A large, unforgiving hand reached around her waist, the heat of his touch slipping between her bent knees.
“I don’t know why you have to do it like this…” Cheeks flushed bright red with shame, Elise stopped abruptly. Suddenly, a light bulb illuminated a part of her mind that she hadn’t explored before.
Wait.
In addition to the chest and muzzle, there were other areas where Rezette was particularly persistent: the left wing, the left nape, and the spine line that ran from his waist to his hips. They had only one thing in common.
They bore Andrei’s magic circle.
In the echoes of her brother’s voice, which had once resonated in her dreams, a sudden thunder erupted.
“Elise, don’t allow him to strip away the magic within you,” Andrei’s warning reverberated.
Her nightgown’s hem danced around her ankles before being roughly pulled up to her waist. Trembling violently, she felt the fire-hot hands stroking up her spine.
“Rezette, today I…!” Once again, her words spilled out in disarray, like splinters. Her partially exposed flesh shivered, robbed of its warmth. “I-I’ll do it.”
“You?” Rezette repeated, seemingly amused. “Do you understand what you’re doing?”
“I know everything, I know your face, I want to see it, I want to do it….”
Elise fumbled for the forearm that hung near her head, clasping the back of his hand and kissing it — an act typical of a master with a servant. She strained to turn her head, gazing up at him with almost pitiful eyes.
“Can’t I… go up…?”
A subtle grin played on the edges of Rezette’s lips. F*ck. Cursing silently, he deftly turned her around, dismissing her awkward attempt at seduction with practiced indifference.
In an instant, he found himself atop her, and she urgently clutched at his collar. Anxiety flickered in her eyes, replaced by a fleeting relief—his position shielded her from the view of the inner door.
Guiding Elise’s hand to his waist, Rezette murmured softly, “Then do it.”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. A shiver coursed through Elise as she realized he was entangled in her grasp. A formidable presence enveloped her, rendering her momentarily speechless.
She bit her lip, unable to speak.
You…
This man was utterly callous, thrusting this upon her without a second thought. Despite the contractual bond they shared, he remained indifferent.
Rezette covered the back of her hand with his. His breathing became ragged as Elise unconsciously squeezed his hand. Elise swallowed dryly as she witnessed the passion that had begun to ignite.
Look at me. Don’t you dare look the other way…
As Rezette observed her awkward movements, a chuckle escaped his throat, resonating in the air.
“It appears…” he began. Originally, there’s no such thing as volunteering without a price. With intentional deliberation, Rezette traced her lips with his forefinger, heightening the intensity.
“It seems you have a desire,” he remarked, to which Elise quickly denied, insisting, “No, it’s not… that.”
“If you wish to attain your desire, you must be willing to offer something in return this time, Elise,” Rezette stated. Perhaps, by doing so, he thought, he might be more lenient after the break of dawn.
Elise’s lips quivered, and the conflicted woman eventually shut her eyes tightly, seeking comfort as she approached Rezette.
And with that, the spark was ignited.
Once again, the man who consistently disrupted Elise’s composure easily asserted his dominance. Rezette, displaying impatience, didn’t wait for her to muster enough courage. Instead, he pressed her to surrender something, yet in reality, he was in the midst of extracting moans and screams from her.
“Ah, ah, oh…!”
The twisted sheets convulsed mercilessly within their line of sight. Even without Rezette coercing her mouth open, the sounds proved uncontrollable. The persistent creaking of the antiquated bed endured, and amid the disagreeable noise, the rhythmic claps and stifled moans became intertwined.
The sequence of what should precede and what should follow was forgotten. Just as the man had intricately bound all his interests to her, Elise found herself unable to escape the captivation he wielded over her. Perplexed, she couldn’t comprehend why her body readily succumbed to pleasure.
Elise strained to divert his gaze away from the door, determined to ensure it remained unturned. The space previously occupied by Barnon now resembled a lengthy, black crevice, as if echoing the recent presence of both him and Andrei, their cries seemingly ready to spill out at any moment.
He won’t be watching… probably.
Enough time had elapsed; Barone must have departed the premises by now. Despite being aware of the vacant space, Elise hesitated to cast her eyes in that direction. The princess presenting herself so overtly to the man was not a scene fit for any witness.
The knowledge that, through this explicit encounter, Elise and Rezette shared not pain and hatred, but a perilous pleasure, was a secret best kept from the people of Argan.
The dawn, bathed in the hue of ecstasy, felt interminable. Amidst torrents of pleasure, Elise bowed her head. His coarse breath, like a beast’s growl, was directed solely at her.
Feeling a distant emptiness as if plummeting from a height, Elise allowed her mind to drift away. When she awoke, as if emerging from unconsciousness, morning had arrived. Beneath the cloudless eastern sky, the sun cast its judgment. In the front yard, seven maids knelt in silence.