When they returned to the castle, Esh was waiting at the entrance as though she had expected them back soon.

“I’ve heated water for the bath,” she said.

Rubellan strode directly to the bathroom with purposeful steps. Rael’s body, cradled in his arms, was ice-cold. She trembled pitifully, resembling a drenched mouse caught in winter rain.

Warm steam filled the bathroom beyond the door, which opened without being touched. Without hesitation, Rubellan approached the long white bathtub and dropped Rael in with a splash.

“Ugh…”

A pained sound escaped Rael’s lips as her frozen body suddenly entered the warm water, creating the illusion of being burned. Yet her ice-cold body quickly surrendered to the warmth, melting into relaxation as her light nightgown floated around her in the water.

The warmth made the terrifying events outside the window seem dreamlike, though rain continued to beat against the glass. Rubellan gazed down at her before kneeling beside the tub.

“You’ll catch cold,” he said, his large hands working to untie the strings of her nightdress.

“What are you—”

She tried to stop him by grabbing his hands, but he ignored her resistance and continued untying the firmly knotted strings.

“You can’t bathe with clothes on.”

His statement wasn’t wrong—it was strange to be in a bathtub fully clothed. Rael bit her lower lip as she watched him.

When he untied the string below her chest, the nightgown billowed like a jellyfish before sinking into the water. With the garment gone, her n*ked body was exposed.

Lightning flashed outside the window, casting a blue glow across her pale skin.

“Your knees are scraped,” Rubellan said, his hand touching the wound on her knee.

“Ah…”

A groan of pain escaped as his fingers brushed against the injury.

“Your ankle is swollen too.”

The ankle that had been gripped by the plant’s tendril was badly swollen. Rubellan gently massaged it.

“This will hurt for quite a while.”

His hand moved from her ankle up her calf, caressing it like a massage.

“Scratches everywhere too.”

Heat rose wherever his hand passed, mingling with the warmth of the bath and the pain from her stimulated wounds.

Next, his hand moved to her neck. His fingers trailing down her throat sent shivers through her body.

“How’s your throat? You screamed quite a lot.”

Rael shook her head, indicating she was fine. In truth, she couldn’t tell whether she was actually fine, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice any complaints.

“Hmm.”

Rubellan smiled quietly, seeing how Rael’s spirit had clearly been broken. He gently grasped her wrist after passing over her shoulder and arm.

“How was it? The feeling of running away?”

Rael swallowed dryly at his question. She looked up at Rubellan, but his expression remained unchanged—relaxed as always, with that eerily impassive face.

“Was it thrilling?”

She couldn’t think of what answer he wanted. Rael didn’t want to provoke him further, as she was already in a disadvantageous position. Having fled only to return begging for her life, she had nothing to say even if she had ten mouths.

“You’re unusually quiet today, Senior.”

In truth, she lacked the strength to retort. Her mental state was quite damaged. The horrific experience had naturally made her withdraw into herself.

“There’s still some slime left,” Rubellan said, wiping sticky green slime from her wrist.

It sent chills down her spine to know traces of that horrible thing remained. She raised her other hand to wash it off, but Rubellan was quicker, grabbing it first.

“I feel strange,” he said. She tried to free herself from his grip, but he restrained both her hands with one of his.

“Seeing something that isn’t mine on your body…”

His eyes scanned her body for remaining plant slime. Her body twitched wherever his gaze passed, electric currents seemingly flowing through her.

“Rather than feeling bad, I find it exciting. Is that strange?”

Madness.

“Let go,” Rael said, squirming her captured hands. But Rubellan ignored her completely, bringing his free hand to her chest.

“There’s some here too. Did that creature touch you here as well?”

He wiped away slime from the upper part of her chest, then cupped her br*ast fully in his hand.

“Ugh.” Her body shrank from his forceful grip.

“Well, who could resist touching something so luscious?”

The plant had no hands. His statement was wrong.

“I wonder where else that filth remains…”

His hand slid down, brushing her solar plexus and pressing her navel as it descended.

