Tamed Monster - Chapter 104

Showing mercy had only been for a moment, and that moment had already passed. With a low “hmm,” he picked up the discarded negligee and gently draped it over the maid’s shoulders.

She turned to him, puzzled, as if unsure what to make of this change.

“All right. I’ve made up my mind. Today, you’re the one.”

His new plaything. He’d been restless for days, both his lust and his violent urges pent up and unsatisfied. He decided he’d spend the whole day toying with this innocent girl. Whether she would be used to sate his desire or as an outlet for his destructive impulses—that would be up to her. His snake-like hand seized the handmaid’s wrist.

“Ah…!”

Her outstretched arm, desperate for help, found no one. Instead, she was trapped in the Emperor’s grasp, his hand clamped over her mouth as he dragged her into a nearby guest room.

This was hardly the first time the Emperor had chosen to take his pleasure this way. Everyone in the palace knew: as soon as they heard a woman’s moans coming from a room, they discreetly made themselves scarce.

That day, the sound of a woman’s cries echoed from behind closed doors until dawn. At daybreak, the Emperor emerged from the room alone, looking thoroughly satisfied, and went straight to his office to begin the day’s work.

* * *

While the Emperor was busy juggling his duties and his vices, the Duke was enjoying a surprisingly leisurely life.

He paid little attention to the opinions of the surrounding nobles. As someone who wasn’t even human, it was only natural he didn’t care for such things.

The only people who could make him even the slightest bit self-conscious were the Emperor and one particular woman. And even with the Emperor—he only humored him to ensure the success of his mission.

Truthfully, the only one who could make him nervous these days was his fake wife, the one who seemed the easiest to manage.

After risking his neck to save her—going so far as to draw Hector’s wrath—she had started avoiding him the moment they returned to the castle.

Unlike the swamp, where she had nowhere to run, in the human world she could make up any number of excuses to keep her distance, always claiming to be busy with various chores and duties.

In a way, he owed his own leisure to this situation. While everyone else in the castle was busy, the Duke found himself with plenty of free time. Time he spent mostly scheming how to drag his wife into the bedroom, whether it be in the hallway, the study, or the gardens. His days revolved around thoughts of her and little else.

On this particular day, he found his wife in the dressing room, about to change into an outfit for going out. He scooped her up and carried her straight to the bedroom, not letting her go until sunset.

She had learned by now that once she was in his grasp, there was no point in trying to escape. Too many failed attempts had taught her that lesson.

Leaving her unconscious in the bed, the Duke slipped into a robe and stepped out, only to find a certain woman standing right outside the door, causing the gentle smile on his face to vanish in an instant.

“Haa…”

You again.

He fixed his piercing blue gaze on the woman who always made him sigh with exasperation. Rossa. Before long, she opened her bright red lips.

“My son.”

Son this, son that… She was obsessed to the point that only death might break her fixation, even after everything that had happened. While Kuinan was mentally berating her for her delusions, an idea flashed through his mind.

Did he really need to keep this troublesome woman alive?

Unaware of what he was plotting, Rossa looked serious for once. She said she had something important to discuss, and insisted they speak somewhere private, away from prying eyes.

Kuinan thought this was a stroke of luck.

“Sure, why not.”

He even put on a rare show of politeness as he followed her. The vulgar woman who usually insisted on maintaining her dignity didn’t seem to care how he was dressed now.

It was a sure sign of what she wanted to talk about. No doubt it was the same old thing: telling him to get rid of Silvia.

And sure enough, as soon as they reached the deserted top floor of the keep, she spoke the very lines he’d expected.

“Get rid of that woman.”