Squirrel.

On the day he first saw Elia Weiss, Casiel thought that.

When he heard that a woman had passed the financial administrator exam, which was difficult to pass even after decades of wrestling with numbers, he thought she must be quite smart and quick-witted.

He had certainly thought she would be a rigid, bookworm-like woman, but when he actually went to see, what was waiting was a young, small woman with a gentle impression resembling a squirrel.

Well, eighteen is indeed young.

While he was thinking this about Elia, who was only two years younger than him, Elia’s face stiffened as if she had witnessed a cursed monster when their eyes met.

Casiel habitually frowned.

It was a reaction he had seen to the point of being sick of it.

Enemies who faced death on the battlefield, or criminals who had committed great sins and faced punishment, would show exactly that expression.

‘She’s still a child, so it’s no wonder.’

He had been building a fearsome reputation on battlefields since his crown prince days.

People who became frightened from the start due to his cold impression were as common as stones kicked by feet.

The moment he thought this woman was also that type despite being called smart, his interest completely dropped. Those who became scared before even starting work were indeed no fun.

“I commend your achievement and hope you will become an excellent pillar for the empire.”

Casiel left a short, dry greeting and turned away from that spot.

Whether interesting or not, a mere administrator was not something for Casiel to worry much about. They would just pass by each other occasionally within the imperial palace from now on.

Casiel, who left the scene cleanly, erased the new administrator from his mind after that day.

Until he saw Elia again a month later, assigned directly under him after completing her probationary training.

He didn’t even recognize Elia in her administrator’s uniform at first.

Only when he saw her swaying light brown hair tied up did the squirrel come to mind, and only after confirming the gaze that looked at him with round eyes did he realize this woman was that woman.

Of all things, this woman was assigned to his office.

She really must be smart. Being scared was fine, but the trembling was still annoying—that’s what he was thinking when it happened.

Elia held out a bundle of documents in front of Casiel, unable to hide her trembling fingertips.

His eyebrows twitched at the unexpected action, but Elia, who had bowed her head deeply, didn’t see that look and spoke in a hesitant voice.

“The finance minister told me to draft this winter’s relief budget and submit it to Your Majesty…… so I dared to try my hand at it.”

The hand offering the documents apologetically was pitifully shaking.

Though displeased, when he received the documents, Elia backed away to her place with her head deeply bowed.

Two desks near the door of Casiel’s office. The one closer to the door was the seat assigned to Elia.

After glancing at her appearance with red ear tips, unable to hide her tension, Casiel looked at the documents and his eyes soon widened.

When he carefully examined the ten or so pages of documents one by one and turned to the very last page, he smiled a little.

He had wondered what kind of skill a young woman had to pass such a difficult exam, and indeed it was understandable.

The flawlessly constructed budget plan was so perfect that no fault could be found.

Casiel tapped the documents he had placed on his desk with his finger and fell into thought.

She’s a woman who even passed the administrator exam, so I should make good use of her, right? As long as no blood spatters in front of her, the fear will gradually disappear with time.

It was a reasonably rational decision.

As always, the decision Casiel made through rational thinking brought about decent results.

Elia was competent.

Though not fast, her calm and meticulous work handling was exactly the style he liked.

Her gentle personality of appropriately laughing at others’ words and matching the atmosphere, and her fresh opinions that she quietly offered from time to time—everything about her fit the conditions of a subordinate the emperor had wanted.

But just one thing.

It bothered him when she would tremble and bow her head deeply whenever their gazes happened to brush.

She couldn’t properly meet his eyes when standing in front of him, and when following behind, he could clearly feel her hesitant footsteps.

Since his direct financial administrator, whom he had to keep by his side and see every day, was like this, he couldn’t help but pay attention to it.

“Well, isn’t she cute?”

Once, when he casually complained about when Administrator Weiss would stop being like that, Count Kent smiled bitterly and evaluated her that way.

Cute, my foot.

He glared annoyingly, but Count Kent just shrugged his shoulders.

‘In some ways, she’s really remarkable.’

Casiel evaluated Elia, who was trembling beneath his body, while recalling past times.

Five years was enough time to become accustomed even to living in the same house as a lion.

How could she so consistently fear him despite seeing him every day except for occasional holidays or business trips?

‘I never once showed her anything truly fearsome.’

