Only after his entire body had heated up dozens of times did he finally release me.

The man who had humiliated me disappeared outside after finishing everything, as if he had completed his task.

Yuriel swept her gaze over the empty space where he had vanished before rising to her feet.

On the way out, her body, which nearly collapsed several times, barely managed to maintain balance.

Hearing people’s voices, she pulled her hat down low again and hurried outside as if fleeing.

As she left Marriott, a cold wind brushed against her cheeks.

The wind symbolizing Pantheon’s winter was not just chilly, but bitingly cold.

There, as if it had been waiting, a carriage stood ready.

An employee who had followed her without her noticing guided her.

“A carriage has been prepared for you.”

Ah…

A beat late, the luxurious carriage came into view.

Without time to feel puzzled, she hurriedly boarded the carriage.

Her only desire was to quickly leave this place.

Anywhere but here would be fine.

Cassian leaned against the window, lazily biting a cigar.

From the giant window on the hotel’s top floor where he stood, the splendid cityscape came into view.

After lighting the cigar he had bitten, he gazed at the bustling figures in the distance.

Among them was undoubtedly that woman, Yuriel.

His gaze remained fixed there for a long time, unwavering.

Behind him, Tiobe approached like a shadow and gave a polite bow.

“The carriage you requested has been prepared.”

Cassian nodded lightly, his face as impassive as ever.

Tiobe quietly observed his master.

Though he couldn’t see clearly from behind, the glimpse of his face showed no difference from usual.

It was hard to believe this was his first time with a woman, given his dry expression.

What could he be thinking?

Did he truly have feelings for that woman, or did he see her merely as a plaything?

One thing was certain, at least.

That woman was the one who had occasionally caught his master’s eye with a strange gleam since their time on the distant Ifros Island.

While guiding her to the carriage, Tiobe had also caught a glimpse of the woman’s face.

Even from that brief look, it wasn’t difficult to deduce she was a woman of extraordinary beauty, despite being all bundled up.

No wonder his master couldn’t forget her after all this time, even without seeing her.

However… Tiobe was puzzled.

In reality, there were plenty of women willing to be with his master.

Given the ongoing engagement talks, while noble ladies might be off-limits, women of unknown status could easily be found.

Not only that, but until now, his master had acted like a block of wood around women.

For such a person to take only that woman…

Even if it was his master’s will, the woman’s attitude was strange.

The woman who came to spend the night with his master remained as dry as burnt-out firewood throughout.

From the moment she entered the hotel until she left, not a single moment was different.

Her face, which never seemed to have come voluntarily, raised questions.

Why did that woman enter his master’s room as if she had been dragged there?

Why did his master embrace such a woman?

‘Could it be…’

‘Is this my master’s unrequited love?’

This could potentially become quite a problem.

For his master, who was about to be engaged, to not only like someone else but to be in unrequited love…

But how could his current expression be that of someone who had just embraced the person they loved?

Besides, what could his master possibly lack?

Well, even if that were the case, Tiobe concluded it wasn’t his place to interfere.

His assigned duty was simply to stay by his master’s side at all times.

Stepping back, Tiobe returned to his original position to fulfill his duty as his master’s guard.

Even after that, Cassian continued to silently gaze at the road where the carriage had disappeared for quite some time.

Various lights mixed chaotically in his reddened vision.

Every time the city lights flickered, that woman appeared like an afterimage.

Under the softly lit lamps, that woman was terribly beautiful.

He had even thought so just looking at her shadow.

No wonder he had been thinking of that woman for years.

The woman who sparkled under the sun was alluring under the dim night lights.

And her naked body was filthily sexy.

The woman who panted inside him wore a face that belied her voluntary arrival, looking as if she had been dragged there.

Every time she tried to escape from him, whimpering prettily, he told her:

If she disliked it, they could stop. He would let her.

Knowing full well she couldn’t utter such words.

Of course, he knew it was a vile act.

But in those distorted eyes, he was already a vile person, so was there any need to correct that?

Whether vile or a kind fool, it was that woman who had approached him.

He just needed to watch until his interest waned, playing along with her tune.

That woman repeatedly whispered to him.

That it wasn’t true. That she wanted him.

Her arms clinging to him, as if admitting she had crawled to him of her own accord, were pitiful.

