With a deft motion, he lifted Liliette, his fingers still inside her. It was as though she were weightless, a delicate piece of paper in his hands. Her vision blurred as her feet left the ground, and she let out a startled scream. In an instant, she found herself draped over his broad shoulder like a sack of grain. Gripped by fear, she clung to his back with all her might, unable to even muster the strength to struggle. The only sensations she could register were his firm shoulder pressing into her stomach, his muscular arm around her waist, and his fingers still inside her.
“P-Please, put me down!” she pleaded, her inadvertent clenching eliciting a low groan from him.
“Ah… Are you trying to break my fingers?” he murmured. His voice, thick with desire, sent heat coursing through her lower abdomen.
“If you keep walking like this— oh!” she cried out.
With each step he took, his fingers pressed deeper inside her, matching the rhythm of his stride. Liliette clung to his clothes, her knuckles turning white as she let out a series of involuntary moans. The Duke chuckled softly at her determined grip. When he finally lowered her to the ground, she tightened her hold, refusing to let go.
“If you don’t want to get down, perhaps we should continue right here,” he said.
The mere suggestion made her blush. He waited until her body relaxed before gently placing her on the bed. After he laid her down, a long, unnerving silence followed. She knew how risky the situation was; the door could be ajar, or someone could be watching from the shadows. Though unlikely, there was also a chance that the man climbing onto the bed wasn’t her husband at all.
Tentatively, Liliette reached out to grasp his arm. “Your Grace…?”
The silence stretched on. She fidgeted anxiously, her hips shifting slightly. The movement seemed to spur him on as he took a deep breath, taking in the sight of his wife sprawled on the white sheets. Her silver hair, damp with sweat, shimmered in the moonlight streaming through the window. Her lower body quivered with his fingers still inside her, and the sight of her skin through the now-translucent negligee, damp from her juices, was breathtaking.
The bed dipped as he moved closer, his fingers never leaving her. As she felt his hair brush against her inner thighs, she jerked her hips back in surprise.
“Not there! Please, don’t put your mouth there! I don’t like it…!” she exclaimed.
The Duke grabbed her thigh with his free hand, pulling her back. “I’ll have to teach you not to lie to me,” he whispered, his breath teasing her sensitive skin below.
Liliette twisted her body in vain, her voice trembling as she protested, “It smells bad… Jannik said it was disgusting. So, please—”
“Talking about your former husband at a time like this? How romantic.”
He seized her slender ankle, spreading her legs wide roughly. It was clear that he was irritated. A sense of shame overcame her as the sudden exposure to the cool air made her feel as though she were standing naked in a public square. He pressed his lips against her inner thigh, and each time he sucked on her skin, the sensation was so intense that it left her gasping for air.
“You have a scent that’s incredibly alluring… and sinful. It’s enough to drive a man mad.”
His tongue traced a path from where his fingers were buried within her, gliding up to her sensitive nub. The slick, sensual movements made her fingers and toes tingle.
“Ah, no… Your Grace… please…” she moaned.
The texture and rhythm of his tongue heightened her awareness of every nerve ending below. She gripped the sheets tightly, trying to resist the urge to grind against his face.
“You taste like fruit, Liliette,” the Duke whispered, his mouth still pressed against her.
Then, he took her entire mound into his mouth, sucking on her swollen nub as the sounds of his breathing and slurping blended together. His large, rough hand then moved to her breasts, kneading her stiff nipples, pushing her closer to losing control. His tongue teased her relentlessly, making her grip his hair and move her hips rhythmically. Liliette felt both parched and achingly aroused, her lower abdomen in turmoil. As his fingers joined his mouth, thrusting inside her, electric shocks rippled through her entire body. Her face flushed red, her eyes rolling back beneath the blindfold as she gasped for breath, her entire being focused on that one point.
“No, please. It’s coming, Your Grace… Ah!” she exclaimed.
The sounds of her whimpers and his deep groans filled the room. Liliette shook her head desperately, her face damp with tears. The wet, rhythmic sounds grew louder, and a fiery sensation began to build in her lower abdomen. She moaned loudly as the explosive heat surged through her body, making her toes curl and her mind implode. She clenched around his fingers, and she cried out, her body convulsing with the force of her climax. Her release gushed forth, soaking his hand and mouth. Only after savoring every drop did he finally pull away, letting out a slow breath.
Liliette gasped for air, her mind hazy and her body trembling in the aftershocks of her orgasm. He withdrew his fingers, then flipped her over.
