The Beast of the Albard Mansion - Chapter 50
Desi exhaled warm breaths as he licked my neck. I pushed his face away, shaking my head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’m still sore.”
If we did it again today, my body would split in half. It wasn’t unbearably painful, but there were lingering aftereffects. Desi sighed heavily and held me tightly. I could feel the hard rod between his legs, making it impossible to sleep.
“Why is it like that again? It shouldn’t be.”
“I can’t control this at will.”
He acted like an animal with no manners. If he was reduced to this state at any given time, what would other people think? I tried to scold him while fighting off sleep, but Desi whispered in my ear.
“It always happens when I’m around you. It was so hard to hide it all this time.”
“So you were like this just by looking at me? You ungrateful wolf.”
I pretended to be angry to hide my blushing face. I pouted and glared at Desi, who looked down at my angry face and laughed softly.
“Yes.”
“Bad Desi.”
“Yes. Every time I see you, indecent thoughts flood my mind. You have no idea how painful it was.”
Desi took a deep breath, still holding me tightly. His hands couldn’t stay still, grabbing my b******s, caressing my waist, and kissing my cheek. He was frantic, not knowing what to do with me.
“I’m going to sleep. If you keep this up, go sleep on the floor.”
In the end, I had to take drastic measures. Desi whimpered and clung to me. After promising not to do it again, I closed my eyes. But soon, I heard him tossing and turning and opened my eyes.
“Desi, you aren’t sleeping?”
“…I can’t sleep. I’ll just sleep on the floor.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“…”
Desi couldn’t answer. He lay down with his back to me, his face flushed. The warm comfort he provided was gone, leaving a cold breeze in his place.
I crawled over and pressed myself against his back, resting my cheek on his broad shoulder and wrapping my arms around him. I could hear his heart pounding, loud and erratic.
“Good night, Desi.”
Holding Desi close, the sleep that had been eluding me was sweet. I vaguely heard a deep sigh before sleep took me.
***
The next morning, the space beside me was empty. Desi had gone out during the night. I brushed my hand over the cold spot he left behind before getting up. The coldness seemed to signal it was time to wake up from the dream.
Today was the day Count Ozr and his son were returning to their region. Father, Mother, and the servants were all busy seeing them off.
Even as the sun rose high in the sky, no one noticed that Sister had disappeared during the night. It was proof that no one cared enough to check on her, locked in her room.
I got ready and went to see off Count Ozr and Lord Brent. Lord Brent kissed the back of my hand and smiled.
“See you at the wedding.”
The wedding date was set hastily. In a mere month’s time, I was to marry him. My opinion had not been considered at all. They just told me to prepare since it was decided.
“Yes.”
Father laughed heartily as he looked at us.
“You two look good together.”
Lord Brent smiled awkwardly as if embarrassed. Watching his reaction, I felt a bit sorry. He hadn’t done anything terribly wrong, but he would suffer a lot soon. However, I smiled back at him, erasing any guilt. Even if I felt a little sorry for him, I had no intention of reversing my decision. Wasting emotions was unnecessary.
The two left the mansion in their flashy, gold-adorned carriage. The shiny black horses swished their glossy tails, pulling the carriage away. We stood under the scorching sun until the carriage was out of sight.
“They’re finally gone!”
As soon as Count Ozr left, Father wiped the smile off his face. He headed straight to Sister’s room, saying he needed to deal with the postponed trouble. He had been holding back his anger in front of Count Ozr, not wanting to make a scene.
Father held a club in one hand and a short dagger in the other, looking furious as if he intended to beat Sister. He seemed to plan to shave her head again so she couldn’t go anywhere, separating her from her lover in the capital and marrying her off to a family that matched his intentions. But I knew his wish would not come true.
Mother followed him, worried about what might happen.
“Open the door!”
Father commanded in front of Sister’s room. The servants began to remove the nails one by one from the door. Once all the nails blocking the door were removed, an old servant glanced at Father before opening the door.
Everyone expected to find Sister lying in bed, weak from two days of hunger. But their expectations were completely off. Their eyes widened in shock at the empty room. My sister was gone without a trace.
Everyone looked bewildered, scanning the room. The quick-witted servants went in and searched every corner. The bed, behind the dresser, under the table—Sister was nowhere to be found. Father finally realized something was wrong.
“Where… Where did Solivia go?! WHERE!”
