IBWCD 17

Chapter 17

Then, slowly, Kalian parted his lips and pressed his feverish forehead against hers.

“How do you feel?”

Evelyn looked up at him, breathing heavily. Her face flushed bright red, as if she’d revealed something sinister, but her mouth moved freely, as if something that had been clamping down on her had been lifted.

“Haha, okay… that’s weird, but I love it.”

She gasped, and as soon as she pulled her mouth away, her negligee curled up.

Evelyn, overwhelmed by the mounting stimulation, grabbed him by both shoulders as if to restrain him.

“That, that’s enough, no more…!”

“Whatever.”

The hairs on her ears stood on end at the bass that pierced her eardrums.

His response grew harsher as he pressed their thighs together, breathing harder and harder.

The sticky friction began to fill the space densely, sending chills of pleasure racing through her body as his movements became more intense.

“Hmph, mmmph, mmmph!”

Too much pleasure can also lead to pain. Their lips were locked together, and despite her protestations of discomfort, he didn’t seem to care and continued to lick her lips and bottom more fiercely.

A long line of saliva stretched out, signaling that she had reached her limit.

“Hmph, no more…”

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Evelyn shook her head vigorously, looking like she was about to burst into tears.

“Stop!”

His lips parted slowly, his chest heaving, and he met her gaze. His unreadable eyes stared at her intently, then withdrew.

“You’re a mess.”

He muttered lowly, smoothing down her tousled hair.

“Are you offended, or are you anxious, afraid you’re going to do something worse with me?”

“Well, it’s not like that…”

A cold sneer escaped his lips when Evelyn, flustered, didn’t answer right away.

“No, I hope not.”

“…….”

“Because what we’re doing won’t have any emotion attached to it, will it?”

Evelyn knows it.

This is as much an act of cleansing as anything else. There’s no way he, who doesn’t like to be bothered, would be willing to do this.

Swallowing back a sudden flush of disappointment, Evelyn gave him the answer he wanted.

“Of course, the Grand Duke will never have… anything to worry about.”

‘I’ll never be able to crave deep feelings for you, even if I die. I will never love you in this life.’

The corners of her eyes twitched as she spoke the lie. Smoothing down her disheveled skirt, she pushed herself away from his hard thighs.

“For today, I think I’ve had enough…”

He watched her flounder away, then spoke for the first time in a while, his brow narrowing.

“Relax.”

“…….”

“I have a woman I love.”

Evelyn fell silent.

Only the chilled air crossed between them.

After a long silence, Kalian stared at her face, which had hardened into a rigid line, with an emotionless gaze.

“You could do this to me every day of my life and I’d never find myself lusting after you.”

* * *

“My Lady, it’s time to eat.”

The door opened softly, revealing a maid who bowed slightly in greeting.

The trolley with the meal was then rolled into the bedroom.

Evelyn barely pushed herself to her feet and sat down in a chair as the maid set the meal on the table.

Fresh seafood, lightly seasoned grilled fish, hot stews, and crunchy fresh vegetables filled the table.

They were all her favorite foods, but she doesn’t need too much.

“I don’t need this much food for breakfast.”

Except for a year in her previous life in the North, she had never eaten more than one full meal a day.

For her, food of this caliber was a luxury, but the maid’s response was the same.

“I’m sorry, my lady, but that’s not my business, and I’m under orders to make sure you finish the meal you’ve been served…”

Evelyn sighed deeply inwardly as she watched the maid fidget.

It had been several days since she had initiated contact with him in the name of cleansing the tangled magic.

Despite her assurances that there would be no lust, he had been quite sincere in his purification, even seeming to enjoy it.

That didn’t mean the intensity of the contact deepened.

It was just a light handhold, a nip at the nape of her neck like a gnashing beast, or a shared mouthful of saliva.

‘That’s enough to make my whole body tingle.’

Suddenly, she remembered what he’d said as he smoothed out the hem of her disheveled dress.

‘Fatten up. You’re too weak to carry me into battle.’

It was around that time that the table began to fill up with food until it felt cramped.

He wasn’t wrong, of course. In his current condition, following him out to the battlefield would only cause him trouble.

She might not be of much help to him, but she needed to keep herself healthy.

The only good news was that the energy that had been flowing through her had begun to stabilize, and the symptoms that had been plaguing her had vanished as if washed away.

“I’m still not strong enough to hone my shields, offensive magic, or anything else.”

Her body was revitalized, even if she couldn’t believe it.

The revitalized energy in her body was like a dynamic stream.

Evelyn repeated the same exercises every day, absorbing the magic he infused into her body as energy.

It was hard to describe the feeling of the energy coursing through her veins.

She could heal most wounds without having to push herself to the limit.

So she had to fill it up.

She’ll be able to do something with it.

Evelyn sliced open the fish skin in front of her and shoved it into her mouth as if to calm herself.

* * *

When she finished eating, she got up to change her sweaty clothes.

Normally, the casual clothes the maid brought her would have sufficed, but today she needed to dress for a night out.

Remembering the maid’s words that she could wear anything in the closet, Evelyn approached the closet and threw the door wide open.

“Wow…”

The diamond-encrusted wardrobe was lined with clothes of all colors, ranging from casual outfits to dresses for formal occasions.

Every single one of them was a design she loved.

The colors, fabrics, and measurements were perfect, as if someone had been inside her head.

As she reached for a dress that caught her eye, her expression subtly hardened.

The impassive face that had told her he was in love with someone flashed through her mind.

Yeah, so maybe.

‘She must be the owner of this closet.’

But no matter how she sifted through her memories of her past life, there was no woman she could identify as having a special relationship with him.

He avoided contact with the opposite sex to the point of obsession, and wouldn’t even talk to them unless it was necessary.

“No,” she said, ”you can’t know a person’s deepest thoughts.”

Maybe there was a woman in his heart that he just didn’t want to talk to.

Maybe he hid it because he didn’t want to be labeled as a man who couldn’t bear children.

At the thought, a heavy weight sank into her chest. Evelyn ran her fingers down her dress and thought back to her marriage.

“I wonder if there was a woman then.”

Not that their relationship had been easy.

Unlike most aristocratic men with mistresses, he was a man with a voracious appetite, and he didn’t hide it.

Evelyn could not hide her bewilderment at his sudden declaration.

“Well, it’s none of my business now…”

Whatever had brought her back from the brink of death had made everything that had happened before seem fleeting.

She had succeeded in convincing him, but it was a relationship of purpose, not love.

Even knowing that, there was nothing she could do to stop herself from feeling miserable.

Her heart still aches when she looked at him, and her mind churned when she thought of the memories she had with him.

It was hard to erase those memories, even if it meant saying goodbye to him forever.

‘Just don’t say anything,’ she thought, ‘it’s like a forewarning, a warning not to expect or want love.’