Vaniel wrapped her arms around Lias’s neck and clung to him. His tongue entered deeply, exploring the back of her throat, and saliva that couldn’t be swallowed trickled down her chin.

With her eyes closed from dizziness, Vaniel opened them in surprise at the feeling of falling. Thrown onto the bed, she stared blankly at Lias, not knowing when or how they had arrived in the bedroom.

His chest heaved as if he was short of breath. Vaniel was afraid. Afraid that the pain would return like yesterday. But she wanted to be in his arms enough to endure that pain.

Today had been perfect, and she wanted to get closer to him.

Vaniel’s pupils trembled with fear, nervousness, and anticipation. Lias stared into her eyes as he unbuttoned and threw off his shirt.

When his sculpted torso was revealed, Vaniel’s heart pounded as if it would burst. Could he feel her heartbeat too?

Slowly approaching while maintaining eye contact, Lias showered her neck with tiny kisses.

“I was planning to let you rest for a day, but I can’t hold back. Still, I’ll try to restrain myself this time.”

Lias suppressed his desire to enter her immediately. He didn’t want to see her screaming in pain again like yesterday. So he intended to wait until her body was fully relaxed before entering.

Lias gently caressed her tense body, trying to ease her tension.

So she wouldn’t be frightened. Gestures with minimal force.

“Are you okay?”

Never in his life had he cared for someone like this. But now, all his nerves were on edge as he observed her reactions.

Lias stared at Vaniel’s face as he moved his hand downward.

Though Vaniel had experienced this sensation once before, she still trembled and moaned at the unfamiliar feeling.

“Ah… yes…”

With each of Vaniel’s twitches, the sensation transmitted through his hand made Lias desperately suppress his desire.

‘D*mn it. This is truly maddening.’

Lias kissed her neck to distract himself, and after considerable effort, he finally saw the reaction he had been hoping for.

Not screams mixed with pain, but moans mixed with pleasure echoed throughout the bedroom.

“This… feels strange…”

Looking down at her naive, twitching form, Lias lost his grip on the restraint of his desire.

He pulled her waist in one swift motion and exhaled.

“Hah…”

Vaniel also breathed heavily at the not-so-painful sensation. And she blushed at the sight of herself reflected in his blue eyes.

Lias smiled slightly, briefly kissed her reddened eyelids, and then began to move slowly.

“You know what? I’ve wanted to do this all day.”

“Don’t… ha… say such things.”

Satisfied to see her able to respond, unlike yesterday, he smiled and increased his pace. Soon, lovely moans reached his ears.

‘I’m really going crazy because of you.’

Seeing his wife’s white skin covered with his marks, turning completely red, he felt like he might lose his mind again.

But he didn’t want to make the same mistake as yesterday. Lias gathered his senses and lowered his head toward Vaniel.

He brushed away the hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead with sweat and kissed her cheek. His wife, who had her eyes closed, slowly opened them.

The bedroom was already filled with a sensual scent of their mixed sweat and breath.

Lias suddenly remembered what Vaniel had whispered in his ear earlier, and laughter burst out again.

Seeing Vaniel’s expression as she looked at his laughing face as if to ask why, Lias’s laughter grew louder.

“How about it? The smell of Novera that you mentioned.”

Finally understanding why he was laughing, Vaniel stammered and avoided his gaze.

“I… I only heard about it! Don’t tease me.”

As Vaniel lowered her head, struggling with embarrassment, Lias forcibly held her chin and kissed her plump, reddened lips.

The kiss that began grew intense again, and the air in the bedroom heated up.

And so, Vaniel fell asleep as if fainting again today, and the satisfied beast slept beside her.

***

As darkness dyed the sky pitch black and everyone had fallen asleep late at night, Cali secretly slipped out of the dormitory and entered the darkness, carefully avoiding the knights’ patrol areas.

The small forest behind the maids’ quarters was managed directly by Madam Nicole, a place where even knights could not freely enter.

Cali was carefully moving along a hidden path, not following the central path in the forest. Though it was hard to see in the pitch darkness, her steps never faltered as she had traveled this route hundreds of times.

