Adeline returned to the toilette room feeling nauseous.

No matter what she said, it was clear that the Duke would definitely put her on display at the banquet.

‘To display me wearing such clothes.’

Unable to control her emotions, Adeline gripped the dress hem tightly with trembling hands.

The toilette room was still filled with dresses that Adeline had to try on.

Adeline had no time to check who else was in the toilette room. She was simply letting her body be handled, her soul seemingly gone.

‘Are you ignoring me?’

Madame Violetta seemed offended by Adeline’s behavior.

Violetta stopped taking measurements to alter the dress and restrained Adeline’s actions.

“Oh my. Lady. You mustn’t grip the dress like that. You may not know, but this is delicate fabric that commoners could never afford in their lifetime.”

The meaning behind her words was clear. She was looking down on Adeline as a commoner who had entered as the Duke’s mistress and was wearing a dress above her station.

However, Adeline couldn’t argue with Violetta. She was currently posing as the commoner Del, after all.

“Madame. Could we raise the neckline a bit?”

Adeline asked the madame for a design modification, suppressing her rising anger. If she couldn’t persuade the crazy Duke, she thought she might at least appeal to Madame Violetta.

In response to Adeline’s request, Madame Violetta looked her up and down and said,

“Usually, ladies from noble families prefer more modest attire. But you’re a mistress, aren’t you?”

Violetta’s unfolded fan was covering her slightly upturned lips.

“A mistress’s virtue is to please the Duke’s eyes. Now, how about this? It’s the most popular style in brothels these days.”

Snapping her fan shut, Violetta signaled her staff with her eyes to dress Adeline in the indicated outfit.

Far from granting Adeline’s request, Madame Violetta was recommending even more revealing clothes.

Adeline could barely control her trembling body from shame.

It was just as the parade of dresses seemed to be nearing its end.

Adeline was utterly shocked by the final dress, which was even more revealing than the previous ones.

“Isn’t it a splendid design? This Violetta has always dealt with noble ladies, so I never got to showcase this design before.”

Violetta presented a design that not only fully exposed the shoulders but also generously revealed the chest and back.

“From the shoulders to the back and the collarbone line. It’s a dress optimized to reveal a delicate physique.”

It was while Violetta was enthusiastically explaining her dress that it happened.

“Ah ah. This level of exposure is not enough.”

The Duke, who had naturally entered the toilette room, strode over to Adeline’s side.

Taking his place beside Adeline, the Duke ran his hand down her back.

“My Del has such a beautiful waistline extending from this back, you see.”

– Plop.

As the Duke’s large hand traveled from Adeline’s back to her waist, small buttons fell off one by one. Adeline hastily grabbed the Duke’s hand.

“Your Grace. This is-!”

“Shh. Didn’t you agree to please me? If you disappoint me, I might not be able to hold back. My Del.”

It was a clear threat.

On the surface, it seemed like an act of affection, but it clearly meant that if she didn’t fulfill her role as a mistress, he would immediately throw her before the Marquis or the Crown Prince.

There was nothing Adeline could do in this space. She could only watch as the falling buttons rolled away.

“We need to show this much to highlight my Del’s beauty, don’t we? Don’t you agree, Madame?”

As if demanding an answer, the Duke turned Adeline around to show her back to Violetta.

“Excellent. We should lower the neckline a bit more to match the back.”

At the Duke’s request, Violetta went a step further and suggested more exposure.

Only the Duke holding her could feel Adeline trembling with humiliation as she stood motionless like a mannequin.

“Ah. My Del is most beautiful when wearing nothing, but I’ll leave the rest to you, Madame.”

At the Duke’s command, the corner of Madame Violetta’s mouth turned up on one side.

“I will present a design that won’t disappoint you, Your Grace.”

The Duke finally kissed Adeline’s forehead in front of Madame Violetta before leaving the toilette room.

The designer watching this scene was itching to speak.

She wanted nothing more than to leave this ducal mansion immediately and spread the word about the mistress who had driven the cold-blooded Duke mad.

It was only later that Adeline learned the reason this designer had been chosen and allowed into the ducal mansion was because of that loose tongue.

Adeline, exhausted from the dress fitting, was on her way to the guest room where she had been staying.

But when she entered the guest room she had been using, an empty room greeted her.

The luggage she had brought and the spare clothes she had hung up were all gone.