Even afterwards, the tears that kept bursting and flowing sparkled as much as that woman in the darkness.

It was quite a sorrowful sight, but he felt no sympathy.

If she didn’t have that kind of resolve, she shouldn’t have undressed in front of him.

When did she so boldly strip off her clothes, only to wail with such an innocent expression, using her body as a weapon?

It’s unpleasant when she looks at him as if he’s some kind of criminal.

Watching that woman wail, the feelings he thought would be quite alright became twisted instead.

He kneaded and manipulated that woman exactly as much as he was twisted.

Every time the moans created by trampling and breaking her filled the room, ecstasy spread.

Every time that woman clung to him, the dirty feeling dissipated, even knowing it was a lie.

Just one year. Did she say one year?

He was quite curious.

What choice would that woman make at the end of this year?

Would he still be panting like a dog, trampling that woman even on that day?

Or would he have abandoned that woman by then, unable to even remember her, as some troubadour said, having exceeded the expiration date of pleasure?

Yuriel, who had frantically boarded the carriage, leaned against the window.

She tried to empty her mind by closing her eyes, but her thoughts only became more chaotic.

When she opened her eyes again, the Blanchet crest came into view.

Now she could see it properly, engraved in every fiber on the carriage wall.

So it seemed this carriage had been prepared by that man.

Come to think of it, she recalled noblemen bustling to catch carriages at the entrance of Marriott.

The carriage, as if trying to remind her of her own shabbiness, was splendid and beautiful, befitting Blanchet’s dignity.

It also boasted perfect stability that could rival any private carriage.

It was a laughable matter.

Her heart inside was beating more violently than ever, so even this felt like a device set up to mock her.

The reason he had prepared the carriage was also understandable.

For him, the fact that he had played with someone like her would only be a disgrace, so he must have wanted to send her off inconspicuously.

His gaze, which she never wanted to recall again, remained stuck in her mind like a dagger, unforgettable.

It was filled with her clinging to him.

How much must he have sneered, watching her unable to control her panting breath?

How much must he have enjoyed seeing her begging just to look at her once?

What must he have thought, watching her sob and plead that she loved him?

Time flowed on, not forgetting its duty, despite her heart blackening and burning up, thickly interwoven with resentment.

Beyond the window, the transparent dawn that had already brightened filled her vision.

When she wiped her pale face, smeared with tear stains, a faint light could be seen in the distance.

It was fortunate, at least.

She had managed to keep one ray of hope, like that light in the darkness.

Reaching into the folds of her dress, a smooth golden vial wrapped around her palm.

Yuriel peeled off the vial with Blanchet’s crest embossed roughly on it and checked the medicine inside once more.

Her hand trembled aimlessly as she carefully tucked it back into her bosom.

He was cruel until the very last moment when he gave her this medicine.

At the end of dawn, as if he had finished his task, he dropped this vial in front of her as he left his seat, like a reward.

As if giving food as a reward to a pet dog for wagging its tail well.

In fact, it wasn’t surprising.

She had expected something like this to happen when she first entered that hotel.

But still…

The more she mulled it over, the more tears welled up uncontrollably.

She rubbed her eyes again and again, trying to erase all those memories.

Only when her eye sockets became red and swollen did she finally withdraw her hand, just as the coachman announced their arrival.

Yuriel barely gathered her wits upon discovering the lodging where her mother would be.

Supporting her trembling legs as she alighted, Yuriel hurriedly made her way towards the lodging.

With each step she took, the afterimage of her mother, exhaling excited breaths, grew larger.

Her hurried steps finally stopped in front of the darkened lodging.

Yuriel opened the door, entered, and quickly lit the lamps.

“Mother… Mother?”

Her mother, who would normally have greeted her with a smiling face, was nowhere to be seen.

Her heart sank, and her mind went blank.

It seemed ridiculous now that she had been feeling reassured all this time.

Discovering her mother lying on the sofa, Yuriel quickly approached Jane.

Her hand carefully reached out to touch Jane’s forehead.

Yuriel’s face turned pale at the cold sensation transmitted through her fingertips.

Only then did the reddish-black handkerchiefs scattered around catch her eye.

“Mother, Mother?”

“……”

“What’s wrong, Mother?”