“Well, I just don’t… have faith in that.”

Anita gasped as his p*nis thrust forward as soon as it entered her. Her mouth wouldn’t close. Starting from the point of entry, she felt as if her entire body had been cleanly split in two.

“…In you.”

Whoosh.

Exhaling a deep breath, Cedric finished his murmur.

‘Did he say he would listen? He merely asked a question.’

When she thought about it, the answer was obvious. He would never stop until he had fully satisfied his greed. Anita trembled as Cedric thrust himself in all the way, yet she also berated herself for being foolish.

“Uh-heuk… Huk.”

After penetrating deeply, he began to ravage Anita’s insides. Puhk, puhk, puhk. This was accompanied by a sharp, tingling sensation and a sickening sound.

‘I hate this.’

Caught between pain and pleasure, Anita twisted her head.

Water slapped messily at the point of contact. The p*nis, which plunged and retreated forcefully and repeatedly, was visible as it thrust out onto her belly. Cedric’s eyes flashed at the sight of it rising up over her concave abdomen.

He groped her stomach with his hand. A strange feeling started at the nape of his neck and sent a chilling sensation down his spine.

He began to thrust even more roughly, pushing Anita hard. As she was shaken up and down mercilessly, Anita finally let out the moan she had been holding back.

“Hah, ah… Eut!”

“Just as I thought.”

Cedric let out a vulgar snicker and pressed his body down towards Anita’s. Continuing to thrust savagely, he stuck out his wet tongue and traced the deeply reddened rim of her ear.

“You’re quite adept at lying. Haa…”

Seeing her weeping and unable to move, he was consumed by an insatiable desire. Sticking out his pointed tongue, he jabbed it into her ear and began to nibble and suck her earlobe audibly.

The squelching sound of wetness soaking everything above and below made her ears pound. Anita’s legs, wrapped around Cedric’s waist, trembled faintly from the force of her grip.

She was already at breaking point, yet Cedric moved even more violently. Each time his heavy scrotum slapped against her, her breath hitched. Finally, Anita, groaning in pain and making moans she was ashamed to hear, raised her hands, gripped Cedric’s shoulders, and pleaded with him.

“Yo-Your Highness. Heeuk. Gently. Ah! Just a little… Heut! Please, ju-just a little slower… Eup.”

The force was too weak to be considered a grip. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that she had merely placed her hands there. Yet the skin she touched felt scorched, as if burned. This caused Cedric to pause his movements, which had been like those of a rutting dog, for a moment.

Keeping his p*nis deep inside her, he looked at Anita for a moment, then grabbed her arms. He made her, who was whimpering, wrap her arms around his neck, before resuming his hip movements, which were now much slower.

Although he had softened, he still filled her completely, leaving no gaps. With her cl*toris being rubbed from bottom to top while completely blocked off, Anita involuntarily tightened her arms around Cedric and clung to him.

“Heut, ung…! Ah, aheu, eut!”

The speed had decreased, but because of that, the pressure that struck her each time was even greater. The climax kept coming close, only to retreat again. Her insides clenched sharply and her lower abdomen tensed instinctively.

Cedric pressed his lips against hers again. Reluctantly, Anita opened her mouth. His snake-like tongue darted in, and simultaneously, his hot, throbbing p*nis found her exact spot inside her.

“Heuut!”

Along with the intense pleasure, a sharp, dizzying sensation pulsed through her. Terrified by the unfamiliar urge to urinate, she shuddered and moved her hips. Cedric held her fast as she tried to escape at the last moment, continuing his heavy, deliberate thrusts.

At one point, with his hips arched slightly, Cedric exhaled briefly. The pale s*men that had been filling her flowed out thickly as his p*nis half-retracted, wetting her v*lva once more.

“Aheu… heu…”

Water leaked out through the slightly open seam. Anita sobbed, feeling utterly drained, as if she were sinking to the bottom of a lake. Her face felt hot, as though she had made a mistake she hadn’t even made as a child.

Cedric gently rotated his hips as he listened to her sniffling. He slowly thrust his er*ect p*nis in and out, penetrating her completely melted and weakened insides until the very end. Each time, Anita curled her toes and let out a small moan.

After thoroughly enjoying the experience, Cedric reluctantly pulled away. Then, observing his wife’s s*men-steeped v*lva, he placed a hand on her swollen chest.

The space between her legs, smeared with s*men, seemed overly vulgar. His grey eyes narrowed instinctively, and his lower body urged him on.

Ignoring his conflicting thoughts, Cedric carelessly squeezed her soft br*asts. Exhausted and staring blankly at the ceiling, Anita further dampened her already moist eyes when she saw Cedric’s lewd face.

Meeting her blurred gaze, he knelt, bearing his weight on his knees. It was barely past midnight, approaching dawn. Shouldn’t she pay a heavy price for waking him up? He slipped his hands behind her knees.

All Anita could do was watch her legs swaying helplessly. She was completely helpless, able only to clutch at the bedsheets.

She couldn’t stop the man, who was consumed by endless desire. Her upper body shook, and she left the sheet she had clung to like a lifeline crumpled and abandoned.

‘When will morning come? Will it ever come?’