“Mmph…”

Water rippled where his fingers passed, tickling her skin. Rael’s body twisted, splashing water, but Rubellan only tightened his hold on her and continued his actions.

“There’s plenty here,” he said, referring to the area between her thighs.

The sticky slime came off as he pressed firmly against her flesh, but Rael couldn’t appreciate it. She couldn’t tell if he was cleaning her or stimulating her.

“S-stop it…”

She wanted to plead with him to stop, feeling humiliated.

“You want to leave this filth on you?”

Rubellan’s gaze moved to Rael’s intimate area. The hand that had been cleaning her thighs brushed against her tender flesh—a clearly intentional movement.

“Ah.”

Though it was just a momentary touch, her body, already heated, responded sensitively. Yet twisting her body only disturbed the bathwater without changing anything.

“Did it go inside too?”

“No!”

That disgusting thing had never penetrated her. Rael shook her head desperately, but Rubellan’s finger was already parting her tender flesh and invading her.

“Hah…”

His finger entered her very slowly, caressing her entrance.

“Hmm, there seems to be something.”

She tried closing her legs, but Rubellan’s arm was already firmly positioned at her core.

Steam rose steadily. She couldn’t tell whether it was from the water or the heat rising from her own body.

“Or is it something else?”

A low laugh echoed through the bathroom.

Rubellan’s finger circled inside her, probing deeper. His long finger pushed far into her depths. His touch along her walls was gentle, but occasionally when he pressed certain spots, Rael’s limbs would curl.

“Mmh…”

Her head fell back as his fingers continued their play. When her wet hair-matted nape and collarbone were exposed, Rubellan pressed his lips against her collarbone. Not forcefully, but gently sucking just enough to bring a red flush to her pale skin.

“Ah…”

Her head spun from the combination of his probing fingers, the lips tickling her neck, the hot water warming her blood, the suffocating steam, and the shallow pleasure building inside her. Her vision blurred involuntarily.

When Rubellan’s other finger stimulated her sensitive bud, Rael finally cl*maxed with a tingling sensation, tears spilling from her eyes.

“Hic…”

Her body went limp. She surrendered herself in resignation, her head falling back against the edge of the tub. Rubellan withdrew his hand from the water and dried it with a towel that had been prepared nearby.

“I hope there won’t be any more unfortunate incidents like this.”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“To stay here safely under my protection.”

“Do you need a toy? A plaything?”

The pent-up frustration was bursting forth. The fact that she—someone who had remained positive even in terrible situations—had fallen this low showed just how shocking today’s events had been.

“Don’t provoke me, Senior.”

“Ha.”

“If I truly needed such things, you wouldn’t be able to walk properly right now.”

As though he were showing her great generosity.

Rubellan found his clueless senior adorable in her defiance. But he couldn’t be certain how long he would continue finding her cute.

“Please, don’t make me break you.”

Such a polite request.

That made Rael even more frightened. She never knew when this crazy demon might suddenly change and tear out her throat. She was walking a dangerous tightrope with him.

“Take your time warming up, then come out.”

Rubellan receded through the steam. The bathroom door closed with a click.

Rael placed her hand on the edge of the bathtub.

Drip. Drip.

Water droplets fell from her fingertips. The sensation felt like blood draining from her burned-out veins.

“Hah…”

Her head was spinning. If she stood up now, she would likely collapse from dizziness. With complicated emotions, she closed her heavy eyelids.

Perhaps drowning here would be the best ending.

A small laugh escaped her. Such thoughts were so unlike her. How had it come to this? The truly horrifying thing was that she had felt relief upon seeing Rubellan during that dangerous moment in the forest. To depend on the very person who had put her in this situation—how absurd.

What drove her to the brink of madness was the growing fear that she might adapt to life here, rather than escaping. Being toyed with by a demon was terrible enough, but what if she fell completely under his spell without even realizing it?

“That would make me truly a human bewitched by a demon,” she whispered to herself, trapped in this enormous prison.