I’m a Hostage Princess, But My Confinement Is Way Too Cozy - Chapter 35

Volumes 1 & 2 of HPCWTC are available uncensored on ko-fi! ※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

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After Kallist left, I lay in bed, every nerve ending straining toward the distant door. Ever since I witnessed Zeke’s secret, I hadn’t been able to fall asleep at this hour. Today was no different; I held my breath, waiting, wondering if Zeke would come in today too…

Creeeak. The door opened, and a familiar footstep sounded. I stayed on my stomach, forcing my body to go limp and closing my eyes. My plan was to pretend to be asleep.

‘He didn’t come yesterday. Why is he coming today? What does he want to do?’

A faint sense of expectation rose in me, but then I remembered the two massive members pressing down on my face, and a shiver ran down my spine. It was pure, instinctual fear.

Soon, Zeke was right beside me. Without hesitation, he pulled back the covers. His rough hand swept over my b******s. The stinging sensation made me clench my teeth involuntarily. Lost in pleasure during s*x, I hadn’t realized it, but it seemed I’d been quite roughed up.

Zeke’s hand, which had been lightly brushing my skin, withdrew without a trace of reluctance. It was almost embarrassing to even call it a touch. I had expected him to knead my flesh more thoroughly, to eventually explore the dampness within… but my prediction had been beautifully off the mark.

And that wasn’t the only thing that defied my expectations.

Click. A sound of something twisting open, and then the touch of a cold gel on my heated, inflamed skin. He spread the gel gently, carefully, so as not to irritate my skin further. The burning heat and pain subsided almost instantly. It seemed to be a medicinal ointment meant to heal my skin.

Why? Why is he being kind to me?

My mind was a tangled mess of confusion. He looked at me with disgust, spat words full of resentment… and now he was treating my wounds?

‘Are you… applying medicine for me?’

‘It seemed you would have difficulty applying it yourself.’

‘Thank you, Zeke.’

Suddenly, a fragment of memory, dormant in the depths of my subconscious, pierced through my chaotic thoughts and surfaced. It was from a time not long after I first entered Drémoor Castle, when I had fallen ill.

Come to think of it, when I had woken from a deep sleep back then, the rope burns on my skin had been cleanly treated. The ointment jar had been less full. I had thought I’d applied the medicine in my sleep, but… had Zeke done it for me back then, too?

The him who had applied the ointment then wore an expressionless face, utterly devoid of any pity. Even when he heard my thanks, not a single eyebrow twitched.

Then… what about now?

What expression was Zeke wearing right now?

Unable to resist my curiosity, I opened my eyes. The moment I tried to turn my head to see his face, Zeke bowed his head a beat faster, casting a deep shadow under the ridge of his prominent brow.

He withdrew his hand from my b******s and stood up without a word. I quickly reached out and caught the tips of his fingers. The cold, slick texture of the gel squished against my palm.

“Zeke.”

“……”

“Why… are you treating me? I thought you hated me…?”

The hand I held twitched. Even with my feeble grip, he didn’t shake me off.

“You’ve applied medicine for me before, haven’t you?”

The silence of a taciturn man is usually an affirmation. He ran the hand I wasn’t holding over his own face and let out a breath as if wringing it from his lungs.

“……You remember.”

His pronunciation was slurred, as if he were submerged, his voice muffled. I didn’t know why, but he seemed just as confused as I was. Perhaps he was conflicted, torn between pity and disgust. His attitudes toward me, once his expressionless mask cracked, had only ever been those two.

‘Being pitied isn’t exactly pleasant either…’

But for some reason, I thought it would be okay to receive his pity. Because I pitied him, too. A body cursed by the Moon God Kinamun—I could imagine what he must have endured with that form without even hearing it from him directly.

I gently tightened my grip on his hand and pulled. His body turned slightly toward me.

“How could I forget?”

“…….”

“You were the only one who ever showed me kindness.”

“Princess…….”

“Even after what you did to me… you are a good person, Zeke. I’m sure of it now, after what you just did.”

At my innocent declaration, Zeke immediately shook his head.

To be honest, I didn’t expect Zeke to be some exceptionally good person either. The fact that he hid his body, cursed by Kinamun, and volunteered to be my guard knight meant he undoubtedly had his own hidden agenda.