Liliette’s eyes widened beneath the blindfold. “Are you going to continue?”
As if her question were a cue, he grabbed her knees and spread them apart.
“We’re just getting started,” he replied, his tone serious enough to make the blood drain from her face. Only then did Liliette realize he hadn’t yet entered her.
“Wait, wait. One moment… Ah!”
He pressed her head down as his slick hand found its way inside her once more.
* * *
Liliette awoke from a deep, dreamless sleep, her body aching from the night before. As the events of the previous night flooded back, her eyes snapped open. Every muscle in her body throbbed, but she could tell that someone had tended to her while she slept. She felt clean, her blindfold was gone, and she was now dressed in fresh nightclothes.
Lying on her side, she clutched the bedsheets tightly, her heart racing. The echo of his seductive whispers made her cheeks burn until she felt lightheaded from embarrassment.
“I’m so tired, Your Grace. I can’t…”
“Yet you’re still clenching tightly. You keep lying to me.”
“No… Please! Ah…”
“Your Grace… are you there?” she called out, her voice hoarse from the cries of passion the night before.
But there was no response. Slowly, she sat up, her body feeling heavy and leaden. When she glanced beside her, she noticed the bed was empty.
Then, the realization struck her. Even at the very end, before she lost consciousness, he hadn’t fully entered her. She blushed again as she remembered how he had brushed against her intimately, never going further. Even without full penetration, the pleasure she’d felt had been almost too much to bear.
Her entire world had been turned upside down. The realization that there were so many forms of pleasure, that so much could be accomplished with just one’s fingers and a mouth, left her reeling. She blushed furiously as she recalled his seductive voice and explicit words, her face burning so hot that she felt slightly dizzy.
“Something really must be…” she whispered, trailing off.
Something was undoubtedly wrong with her. Women who indulged in carnal pleasure were said to have tainted souls. Perhaps she truly was cursed…
Shaking her head, Liliette forced the thoughts away. Any deeper contemplation would threaten to drag her into despair. Her legs trembling, she dragged herself out of bed and approached the window. A solitary vase sat awkwardly on the windowsill, looking out of place.
The sky outside was a pale, predawn gray, and snow had blanketed the castle courtyard overnight. She opened the window, allowing the cold air to hit her and diffuse the heat that had permeated her body moments ago. The cool breeze cleared her head, but a flood of chaotic thoughts soon rushed in, making her dizzy once more.
They hadn’t undressed. They hadn’t kissed. She still hadn’t seen her husband’s face. Unlike with her past husbands, this encounter hadn’t been painful, yet it left her deeply unsettled. Could this even be called conjugal relations? If he found her so repulsive that he couldn’t bear to spend a night with her, why had he proposed in the first place?
As a gust of cold wind made her nose tingle, a sudden thought struck her. “Am I just a toy to him?” she wondered aloud.
Some men enjoyed tormenting women, savoring their reactions. Perhaps he was one of them. Strangely, the idea felt oddly comforting. It would be easier to satisfy someone who saw her as a mere plaything than someone who believed she was cursed. But if he never consummated their marriage, there was a problem. Liliette’s duty was to bear a child for a noble house—a responsibility vital for securing her family’s future. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Whatever was to come, she would have to accept it, just as she always had.
As she began to calm down, a faint noise behind her made her jump. Startled, she spun around, but the door was still firmly shut.
“Did I imagine it?” she muttered.
The creaking sound echoed again. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the wall opposite the bed slowly slide open. Mouth agape, she backed up against the wall. Secret passages weren’t out of the ordinary in a castle like this, but it wasn’t the passage that sent chills down her spine—it was what emerged from the darkness.
“A cart… moving on its own?”
A small cart loaded with a blanket rolled in, seemingly unassisted. It paused at the entrance before slowly making its way into the room, the old wheels creaking ominously. Liliette held her breath, her trembling hand reaching for the vase on the windowsill. She gripped it tightly as though it might provide some defense.
When the cart came to a stop in the center of the room, the blanket on top began to shift as if something underneath was stirring. Liliette stood frozen in place, clutching the vase like a weapon. They call this the Monster’s Castle for a reason, she thought. Is this place really haunted? Can a vase even stop a ghost?
Sweat beaded on her forehead as the blanket sagged, its contents shifting in a way that made her heart pound. Suddenly, in her panic, she lost her grip on the vase.