend the night with him.  

Since that day, her world had completely changed.  

The noble Cambiano man, whose bloodline was revered, had intertwined his flesh with hers multiple times. She had accepted him into her most private places, memorized every inch of his body…  

She had seen how his face crumbled when he suppressed his climax, how his muscles rippled when he accelerated his thrusts toward ecstasy, how his sweat-drenched hair clung to his forehead after long journeys…  

Moments of the Montferdia prince, known only to her, had accumulated endlessly.  

Her world, once confined to the small village of Oedel, had been utterly transformed by the prince who rode a massive warhorse into the royal palace.  

Even if her wretched body remained here, crushed beneath his weight…  

Her hand instinctively reached for his shoulder. The long absence of contact made her gesture awkward, cautious as she gauged the boundaries of what she was allowed to touch.  

At that moment, his shoulder stiffened.  

The aggressive sucking at her neck, as if trying to revive her faded scent, abruptly stopped.  

“I-I’m sorry…”  

She flinched and tried to withdraw her hand, but Karel slowly lifted his head.  

His gaze, fixed on her face, was deep and turbulent, like the eerie depths of a forest lake said to devour travelers at night.  

The eyes that once sparkled like stars beneath his heavy armor were now clouded by uncontrollable desire.  

She didn’t know what was contained in his gaze, but the fact that she was solely reflected in his deep blue eyes made her heart race.  

Thump, thump, thump.  

Her heartbeat slowed as it pulsed heavily.  

“What are you doing all of a sudden?”  

Ah, no…!

Caught off guard by his unexpected words, she shook her head more vigorously than her trembling voice could muster.  

Had I offended him by pushing him away?  

Her startled reaction made her eyes glisten with tears again.  

“How are you any different from him?”  

Karel’s voice, questioning her, sounded strangely dry. His interrogation seemed directed at himself.  

She bit her lip and shook her head slowly. 

No, I would never think that.

Her lips, frozen in distress, trembled faintly above her confused eyes.  

“I can’t help it.”  

At that moment, Karel’s hand, which had been gripping her hips, suddenly seized the woman’s hand and pulled it toward him. The place where his touch guided her was…

“I end up like this every time I think about you.”

In the woman’s fingertips was something that had occasionally sent shivers down her spine just from thinking about it over the past few dozen days. It was solid, thick, and hot.

“You’re the one who made me like this.”

Karel spoke briefly, mocking himself, while firmly pressing her hand. Her hand naturally wrapped around his through his trousers.

“No.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Karel guided the woman’s hand inside his waistband. His intent was clear.

With one hand struggling, the woman managed to undo the fastenings of his trousers. Then, she reached inside and grasped the man’s fully swollen member. Heated as it was, it twitched and pulsed at the touch of her cold hand.

She gripped just below the tip, pressing the split with her thumb. Smearing the slick fluid that had already seeped out, she gently rubbed the head and slid her hand downwards, squeezing his engorged shaft in her palm as she moved.

“Ugh.” 

Karel swallowed a short moan and immediately pushed the woman down onto her back. The mere touch of her hand had almost made him release what he had been holding back for days, which annoyed him greatly.

Startled, the woman froze, unable to do anything, her hand still gripping his member, awaiting Karel’s next move. She trembled even at his slightest movement, fearing him deeply.