His hand reached from behind and forced its way between Serine’s lips. As if toying with her, he played with her small tongue, pressing against the soft inner flesh of her palate and the inside of her cheeks, teasing her without restraint.

“You lost the bet. The loser obeys quietly.”

As if I’d let you decide that!

Unable to hold back her anger, she bit down hard on his fingers.

“F*ck.”

Valoid frowned and forced her down beneath him. Gripping behind both her knees, he folded her nearly in half and pressed down from above, thrusting into her.

Something massive drove inside. Though she was thoroughly soaked, her still-tight entrance was forced open without mercy. He pushed deeper and deeper, until the soft tip suddenly pressed down harshly, making her legs spasm.

“Who told you to bite like that, hm?”

He grabbed her lower jaw and shook it, like disciplining a badly behaved dog. The gesture made her blood boil.

If she bit once, why couldn’t she do it twice?

Each time she bared her teeth, his body stiffened. The thought that she had finally managed to hurt that infuriating man filled her with a fleeting sense of triumph.

But why was it that the thing driving inside her seemed to grow harder along with it?

“Biting… it’s more exciting than I thought.”

“Ha—ngh!”

“Go on. Bite more. Like a b*tch.”

He braced his arms beside her head, offering his forearm like a bone, while forcing himself into her tightening entrance.

“Y-you’re… insane—ah! Aah! Ngh!”

He drove into her with all his might. Her body sank deep into the sheets, only to bounce back as the mattress recoiled. Acting on pure instinct, he used that momentum to thrust deeper and faster, invading her without pause.

With each forceful thrust, her folds spread further apart. Each time his body collided with hers, her sensitive core was struck by pressure, sending sharp jolts up her inner thighs. At some point, it became too much; she thrashed around wildly, on the verge of losing control.

“No—haah! Let go—ah! Aah!”

“You came again? How pretty. My little pet.”

“Hng… I’m breaking… please, stop.”

“If you want me to stop, you shouldn’t look at a man like that.”

Valoid cupped her cheek and pulled her closer. His heated, alcohol-fueled tongue invaded her mouth, probing deeply and relentlessly. He pressed against her tender flesh and sucked as if he would pull her tongue out by the root, bringing tears to her eyes. No matter how hard she hit his shoulders, they felt like stone — only her own hands hurt.

“Did I tell you? Out of all that man’s children, you resemble Morius the most.”

Pulling away, he stared at her as if tasting her with his eyes. His gaze traced over her flushed cheeks, her tear-filled eyes, and the swollen lips he had bitten and sucked.

“Every time you lie beneath me, I feel like I’ll lose my mind with pleasure. Ah, my Seri… why did you only appear before me now?”

A cruel delight flickered in his narrowing golden eyes.

Gritting her teeth, Serine held back her tears and bit into his arm.

At last, she saw his true intention clearly.

He was humiliating her—to insult her father.

The only flawed daughter of the perfect Marquess Penrose.

***

The storm-like night passed.

Serine slowly opened her swollen eyes, her dried tears stiff against her lids. As expected, she was alone in the bed.

When she pushed herself up, pain shot through her thighs, her waist, even deep between her legs. Days of being worn down had left her body marked and bruised.

She felt miserable. Exhausted.

But she was not Suzanna—so even if she cried, no one would comfort her. There was no one here who would.

‘I have to get out of here.’

By now, her father must have realized that something was wrong. The story about the bear was just an excuse — he would realize that the Grand Duke had taken Serine.

For a man who had been waiting a long time for an opportunity to attack Valoid, this would provide the perfect justification. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Penrose knights stormed in at any moment.

But Serine had no way of knowing what was happening outside.

From her bedroom, all she could see was the silent forest.

‘This must be his intention too.’

She had to find a chance to escape—somehow.

Resolving herself, she dragged her trembling legs toward the door.

She turned the handle.

Of course… it wouldn’t open.

Why—

“Hello, pretty.”

The face right in front of her nearly made her faint.

“What a shame. That could’ve been a chance for a kiss.”

Looking down at her pale, startled face, Valoid shrugged casually.

“Seems I wasn’t very gentlemanly last night. I was drunk.”

