Javier did not stop moving his hips even as he ejaculated, grinding deep inside. Every time, no matter how much Leila sobbed and begged him to stop, he never did. On the contrary, he seemed to torment her further, thrusting deep to the end and creating a path with the semen that flowed out as he pulled all the way back.

Each time Leila felt that sensation, she shuddered with a chill and an indescribable pleasure, then collapsed. She felt as if she could still sense the member blocking her inside, lamenting the wasted semen that dripped out.

Every time the hard, blunt shaft filled her belly to the brim, Leila moaned as if dying from pleasure.

“It’s alright. We’ll clean the floor, so please bathe first.”

The desire to cry remained unchanged. She felt so embarrassed and humiliated, she wished it were all just a dream.

But the shame belonged only to Leila. The maids moved like machines, washing Leila and tidying up the mess of the room. They allocated their roles efficiently and worked quickly without an ounce of waste.

‘So this is what it takes to work in a grand ducal house…’

Leila watched the hands moving so deftly and held genuine admiration for them. Just until recently, she had lived as someone’s maid and attendant, so the whole situation still felt surreal.

Letting out a languid breath, Leila recalled the face of her former mistress who had always commanded her with a stern and cold expression.

Before she knew it, the bubbles had been rinsed off and a robe draped over her. Leila’s now soft and fluffy hair was being dried. Several people repeatedly brushed and dried it.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“Huh? I’m fine… ah, no… mm, ahem. I’m fine. Not hurt at all.”

“If anything feels uncomfortable, please don’t hesitate to let us know.”

“…Alright.”

The maid spoke politely, then resumed tending to her hair. Leila looked at them through the mirror and thought of her past self.

Until just a few days ago, Leila’s daily life consisted of attending her lady’s bath, drying her hair—exactly what these women were doing now. In those days, if she made even the slightest mistake while brushing, even just tugging a hair, a brutal beating would follow.

What was even more terrifying was how her lady treated the other maids kindly but never extended that mercy to Leila. Because of that, she always worked more nervously than her peers. Could she truly say that escaping that life made her current situation better…?

“Would you prefer to sit or lie down? Should we call for a doctor if you’re not feeling well?”

One of the maids looked at Leila, who was slumping weakly. She seemed to notice how difficult it was for Leila to sit upright while having her hair dried. Leila wanted to sit straight, but her strength kept giving out, so she nodded.

“No, I’m fine. Just feeling a little tired.”

“Understood.”

Thanks to the help of many hands, Leila’s long hair was quickly dried, and she soon sat on the bed. The sheets and blanket that had been soaked from last night’s events were now completely replaced. Lying in them felt like heaven. The moment Leila laid her head on the pillow, she let out a satisfied breath and melted into the bed.

“Then while you rest, we’ll prepare a light meal.”

The maids briskly left the room, and Leila was finally alone. Having felt uncomfortable sharing the space with those whose names she didn’t even know, she could now feel a sense of relief.

The professionalism that Leila had never sensed while working in the viscount’s house was evident in everything they did. Even while lying weakly, she couldn’t help but admire it in her heart. Perhaps because they served the Grand Duke, they somehow looked even more impressive.

What if she had worked here instead of in the viscount’s house? Leila buried her cheek into the pillow with a faint chuckle.

For an orphan who had nearly died on the streets after losing her parents, entering a noble household and becoming a servant was considered an incredible stroke of fortune.

Then wasn’t it practically divine luck? What more could she want, thinking like this…?

Leila scolded herself and closed her eyes. Though the maids had said they would bring food, her whole body ached and felt so sluggish that she couldn’t think of anything else. She just wanted to fall asleep like this. The shameful sensation lingering between her thighs still hadn’t faded.

The hands that had touched every part of her body were so big and warm. From her neck to shoulders, chest, waist, and belly—then pressing down gently over her pubic bone and stroking—it all came back to her vividly, as if it had just happened.

As if reliving the sensation, Leila wrapped her arms around her lower belly and curled up her body.

“Haah…”

The heat that rose to her cheeks instantly spread to her ears and neck. The whispers he let out, the hot and wet moans, the panting breaths, and the pounding sensation deep inside. Leila felt as though he were still by her side, caressing her whole body.

“Ugh…!”

A sudden gush of love fluid quickly soaked her undergarments, amplifying her sense of shame. It even felt like more than usual had come out, reddening Leila’s cheeks. Before she realized it, her hand had drifted close to her underwear and trembled slightly.

“My goodness…”

Slipping a hand into her underwear and brushing the damp area with her index finger, Leila checked the fluid clinging to her and blushed again. Her face, red enough to burst, was no different from a tomato.

The moment she saw the white mucous substance on her fingertip, Leila panicked. Her flailing arms and legs fluttered like a duck caught in a trap, suddenly filled with renewed strength.

But her body, writhing in shame, soon fell limp like a puppet with its strings cut. She had no energy left to move.

The hair that the maids had so carefully dried and brushed was now all tangled again. Leila, who had buried her face into the pillow in a noisy struggle against her embarrassment, raised her now flushed face and panted.

‘Javier Draven…’

He had never once been unkind to her since their first meeting. He had come out to greet her upon her arrival at the grand ducal house and had even warned her to be careful when drinking tea because it was hot.

And most surprising of all, from the beginning, he had known her true identity but never blamed or interrogated her. He even held the wedding without a hitch and shared a grand first night. Of course, there had been no mercy in the sex itself.

‘Maybe I didn’t feel unfamiliar with him from the beginning because of that?’

At the wedding, when she first saw him, she had almost asked, “Have we met somewhere before?” but barely held herself back. How foolish, thinking she could have encountered him while working at a mere viscount’s house, not even a count’s.

Shaking off the uneasy thoughts, Leila recalled the whirlwind of a wedding. As a maid, she had expected to simply register a marriage with an appropriate man and live quietly… Yet fate had given her a grand wedding and a husband who was a Grand Duke.

Of course, the husband she married was not as Leila but as someone else. Still, the shiver she felt the first time she met his eyes would remain unforgettable.

The intuition she had honed during her years as a maid helped her survive this crisis. It also gave her a clearer perspective of him. The moment she noticed the gentle gray eyes and faint smile behind the rumors, Leila knew.

He wasn’t a mad raven scouring for corpses to feast on. He was a man wandering in search of a place to rest his weary wings.

***

“You wicked wench!”

“Miss!”

Clang—!

With the sound of sharp shards scattering, a maid who had been shoved fell to the floor with a thud and quickly prostrated herself. Her swollen cheek looked painful just at a glance, and the sharp fragments scraping her palm left cuts as her trembling hand brushed them.

Leila was flat on the floor, begging for forgiveness beneath a lady whose temper had flared unusually high these days. As usual, she had brought tea before the meal and was waiting briefly when the lady, after taking a sip, flung the cup she had been holding and poured out all her anger and nonsense.

“You were planning to scald my tongue so I couldn’t speak, weren’t you? Did you think I wouldn’t see through your scheme?”

“Miss, p-please calm down!”

“Get away from me!”

The other maids tried to intervene, but it was no use. The hand clutching her hair only grew fiercer.