“Ah, Carlos… p-please, slow down a bit…”

Ines pleaded with him in an exhausted voice as the pillar of flesh relentlessly pierced her body. She had already reached her physical limit. Unfortunately, her voice only served to stimulate Carlos further.

Carlos straightened his back and grabbed both of Ines’s hands behind her to apply more force.

Her body, having lost its support, swayed wildly in the air. Her br*asts bounced violently up and down, feeling as if they might fall off.

“Ah, ugh. Haah!”

How long did Carlos thrust his hips in such a trance-like state?

“Haaaaaahng!”

“Kuhk!”

Finally, an unrestrained scream burst out. Hot s*men spread inside Ines’s body, causing her to convulse.

“Haa, ha…”

Ines collapsed onto the bed, panting heavily. Carlos’s member throbbed, continuously pouring out s*men.

“Ha…”

Soon after, Carlos pulled his member out of Ines’s body. His member, still twitching in the air, remained firmly *rect.

White fluid overflowed from her still-unclosed womanhood, soaking the bed sheets. Completely exhausted, Ines lay sprawled on the bed, unable to even think about wiping away the s*men.

Carlos rubbed his gl*ns against her womanhood once again. Startled, Ines tried to stop him, but it was futile.

“W-wait… hnngh!”

Carlos slowly pushed his way inside her again. Ines’s eyes turned red. She was already too exhausted to even resist.

Carlos trapped her between his arms and slowly began to move his hips.

His movements were gentler than before. He kissed her neck as she could only pant heavily.

Only then did he notice the necklace that had been hidden from view. The pendant that had fallen behind her back was familiar to him. He let out a short sigh as he stared at it.

Yes, he remembered. This necklace was what he had ordered from the jeweler right before heading off to war. A servant had delivered it belatedly just recently.

He had clearly ordered it to be thrown away, but it seemed it had been given to Ines instead.

Carlos stared at the pendant that resembled the woman’s blue eyes and slowly traced the necklace with his finger. At that moment, an old memory flashed through his mind.

‘Do you really have to go to war, Carlos?’

‘Don’t worry, Mother. I’m just going as a formality.’

That last moment when he hugged his mother before heading to the battlefield.

Why did he only then notice his mother’s neck, bare of any accessories?

‘I’ll definitely return safely. Then I’ll gift you a beautiful necklace.’

Why hadn’t he thought to give it to her sooner?

In that moment, Carlos’s hand tensed, and he yanked hard on the necklace around Ines’s neck. And as a result.

“Kuhk!”

Ines let out a pain-filled groan as the necklace choked her neck. Simultaneously, her wrinkled inner walls clenched tightly as if trying to snap off his member.

“Kuu…”

Startled by this, Carlos released the necklace. Though her skin wasn’t clearly visible in the darkness, there would surely be marks left behind.

As that thought crossed his mind, irritation welled up.

He was angry at himself for worrying about Ines who had betrayed him. Though he knew it wasn’t Ines’s fault, he felt like he would go mad not knowing where to direct his anger over losing his mother.

“Damn it…”

Carlos bit his lip and flipped Ines’s body over again. He caressed the cheek of Ines who was crying while looking at him. Then his hand gradually moved downward.

From her wet cheek, past her lips, his hand reached Ines’s slender neck.

Finally, Carlos gripped Ines’s neck that he had been slowly caressing.

If he applied force now, it would snap just like that.

“…Damn it all.”

The moment he cursed under his breath with his directionless anger, Carlos released Ines’s neck and grabbed the bed’s headboard.

Then, having lost all reason, he began to thrust his member into Ines in a trance-like state.

“Ah! Aahng!”

Ines’s body repeatedly crashed against the headboard.

Carlos knew.

That Ines had nothing to do with his mother’s death. If anyone was to blame, it was his own fault for abandoning his mother to participate in the war, and his father and Joseph were largely at fault. However.

He couldn’t live without blaming someone.

