What I Gained by Giving My Body - Chapter 1.6

Caitlyn shuddered at the chilling assumption.

“Right, I was certainly warned that there was a possibility of this.”

It was a monologue that didn’t consider the listener at all. The moment she was about to ask what that meant, Archduke Akbar locked eyes with her clearly. Golden eyes that felt as if she would be sucked into them collided directly with Caitlyn’s transparent garnet-colored eyes. It was a confrontation where neither intended to back down.

“…….”

After their gazes, which were searching each other, overlapped several times, Archduke Akbar seemed to have realized something.

“You really don’t know. Actually, it’s for the best.”

He gestured for Caitlyn to sit in a chair. Only then did she realize that she had been standing with her back against the wall like a terrified animal. As she sat hurriedly on the sofa, Archduke Akbar spoke.

“I’ll explain simply. There is something Miss Hardick stole from me.”

……What on earth is this man talking about? Naturally, Caitlyn had no memory of stealing an item that Archduke Akbar would be searching for. There was no reason for her to do so in the first place.

At this point, one thought occurred to her.

‘Is he perhaps trying to frame me on purpose?’

But why, on earth?

What kind of profit would he gain by doing such a thing to her?

“I have never stolen Your Grace’s possessions, nor anyone else’s. I trust that Your Grace knows that fact better than anyone.”

Archduke Akbar didn’t seem to care about her protest in the slightest.

“Of course you would say that. But Miss Hardick stole the most precious thing from me, and the only way to get it back is…….”

His golden eyes slit horizontally like a snake’s.

“……to take Miss Hardick myself.”

“What does that……!”

Caitlyn couldn’t finish her sentence. Archduke Akbar had grabbed both her cheeks and kissed her as if he were about to devour her. For a very short moment, Caitlyn was completely frozen and couldn’t take any action. Archduke Akbar used that gap to completely dominate Caitlyn’s body.

It was a kiss so intense she couldn’t breathe. His thick tongue moved in and out, violating her tender flesh, and whenever she tried to twist her head even slightly, a burning pain was applied to her cheeks held by his strong hands.

‘I have to escape!’

She couldn’t just keep being subjected to this. She had no leisure to think about why or for what reason this was happening. There was only the thought that she had to get away somehow. Using her free arms and legs, Caitlyn struggled violently and pulled her body away from the Archduke.

The Archduke let her go more easily than expected, and a porcelain vase the size of a human head entered Caitlyn’s terrified field of vision. Something that could sufficiently strike the person in front of her. Judgment and action happened in succession. Caitlyn picked up the porcelain vase and threw it toward the Archduke’s head with all her might.

Crash!

The Archduke didn’t even make an effort to dodge. His white, smooth forehead, which was struck head-on by the porcelain vase, broke, and red blood flowed down. Blood was smeared all over the Archduke’s hand as he touched the wounded area, then his golden eyes rolled back, emitting a strange glint.

A mad laugh leaked from the Archduke’s mouth.

“Ha, haha…….”

Caitlyn turned her back hurriedly and ran toward the door. She didn’t care about the Archduke’s reaction. She had to go outside right now and escape somehow……!

But the moment she turned the golden doorknob, she tasted complete despair. The door didn’t budge. Seeing as it was the same even after she unlocked it, it seemed someone was blocking the door from the outside.

A scathing voice was heard from behind her.

“You really are exactly the same as before.”

Step, step. She heard the sound of the Archduke slowly walking toward her. It was a leisure taken because he knew she was prey with nowhere to run.

Caitlyn turned her body slowly. The Archduke, who didn’t even seem to think about wiping the blood from his head, was approaching her with an utterly cold face.

“That appearance of yours, not caring about the aftermath at all—I like it very much.”

Caitlyn clenched her fists tightly. Her body was trembling, but she couldn’t just keep being subjected to this. The door is locked? Fine. Then she would jump even if it meant going through the window.

A baronet’s sister forcibly taken by an Archduke. She could know the end of that without even prophesying the future. Edward probably wouldn’t be able to close his eyes peacefully until he died.

But the Archduke, as if he had read her thoughts, completely wedged Caitlyn between the door and himself, making it so she couldn’t budge. The corners of the Archduke’s mouth curved into an arc.

“Our Cathy…… used to even offer her own body for the things she wanted.”