The rough calluses embedded in his palm scratched Melly’s hand.

As soon as she broke free from his grasp, she examined her hand and found it had turned red.

Melly realized this physical contact stemmed from quite unpleasant intentions. She wanted to humiliate him right away.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’

But her desperate situation did not allow it. She could not afford to give up her newly found source of income.

“……Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine. I’ll be going now.”

Instead of showing her discomfort, she politely excused herself and turned away.

The basket was empty, and with the inner band now filled with lighter hemp cloth than before, it wasn’t heavy at all. But her heart felt heavier and more uneasy than when her hands and body had carried a substantial weight.

‘Don’t think about anything else. Just focus on the fact that you can earn money.’

Melly comforted herself as she walked away.

Business closed.

Melly turned the sign on the door and turned around.

Washing the teacups and turning them upside down to prevent dust from accumulating marks the end of today’s work.

Since the opening of Lumière Tea House, the number of teas and drinks sold per day barely exceeded ten, but with the delivery job, she didn’t feel as hopeless as before.

Tomorrow, she plans to submit proposals to several new buildings being constructed nearby.

Melly prepared the sandwich ingredients she would take as samples and took off her apron.

It had been an exhausting day. Her arms ached, and her neck and back were stiff. She tilted her head back, which had been bowed all day while working, and massaged the back of her neck with her small hands.

She thought she had been struggling to make a living on her own, but looking back now, it seemed like an exaggeration.

Realizing how comfortably she had been working in such a pleasant environment all this time, Melly felt embarrassed.

She looked at the electric fan mounted on the ceiling. Although it was provided for free as part of a pilot project, Melly only turned it on when customers were present.

Everything felt like a luxury. And she didn’t want to become lazy by getting used to comfort.

Becoming lazy meant becoming lethargic, which was tantamount to a death sentence for her.

She wrestled with the sweltering heat, reminding herself of her situation.

‘I need to work and earn money. Otherwise, my…’

Ding−.

The sudden clear sound of the chime bell interrupted Melly’s thoughts.

‘Ah, I forgot to lock the door when I turned the sign.’

Melly realized her mistake and turned around. A familiar figure stood at the entrance.

She asked with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, Mr. Hudson, what brings you here……”

“I was on my way back after having a drink with the workers nearby and thought I’d drop by. I saw the lights were still on.”

No wonder his nose looked a bit red.

Hudson continued with a friendly face.

“I think the alcohol is hitting me faster than usual because I’m tired. If I go home like this, I’m sure to get an earful from the missus, so I came for a warm cup of tea to sober up.”

“I see. Please have a seat for a moment.”

Melly showed Hudson to a seat and quickly returned to the counter to wipe the moisture off the overturned teacups.

Although she felt uncomfortable due to the earlier incident.

‘He said he came to sober up. He even mentioned his wife. If he had any intentions towards me, why would he say such things?’

Even if he came with ulterior motives, it would be nothing more than flirting at worst. And flirting can be ignored if one chooses to do so.

Melly tried to think positively and brewed some hangover-relieving tea for the man who held her livelihood in his hands.

Mr. Hudson’s gaze kept catching her eye, making it difficult to concentrate fully. She could feel his eyes scanning her. From her earlobes down her neck, to her chest and her protruding belly.

“……”

Trying hard to ignore his snake-like gaze, Melly tilted the pot.

The teacup filled with light brown hangover tea.

The savory aroma of the tea rising with the steam helped alleviate her uneasy feelings.

Melly picked up the teacup on a tray and went to his table.

“Here you are, Mr. Hudson. This should help with your hangover.”

She set down the tea with a neutral attitude and turned to leave.

That’s when it happened.

“……!”

Her wrist was suddenly grabbed, causing her to lose balance, and before she knew it, she found herself sitting on Mr. Hudson’s lap.

He wrapped his arm around Melly’s waist and said,

“Why would I come here just to drink alone? We should drink together.”

Melly felt a chill down her spine at his lewd and murky gaze.

She realized he had not come merely to flirt.

He had come here with a clear purpose. And now was the perfect time for him to achieve that purpose.

A dim night, a closed space with just the two of them, and…… the added boldness from intoxication.

“Don’t…… don’t do this.”

