Chapter 2.2

Richel lowered her head to look at the gemstones glittering at her feet.  

Callisto had given her something like this before….  

The gifts he gave were always beautifully crafted. In contrast, the gemstones scattered on the floor were covered in dirt and irregular in shape. Tears welled up in Richel’s eyes.  

「Are you saying these were mined from your land? How can we believe that?」  

“You talk too much.”  

The man crooked his finger. The host shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly walked to the edge of the stage as if to say, “Let’s see.” The man grabbed the host by the collar and yanked him down forcefully.  

Gasp…. A sharp intake of breath was heard as the microphone fell to the floor with a thud! Richel bit her lip as she watched the man whisper something to the host. Her hands trembled with anxiety.  

「Ahem, please proceed.」  

The host, now holding the microphone again, spoke with extreme politeness. Whatever was said between them, the host even bent his back and respectfully pointed to the stairs. However, the man ignored him and leapt onto the stage.  

Richel watched the approaching man with frightened eyes. His broad silhouette betrayed the rough life of a mercenary. Pushing aside the gemstones, the man strode toward Richel and stopped in front of her.  

“Kyaaa!”  

He picked Richel up effortlessly and walked off somewhere. From her elevated vantage point, Richel saw the shocked faces of the crowd. While all their expressions were memorable, the most striking were those of the ladies who had brought her here. Their faces, filled with envy and jealousy, brought tears to Richel’s eyes.  

Envious? I’m being sold off because of you!  

“P-put me down.”  

The man walked on without a word. The people grew more distant.  

“Please, stop this. I didn’t mean for any of this…. Wait, hold on…!”  

With each step, objects blurred past in the background. Richel struggled with all her might. She pounded on his solid back and kicked at his body, but he didn’t even flinch.  

The man, ignoring her futile resistance, abruptly opened a door.  

「Have a good time.」  

The host’s infuriating voice followed as Richel was swallowed into the darkness.  

***

Richel’s body was tossed onto a bed with a thud. Her cream-colored hair fluttered, obscuring her vision. Trembling, she tried to suppress her sobs.  

In the darkness, the man removed his robe. His muscular chest, revealed by his V-neck garment, was bound by laces—a quintessential mercenary’s attire.  

Richel, who had been sprawled on the bed, shot upright. Though her limbs quivered with fear, she managed to stand and spoke in a trembling voice,  

“Please… let me go. I beg you….”  

“Don’t be ridiculous.”  

His deep voice scraped against the floor, resonating with a forced, guttural timbre that made her heart race uncontrollably.  

“I-I don’t know why you brought me here…. But I have a husband.”  

“So do I.”  

“Huh? You have a husband?”  

“What the hell…. I have a wife.”  

“Oh….”  

The strange tone of his voice made Richel flinch. The entire situation was so shocking that she couldn’t even grasp the context of his words. What did it matter if he had a wife or not? A mercenary she had never met before had just bought her.  

Mercenaries led rough lives. The Eastern Night Market, mentioned earlier by the host, was a favorite haunt of mercenaries. And being from the North, a land of ice and snow, they were known for their harsh and brutal nature. Being sold to such a man made Richel question whether she could even survive.  

“Please… let me go….”  

Richel wept openly, pleading.  

“I’ll give you as much money as you want. If you just let me return home, I’ll give you whatever you ask for. I don’t have much, but my husband….”  

As she rambled, Richel suddenly froze.  

Would my husband give me the money?  

What would I say if he asked why I needed it? That I had been sold to a mercenary at a party meant for finding lovers, and that I had to pay double the bid to refuse? That his wife, who had intended to cheat, now needed his help?  

How shameless. 

Richel lowered her gaze, mumbling.  

“He might not give it to me…. But still….”  

“…Your husband won’t give you money?”  

The question, filled with curiosity, made Richel nod gloomily. It seemed likely.  

“What nonsense is that? Even the jewelry you’re wearing….”  

“Jewelry?”  

Her indignant tone trailed off. After a brief silence, the man gestured toward her.  

“It’s hanging around your neck.”  

Richel looked down at her neck. The first gift her husband had given her was there.  

“I don’t have any money….”  

Not this. 

Richel hid the necklace with her hand and lowered her gaze. The man’s jaw tightened.  

“So it’s about money.”  

“…….”  

“Damn it, money. For that measly money, this wretched place….”  

