Chapter 3.1 – Imprisonment  

The faint sound of movement could be heard nearby.  

Richel, who had been sleeping deeply, slowly regained consciousness. Her body ached as though it had been beaten. It felt like a massive stone was lodged in her throat. Clearing her throat, she let out a hoarse sound.  

She forced her heavy eyelids open. A spacious room and luxurious interior came into view. This wasn’t in the cruise.  

Her gaze wandered around, eventually landing on a large glass window that covered one side of the wall. Outside, everything was white. In the distance, snow-covered mountains looked as if they were wearing white caps.  

Seeing the unfamiliar snowy scenery for the first time, Richel tried to sit up.  

“Stay still.”  

Richel looked at the person who gently pressed her chest back down. It was her husband, Callisto.  

The moment she saw his beautiful face, now unmasked, she flinched in shock. Memories of the intense night they shared came rushing back.  

She couldn’t even distinguish whether the face she saw before fainting was real or a dream. Combined with the pain in her body, she was utterly disoriented.  

Callisto’s large hand gently patted Richel’s trembling chest, as if to calm her. Despite his soothing gesture, Richel’s eyes darted around anxiously.  

Noticing her tightly gripping the sheets, Callisto helped her sit up and propped a soft pillow behind her back.  

A moment later, an elderly man in a physician’s robe approached and spoke to Callisto.  

“It’s a severe cold. It seems the lady has not yet adapted to the northern cold. I’ll prepare some medicine; she should rest for a few days.”  

“You’ve done well.”  

“It’s nothing. How could I not come when the Grand Duchess is unwell?”  

“Go ahead. I’ll personally inform His Majesty.”  

The physician bowed deeply to Callisto and Richel before leaving the room, followed by several servants who escorted him out. Richel, with a blank expression, blinked her eyes.  

‘His Majesty? Does that mean he’s the Emperor’s physician? And the Grand Duchess? Who…?’  

Looking utterly confused, Richel turned her gaze to her husband. Callisto was staring at her with an expression filled with complex emotions. Silence lingered in the room for a while.  

“Do you know the story of the North?”  

It was Callisto who broke the silence first.  

“A paradise for criminals, where order and hierarchy are unnecessary. A vast, desolate land that’s both lonely and free. That’s how people describe the North. They say it’s an inhospitable land, covered in ice and snow, where no one would dare to settle.”  

His low voice continued.  

“The ones who pioneered this land were mercenaries. They wielded their swords to fend off invading enemies and protected the North for a long time. Thanks to them, this place was recognized as a federation of mercenaries, and the king of mercenaries was granted the title of Grand Duke.”  

“…….”  

“My full name is Callisto Enrique. I am the Grand Duke who governs the North, but at heart, I am still a mercenary.”  

Richel’s eyes widened. Did this mean Callisto was the king of the North?  

“I apologize for not telling you earlier. I didn’t want to reveal my lowly origins.”  

Callisto’s apology left Richel too stunned to respond. Her husband was the Grand Duke? She couldn’t comprehend what she had just heard.  

“I intended to explain later. After finishing the task entrusted to me by the Emperor, I planned to tell you everything slowly…. But I never imagined my wife would feel so lonely as to seek out an affair.”  

“…….”  

“At least now I know.”  

Callisto, fastening the sword on the table to his waist, approached Richel.  

“I’m off to hunt monsters. Rest well until I return.”  

“Monsters…?”  

Richel, who had been silent the entire time, forced out her voice. The content was too shocking to ignore, but the reply she received was even more absurd.  

“Didn’t you say we were lacking money? There’s nothing more effective than this for amassing wealth.”  

Callisto leaned down and kissed Richel’s feverish forehead.  

“I’ll return by night.”  

He turned and left the room. Richel stared blankly at her husband’s retreating figure as he disappeared through the door.  

* * *  

Five days had passed since Richel was confined in the Grand Ducal estate.  

It wasn’t the type of confinement where she was tied up or beaten. The servants treated her with utmost care, as if she were the most precious thing in the world, and she was given freedom of movement. She could do whatever she wanted and go wherever she pleased.  

