The Sand Bride - Side Story 1.4

* * *

Huu… Karzhen took a deep breath and moved his fingers again. He tried to press down the strings on both sides and pluck the center string slowly, but when the wooden support beam holding the strings couldn’t withstand the force of his fingers and shattered, he couldn’t hold back and tossed the broken Epira.

“Damn it!”

CRASH! His clenched fist slammed down on the desk. Karzhen was breathing heavily, exhaling a breath filled with rage.

Belying his expectation that it would be easy, Karzhen’s Epira playing wasn’t just failing to improve; he couldn’t even get close to starting. The Epira, which required delicate, light force unlike its simple exterior, did not combine well with Karzhen’s immense strength. It was only after breaking the 15th Epira that Karzhen finally admitted he had no choice but to change his approach.

He was not merely untalented at playing; he was disastrous. Only a sound like the dying cry of someone meeting a terrible end came from the Epira he played, and it was common for the instrument itself to break from his lack of strength control.

Giving up on his attachment, Karzhen immediately sent people out to scout for Epira musicians. The conditions, of course, were that all musicians had to be women, and even they had to cover their faces and quickly disappear once the performance was over.

Despite the eccentric conditions, Karzhen was able to quickly secure several musicians thanks to the enormous reward. He arranged for their performance in a small banquet hall only after completing a simple background check on the musicians.

* * *

It was the day of the much-anticipated performance, but Esther, who was called out late in the evening, looked completely uninterested in the music. However, since it was rare for her to show any interest, Karzhen didn’t pay much attention to it. He thought she might grow to like it after listening or watching it for a while. Every time Esther looked elsewhere, he lightly tapped her shoulder to redirect her attention back to the performance hall.

Esther still had her head bowed down, glancing at the musicians each time. She felt confused by Karzhen’s repeated attempts to make her watch again.

The performance finally ended without any enthusiastic applause or fervent praise. In terms of execution alone, it had been a success. The musicians played flawlessly—from the elegant quintets and lively quartets typically performed at Donova’s royal banquets to the final piece traditionally played at weddings.

However, even though it was the same instrument, the graceful technique and formality felt unfamiliar to Esther, who preferred the Epira music commonly enjoyed by the common folk.

She did not feel any sense of nostalgia in their performance. Karzhen also disliked the sound of the Epira itself, finding it nasally, so he didn’t even glance at the performance, staring only at Esther throughout.

Esther, as usual, was staring intently at the table in front of her with a slightly melancholy expression. On the table were a tray of fruit, a bottle of wine, and two gold-plated glasses, but Karzhen knew she was neither thirsty nor hungry.

She was merely resting her gaze on the table, not truly looking at it. That vacant stare, devoid of any will or desire, was the look Karzhen disliked the most.

The performance ended soon after. Instead of offering praise, Karzhen dismissed the musicians and gripped Esther’s shoulder again. Unlike before, the grip was forceful, making Esther suddenly snap out of her daze and lift her head. In the performance hall, now empty of musicians, only Karzhen and Esther remained.

“Was it bad?”

“What?”

“Was the performance bad?”

At Karzhen’s question, Esther briefly rolled her eyes, then cautiously looked up at him. Karzhen scoffed.

“Is it bad because that bastard isn’t the one playing?”

“I told you it’s not like that…….”

As Jeremy was mentioned again, Esther replied with a weary expression. Then she turned her head away. At her attitude, which seemed to want to cut off the conversation entirely, Karzhen shouted with a face full of fury.

“But you didn’t have that kind of expression when you listened to that bastard play!”

Karzhen, who had yelled at her, thought he wished Esther would get angry. He wanted that more. If they fought, he might be able to exchange more words, and he expected to find a clue to escape this suffocating conversation.

But at his enraged voice, Esther was scared and chose to shut her mouth instead. For her, it was more comfortable to remain silent and endure than to speak. However, her silence seemed to affirm the ridiculous delusion he harbored, and Karzhen’s face became even more savage.

And Karzhen knew a simple way to relieve his anxiety whenever it struck. Karzhen pressed his lips together and shoved his hand under Esther’s clothes.

