Khalid removed his pants. He spread Alice’s thighs wide and thrust his manhood into her in one go. Alice’s back arched.

“Aah…!”

“…Tighter than I expected.”

“Ugh… Mmph.”

Blood flowed when Alice bit her lip hard. Khalid wiped her blood with his hand.

“I thought your body had been with many men, but inside, you feel tight enough to strangle me. Haa…”

Khalid seemed to be misunderstanding something. He was the only one who had ever been intimate with her.

Alice tried to deny it, but Khalid pulled out his member and thrust back in forcefully.

“Ack…!”

Thump. Thump. The rough thrusting began. Khalid smirked.

“I was worried about the tightness, but you’re so wet I can hear squelching sounds. These aren’t sounds that would come from someone who’s been celibate for four years.”

“…No, that’s not true. There’s been no man except you, Lord Khalid…!”

“Shut up.”

Squelching sounds echoed through the room. Khalid gathered Alice’s legs with one hand. It was a position where her legs were pressed together, fully exposing their point of connection. His tip mercilessly scraped against her inner walls.

“Mmph… Ah. Hic. Lord Khalid…”

“…It’s okay, Alice. Even if you lie… I can still love you.”

“Hic. Sob.”

Khalid would never believe her. If she had sought him out when the child was born, would he have believed her then? Alice couldn’t understand how things had turned out this way.

After releasing inside Alice multiple times, Khalid looked down at her sleeping face. Seeing her tear-stained face made him feel a bit sorry. But according to the guild’s reports, her lovers had changed frequently.

Lauren from the Information Guild had flipped through documents and said:

[I think a man named Dexter might be the child’s father. They met every evening!]

[Any evidence?]

She pointed to a portrait she had procured.

[This man Dexter’s hair color is similar to the child’s. However, he’s a married man, so he couldn’t officially register the child. Only nobles are allowed to have concubines, after all.]

A month later, another report came in.

[She’s seeing a man named Lis now. He’s also married, and he’s a regular at the inn. They say he always asks for Noel specifically?]

[…Lis?]

[Yes. His blue eyes resemble the child’s eyes.]

[….]

Whenever he heard stories about Alice’s child, he always felt unpleasant.

The last man was Belfi, a malicious loan shark. Since he was such a disreputable man, Khalid had to move quickly. He approached Alice before she could be taken by Belfi.

Dorothy was a very pretty child. At first, he thought she resembled Alice, but her snow-white skin and deep blue eyes increasingly reminded him of himself.

‘Why…?’

Even though there was no way she could be Khalid’s child, that’s how he felt. So he told the child:

[You can call me father, Dorothy.]

Why had he said such a thing?

Khalid kissed Alice’s lips again. She looked beautiful even while sleeping. He would never let her go again.

Alice had been absent without notice. Since this wasn’t like her, Mariam was a bit worried. The manager asked Mariam:

“Mariam. Why isn’t Alice coming?”

“…Her child must be sick. You know Alice’s situation.”

The manager didn’t look pleased.

“I know. But as you know, there are quite a few guests who stay here just to see Alice. Our regular customers will surely be disappointed.”

Mariam frowned and glared at the manager.

“I’ve been meaning to say this, but even though we’re an accommodation business, we’re not a place that sells bodies! Sitting next to guests, pouring drinks…! And not being able to say a word when they touch our bodies! Do you think this makes sense?”

“No… Am I doing this just for my own benefit? You all benefit from the tips too.”

“Then only let us serve the good customers! Alice doesn’t like it!”

When Mariam burst out in anger, the already short manager seemed to shrink even more. He grumbled in the corner.

“Sigh… What will I do if Mr. Belfi gets angry…”

Despite being the manager of a large inn, he had no charisma whatsoever.

‘Only cares about money. Sheesh!’

Mariam thought she should visit Alice’s house after work. And sure enough, when this man named Belfi requested Alice and heard she was absent, he flew into a rage and demanded to see the manager.

Mariam wondered what kind of person this Belfi was that made the manager so subservient.

‘He doesn’t seem to be a nobleman.’

She put her ear to Belfi’s door and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“She’s absent because her child is sick? Are you sure?”

“Haha. Yes. It seems so.”

“…’It seems so’? What’s that supposed to mean? That means you’re not certain! …If you don’t bring her here right now, I’ll seize this inn.”

“Gasp… M-Mr. Belfi!”

“You haven’t been able to pay back the money you borrowed from me anyway, right?”

The manager’s eyes darted around. He couldn’t understand why Belfi, who had always been satisfied with just receiving interest, was being so aggressive now.

“But I’ve been paying the interest regularly!”

“…So before I seize the place, bring Alice to me, understand?”

“I understand. There’s an employee who’s close to Alice… I’ll ask her.”

“You should have done that from the start.”

Having heard the entire conversation, Mariam’s heart raced. From the talk about interest, he seemed to be related to the Financial Guild, and it appeared the manager was deeply in debt.

Mariam quickly left the establishment to call Alice. She felt anxious that if she didn’t bring Alice, the inn might change hands and who knows what would happen.

Alice’s house was close to the city center, so she could arrive quickly.

“Alice…! Alice! Open the door.”

After knocking on the door for a while, it finally opened. Mariam’s jaw dropped when she saw a man with only a towel covering his lower body. He was someone Mariam knew well.

“L-Lord Khalid?”

“…Mariam. Alice is sleeping right now. She was up late last night.”

“…Oh.”

Mariam let out a gasp of admiration when she saw Khalid’s body. His skin was white, but his chest muscles were firm. She was thrilled that he remembered her name, but broke into a cold sweat at what he said.

Mariam scanned the room with her eyes.

“Where is Dorothy?”

“…That child is at my mansion.”

“Is that so?”

Alice was clearly a runaway slave. And since Alice’s owner was Khalid, his presence here meant…

‘Alice no longer has freedom.’

“Is A-Alice at home? She was absent without notice today, so I came to get her.”

At Mariam’s words, one of Khalid’s eyebrows rose.

“Alice is my slave. Where do you think my property is going?”

“B-but Alice is an important employee at our inn…”

“…Alice has no freedom. I have no intention of giving her any.”

The front door closed again. Mariam was momentarily dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. But she knew one thing for certain. She would never see Alice and Dorothy again.