“…Don’t worry about it. You’re not exactly a gentleman when you’re sober either.”

“You’re quite angry. As an apology, how about a walk? We’ll go out in an hour—get ready.”

“I don’t want to.”

Going out with Valoid?

The thought alone was terrifying—what if someone saw them?

“Then do you want to live here for the rest of your life? I wouldn’t mind.”

If she was going to look for a chance to escape, the outside would be better than this place.
Reluctantly, Serine agreed.

A few hours later, they arrived at the entrance of a vast, quiet hunting ground. There was no one around, so at least she didn’t have to worry about being seen.

The path at the entrance was neatly maintained, making it easy to walk. But the man beside her—whose presence was impossible to ignore—made her uneasy.

He was too large, too refined, and moved without a sound.

When he suddenly lifted his arm, Serine flinched.

“Why are you so startled? You’re not a rabbit.”

He had only been brushing back the strands of hair that had fallen over her forehead. Embarrassed at her own reaction, Serine pressed her lips together.

“When will you let me go back?”

“Do you want to go back?”

“Of course.”

“That’s a lie.”

His eyes narrowed like a crescent moon in daylight. For some reason, her chest tightened.

“Even if you’re not close with your family, it’s still better than being with a complete stranger, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes, family can be worse than strangers.”

“Even so, my future is mine to decide.”

“If you go back home, your family will decide that for you. I guarantee it won’t be anywhere comfortable.”

“You say that so easily. This situation only happened because you abducted me, Your Highness.”

“It’s not abduction. It’s a rescue.”

With a faint laugh, he grabbed her cheek. As if inspecting something, he traced along her slender jaw and well-shaped lips, his thumb brushing lightly across her teeth.

“I couldn’t just sit back and watch all these pretty teeth get pulled out.”

‘How much does this man know?’

Startled, she misstepped on a loose stone. Her body wavered, but Valoid caught her easily with one arm.

To him, everything seemed effortless.

“I can protect you, Serine. Even your family wouldn’t dare touch you in front of me.”

“You’re more dangerous to me, Your Highness. You’re planning to use me to insult my father, aren’t you? You’ll keep me by your side like a toy, amuse yourself, and throw me away once you’re bored.”

“Aren’t you seeing me a bit too much like a b*stard?”

He raised a brow, clutching at his chest in mock offense.

“But you’re not wrong. It is amusing to watch Marquess Penrose lose his composure just because I ask after you. He’s a slippery man—it’s not easy to provoke him.”

Chuckling, he pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her temple. Serine recoiled in disgust and tried to push him away, but it was useless.

“So, let’s date. Pretty.”

He smiled lazily.

“Even if we break up someday, I wouldn’t leave you with nothing. If a gentleman leaves a lover heartbroken, he should at least provide a three-story house in the capital, a set of the finest jewels, and enough money to live comfortably for life, don’t you think?”

“……”

“What’s with that expression?”

“I thought you wouldn’t let me go so easily. I assumed that once you got bored, you’d kill me, t*rture me, or sell me off to a brothel. If only because you hate my father.”

“Sleeping with a woman and then doing that? Just how much of a trash do you think I am?”

Valoid let out a hollow laugh.

“If you want, I’ll even write up a contract. I’ll stake the name of Rigenberg on it.”

It wasn’t particularly convincing. But she didn’t have any better plan either.

For the first time, Serine allowed herself to consider accepting his proposal.

This was a conservative society where even being caught alone with a man could cause an uproar.
And yet, if an unmarried woman like her stayed by the Grand Duke’s side as his lover… it would be chaos.

Her family, for the sake of their honor, might even try to strangle her themselves.

Hatred. Contempt. Pointing fingers.

The very things Serine had feared most while living as if she were deaf to the world.

Just imagining it made her stomach twist, a cold sweat breaking out across her skin.

“I can’t. I’m not strong enough to endure something like that.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Valoid smiled and came to a stop.

“Then I suppose I should let you go.”

“…Really?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’m not that much of a b*stard.”

With one hand tucked into his pocket, he tilted his head lazily.

“Go ahead. You’re free to leave.”