Chapter 44
Startled.
Both of them froze. One by hand, the other by eyes.
In the space where only time flowed, they silently, endlessly shared each other’s gaze.
The first to move was Edit. She thought, It’s just a dream anyway, it doesn’t matter what I do. She gently cupped his cheek with the hand that had been near her eyes. Carefully, so she wouldn’t wake from this poignant dream.
Then his eyes slowly began to move as well. The golden eyes, his nose, and even the lips appeared little by little.
They both continued to touch and explore each other.
One with hands, the other with eyes.
Edit suddenly felt like she had experienced this before. She wanted to ask, Did you sleep well? like she had that time. If she could speak, she would have, but it felt blocked, as if something was stopping her.
Instead, she slowly tilted her head toward him.
“Did you sleep well?”
The unspoken greeting was passed quietly through their lips. His eyes deepened in surprise.
After that, Edit pressed her lips to his several more times, trying to say all she wanted to say.
“I missed you so much.”
“I love you very much.”
Just as she felt he might be a little frozen, she felt the large hand on her neck pull her closer. Their lips, which had brushed briefly before, now pressed together deeply. The mingled breaths filled Edit’s mind.
He swept over her like a tidal wave. His warmth and desire felt like a storm.
Short of breath, Edit gasped quietly. His hands slid along her thighs and waist, gripping her rising chest.
Ah!
Edit let out a small, startled sound. The only one who could hear it was the man who had already claimed her. He steadily expanded his territory—lips, cheeks, earlobes, and neck. Every time his lips touched her, Edit felt her breath heat up.
“W-Wait… ah!”
Instinctively, Edit’s struggling arms were gently pressed down by Zekart.
“You started it first.”
Of course, she knew the tender eyes and teasing kisses weren’t meant for her, but it didn’t matter.
Her heart, already given completely, had nothing left to hold back.
“Edit.”
He called her name as if she belonged to him. Then he slowly began unbuttoning her dress. The white muslin dress opened little by little with each of his movements.
Her delicate collarbones and shoulders, and the slightly revealed chest. Edit’s pale, bare skin floated like stars against his night-like eyes.
His touch stopped just before undoing the last button. He noticed the whip marks left red on her skin through the open neckline.
Though they had faded, the scars still remained across her body. Some might even stay as permanent marks. Zekart felt a little pain in his chest.
He quietly studied the scars, then sighed and reached out. His hand traced along her side, where her ribs showed faintly. When his hand touched the scars, her body flinched slightly.
“Does it hurt?”
Edit didn’t understand his question at first.
Hurt? Where?
Following his gaze, she slowly lowered her eyes. At the end, she saw the red marks left behind.
Ah, the scars… right, I was hurt.
She tested the pain for a moment, then shook her head slightly. The place that once burned as if scorched by fire no longer hurt.
It must be because it’s a dream, because he’s in this dream.
A faint smile spread across her lips.
His large hand, veins showing, undid the last button of her dress. As the dress opened fully, a shiver ran through her bare skin. Slowly, Zekart’s lips descended onto it.
He kissed carefully over the long marks, sometimes licking lightly when the thirst rose. From above came faint whimpers. He endured the surge of desire with a long breath, holding the woman close without needing anything else. The curves of her body, the soft flesh, and her warm skin slowly seeped into him.
“Sleep a little more.”
Zekart closed his eyes calmly.
A wet, trembling voice came from within his embrace.
“…When I wake… you won’t be here, will you?”
“I’ll be here.”
Not the ‘you’ she wanted, perhaps, but still.
Night, and Edit’s dream, began to fade.
When Edit fully regained consciousness, it was a full day later. Yet she still couldn’t leave the second-floor room. Partly because she wasn’t fully recovered, but mostly because…
“Why am I not allowed to go outside?”
“You were technically a prisoner. The location changed only for your treatment.”
That was the reason.
The term “prisoner” was accurate—the door was locked from the outside, and she couldn’t open it. Like her previous isolation, she could meet no one. Even the old butler she saw at mealtime only repeated the same words.
“Then at least tell me where this is. I should know where I am.”
“I’m sorry, I cannot speak beyond what’s permitted. Ask the master later.”
The ‘master’ he referred to was that man.
Edit bit her lower lip. She had already asked him, but he hadn’t answered.
During the third day of this confinement, he didn’t appear in the daytime. He came to her room only at night.
His visits embarrassed Edit. Sharing a bed at night was one thing, but the most awkward part was the treatment.
He always applied her medicine himself. The problem was most of her injuries were on her back, not arms or legs. The whip marks.
“Take it off.”
Late at night, he arrived as usual, holding a bottle of oil, the treatment.
“I-I said I don’t want it.”
On the bed, Edit instinctively clutched the front of her dress. One of his eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Want me to take it off for you?”
“…I’ll do it myself. Give it to me.”
“You must be able to reach your back too.”
“….”
“Take it off, quickly.”
When he moved closer, as if really going to do it, Edit jumped off the bed to create distance.
He stopped and chuckled faintly, looking amused.
That light laugh made Edit a little dazed. Normally, she always felt that way, but his laugh in this way felt especially like Maximilian.
“T-There are others here. You don’t have to do it… why do you have to?”
“All the staff in this house are men.”
“…Better that way. As long as it’s not you.”
Edit truly thought that. It would be easier to endure tension from others than him.
But for some reason, his expression turned cold.
“No.”
“W-Why not… ah!”
His absolute tone left her flustered. She stood blankly for a moment, only to be caught quickly by him. Naturally, his speed and quiet presence made it inevitable.
“I-I’ll take it off! I said I’ll take it off!”
Collapsed onto the bed by his strength, she shouted. At last, his firm hand paused.
“…Fine, now turn around for a moment.”
She requested, and Zekart exhaled lightly.
He had already seen everything, yet still.
He quietly turned around, seeing her flushed cheeks. Even after revealing herself completely, she was that embarrassed.
Turning, a faint, ticklish sound came from behind.
Buttons undone, fabric brushing skin, soft sighs.
The sounds painted a gentle picture of the unseen woman behind him.
“…Done.”
Her trembling voice made Zekart turn again.
On the bed, she faced away from him, holding the blanket tightly to her chest.
Zekart silently watched her back. The white skin, marked with red stripes, seemed like cracks at times. Every time he faced her, his heart tightened.
Her frail back seemed like it might crumble at any moment…
He poured a generous amount of oil into his palm and began applying it to her back, letting his body warmth soak into it first.
