Khalid boarded his carriage without even looking at Lauren, who was enthusiastically waving her arms. He spoke to the coachman.

“We need to hurry. …Go to Kidel.”

“Yes, sir! Understood!”

The coachman immediately drove the carriage toward Kidel.

If Khalid’s thoughts were correct, he could persuade his mother. Now that he knew a nobleman named Connor was targeting Noel, he needed to move even faster.

‘Noel, wait. …That commoner status you wanted so badly, I’ll make sure you never get it.’

Noel had abandoned Khalid to become a commoner. He had even held a fake wedding ceremony. Khalid gritted his teeth, thinking about how he would deal with Noel.

Alice was rinsing dirt off carrots with water. Looking absently out the window, she saw colorful maple trees.

She needed to make a decision before winter arrived. Connor typically visited this place once every two months, and he would do so again this time.

“Ugh.”

Feeling nauseated, she went outside the front door, crouched down, and retched.

“Blech. Huurgh.”

No matter how many times she vomited, it seemed endless.

Recently, Alice threw up regardless of what she ate. Her already thin body had become even thinner.

Her friend Sean, concerned about her, had given her various vegetables. Alice had been resting at home for a long time, unable to help with farm work due to constant dry heaving. Thanks to Sean, she wouldn’t starve to death, but she had no appetite.

Each time she vomited, blood vessels appeared in her eyes, her nose ran, and she felt miserable.

“Haa. Haa…”

Could she have contracted a fatal disease? Had she caught some strange illness from Khalid? Alice’s complexion darkened.

‘There was some jerky here.’

Though even the smell of jerky made her stomach churn, she needed to eat well, especially in this condition.

While searching through the storage, Alice found a leather ball that her younger brother had clearly played with. The deflated ball was wrinkled, but it brought back certain memories.

When she had become Khalid’s playmate, he had brought a leather ball.

[Let’s play with this together, Noel. We can’t let my parents find out. Everyone wants me to practice swordsmanship, not play like this.]

[…Really?]

However, there was no way they wouldn’t be caught playing with a ball in the garden. The garden was completely visible from the mansion.

Having played ball games with her younger brother several times, Alice was skilled at handling the ball. She kicked it, evading Khalid’s defense, and scored in the designated goal area.

Khalid had the ball stolen from him by Alice multiple times. He was so frustrated that his eyes welled with tears, and Alice found it adorable.

[I won’t lose. I want to show only my best side to Noel.]

[Lord Khalid, you look impressive just standing there.]

[No. …I want to become an even more impressive man.]

From their first meeting, Khalid had looked at Alice with obsessive eyes. Even when Alice was sleeping, she could hear the sound of someone practicing diligently with the ball outside her window. It was Khalid. And a week later, Khalid surpassed Alice’s skill.

[…I beat Noel!]

Alice clapped her hands, watching the delighted Khalid.

[Congratulations, Lord Khalid.]

[Noel. Um….]

Khalid hesitated, trying to say something, but ultimately couldn’t. The young Khalid clearly appeared to like Alice to anyone who saw them. Alice liked him too. Despite him being a noble, she dared to think of him like a younger brother.

‘But now….’

[Noel. …I love you.]

She remembered Khalid’s eyes, dark with desire, and his firm chest. When he pressed down on her body with his elastic thighs, she couldn’t move at all. The pain when his rigid, angry manhood penetrated her was enough to make her feel him as a man.

‘Lord Khalid.’

Alice closed her eyes. Thinking about Khalid made her stomach tingle, and the area between her thighs itched so much she could barely stand. She couldn’t count how many times she had longed for his embrace.

‘This is ridiculous. I need to give Connor an answer soon, but I….’

To free her enslaved family, Alice would have to become a slave again. What Connor wanted was a bed slave. He wanted a woman to warm his bed.

‘Why did I disguise myself as a man in the first place…. I absolutely cannot do that.’

No status was more unstable than that of a slave. Commoners at least had some freedom, but no one guaranteed the human rights of slaves. Female slaves, in particular, followed a predetermined route.

They became their master’s bed slaves, and if things went well, they might become concubines and receive love. 

Then, once they aged or the nobleman grew tired of them, they would be sold to brothels by the nobleman’s wife. It was a more miserable situation than male slaves faced, repeating over and over.

“No. I absolutely cannot become a slave….”

Her stomach churned again. Alice retched, but nothing came out except gastric acid.

“Haa. Haa…”

It seemed she would need to visit a physician. Just then, she heard the sound of a carriage.

‘…Lord Connor?’

Connor usually parked his carriage by the roadside, so it was rare for him to come all the way to Alice’s house. The Countess had occasionally come here too, so could it be her?

A carriage stopped in front of Alice, who stood there blankly.

The moment she saw who alighted from it, her heart pounded rapidly.

It was evening, and the sunset tinted Khalid’s blonde hair red. His snow-white skin made him look otherworldly, and he smiled at Alice with a mysterious face.

“Noel. I’ve come.”

“…Ah.”

She should have been glad to see him, but Khalid’s gaze seemed even sharper than before. Alice unconsciously felt a chill.

“…Please come in.”

After all, he was a guest, so she should welcome him, right? Alice smiled at Khalid and opened the front door, and Khalid brushed past her to enter the house first.

He sat at the worn table. His splendid presence in such a shabby place created a discordant feeling.

“Have you… eaten?”

“Noel.”

“Yes.”

“…Where is your family? Your wife?”

Alice froze stiffly. Khalid came closer to her and gripped her wrist tightly. Not only did her captured wrist hurt, but Khalid’s ice-cold gaze was even harder to endure.

“Has your wife, who supposedly went to her parents’ home, not returned yet?”

“…No. She hasn’t returned. I guess her parents’ home is better than here.”

“And your family?”

“They’re on a short trip…”

Khalid smirked. He now knew well how many lies Alice had told him.

“You must have disliked me enough to hold a fake wedding ceremony, right? Noel?”

“…Pardon?”

Alice stared blankly at his face. Khalid’s hand played with Alice’s ear.

“At first, I didn’t think it was fake. But after embracing you, I knew.”

“Lord Khalid?”

Khalid tore Alice’s top with both hands. The bandage tightly compressing her chest was revealed.

“Gasp…!”

When the startled Alice tried to cover her chest, Khalid unwrapped her bandage. Between the loosened bandages, her full br*asts appeared.

He grabbed and twisted Alice’s er*ect n*pple with his hand.

“Ahh…!”

“A woman cannot marry another woman. Isn’t that right?”