Melly knew those words would be useless and might even provoke the man’s desire to conquer, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say. No…… there was one more thing.

“I’m pregnant.”

Melly pleaded, placing her hand on her swollen belly.

Surely, unless he was a beast, he wouldn’t violate a pregnant woman.

“Ha, well now.”

Indeed, Hudson was not a beast.

He snorted derisively, and before Melly could react, he roughly grabbed the front of her dress and yanked out the belly band in one swift motion.

“You think I’m a fool?”

Feeling her belly loosen and the bundle of cloth sliding down, Melly was shocked.

“Someone once came to me claiming to be pregnant with my child, stuffing something like that in their belly to extort money. Since then, I’ve developed an eye for distinguishing real pregnancies from fake ones by staring intently at pregnant women’s bellies.”

“……”

“Though I must admit, I was almost fooled when I first saw you. You pulled it off quite convincingly. Most young ladies don’t know how to do that.”

He stared at Melly’s now flat stomach with gleaming eyes and asked,

“Have you ever given birth before?”

“Let me go!”

Melly struggled, trying to break free from him. But Hudson, true to his experience as a seasoned worker, was strong. Melly’s resistance did nothing to separate her body from his.

He pulled her closer and tried to tear open her bodice with rough hands. At that moment.

His suntanned forearm was exposed beneath his rolled-up sleeve. Melly seized this opportunity and bit down hard on his arm with her teeth.

“Ugh−!”

With a painful groan, the hands restraining her momentarily loosened. Melly quickly stood up, but Hudson, having regained his senses, grabbed her by the hair.

“Slow to grasp the situation, aren’t you?”

The man she had thought to be gentler than his rough colleagues was no longer gentle. In fact, he was far more despicable and obscene than them.

“Didn’t I tell you I’m quite close with the people in this area?”

“……”

“One word from me and you’ll be buried here. You lying, thieving wench.”

Hudson spat out curses along with saliva on the floor. Even in this painful situation where it felt like her hair roots might be torn out, Melly was saddened by the soiling of the carpet. The carpet she had so carefully chosen. The precious item she had selected after visiting several markets and haggling over the price.

She feared most that he might overturn tables and break the tea sets in his rampage.

“Listen here, you little liar.”

But Hudson spoke in a suddenly softened voice.

“There’s no need to make this difficult. Just do as I say, and there won’t be any problems.”

“……”

“I’ve liked you from the start.”

He now wooed Melly as if he were a kind man.

“I’m quite a good catch, you know. I’ve got some savings too. I can give you anything you want.”

He released his tight grip on her hair and instead stroked it gently as he added,

“Except the position of legal wife.”

Melly felt the touch of a metal ring on the ring finger of his left hand as it brushed her temple.

She felt nauseous with disgust.

She wanted to soil his face just as he had soiled the carpet. If his hand stroking her hair touched even a bit of her skin, she would do it. She bit her lip, holding back.

That’s when it happened.

“Aaaaargh−!”

Following the sudden, agonizing scream, the hand around her waist fell away. Melly, freed from his grasp, turned her head.

Hudson’s wrist was bent at a grotesque angle.

“St… stop……”

In contrast to Hudson’s ugly face flushed red with blood, the face of the man who had subdued him was calm and noble. He had folded Hudson’s wrist as neatly as a sheet of paper, as if handling a matter while elegantly sipping tea.

Hudson struggled and grabbed his arm. Edric shook him off as if brushing away dirty dust.

“You… you crazy bastard……”

Hudson, free from pain, glared at him while clenching his other fist. At that moment.

“No!”

Melly quickly stepped between the two men.

She didn’t know for whose sake she did this. She just…… wanted to prevent anyone from dying.

Looking at the gun barrel pointed over her shoulder, she pleaded,

“Please…… put that away.”

But Edric replied with the calm eyes of someone about to practice shooting at a target.

“Why should I?”

At his merciless attitude, Hudson trembled and lowered his body. The large man was pathetically crouching behind the small and frail woman.

Edric said with a cold face,

“Move aside. Unless you want to get hit.”

But Melly did not obey his words. She spread her arms firmly and looked directly at him.

“I can’t move.”

“……”

“If you’re going to shoot, then shoot me instead.”