Although his fragmented words were hard to catch, the man seemed utterly exasperated. Even with his expression hidden behind a mask, his anger was palpable.  

He must be furious about not getting the money. Richel hurriedly added,  

“If my husband won’t give it, I will. I’ll find a way.”  

“You said you don’t have any money. How?”  

“I’ll figure something out….”  

“No matter what you do, you can’t repay it. 20 billion gold could buy your family’s entire estate and then some.”  

The cold response made Richel burst into tears. Her mind and heart were in complete disarray.  

She couldn’t understand why someone wealthy enough to casually bid 10 billion gold had chosen her. She resented the ladies who had brought her here without explaining the nature of the party. She hated whoever had created such events in the first place.  

But most of all, Richel blamed herself. If only she had stayed home, if only she had been honest about wanting to grow closer, none of this would have happened.  

Tears fell in droplets onto Richel’s pale cheeks. The man, who had been watching her silently, moved his arm. The robe that had covered his body fell to the floor. The black mask covering his face glinted faintly in the dim light.  

“D-don’t do this.”  

“You came here yourself.”  

The man growled in a dangerously low voice. Gritting his teeth, he approached Richel, his chest strings loosened.  

She wanted to explain that it was all a misunderstanding, that she had only boarded the ship for leisure and had no intention of finding a lover. But Richel was in a state of panic. The absurdity of being tricked into attending this event and the overwhelming pressure of the man’s presence left her unable to form coherent words. All she could hear was the blaring alarm in her mind.  

“W-wait! Just a moment, please….”  

The man climbed onto the bed. Richel recoiled into the corner in terror. From behind, a chilling voice reached her ears.  

“Running from a mercenary is a bad idea. It only makes them want to chase you.”

The man approached Richel slowly, like a beast, and grabbed her waist. Her lips were devoured in an instant.  

His tongue forced its way inside, sweeping through her mouth and scraping against her inner walls. He seized her timid tongue, sucking it deeply and roughly. Unlike the first kiss she had shared with her husband, this one was rushed and feral. Richel twisted her body, pounding her fists against his rock-hard chest, but the man didn’t budge.  

He tilted his head to the opposite side, pressing firmly against the inside of her mouth and harshly scraping against the roof. Richel’s resisting body faltered. His strong arms pulled her tightly into his embrace.  

“No, stop, no….”  

The man stared at Richel’s flushed face as he thrust his tongue deeper. His hand slid down her waist to her thigh, kneading it. With every movement of his hand, her blouse slipped down, and her skirt rode up.  

“Ah…!”  

He grabbed her chest. Her pale flesh spilled between his long fingers. The man sighed deeply as he kneaded her swollen chest. His thumb brushed against her n*pple. Each press against the sensitive peak made Richel’s body jolt upward.  

With a thud, Richel collapsed back onto the bed. Her exposed shoulders and thighs were flushed red. Through her panting vision, she saw the man removing the rest of his clothes. In the dark, unlit room, a thread of moonlight faintly illuminated his thick torso.  

Callisto. Callisto…. 

Richel’s tears streamed down her face.  

“Are you thinking about your husband?”  

“…….”  

“It wasn’t him, was it?”  

It was him, my husband.  

Richel silently protested as she sobbed. She dared not voice her defiance, fearing the large hands that could shatter her bones with a single blow.  

But the man seemed angrier. Perhaps her silence had provoked him, as his already low voice boiled over with rage.  

“What is a lover you desire? A rough one? A gentle one? Tell me every type. I’ll match them all for you. I’ve lived off my body; why wouldn’t I be able to do this?”  

“What are you talking about…. Ah!”  

His finger brushed against her er*ect n*pple. He pressed the sensitive peak with his index finger while kneading the surrounding flesh.  

“Standing up like this. As if you’re expecting something.”  

He lowered his face and took her n*pple into his mouth.  

“Hah…!”  

His tongue pressed firmly against the flushed peak, sucking deeply before biting it gently. Meanwhile, his fingers toyed with her other n*pple, twisting it round and round. Richel’s body twisted with each stimulation of her sensitive peaks.  

“No, stop, please, stop…!”  

He pushed her br*asts inward, bringing her n*pples together. Then, he took both reddened peaks into his mouth at once, alternating between stimulating them with his tongue and sucking deeply. Richel arched her back, crying out.