The only restriction was that it had to be within the Grand Ducal estate.  

“That doesn’t mean he had to make all the servants women….”  

Richel muttered under her breath, sighing as she looked out the window. Even the gardeners, stable hands, and those carrying goods were all women.  

They were of northern descent, with strong physiques that seemed perfectly suited for their tasks, but there was a fundamental issue.  

Her husband believed Richel to be a promiscuous woman.  

To be honest, Richel felt this was the most unfair misunderstanding of all. How could she have known that the gathering she attended was a party for finding lovers? She hadn’t even known such things existed!  

Callisto had purchased me? And he was the King of Mercenaries? The Grand Duke of the North?  

Even now, Richel thought she might have misheard everything due to her fever. But as she sat on the soft bed in the Grand Ducal estate, looking out at the icy mountain range, it was undeniable proof that none of it was a dream.  

She never imagined Callisto would speak so roughly and crudely. He had always treated her with politeness and respect, to the point where she had even wondered if he might be a knight.  

But a mercenary?  

Richel recalled the time when Callisto pretended to be someone else. Though his voice was different and his words were harsh, his actions had been gentle. Initially, Richel had trembled in fear, worried that his large hands might strike her. But as she began to notice similarities, her body had grown warm.  

Perhaps, without realizing it, she had subconsciously sensed her husband’s presence, which she hadn’t been aware of at the time.  

Only after Callisto called her name did she finally understand.  

A moment later, there was movement outside the door. Lost in her thoughts, Richel lifted her head. Callisto entered, carrying the cold air of the North with him. His previously expressionless face lit up as soon as he saw her.  

“Were you waiting for me?”  

“……”  

“That makes me happy.”  

He placed his sword on the table and approached her while removing his coat. Instinctively, Richel shrank back.  

“C-Callisto. Shouldn’t we… talk first?”  

“What do you wish to talk about?”  

“About… what happened that day….”  

“The day you went to find a lover, you mean.”  

Callisto’s face hardened with a terrifying intensity. His expression darkened as he threw off his shirt and began unbuckling his belt.  

“Whenever I think about that day, rage boils up to the top of my head. I wanted to gouge out the eyes of those bastards who raised their hands to bid for you, cut out their tongues, and blow their heads off.”  

“……”  

“But I held back. What if you got scared seeing the blood? I had to restrain myself.”  

In an instant, his sculpted muscles were right in front of her. With his pants loosened, Callisto climbed onto the bed, his knees sinking into the mattress.  

“Still, my wife, you must have been incredibly lonely. Even after being dragged all the way to the North, you’re still talking about that.”  

“No, I….”  

He leaned down and captured Richel’s lips. His large body pressed against hers, pinning her down as his tongue forced its way into her mouth.  

While kissing her, Callisto kneaded Richel’s chest. He lifted her skirt, exposing her legs, and pressed his thick thighs between hers. Her pale skin quickly turned red.  

“You’re already so wet. I could enter you immediately.”  

Callisto whispered softly, licking her lips as his hand teased her over her undergarments. Richel whimpered and shook her head, but his relentless tongue followed hers, swirling inside her mouth.  

The hand that had been stroking her through the fabric slipped beneath her underwear. He spread her closed folds apart and teased her entrance before pulling off her undergarments entirely. His hand, which had been kneading her pale b*ttocks, grabbed her thighs and spread them wide. Positioned between her open legs, he rubbed his hardened member against her.  

“C-Callisto, wait, just wait a moment…. Ah, ahh…!”  

The tip of his length pierced her entrance. As his thick member slowly pushed into her inner walls, Richel closed her eyes tightly and tilted her head back.  

“Even as I’m entering you, ngh, you’re clenching around me like this, and you tell me to wait.”  

“Haa, ugh….”  

“Say something that makes sense.”  

“Ahh…!”  

Thud! His member slid in to the hilt. The heated shaft pressed against her inner walls. Letting out a low groan, Callisto raised his hips and began thrusting deeply. His rapid movements from the start made Richel cry out, wrapping her arms around his neck.