His anger thrashed about, having lost its direction. At that moment, the headboard broke with a cracking sound.

Simultaneously, he once again sprayed his hot seed into Ines’s womb.

“Haaaaaahng!”

“Kuu… ugh!”

Ines’s body, which had been trembling, went limp.

Carlos’s sweat-soaked body overlapped with Ines’s. The thick scent of their lovemaking filled the bedroom.

“…Ines.”

Carlos, catching his breath, called her name while feeling the afterglow. Ines stared at Carlos with an obviously exhausted expression.

“Shall I tell you a secret?”

His lips began moving on their own, against his will.

It was the familiar tone he used with Ines when they were young.

“My mother died four years ago.”

However, unlike his comfortable tone, the content was uncomfortable.

Ines blinked slowly, perhaps still affected by her climax.

Her expression showed she couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“She died as a prisoner of war, in my place.”

“What do you…”

Ines managed to turn her head to meet Carlos’s eyes.

Somehow, he seemed to be crying. She should ask why he was making such an expression. But strangely, her eyes began to close powerlessly.

“If I…”

Carlos continued speaking while biting his lip. However, due to her increasingly fading consciousness, Ines could no longer hear his words.

And so Ines fell into a deep sleep without hearing the rest of Carlos’s words.

* * *

The next day, morning.

Due to the funeral schedule starting in the morning, Raella and Margaret arrived early at the Queen’s chambers. However, their calm expressions upon entering the bedroom quickly turned to dismay at the sight of the disheveled bed.

“Why is the bed…”

Though maids had cleaned the room early in the morning, they must not have had time to change the bedding, as peculiar traces remained here and there.

Raella, standing dazed, looked back and forth between the bed and Ines. Soon after discovering the bruises all over Ines’s body, Raella bit her lip. These spoke of what had transpired here last night.

Normally, Ines would have been embarrassed and tried to hide such traces, but strangely, today she was acting like someone who had lost a screw.

Seeing this, Raella clenched her fist, thinking Ines was flaunting last night’s events to her. After glaring at Ines, Raella turned away.

“…Father asked to see me today. It seems urgent, so I’ll go ahead first.”

Then she left the room abruptly without even thinking of helping attend to Ines. Watching Raella’s retreating figure, Margaret held back her laughter.

“Did you see Count Colsen’s daughter’s expression just now? She must have been sick to her stomach, letting her imagination run wild.”

Margaret too had noticed what had happened here and showed a seemingly pleased reaction. While this was actually tragic for Raella, it was a happy occasion for Margaret.

Although it was concerning that the funeral wasn’t over yet, this was a good opportunity for rumors to spread about the strengthening relationship between the King and Queen.

“Since the maids cleaned the room, it’s only a matter of time before rumors spread. I was right after all. His Majesty’s behavior yesterday must have stemmed from the grief of losing his mother. He probably came to find Your Majesty because he was troubled by that. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”

Margaret chattered away beside her, clearly pleased about something. However, Ines seemed completely oblivious to both Raella and Margaret.

She just sat there blankly, lost in whatever thoughts occupied her mind. When Margaret, finding this strange, called out to her again.

Ines finally came to her senses and looked up.

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Is something wrong? You don’t look well at all.”

Margaret asked, only now realizing Ines’s poor condition after chattering for so long.

“Are you feeling unwell somewhere? If so, I can call for a doctor right away…”

“No, it’s not that. I’m fine. I just had a nightmare last night.”

Margaret breathed a sigh of relief at the mention of a nightmare.

“Sometimes we have such dreams when our minds are unstable. It’s perfectly natural during mourning. And you must be quite tired from yesterday’s events as well.”

Ines gave a faint smile to Margaret who was trying to comfort her.

“First, we need to change your dress. We’re running late.”

“Yes. We shouldn’t be late.”

Today was the time to bid final farewell to Countess Ankerid. It was right to maintain proper etiquette until the very moment of departure. However.

‘What was that thing Carlos said yesterday?’