When he roughly massaged the soft b****t that fit perfectly in his palm with its familiar texture and weight, and rubbed her n****e, Esther was momentarily startled and her body stiffened, but she soon remained still.

Every time the man’s hand, calloused and rough, squeezed, the soft flesh of her b****t was deeply indented, leaving marks. The rough touch sometimes hurt, but when his abrasive fingers gently rubbed her n****e, her lower belly started to tingle slightly.

With every movement of the hand shoved inside her clothes, Esther slowly flushed in the cheeks and her lips trembled. Seeing that, Karzhen’s anger somewhat subsided, but when he realized her gaze was still fixed on the floor, his irritation flared up again. He roughly pulled his hand away and said.

“Get on your knees.”

At the command, Esther familiarized herself to take the position. There was even a hint of relief in her attitude, thinking this might finally end the uncomfortable conversation. However, at her wind-up doll-like compliance, Karzhen’s face contorted further rather than softening his anger.

“Do you just do everything you’re told?”

“…….”

Esther was confused. Her reaction showed she didn’t know what she could do to make Karzhen calm down. She froze, still hunched over as if to get on her knees.

Karzhen gritted his teeth. He used to think Esther’s actions during s*x were a mutual bond, but now he understood that her moving as he commanded was a way to cut off communication with him.

As her tentative glances at him trembled with anxiety, Karzhen could not contain the passion stirring in his chest and roughly cupped both her cheeks. Then, he kissed her savagely.

“I……!”

The kiss was so urgent that their teeth clacked together. When Esther was startled and pulled her head back, Karzhen firmly held her with his hand, preventing her escape. He kissed her until she was breathless and her lungs seized up, then used his weight to push Esther onto the table behind the two of them.

There was the sound of the fruit-laden tray being knocked backward by her body. Grapes and figs rolled across the floor and were crushed shapeless under Karzhen’s foot. Karzhen, having swept away all obstacles, including the tray, tore off Esther’s clothes as she lay on the table like an offering.

There was the sound of her belt being ripped off and tossed into the air, and the sound of wet silk tearing. It was the sound of her clothes soaked in the wine Karzhen had knocked over. The wine spread across her clothes like blood. Esther felt her chest getting soaked and evaporating chillingly. The scent of wine instantly enveloped her.

“Haa~”

When her rounded, swollen b*****s appeared through the torn clothes, Karzhen licked them with a long swipe of his tongue and sucked on her n*****s. Each lick and suck of her b****t tasted faintly of tart wine. He buried his face, sucking and biting at the skin smeared with wine, from her b*****s to the surrounding flesh, and even down to her flat belly.

As Karzhen licked and sometimes bit her b*****s, and even her flat belly, Esther felt as if she was being eaten alive, shaking her head whenever his teeth marks were impressed upon her skin.

“Ah, ah…! Hh~nnh…… S-stop… Hnh……!”

As Esther mumbled and stammered, Karzhen sneered.

“Just stop with that ‘stop’ noise.”

He grumbled but thought that this was better. At least now she was moving her arms of her own volition, rather than catering to him like an automaton.

The red wine looked like blood. Esther was sprawled on the table like captured prey, twitching with every movement of Karzhen’s hands and mouth. Karzhen roughly pulled down his lower garments and revealed his e***t c**k. As he positioned himself between her legs, he saw Esther tightly close her eyes.

Karzhen’s temper soured even more at that. He hadn’t intended to immediately plunge in. However, he had expected her to at least beg him not to be rough, but her attitude of simply closing her eyes without a word infuriated him to the point of his head bursting.

“Haa~ngh…… Hha… Aah~!”

When he thrust his hips forward, the dry hole parted, laboriously swallowing the glans. Esther’s body beneath him trembled slightly.

Karzhen, who had shoved the glans in using the strength of his hips, paused for a moment, then instantly plunged his c**k all the way to the root. Esther’s body writhed violently at the sensation of her insides splitting and her stomach being completely filled.

Her parted lips wouldn’t close. Her thighs trembled uncontrollably from the pain. Her hole felt like it was tearing. The enormous c**k, each time it jabbed her dry entrance, inflicted pain on Esther—not the usual pleasure—as if a firebrand were being shoved inside her.

Karzhen also gritted his teeth at the inner walls that squeezed his c**k as if trying to chew it off.