‘I must have been temporarily insane.’

Cali was regretting her conversation with Yui earlier. Momentarily blinded by money, she had mentioned the existence of a secret passage. If Nicole found out about this, she and her family would all die without a trace.

She had considered turning herself in, but Cali lacked the courage. So, using her wits to the fullest, she came up with a plan. Though unsure if it would work, she decided to try it. Cali quietly entered the back door of the East Palace.

Taking off her shoes and climbing the stairs silently to avoid making noise, Cali reached her destination, knocked on the door four times softly, and opened it.

“It’s not your usual day to come. What’s the matter?”

Nicole frowned at the entering maid. If it had been any other maid, she would have hit or abused them, but Cali was one of Nicole’s important assets.

“I found something suspicious and came urgently to report. I apologize, ma’am.”

Using the title that Nicole preferred instead of “madam,” which she disliked, seemed to appease her somewhat as the wrinkles on her forehead lessened.

Cali carefully began to speak while reading the situation.

“You know the two maids the Grand Duchess brought from the Count’s mansion? There’s one named Yui…”

“Yui?”

“Yes. When I was behind the dormitory, Yui, not knowing I was there, was complaining to herself about feeling stifled. When she noticed me, she was startled and tried to run away. I caught and questioned her. She said something quite shocking.”

As she finished speaking, Nicole, who had seemed disinterested, rose and approached Cali, urging her to continue.

“What did she say? Tell me quickly.”

“She said the Grand Duchess has forbidden her family’s maids from going out. Yui was crying because she couldn’t go anywhere.”

“Forbidden from going out? What’s wrong with that?”

In Nicole’s common sense, punishing a disliked maid by forbidding outings wasn’t unusual. Surely this can’t be all? Nicole’s sharp gaze pierced Cali.

“At first, she wouldn’t talk, but when I made a guess, Yui was surprised and asked how I knew. That’s when I discovered the secret. The Grand Duchess is preventing maids who know her flaws from leaving.”

“Flaws?”

Nicole’s eyes widened. She had been looking for the Grand Duchess’s weakness, and now she was getting lucky.

“Where is that girl? Bring her here immediately.”

“Ma’am, please calm down a bit. Yui seems quite cautious, so approaching without a plan could go wrong. Also, she seemed somewhat hostile when talking about the Grand Duchy, so I think she’s an Imperial faction supporter who praises the Emperor.”

“Then what do we do? Let such an important opportunity slip away?”

Cali recalled the lines she had prepared in her mind. Nicole might seem impulsive and thoughtless, but unlike her appearance, she was quick-witted.

That’s why she had survived in the Grand Duchy. Knowing this well, Cali spoke calmly.

“Yui said that when she was at the Count’s mansion, she went out every day to relieve her stress, but since she can’t do that here, she’s becoming mentally ill.”

Cali swallowed hard.

“To learn about the Grand Duchess’s flaws, we need to become friends with her… Since Yui likes going out, I’ll take her through the passage to become closer to her.”

Her heart pounded. The passage was a secret hole Nicole had created to sneak out of the Grand Palace. If this was revealed, Nicole could be expelled from the Grand Palace, so very few people knew about it.

Nicole’s expression hardened, and her fingers twitched as if she was contemplating.

“What if that Yui tells the Grand Duchess about the passage?”

“She wouldn’t. Yui said the Grand Duchess dislikes her. And I’ve never seen the Grand Duchess speak to Yui.”

“It’s not just the Grand Duchess. What if she has a loose tongue and tells someone else?”

“That’s…”

She hadn’t thought of an answer to that question. As Cali hesitated and fumbled for words, Nicole shook her head.

“It’s too risky… This isn’t a matter to be taken lightly.”

‘Did I think too simply?’

Cali’s expression showed her dismay as she lowered her head.

“For now, I’ll think about it more. You can go.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After bowing her head and leaving the room, Cali trembled with fear. If Yui were to carelessly speak and others found out… The image of herself covered in blood that flashed in her mind made Cali want to cry.

;Hah… It seems this plan has failed. I need to come up with another plan. What should I do?;

Darkness settled behind Cali as she returned to the dormitory.