‘Ugh, why does she suddenly want to do something she hasn’t done before?’

Even though Tanya was like family, she had never shown her body to her.

Because that was something she could never do.

(This is a time separator.)

When Adel entered the bathroom, the large, clamshaped bathtub was filled with red rose petals.

Candles were softly illuminating the surroundings, and the scent of jasmine and roses wafted sweetly.

Through the window in front of the tub, the lake was visible. The lake, shimmering in the moonlight, was serene and pure.

“It’s even luxurious to the end.”

Bitterly smiling, Adel began to undress, layer by layer.

She removed her dress that fluttered like the wings of a goddess and unfastened the tight corset that had constrained her body.

One by one, she pulled down the straps that covered the flesh beneath her chemise.

Rustle, rustle…

Everything covering her body fell to the floor, and finally, her dazzling naked form was reflected in the ovalshaped mirror.

Her pure white body, revealed in the white steam, was beautiful and mysterious.

Her neck, arms, and legs were pathetically thin and delicate. But centered on her slender waist, her voluptuous hips and delicate breasts were irresistibly seductive.

A body with the innocent face of a girl but with the tempting allure of a courtesan. Enough to enrapture any man.

But Adel looked at her body with an expression as if a terrible curse had been placed on her.

Because she had to face that terrible memory she wanted to forget.

With her flowing hair gathered in one hand, she slowly turned her back to the mirror.

‘I wish it would just disappear…….’

A wish she had wished thousands, tens of thousands of times.

But despite her desperate desire, it was still clear.

Between her shoulder blades, in the middle of the straight spine, that terrifying mark.

S T

The initials of Stone were tattooed in dark black ink.

He had always marked his belongings with these initials.

Handkerchiefs, jackets, pens, horses, boats, even his underwear…….

He was a man who obsessively marked his belongings, almost to the point of pathology.

This mark meant that Adel was also his possession.

“Adel, will any man accept you with another man’s mark? Try to erase it if you can. The rumor will spread uncontrollably anyway.”

“Shut up, Stone!”

Screaming like a banshee, Adel threw a candle at the mirror. The white wax splattered on the mirror, obscuring her reflection.

“Sigh…….”

She collapsed to the floor.

She had tried to erase this mark that Stone had left several times. But since it was in the middle of her back where her hands couldn’t reach, it was impossible to do alone.

But she could never ask someone else for help. She couldn’t show this beastly mark to anyone.

Adel had chosen to forget about it instead. Fortunately, since it was on her back, she didn’t have to see it if she didn’t want to. She thought she would never have to show it to anyone for the rest of her life.

But now, she didn’t know if Christine would discover this mark.

Judging from his hot gaze all day long, it seemed like he would barge into the bedroom as soon as he returned.

‘But if I refuse, he won’t force me.’

But how long can she reject him?

He was a man in the prime of his youth.
Outwardly as ascetic as she looked cold, she realized it when they kissed. Because running breathlessly, panting, was like a wild beast.

‘She was like a starved beast…….’

Adel shuddered, muttering.

But why does her heart pound so much just thinking about that kiss…….

‘Should I tell everything?’

Maybe Christine would understand. He would believe that it’s not what she wanted.

But she shook her head.

‘Never!’

If Christine found out about this, he might rush to kill Stone.

Even if Stone had the Emperor’s protection, fighting with him, a member of the elders, would make matters worse.

More than anything, Adel didn’t want to show him this terrible mark. The thought that he might feel something towards Stone whenever he saw her back was horrible.

She didn’t want someone like Stone to get between them.

First, she needed to get rid of this.

(This is the time separator.)

After dropping off Adel, Zimmer came back to the ballroom, and Christine seemed to have been waiting.

“Adel?”

“I have escorted her well. I saw her dismissing all the servants, saying she would rest.”

“I see. I’m leaving soon too.”

Having kept up with this boring gathering for fear of Adel’s wrath, she had been quite patient.

“Would you like to dance with me, Count?”

Then Seira approached with a provocative step.

The atmosphere of the party had ripened, and everyone was dancing with drunken enthusiasm.

Seira’s cheeks were flushed with wine, a beautiful and tempting pink. The men inside the ballroom couldn’t take their eyes off her.

But Christine declined politely.

“I’ll leave that honor to others.”

“I have something to discuss over a dance.”

“I trust only the information brought by my informants.”

“How much do your informants know about your fiancée?”

Christine’s face, which had been polite, suddenly became cold.

“If it’s a slander about my fiancée, it would be best to go back, Seira Oswald.”

As Christine put up an ironclad defense, giving no ground, Seira was taken aback. To hide it, she covered her face with a fan and threw another bait.

“If you think the truth is slander, I can’t help it. But it might be good for you to know that she had a special relationship with my stepbrother Stone Oswald.”

Then Christine laughed softly.

“What’s so funny?”

“Are you confessing with your own mouth how worthless the Oswald family is?”

“……!”

Seira’s face hardened.

Adel was now not human, but once they were stepmother and son. Ever since rumors circulated that there was something odd between the two, the family had made Adel out as a wicked woman.

A wicked woman who poisoned her husband and tried to seduce her son.

Stone was merely a naïve nobleman who almost fell for the wicked woman’s schemes.

But if Seira brought up their relationship again, she was staining her family’s reputation with her own hands.

“I’m going to my fiancée now. Excuse me.”

As Christine walked by, Seira involuntarily staggered back.

She felt an aura as if he was going to draw a sword and swing it.

And her heart tightened with an emotion she couldn’t tell if it was fear or curiosity.