What I Gained by Giving My Body - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2

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Caitlyn opened her mouth, but Archduke Akbar was faster.

“Oh, or were you truly so horny that you wanted to grab just any man and sleep with him? If that were the case, you’d find plenty of opportunities if you went to Zakavil Street.”

Zakavil Street was a place where women lived who sold their bodies for a few coins.

“I—I am.”

Caitlyn barely squeezed out her voice.

“I am…… here to see Your Grace.”

“Ha.”

Archduke Akbar spat out a mocking laugh.

“Do you think I’d believe such a thing? Especially from the mouth of a liar like you?”

He tapped her cheek, which was flushed red from the Baron’s blow. It didn’t hurt, but it was a clear gesture of contempt. The Archduke looked down at Caitlyn’s wide-open chest with a gaze full of loathing.

“Since you are dressed in such a manner, it is only natural you are treated as such.”

He grabbed her by the bosom. Caitlyn twisted her body at the movement, which had an obvious intention. The Archduke’s brow furrowed.

“It seems you preferred the Baron after all.”

Even amidst the shame and anger, her head cooled. If the Archduke had seen even a moment of the Baron’s antics, he shouldn’t have spoken to her that way. When Caitlyn said nothing, the Archduke yanked at her sleeves with both hands.

‘……No.’

It was a borrowed dress. Far from being able to return it to Count Sufferd’s estate in clean condition, if it were torn by the Archduke’s hands, she couldn’t even guess how much she would have to pay in compensation— it was made from fabric of such high quality. In this situation, she felt absurd for worrying about clothes, but Caitlyn desperately forced the words out.

“It’s a borrowed dress…… the clothes.”

Archduke Akbar laughed aloud. It was a cold laugh that didn’t seem happy at all.

“So you want me to treat the clothes, at least, with care?”

The tension in the sleeves he had been pulling tight slackened.

“I shall do as you say. Strip.”

Caitlyn’s lips parted. She looked at the Archduke with a gaze of disbelief. Until now, it was he who had taken and craved her. It wasn’t that she craved him. Archduke Akbar knew that fact as well, so he had never demanded an active stance from Caitlyn. Of course, they had only spent a single night together.

As she thought of that, the fear she had felt until a moment ago subsided somewhat. Although the Baron Barrel had caused a useless commotion, the relationship between the Archduke and herself had changed not one bit. A relationship where they mixed bodies to get what each other wanted. A relationship where she offered her body to the Archduke, and in return, the Archduke gave her what she wanted.

She couldn’t quite tell why the Archduke was so furious, but it was likely close to a situation where he was angry because a third party had laid hands on something he considered his. Caitlyn’s tongue loosened further, creating words in a tone that was no different from usual.

“It was a dress I borrowed because I wanted to look good to Your Grace, but if I had known you would be this displeased, I wouldn’t have bothered with my appearance at all. Like usual.”

Archduke Akbar’s eyes narrowed.

“So you’re saying you wanted to look good to me.”

He took a step back from Caitlyn. Caitlyn sat down and gathered her bodice. It was because the sleeves the Archduke Akbar had been pulling as if he were about to tear them off just a moment ago kept drooping limply.

“I’ll tell you how.”

She had an ominous feeling.

“I won’t say it twice. Strip.”

……A feeling that hit the mark just as well as an ominous foresight.

“And seduce me. If you thought I liked you dressing like a w***e, then you should act like a w***e.”

Roxias Akbar was immersed in a sense of elation as he watched Caitlyn, whose face turned pale at his words. The woman with a ridiculous name that he couldn’t get used to no matter how many times he heard it had been chatting away just a moment ago, but now she just stared at him blankly as if she were speechless.

“You said you wanted to look good.”

“……That is.”

Beads of cold sweat formed on Caitlyn’s forehead. She parted her lips as if to say something, only to close them again several times. It was when Roxias, losing his patience, leaned forward to take a stride toward her. Caitlyn slowly began to pull her evening dress down.

She slipped several times because of her trembling fingers, but soon the red dress fell to her feet, revealing her chemise, which barely covered her upper body, and the stays that supported her b*****s.