Her eyes, shining in a clear green, gave off a refreshing feeling like a sky cleared after rain or a forest. The man, feeling as if he were being pulled into them, tightly held Leila, who had drawn so close their noses nearly touched.

The man’s movement as he grasped the hand much smaller and more delicate than his own was very careful. But the strength embedded within expressed a firm stubbornness and possessiveness. Feeling that strength, Leila flinched greatly.

“I… I’m sorry, Your Grace. I just… I only…”

“No.”

The man spoke firmly. At the sound of Leila calling him ‘Your Grace,’ his brows furrowed. It was an expression of displeasure. Leila quickly sensed his mood and averted her gaze. The fear approaching instinctively only amplified the unease she felt.

“I told you earlier. You may call me by name. At least when it’s just the two of us in private, please do so.”

“……”

“Madam.”

The man whispered sweetly. His voice was so kind and gentle it was like it had been soaked in honey. Leila did not avoid the face approaching hers. Soon, she could feel his breath between their softly touching lips, and the warm sensation stirred all her senses.

“Right now, I’m showing you the best possible choice. One that will allow you to protect what you want to protect.”

Smiling slowly, the man was unbearably arrogant, as if any problem could be solved if she just followed the path he laid out.

Looking at his face, blurred slightly in the darkness, Leila felt a sharp pain. It started in her chest and echoed several times, and layered atop that, the fluttering of her heart conveyed a strange sensation.

It was as if the sound of her wildly beating heart reached her ears. She couldn’t tell if this fluttering came from fear or was something emotional.

“I respect your decision.”

Finally letting go of her hand, the man leaned forward and placed his lips on Leila’s cheek. From the moment he drew close, the scent of musk teased the tip of her nose.

People sneered that even the man’s body odor smelled of blood, but Leila sensed a fragrance no one else knew and relaxed her body.

The sensation touching her back felt unfamiliar. The soft and warm bed was so comfortable it wouldn’t have been strange to fall asleep immediately.

Before she knew it, the man had come closer and cast a shadow over her with his large frame. Leila drew in a breath as she felt the weight of him above her.

As his body slowly overlapped hers, a heavy pressure settled in.

What touched her directly were firm, thick thighs, and the feeling soon pressed and spread her legs. Her startled instinct tried to close them, but a stronger force held firm, leaving her unable to do anything.

Rustle… The faint sound of fabric brushing made Leila’s breathing quicken. The man, as if he were the kindest person in the world, stroked her gently as he moved slowly.

His lower body, settled between her spread legs, pressed deeper with weight against her soft skin. His hand, approaching, gripped her delicate nightgown and pulled.

Feeling that, Leila quickly dropped her hand to cover herself. The man, sensing the force pulling downward, looked at her. The room, lit only by a few candles, was filled with a suffocating tension.

Like sword and shield, their silent clash of advance and defense continued. Though it was but a moment, Leila was panting as if she had been tormented for hours.

“Your…”

“Javier.”

Just as she was about to call him ‘Your Grace,’ his firm voice overlapped hers. Javier. He emphasized the name and whispered to Leila.

Leila, unable to overcome the voice murmuring like brainwashing, trailed off. His lips pressing against the rim of her ear and his deep, low voice speaking his name made him seem, at a glance, like someone whining.

“At least when it’s just the two of us, please call me by name, wife.”

“…Yes. Your— no…”

“……”

“…Javier.”

The breath brushing against her ear left a faint tickle. As Leila trembled from the chill that swept over her body, Javier smiled with one corner of his mouth raised, apparently pleased by her reaction, and pulled the trembling Leila into a firm embrace.

Pinned beneath his large frame, she gasped and felt her chest being compressed. Even though their pressed chests were stifling their breath, Javier did not let go. Leila, unable to understand why he was doing this, could only break into a cold sweat from the mounting frustration.

“Knowing what the truth is… why would you do this…?”

Barely escaping his constricting embrace, Leila muttered in a drained voice. Javier, who had buried his face in her neck and inhaled her sweet scent, lifted his head and looked at her flushed face.

Though the room was dim, the faint moonlight that seeped in made it just bright enough to catch Leila’s expression. Instead of replying, Javier wrapped his sturdy arms around her shoulders and began loosening the ribbon of her nightgown with his other hand.

Leila gasped as she felt a pressure touch the sensitive place between her widely parted legs. The sensation, the first of her life, was incredibly unfamiliar and awkward.

“That’s because…”

Javier, pausing for a moment, slowly leaned in and licked the nape of her neck. His tongue traced a long path from her shoulder to beneath her earlobe, filled with hot breath that tickled her skin. Startled by the strange touch, she flinched and tried to push him away, only for the same sensation to appear on the other shoulder.

Javier held her soft skin entirely in his mouth as if to devour it, then sucked harshly.

“Because you are my wife.”

“Ah!”

While Leila was distracted by his bold and teasing touch, her skirt was lifted in an instant. Her bare thighs were already soaked with a transparent fluid.

Javier reached out and brushed across the wet area. His scarred hands, rough in texture, stimulated Leila intensely. The spots his hand passed over stung, leaving red marks and a tingling sensation.

“Haah… Leila…”

Javier whispered again in a breathless voice. His face, pronouncing her name as if savoring a sweet dessert, was filled with satisfaction.

Leila felt a throbbing ache in her lower belly and a twitching sensation below. Another stream of clear fluid escaped, followed by shallow, ragged breaths.

“So sensitive… and responsive.”

His neatly trimmed, rounded fingers curved like hooks and scraped below Leila’s navel. “Ah!” Leila let out an involuntary moan, then quickly bit her lip and writhed. Her slender waist arched in a smooth line as she tried to distance herself from Javier.

Javier, unwilling to let that happen, moved swiftly and brushed across her pubic bone. As his hand slid from her lower belly to that place, the slightly grazed skin trembled faintly. His hand, leaving behind only a ghost of sensation, now slipped into the crease where thigh and hip met, tickling her.

“Shhh… Just feel it.”

Breathing too fast, Leila grew dizzy and gasped with dazed eyes. The stimulation Javier gave her came like a flooding wave, overwhelming and intense. Though she recognized this wasn’t right, she couldn’t escape it.

No, the thought of escaping didn’t even arise. She only wanted to keep feeling his hands and grow accustomed to the sensations he gave, so she could accept them without hesitation whenever needed. That seemed the easiest path, one that would reduce her suffering.

‘No, I…’

Struggling to gather her fading consciousness, Leila moved. Her body, which had been sprawled across the sheets, now began to move with intention. But Javier didn’t miss it—he swiftly caught her and held her down.

“Hngh…!”

The nightgown she had tried so hard to protect was already unknotted and spread open. Though she had only briefly been swept up in his pace, the resulting shame felt enormous.

“Leila.”

“Ah…!”

Javier came even closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her endlessly slender, delicate waist gave off a fragile impression. Javier, feeling that shape beneath his fingertips, tightened his embrace around Leila.