“Ugh… mmmh, i~it hurts… Hnng~haah…….”

Sweat profusely soaked both their foreheads. Karzhen was about to start moving, but he couldn’t budge as Esther screamed each time. He gnashed his teeth, then grabbed Esther’s hand and lowered it to their junction.

“If it hurts, figure out how to loosen yourself up. I’ll wait until the count of ten.”

“Hnngh~~”

When her fingertips touched their pubic hair and his c**k inserted inside her, Esther’s face flushed with shame. When her hand rested there without moving, Karzhen threatened.

“Are you not going to do it? Should I just start moving then?”

“N-no……! H-I’ll do it…….”

Fearing it would truly hurt if Karzhen started moving now, Esther shook her head, sniffled, and massaged their junction.

Her fingers, which had been fumbling over the widely stretched hole around his embedded c**k, wandered for a while until Karzhen threatened, counting “One,” upon which she finally groped her own parted lips, found her c**t, and started rolling it.

“Ngh……! Uh~ungh…… Ah~!”

Every time she gently rubbed her c**t with her index finger, Esther could feel Karzhen’s d**k, which was buried inside her, right below her fingertip.

The pleasure began to spread faintly, a tingling sensation amidst the pain, as she rubbed her c**t. When she felt her lower belly clench, the c**k that tightly filled her insides became acutely present.

With a little more slack, her insides slowly made way for the c**k they had received countless times before. Esther too, slowly flushed, not from pain, but from pleasure. Her eyes were moist, and slick wetness flowed from below.

As her hole became lubricated and gradually relaxed, nibbling at his c**k, Karzhen could hold back no longer and began to move violently.

It was a savage movement that felt like it would pierce her stomach. Esther wept, desperately trying to match Karzhen’s rhythm. Or, at least, she wanted to grab onto something to endure it. But unlike the bed, there was nothing to grasp on the table, and Esther dug her fingernails into the table, scratching it.

A grinding sound echoed and trembled with every thrust of Karzhen. He bit his lip and looked down at Esther. Her face, gasping and sobbing uncontrollably, looked utterly lost. Even as he moved his hips, Karzhen muttered.

“Top or bottom, you open when told to open… and when f****d, you just shake…….”

“Hnh~huu… Ung, haah~nngh, ahng! Hhnng~!”

Karzhen spoke with a wretched feeling, as if chewing his words.

“That’s all you have, isn’t it?”

He liked her face panting with pleasure like this, but he wanted to see her exclaim, stamp her feet, clap her hands, and laugh lightheartedly. Whenever he saw her staring blankly at the floor or the ceiling without a word, Karzhen wished she would get angry, or even hit him instead.

Karzhen had never let anyone who hit him get away with it, but he could take a hit from Esther anytime. He would gladly do so, as long as she wasn’t running away.

If I give her something prettier, or do something more fun for her, will I be able to see her happy face? Karzhen sometimes hoped Esther would smile at him. Hakan repeatedly told him to remember Hemor’s fate, but Karzhen kept wanting to deny it.

He wanted to believe that he was different, since he hadn’t directly killed Esther’s parents, and he had provided medicine and a doctor for her sick father. He thought she would smile if he said he was sorry. He thought she would answer if he said he loved her. He knew it was a vain delusion, but he still thought it.

Karzhen, who was moving his hips while stroking her face, which was wet with tears and saliva, suddenly felt dizzy. An eerie sense of climax crept up his lower body.

“Haa~~♡”

Karzhen came inside Esther and withdrew his c**k after two or three final thrusts. Milky white s***n dribbled out from between her legs. Esther, who had reached climax along with Karzhen’s release, twitched her thighs in a spasm and then went limp. Her half-closed eyes were moist and wet.

Karzhen pushed Esther’s disheveled hair back from her forehead and parted it, then gently pressed their cheeks together. As the warmth of their cheeks, heated by their lovemaking, intertwined, his messy mood stabilized somewhat.

It was only in this position, where their faces were not visible to each other, that Karzhen could articulate the words, even just with the shape of his mouth. I love you.

“…….”

Esther, who couldn’t have known, blinked her eyes and slowly succumbed to the sleepiness.