In the dark abyss, Anita stared out of the window and lamented the fact that the sun would not rise. At some point, she lost consciousness completely.

This occurred just before the pale-blue dawn approached, bathing the sky in dim light.

··· ✦ ···

The time just before dawn was the time closest to the Goddess. It was the hour when she first brought prosperity to the world. It was also a time to lay the sins of the past to rest and start afresh, but it was also the loneliest and most fragile time of day. Accordingly, the Asterian faith taught that one should offer the Goddess one’s most heartfelt prayers at this time.

“…Goddess.”

Renee knelt in the dimly lit room, following the teachings she had adhered to all her life. This corner room, located down the hall from the room in which her mistress had been held since early evening, was silent and desolate. There were no signs of life.

“Hear my prayer.”

Renee knelt in the dimly lit room, following the teachings she had adhered to all her life. This corner room, located down the hall from the room in which her mistress had been held since early evening, was silent and desolate. There were no signs of life.

“…I am ashamed to speak. My prayers are never honest; perhaps it is a sin even to part my lips.”

She whispered, and her features contorted with pain the moment she began to speak. It was inevitable. Long ago, she had harbored a love that she should never have kept in her heart. That person still lingered there.

“Your Highness is leaving; how could I not go with him? It is only natural.”

“But, Renee. If you go with me to Laxion, you may never set foot in Callithea again.”

“…I was prepared for that. Do not worry.”

She had left her homeland, fearing that her presence might one day harm the person she loved. She had never revealed her feelings to anyone because she could not bear the thought of even the slightest imperfection in her beloved. She prayed to the goddess in secret and alone.

“Anita. You truly have a fine maid. Indeed, from childhood your servant has always been clever and loyal. Seeing her comforts me.”

“Isn’t that so? I feel a little relieved for Renee’s sake. With her by my side she will be of great help.”

“Bring her close. I shall personally commend your maid.”

It’s true that her mistress had come here, and Renee’s decision to follow her to Laxion was largely a consequence of that.

However, Renee’s decision to leave her entire family behind and go was also an attempt to distance herself from the man she had secretly loved.

Perhaps her love would never diminish, but if she went to Laxion, she could at least bury her feelings forever.

“…Your Majesty.”

“Renee. Your loyalty eases my mind.”

“……”

“Thank you. For making such a great decision. Even if you leave with Anita, I will never forget your service.”

She could not look at him without feeling guilty. He was formally the elder brother of her mistress, but he was also the lord of Callithea and an emperor to all men: Ernst Hardyde was an illustrious man who shone like the sun. He was already married to a noblewoman and was the father of two children. For over ten years, Renee had only dared to admire him from afar.

“Please watch over him. I pray he stays unharmed. May his body and mind remain safe.’

She murmured, entrusting the secret love that she could not reveal to her prayers when she became Anita’s childhood friend’s maid. Nevertheless, that secret love outweighed her loyalty.

“Of course, I know well that such a wish is a sin. And yet…”

How could an unspoken feeling itself be a sin? Since coming to Laxion, however, Renee had begun to recognize her heart as her own. Each time she whispered the same prayer to the goddess, her sense of guilt grew stronger.

“Even so, there is nothing I can do. His safety is what matters most to me.”

The precarious Callithean imperial family, he stood at its very center. Renee wished and wished again that he would remain unharmed. Whatever might happen for his sake, she could accept it. She could pretend not to see.

“Your Highness, please… come with me, yes?”

That day, when she had clung to her mistress, Renee could never forget the voice that rose from deep within her heart.

“No, Your Highness, don’t follow him. Whatever happens, just endure it. Do it for his sake. Wasn’t that the reason you came here in the first place? For his safety?”

“Let go, Renéee.”

“…….”

“I said, let me go! Let me go!”

How tightly had she gripped her mistress’s sleeve? Had she held it properly at all? The memory made her stomach turn. Renéee knew full well what a good mistress Anita had been to her.

Yet to watch her suffer, knowing exactly what awaited her, and still hope that she would endure it while maintaining a composed demeanor as if nothing were wrong…

The sharpest pain piercing her was guilt. She knew exactly what had happened when Anita was dragged into Cedric’s chambers: the bruised skin, the dying expression and the ever-thinning body. Watching it was agony.

“And so, I wish and pray again.”

But even that could not silence her heart. She could not stop praying. The safety of that man remained her greatest wish.

‘It was Your Highness who wished to come to Laxion. And it is Your Highness who chose to endure. So I…’

Renéee pushed away her impure thoughts and clasped her hands together so tightly that the pain swept away every other thought, leaving only her prayer for the one she loved.

How long had she prayed like that? So earnestly that cold sweat dampened her brow. Finally, Renéee opened her eyes. Her lips parted and closed, then parted again before a small voice escaped.

“Please… also have mercy on the one beside me. Watch over him.”

Perhaps it was the guilt she could not shake off. With open eyes, Renéee prayed to the goddess, her pale lips trembling.

“By Your grace, may the one at my side suffer a little less. Please grant him the strength to endure the pain he bears now.”

But was that prayer really just for her mistress, or was it actually another prayer for him, a plea to calm her restless heart?

Even Renee could not be certain of her true feelings while she prayed.