Chapter 145
“What time is it even?”
The heavy silence blanketing the mansion suggested everyone else had long since gone to bed.
Planning to grab a snack to wake herself up, Jaha rose from her chair. She could have pulled the bell cord for a servant to bring something, but she didn’t want to wake anyone.
Deciding to fetch it herself and shake off her sleepiness, she took a lantern and stepped out of her room.
The hallway wasn’t particularly eerie, illuminated by the soft glow of enchanted lamps hung throughout. But there was a certain desolation that came with spaces emptied of people—like a school after students leave or a hospital late at night when patients sleep. That unsettling quiet.
Though no one was chasing her, Jaha hurried down the corridor as if something were at her heels. Just as she was about to descend the central staircase, however, a strange noise abruptly reached her ears. She froze, listening.
A muffled, guttural sound—like the growl of a beast.
What was that?
A mix of fear and curiosity prickled at her. After a moment’s hesitation, she cautiously moved toward the source of the noise.
Treading softly, the unknown sound grew clearer.
A faint light seeped through the slightly ajar door—the room, as far as Jaha knew, was Rikanan’s bedroom.
Suddenly, Jaha froze in place.
Was this Pandora’s box she shouldn’t open?
If there was an unbearable secret inside, ignorance might be bliss. If something went wrong and she were driven out of this mansion, she—an outsider—had nowhere to go.
No, being expelled would be the best-case scenario. At worst, she could be eliminated for witnessing something she shouldn’t have. Was it worth the risk?
Just pretend you didn’t hear anything. Stick to the plan: go to the kitchen, grab a snack, and leave.
Steeling herself, Jaha quietly turned to leave—when the sound escaped through the door again.
From afar, it had seemed like an animal’s growl, but up close, it was unmistakably human—a low, pained groan. Ragged breathing, as if struggling through illness…
Is he hurt?
Was he suffering alone, too weak to even call for help?
Summoning her courage, Jaha approached. Peeking into someone’s room was rude, but if a life was at stake, propriety could wait.
Muttering an apology in her heart, she peered through the gap.
Rikanan lay face down on the bed, the blanket draped only over his lower back. Whether he slept nude or not, every exposed inch above was bare skin—the deep curve of his spine, broad shoulders, and hardened arms.
In the dim lamplight, his sculpted form was arresting, and Jaha’s gaze lingered before she sharply reminded herself: This isn’t the time. If he was in pain, she needed to call for help—now.
At that moment, his well-defined muscles tensed and rippled. Thinking he might be jerking in pain, Jaha observed him with concern—until his movements grew increasingly violent. The thick cords of his arms bulged with veins, his back arching and flexing as his waist dipped into a deep curve, his lower body thrusting with enough force to make not just the blanket but the entire bed shake like turbulent waves.
“Ngh—ah—uhhk.”
A voice so guttural it raised goosebumps.
Every fine hair on Jaha’s body stood on end as she trembled.
“Hahh—hng…”
By now, even a child wouldn’t mistake what he was doing.
That… humping—grinding against the bedsheets to relieve his urges.
Logically, she should leave now that she’d confirmed he wasn’t in pain. Yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the spectacle before her: the dynamism of his muscles, the hazy moonlight spilling through the large window beside the bed, caressing his form as if in worship. It was all unbearably lewd and beautiful.
She’d never known a man’s body could be so magnificent—or that the sounds a man made in pleasure could be so filthy.
Rooted in place, she watched as the humping grew even more frenzied. His hips pistoned with such force the bed seemed ready to splinter.
‘If something had to withstand that brute strength…’
Before she could stop herself, she’d imagined it—and promptly recoiled in horror.
What the hell are you thinking about someone you know?!
She needed to stop invading his privacy and leave. Now.
Stepping back as slowly as possible to avoid noise, she—
“Jaha—ah!”
Jaha’s heart plummeted.
‘Did he notice me?’
Frozen in shock, another stifled groan reached her ears.
“Jaha—nngh, ah…”
The blanket covering his lower half finally gave way to his violent movements, slipping down to reveal taut, flexing glutes clenched tight with tension. His massive frame eventually collapsed onto the bed, ragged breaths slowly settling.
Jaha clamped a hand over her mouth. Staggering back, she fled to her room, her mind in complete disarray.
Why… Did I mishear?
Not once—but twice?
And if she hadn’t misheard… why, at the very end—right at the brink—had he… moaned her name?
There was no way to interpret it otherwise. She was the object of his desire.
Locking her door, Jaha slid numbly to the floor.
‘How am I supposed to face Rikanan tomorrow now?’
It was Pandora’s box. Something she should never have peeked into.
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