Anyway, that wasn’t an important problem.

The problem he was currently facing was different.

Certainly, at first, it was something he did out of anger.

He had planned to spread talk about empress selection and first gauge the reactions of ministers and the noble council. After that, he intended to carefully ask about her own intentions.

But suddenly, marriage with another man.

When Elia said that, though he was pretending to be expressionless, several storms passed through Casiel’s insides.

But looking at Elia, who was helplessly bound and looking at him with large eyes full of tears……

This was serious.

A chilling sensation wrapped around Casiel’s entire body.

His lower abdomen tightened at those large eyes that seemed ready to drop tears at any moment.

He had been drinking an appropriate amount while waiting for Elia to wake up.

The sensation of the soft, pudding-like inside of her mouth that he had forcibly taken still lingered on the tip of his tongue.

His member under the thin silk robe began to rise and throb on its own.

‘This is dangerous……’

Elia, with her young squirrel-like face, was dressed in the neat administrator’s uniform with buttons fastened up to her neck.

Though there wasn’t even the slightest element to excite a man, Elia’s tearful face stimulated Casiel.

Her white neck, which had turned red from being rubbed against her collar as she turned her head this way and that to avoid the rough kiss, caught Casiel’s eye.

Should I undo just a few buttons?

Would the skin inside that collar be as pale as her neck?

He was deeply absorbed in fantasies that branched out toward the appetizing prey before his eyes.

“Your Majesty…… sniff. Why, why are you doing this?”

The trembling voice stopped Casiel’s fantasies. But.

“I’m sorry. I…… don’t know what I did wrong…… I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Sniff.”

Because of the tears dropping from her large eyes, because of her flushed red cheeks, Elia’s words didn’t register in his ears.

“Once I leave the imperial palace, I’ll never turn my head toward the palace again. Please…… please…… forgive……”

Casiel frowned at the painfully tightening sensation in his lower abdomen.

Looking at Elia, who was tied to the bed with both arms and sobbing, made his lower body feel like it would burst.

The original plan was just to create a situation where it would be hard to back out, but making it so she absolutely couldn’t escape might not be bad either.

Thinking this, the emperor gauged the small frame of Elia lying beneath him.

With such a big difference in physique, it would be very difficult at first.

But just inserting the tip slightly would be okay, wouldn’t it?

The front part of the thin silk robe was already damp.

His c*ck, which had grown as large as it could possibly get, gained even more strength at Elia’s flushed face as she couldn’t even look at Casiel’s center and averted her gaze.

Since they were going to marry anyway, having a child first might not be bad either.

There would be more than one or two people commenting about the empress appointment, but if a child was conceived, wouldn’t at least half of them shut their mouths?

Constantly finding justifications for his growing desire, Casiel untied the waist sash of his robe.

“Your, Your, Your Majesty!”

As the silk robe slipped down smoothly and he became completely n*ked, Elia screamed in horror and squeezed her eyes shut.

At Elia’s appearance, not knowing what to do with her embarrassment, Casiel’s mouth slowly spread into a smile.

His chest tickled.

A rare unguarded smile naturally leaked out at the vivid emotion that made him wonder why he hadn’t noticed before.

When he brought his heated lips to her ear and bit her earlobe firmly, Elia’s small body jumped up like a fish struck by a harpoon.

Not missing that opportunity, he slipped his hand between her skirt folds, and Elia, realizing the uninvited intrusion, struggled.

Casiel moved his long arm and easily found the hollow gap, rubbing over her underwear.

“Your Majesty!”

Now Elia’s voice was almost like a wail.

Her heaving chest caught his attention as she sobbed, begging him to please stop.

Her cleavage, revealed through the disheveled collar from her violent movements, tempted Casiel.

He hadn’t realized because she was originally so thin, but the chest that had been tightly hidden beneath the uniform that usually came up to her neck was surprisingly full.

Like an enchanted person, Casiel disheveled Elia’s clothes.

When he roughly stripped off her clothes as if tearing them, her soft br*asts that had been hidden inside the clothes popped out.

He stared blankly at the sight of azalea-colored n*pples decorating her modest br*asts when a tear that fell from Elia’s eye wet Casiel’s hand.

Though it was a tear shed from being unable to bear bewilderment and shame, even that seemed like an aphrodisiac to him.