Confused, Adeline stopped a passing maid.

“Where have all my belongings from this room gone?”

The maid looked into the empty room and smiled brightly at Adeline.

“Your bedroom has been prepared, my lady, so everything was moved there. I’ll guide you.”

Adeline followed the maid, lost in thought.

She had only been here for a few days, yet a bedroom was already prepared.

It must have been Casius pushing for this, no doubt.

As Adeline was sighing, the maid walking ahead stopped.

“This is it.”

Adeline blinked at the sight of the bedroom that unfolded before her eyes.

Then she called out to the maid who was about to leave after giving her greetings.

“Wait. This is my bedroom?”

“Yes, His Grace said that you would be staying here from now on, my lady.”

‘This can’t be.’

Adeline couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

And for good reason – the place the maid had led her to as her new bedroom was none other than the Duke’s bedroom.

To think she would have to share a bedroom with Casius.

Even married nobles rarely shared bedrooms.

If even married couples didn’t do so, it was even more unthinkable for an unmarried mistress to share a room.

Adeline let out a bitter laugh as she saw that her belongings had already been arranged.

It seemed Casius intended to keep Adeline under surveillance not only during the day but also at night, preventing her from moving freely.

“Ha… Where is His Grace right now?”

Just as she asked the maid in a trembling voice-

“Why are you looking for me?”

A familiar voice came from behind her. Adeline whirled around.

“Your Grace, I want to use a separate bedroom.”

“A separate bedroom? The bed here is large enough for us to share. There’s no reason to use separate rooms.”

He smiled nonchalantly, as if he had anticipated Adeline’s fiery reaction.

Such a brazen attitude made Adeline even more upset.

“No! I refuse. How can I share a bedroom with you, Your Grace?”

“Del, you seem to have forgotten. We already shared a bed at the villa, didn’t we?”

“T-That was…!”

Adeline was suddenly at a loss for words.

“What happened at the villa is beside the point! Anyway, I’m moving back to the guest room where I was staying before.”

As Adeline was about to pack her things-

“Guest room? You know that’s not a space meant for you.”

“Then I’ll go to the servants’ quarters.”

“You’ll use the maids’ rooms?”

“Yes. Everyone here thinks I’m a commoner anyway, don’t they?”

The Duke watching Adeline burst into laughter.

Then he approached Adeline and swiftly wrapped his arm around her waist.

“The servants would be truly delighted. And rumors would spread. About how the tactless commoner mistress is staying in the servants’ quarters without any consideration for their discomfort.”

At the Duke’s sarcastic words, Adeline’s mouth fell open.

Casius with his memories returned was completely unlike Mel.

He seemed gentle one moment, then pushed Adeline into a corner with such sharp words the next.

“What should I do? Should I move your bedroom to the maids’ quarters as you wish?”

Seeing Casius smile in such a chilling manner, Adeline shook off his touch.

Then she stepped back from him one step at a time.

“It wouldn’t be bad to show them the sight of a mistress running to the Duke’s call every night.”

“You’re cruel! How far are you going to torment me?”

She recalled how Casius acted like an affectionate lover in front of designer Violetta and the maids, tormenting her.

Adeline felt goosebumps rise as she saw how the Duke’s gaze changed when they were alone.

“Cruel? It seems you don’t know what cruelty really is, my Del.”

He approached Adeline and swept her up in his arms, then laid her down on the bed.

Then he climbed on top of her and bound both her hands.

“If you want to see something even more cruel, keep talking.”

“……”

“You are my mistress. And as a mistress, you have duties to fulfill.”

He lowered his head, drawing closer to Adeline.

Stopping at a distance where their lips seemed about to touch, Casius-

“So you have a duty to warm my bed every night. I’ll be looking forward to it each night, my Del.”

After whispering to the cowering Adeline, he raised himself up. With those final words, the Duke quickly left the bedroom.

Watching him go, Adeline let out a shaky breath.

‘Hah.’

Adeline’s eyes reddened at Mel’s endless coercion.

It was because tears she had been holding back welled up at the sight of the man who had changed so much.

It’s painful. She only wanted to avoid the Crown Prince.

The Duke she encountered again here had become such a different person.

Should she not have come to the Torpeo duchy?

Overcome by belated regret, Adeline buried her face deep in the blankets.

And for a long while, Adeline’s shoulders shook as she quietly swallowed her tears so no one could hear.