Winter Bud - Side Story 4

Sermione (4)

“N-no….”

“….”

“Going to Aldermort….”

“Should I kill Thea?”

“What?”

“If I kill Thea and the Emperor. Would I be able to have you then?”

“W-what…? Why Lady Thea? She’s your daughter, so why would you….”

“Because I can’t have you!”

“Ah….”

“Isn’t it because of her that you reject me!”

The Duke roared. Nanna feared the attendants outside the door might hear his blasphemous voice. Thea was his daughter. But before that, she was now the Empress. And he spoke of killing her? The man who should be the first to protect her, raising his hand against her?

‘He’s lost his mind. Or he’s been possessed by something.’

Nanna stared up at him blankly. She could only think that. The Duke truly seemed insane. Suddenly, he drew closer. Instinctively, she struggled to get away. His lips covered hers.

“Mmph….”

Soft flesh was bitten. It was not the first time, yet her heart pounded violently. Her pulse raced so fast she felt dizzy. She couldn’t believe he was doing this to her again. Nanna squeezed her eyes shut and weakly pushed at his chest.

The Duke did not back away. Instead, he pulled her even deeper, merely satisfying his own greed.

“Mm, mmh….”

As he bit her soft lips, he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Startled by the thick, intrusive sensation, she flinched. He slowly stroked her back, as if telling her not to be afraid. When Nanna wavered, he lifted her up at once. Then he carried her to the ornate four-poster bed and gently laid her down.

“Your Grace.”

“…I missed you.”

He whispered as if letting out a groan. Nanna’s clear eyes trembled. She couldn’t understand. The Duke often came to the palace to see his daughter. Nanna inevitably crossed paths with him.

And each time, he only glanced at her with indifferent eyes before turning away. It must have been because their relationship was uncomfortable. That was what she thought, so she avoided him.

“Desperately.”

“….”

“I wanted to see you.”

It sounded like he might cry. Perhaps because the corners of his eyes were faintly reddened. Nanna stared at him, stunned. The Duke pressed his lips to the nape of her neck.

“Ah….”

“Don’t refuse me anymore. Please….”

“W-what….”

Nanna couldn’t understand a single word he said. Truly. She could not grasp what he was murmuring. Had he been drinking? Was he saying whatever came to mind in a drunken haze? That thought crossed her mind. But there was no scent of alcohol from him.

“Nanna.”

Sermione softly called her name. The way it formed on his tongue was tender. The name of the woman he should claim was beautiful. He bit into the pale nape of her neck and began to indulge his desire. His aroused length, rising sharply, pressed against the curve of her hips.

“Mm… ah….”

The swollen front of him pressed firmly against the mound. When Nanna let out a small cry, it felt as though semen might spill from the tip. He looked at the woman’s full breasts veiled by the translucent fabric. Her nipples were taut. He did not take them into his mouth at once. Instead, he lowered his head and slowly licked over the swell of her breasts with the tip of his tongue. In circles. Slowly tracing round paths, the woman who had been writhing arched her back and clutched tightly at his shoulders. It felt like he might burst. He wanted to thrust in at once, to drive into her and bury himself deep.

But he didn’t give in to his desire so directly. He wanted to savor her slowly. This precious, lovely woman, he intended to savor inch by inch, slowly, thoroughly.

“Lovely.”

He whispered as he lifted her negligee. Nanna trembled finely, her face flushed red. The tears that had been clinging precariously spilled down her cheeks.

“Please think of Lady Thea.”

“I’ll get rid of her.”

“Your Grace.”

“I will kill the Emperor as well.”

“What….”

He spoke in a low, clouded voice. It was impossible to believe. Nanna wanted to believe he was intoxicated by something. Even so, it was not something the Duke would normally say. He was not the kind of man to joke, nor was it a subject to joke about. Which meant… every word was sincere.

“No. Don’t… don’t say such things.”

“Why?”

“If you truly wish to have me, then take me as a woman. If you do that, no one….”

Nanna closed her lips in misery. In the end, if the Duke decided to take her, there would be no one to stop him. Thea would only look on with displeasure. She might even feel betrayed. But there was no justification to stop it.

Nanna was merely a maid the Empress once employed in her family home. Though called a “lady-in-waiting,” she was on a completely different level from noble ladies. And yet he said he would kill the Emperor and Empress just to have her? Why? And if he did that, what would become of this country?

Nanna couldn’t understand. She could not grasp what he was thinking at all.

“I will take you as my wife.”

A large hand pulled Nanna tightly into his arms. With vacant eyes and trembling lips, she pushed against his chest, hard as stone. She wanted to wash her ears. She couldn’t believe it. The man who said he would go that far, even involving Thea, seemed insane.

“I love you.”

The whisper rang at her ear. A chill ran through her. As Nanna pushed at him and struggled, she fell backward. She barely managed to brace herself with both hands on the floor, but she couldn’t stop him as he came over her like a beast. Nanna panted and shook her head.

Tears that had gathered reflexively slid down her cheeks.

“Don’t… don’t do this.”

“I want to have you. Please….”

The sweet voice sounded like that of a young man. Though there was a rough undertone, the Duke’s voice was originally youthful and clear. Even when he wore armor and a helmet, the voice that came from within was as beautiful as that of a handsome youth.

That must be why noblewomen longed for him so much. His imposing presence, refined features, and sweet voice. A man no one would believe was the Empress’s father, and one all desired. But Nanna….

“I’ve wanted to have you for a long time.”

His low voice sounded as if it were flowing out of a dark cave. Nanna bit her lip tightly and turned her back, intending to flee. In that instant, the arms that held her close lifted her at once. The agile Duke held her and laid her down on the bed, as if tossing her down.

Nanna froze white, holding her breath. Sermione, who had bound her, looked down at her with desperate eyes. They were eyes of longing and clinging.

“Please… come to your senses. Please….”

“I’m perfectly sane.”

“No. You’re not. You’re not the Duke I know.”

“What am I like, the man you know?”

“You cherish your daughter more than anyone. As for me….”

“If that’s who I am, then he’s already dead.”

“Ah….”

“He was already broken by your hands.”

Sermione truly believed that. The man who tried, even out of duty, to care for his only daughter was already gone. It was as if only instinct remained in him. Since he returned, his entire life had been Nanna. She alone filled his thoughts. What beat inside his heart was also that woman.

So in this life, he intended to struggle with all his strength. He thought of Orestes and Thea, who would soon die by his hand.

‘Not a bit of regret.’

Whatever it might be… the Emperor who spoke of ‘service’ even if he did not submit, and his only daughter. If it were to have Nanna, nothing was too precious to sacrifice. The corner of his lips pulled up.

“You’re the one who made me like this.”

“Ah….”

“So if you want to blame someone, blame yourself.”

For a man confessing love, his voice was cold. But like the confession, it was sincere. His eyes were too fierce to doubt it. Nanna trembled and stared at him. It was almost a glare. He lowered his head. As his black hair fell across his forehead, he looked even younger, almost boyish.

He did not look like a father with a daughter the same age as Nanna. She felt his hot breath settle against the nape of her neck. The sensation was vivid. So vivid it felt like her mind might shatter. No matter how much she cried, he wouldn’t stop.

No matter how much Nanna denied him and tried to refuse… she remembered the past. No, it was not so long ago that it could be called the past. It was simply before. The memory was not distant. Even then, the Duke ignored Nanna’s pain.