What I Gained by Giving My Body - Chapter 2.16

Being inside a narrow dressing room wouldn’t have been the problem. Since the Archduke didn’t particularly care about the location. Rather, had she not been able to entwine with him on a soft mattress only after she begged him to do it in a bed?

‘But, just why…….’

Caitlyn changed her clothes while ruminating on the question to which she knew no answer. The question was even bigger than the self-reproach of having failed even though she had openly seduced him. He clearly wanted her. But why didn’t he take her?

Would he try not to take her in the future as well?

That would be troublesome. Because Caitlyn truly had to sleep with him as much as possible. Stepping outside, Archduke Akbar, with a stiff face, grabbed her hand. It would be a perfectly ordinary gesture between lovers, but Caitlyn knew. Judging by how his strong grip was pressing as if to crush her hand, he was firmly angry right now.

Fortunately, the owner must have sensed the unusual atmosphere, as she agreed without much word when Caitlyn said she decided not to buy the clothes. Leaving behind the owner, who repeatedly bid her to come again anytime, Caitlyn was dragged toward the carriage with her hand still held by the Archduke.

“Ouch, it hurts.”

Caitlyn pleaded as she was roughly shoved into the carriage. Archduke Akbar had never used violence against her until now. He pushed her to the limit during the nights, but that was a completely different story. The Archduke let go of her hand only after he himself had climbed into the carriage. When Caitlyn caressed the back of her tingling hand, a sinister voice was heard.

“I didn’t know Miss Hardick’s tastes were like this at all.”

Dangerous. Caitlyn knew instinctively. Roxias Akbar was truly enraged. An even bigger problem was that she had no idea why.

‘Why is he like this.’

No matter how much she racked her brain, she had no memory of doing anything Roxias would get angry about. If she had to pick something, perhaps the possibility that he noticed her lie and his mood became unpleasant?

‘I should be careful.’

But Caitlyn’s resolve was shattered to pieces by Roxias’s following words.

“A shameful taste for someone who is my fiancée.”

She snapped her head up and glared at Roxias. He didn’t avoid Caitlyn’s gaze. No, it was quite the opposite. Because he looked at her with a gaze that seemed it would pierce through her.

“Since you kept treating me like a woman of Zakavil Street, I thought you liked that sort of thing.”

“……You should distinguish between being a mistress and being a fiancée. I didn’t know you wouldn’t be able to make even that much of a judgment.”

“Ha, fiancée.”

At the hollow laugh she let slip, Roxias’s face became even more ferocious. But Caitlyn wasn’t scared at all. Because she knew that Roxias would never be able to refute the words she was about to say.

“Am I in a position to be acting like a modest fiancée right now? I was honestly surprised that you pushed me away when we should be f*****g anywhere.”

Caitlyn pulled the corners of her mouth up.

“In that sense, I could be said to be selling my body more faithfully than anyone else on Zakavil Street.”

It wasn’t self-deprecation, it was the truth. She wasn’t ashamed. In exchange for faithfully f*****g Archduke Akbar, she would gain a future she could decide for herself and her brother’s health. They were things worth gaining even if she had to sell something other than her body.

“……Yes, you might be right. If the opponent were a human.”

Roxias leaned his body toward her. Caitlyn swallowed hard. Her instincts were sensing danger. But right now, they were inside a narrow carriage. Not only was there no place to run, but even if she could run, she shouldn’t. Since she had to seize the compensation from Roxias by any means necessary.

“But I am not human. So you are not selling your body.”

“If I’m not selling it, then what is it?”

The corner of Roxias’s mouth twisted.

“Let’s just say you are offering it.”

“…….”

Selling the body and offering the body. Was there even a difference between the two? But Caitlyn didn’t let the question lingering on the tip of her tongue come out.