The room reeked of the aftermath of intense lovemaking. Between the creaking sounds of the bed, a groan escaped, laced with a loss of patience.

“Haa…”

It felt as if a scorching pillar of fire was splitting her body in two. Despite this not being her first time with Carlos, her feelings remained unchanged. Ines’s body was drenched in his fluids. She couldn’t recall how many times they had coupled, how many days she had spent entangled with him.

Like a man consumed by lust, Carlos held Ines in his arms all day long. Even when they bathed together, he would spill his seed inside her like a dog in heat. The only respite she had was during meals.

But the moment those brief pauses ended, Carlos would force himself back inside her, pushing past the fluids that overflowed from her.

“Haa, uh. Ung…!”

Ines’s voice had long since grown hoarse from the moans that involuntarily escaped her lips. Exhausted, she would slip into unconsciousness, only to be jolted back awake by the searing pressure that pierced her entire being.

“Ines… hnn…”

Carlos ceaselessly thrust his hips, calling out the name of the woman beneath him. How many times had his desperate voice echoed, as if seeking reassurance that she was still alive?

His heavy tip reached deep inside her, hitting her most sensitive spot.

“Haa…”

“Hnn…”

Ines dug her nails into Carlos’s back, carving a mark. It was the only act of defiance she could muster on that bed. Yet, he welcomed it as if it were a badge of honor.

“Ines… Ines, Ines.”

After climaxing, Carlos held Ines tightly, his shaft still buried inside her. He wouldn’t let go, as if terrified she might disappear, and continued to call her name.

Each time, Ines couldn’t understand. Why did this man, who had hated and ignored her, now cry out her name with such a sorrowful voice? It was as if he loved her. And ridiculously enough,

“I love you, Ines.”

He whispered words of love. But his heartfelt confession held no meaning for Ines, whose emotions had long since dried up.

She just wanted to die.

To vanish like dust before his eyes.

To scatter as if she had never existed in this world.

But Carlos wouldn’t allow it.

‘Why?’

Why now, after all this time?

I’ve already given up on everything, so why?

But her brief questioning was cut short.

As Carlos thrust his hips again, Ines’s body jolted upward. A cry laced with pain escaped her at his merciless movements. Her toes curled instinctively. The world before her eyes flickered with white light.

“Haa…!”

A moan, driven purely by instinct, escaped Ines’s lips. As if finally satisfied, the man’s expression softened. Feeling Carlos’s ragged breaths against her ear, Ines closed her eyes.

With the darkness, memories from long ago resurfaced.

The day she was abandoned by her fiancé and became Carlos’s possession.

She should have done everything to escape his grasp back then. As if to awaken her from her thoughts, his hardened shaft pushed into her slick entrance once more.

“Huu…”

Carlos, placing a hand on Ines’s back, lifted her body. The shackles that bound her wrists to the headboard rattled with every movement.

But Carlos paid no mind. He simply held Ines close, ensuring his engorged member remained firmly within her.

As he embraced her tightly, her br*asts were crushed against his chest.

His thick shaft grated against her cervix due to their shifted position. Carlos, kissing her neck, grabbed her hips and began thrusting once more.

“Ha… ung!”

Her unfocused eyes wandered aimlessly. She couldn’t recall since when the shackles had been binding her wrists.

At some point, this small room had become her entire world. Here, she was clothed and fed at Carlos’s whim, spending her days receiving only his seed.

Her body and mind were saturated with pleasure and climax, to the point where she had lost sight of her purpose.

“Ah, Ines…”

He thrust repeatedly, his tongue invading her mouth. A moan escaped her lips, muffled by his presence.

“Haa…”

Thud, thud, thud.

Tears welled up in her eyes once more, a physiological response to his relentless pounding. Her body swayed silently under his assault.

“Hng, uhng!”

Soon, the peak approached, a wave of pleasure threatening to melt her very being.

“I love you, I love you…”

Simultaneously, Carlos repeated his empty declarations of love like a broken record. A sorrowful confession that fell on deaf ears.

He spilled the last drop inside her and pulled away.

“Haa, haa…”

Carlos, catching his breath, gazed into Ines’s vacant eyes and kissed her.

Then, his gaze fell upon her bound wrists, his eyes filled with remorse. Concern was evident in his gaze as he checked for any chafing.

He gently caressed her wrists and murmured, “Once the baby… once we have a baby, I’ll remove all of this. You’ll be different then. So bear with it a little longer, Ines…”

Just as his soft voice reached her ears, the bed creaked as Carlos rose. He buttoned his cuffs meticulously, donned his jacket, and walked away.

Before leaving, he glanced back at Ines, sprawled on the bed, then turned away.

Moments after he disappeared from sight, the maids rushed in.

They immediately threw open the windows, airing out the room heavy with the scent of s*x. Then, they released Ines from her shackles and led her to the bathroom where warm water awaited.

Everything was done with practiced efficiency. Their movements were fluid, suggesting this wasn’t their first time.

And it was true. This was their daily routine.

Even while bathing, she wasn’t allowed to be alone. Her body was cleansed by the maids under their watchful eyes.

Ines no longer resisted. She had realized that it was futile to protest, to plead for release from this place.

Carlos no longer cared for his dignity as king. Perhaps everyone in the castle was aware by now. That he kept his queen locked away, like a pet.

‘Just have my child, Ines.’

He always whispered in a sweet voice after their lovemaking, promising a different life once she bore his child. Let it be.

She no longer bothered to scoop out his seed with her fingers. The will to do anything had left her. She was utterly exhausted, devoid of any desire. The feeling of being nothing more than a s*x toy lingered, impossible to erase.

As she wallowed in misery, unable to even choose death, a voice broke through.

“We’re finished, Your Majesty.”

Ines’s body was once again cleansed by the maids’ swift hands.

Now, she would either be escorted back to bed or would be attended to by the physician who would soon arrive.

After that, they would bring her meal.

Just as Ines, guided by the maids, reached the bed and was shackled once more, a knock sounded. Expecting the physician, she stared out the window.

The maid who opened the door gasped.

“Sir Herman?”

It wasn’t the physician, nor another maid, who entered.

It was none other than Herman.

Herman, striding past the maid, addressed those in the room.

“All of you, leave us. I have urgent matters to discuss with Her Majesty.”

“Pardon? But His Majesty…”

“I’m here on His Majesty’s orders. Now leave us.”

The maids exchanged uneasy glances at Herman’s firm tone.

They had reason to be wary. Hadn’t a previous incident, where they left the room briefly at Ines’s behest, almost resulted in disaster? But after a moment of silent communication, they nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

After all, Herman was the king’s most trusted confidant. They believed his command must be the king’s will.

“We’ll be waiting outside.”

As the maids filed out, only Ines and Herman remained in the room. But Ines didn’t spare him a glance, her vacant eyes fixed on the window. She seemed utterly broken.

Herman, observing her, took a step closer.

“Your Majesty, I have something of grave importance to tell you.”

Finally, Ines turned her head to face him. Meeting her gaze, Herman carefully parted his lips.