The white organza fabric that covered the roof of the pergola fluttered in the sky. The reception area set up in the middle of an open garden was so heated that even the cool night breeze could not cool it down.

Only the head table set in front of the reception area gave off a chill.

As the family elders left, the three young men and women remaining at the table no longer hid their emotions. Leon looked at the faces of his brother and fiance, who were sitting diagonally across from each other at the round table.

Both of them looked like they had come to a funeral, not an engagement party.

His face wouldn’t be much different, either.

Fiancé?

Leon, who was washing away his bitter mouth with champagne, hardened his face again. He felt uncomfortable saying that she was his fiancé. However, when he finally remembered another face, he could only think that he was crazy.

Marriage was just a business to make money.

Looking at it that way, marrying that damn mean, bad-tempered woman was an act of charity. He would have to give up everything he has.

‘… You’re crazy.’

He wanted to put a bullet in his head for occasionally imagining a lost marriage with a woman he knew well but didn’t even want him.

Leon watched with sad eyes the people dancing to the music on the floor. It was because of Mrs. Winston’s old-fashioned tastes that people dressed in jazz outfits were dancing the waltz.

Under the beams covered with yellow light bulbs and green vines, people with glasses of champagne in their hands gathered in small groups and chatted noisily. As a young woman in a dull officer’s uniform began to approach, making her way through the crowd of people wearing luxurious suits and dresses, he glared.

She was one of the personnel responsible for monitoring the torture chamber tonight. The officer reported the woman’s movements in a whisper.

“She’s been lying down for an hour.”

“The meal.”

The officer looked at him impatiently and shook her head.

Leon sighed briefly and sent his subordinate away.

He feared that the woman might act unexpectedly, so tonight, he opened the door to the torture room and had her watch the woman’s every move. The engagement ceremony was a little less boring because his subordinate had to watch and post every hour, though at the same time, the urge to get up and go was strong.

If it hadn’t been for this d*mn clown show in the first place, none of this would have happened today.

Leon eventually couldn’t resist the urge and stood up.

He passed between the tables and glanced at the commander sitting not far away. He was drinking alcohol all evening with a dark look on his face. He hoped that he was regretting his foolish mistake of carelessly opening Pandora’s box.

Nevertheless, he was also in a position where he had to regret his stupid mistake.

He planned to present the evidence step by step. In the meantime, the woman was alone in her small head, allowing her imagination to expand with this matter so that there were cracks in her hard eggshell.

The truth had no choice but to seep in more easily.

He tried to save the cards that he had spent in vain, but the moment he smelled blood, he lost his temper and spewed out the truth.

And in the worst way.

Fool.

So, in the end, the card was not able to fully utilize its power and became a piece of paper. The worst thing was that something happened when the relationship was troubled.

‘A troubled relationship?’

Leon laughed self-deprecatingly as he walked out of the engagement hall, past the guests who were congratulating him.

‘We had trouble from the beginning.’

It was a relationship that was wrong from the beginning.

He came this far by forcing buttons that didn’t fit and couldn’t let go. Would it have been different if he had corrected it along the way? No, there was no way to fix it other than completely cutting off the first button that was inserted incorrectly in the first place.

Despite the fact that he knew this, he couldn’t throw it away and kept putting on the wrong button.

“Leon, where are you going?”

As he was passing through the garden, his mother, who was showing off her new sculpture to the guests, ran after him and stopped him.

“The fireworks will start in just an hour.”

The age when fireworks were a lure to sit in a boring place has long since passed.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Behind his mother’s disapproving face, a brightly lit engagement hall caught his eye. To be precise, his eyes were focused on Jerome leading the Grand Lady to the dance floor. Both of them now had faces suitable for an engagement ceremony.

Leon turned and continued walking towards the annex. He left the funeral home, yet his stern face remained the same.

&nbsp

&nbsp

&nbsp

“That’s why I said let’s send her to an orphanage!”

As a loud cry rang sharply in her ears, Grace covered her ears. But blocking her ears didn’t help the sounds ringing in her head.

“My daughter. Come here, come here.”

“Grace Riddle, you are proof that the Blanchard rebels use the dirty seduction trap.”

No! No!

She wanted to scream until her voice was hoarse, but she couldn’t. The woman standing guard outside the wide open door will tell her superior. She didn’t want that sneaky b*stard to see any evidence that she was agitated.

Seduction trap.

Selling body to get information.

There was no way her mother, who was a proud soldier, would have used such a dirty trick. Moreover, it made no sense that her father, who was always with her in the operation, had ordered it or watched it.

Grace, who had been rummaging through her mind for more evidence to refute Winston’s claims, clutched her head and groaned.

That was it.

The evidence that Winston was wrong was weak, but the evidence that he was right was very strong.

One could argue that the blue-green eyes were a mutation that appeared between the two people by chance, but can it really be said that the unique eyes, hair color, and facial features are just a coincidence?

In addition, if she were to say that she was an illegitimate child born by mistake during an operation, her parents’ awkward attitude would be explained. That was why they had intended to send her to an orphanage.

No matter how much she respected her, she couldn’t possibly think that her mother, who was the goal of her life, would do something like that. Maybe she was forced by that man during the operation because royalists were all horny pigs.

“Oh my God… It’s terrible…”

Yes, it made no sense. This was just the work of that cunning b*stard.

In the end, she denied all the clear evidence and gained the easiest conclusion.

Grace pulled the blanket over her head and berated Winston endlessly. A heinous human being who not only played with her body but also wanted to trample her mind at will… No, an ugly devil disguised as a human.

‘That son of a b*tch probably made it all up… Don’t believe it. Don’t fall for lies like this.’

She had to cling tenaciously to her hatred for Winston in order not to break down. That was the only strong feeling.

‘…There is no way I am the child of a royalist. Dirty. Dirty.’

Grace scratched her forearm while denying and affirming at the same time. A bright red mark was left where her fingernails had passed. As if that wasn’t enough, she scratched her skin until small droplets of blood formed.

The next moment, as she heard the dull sound of shoes outside, she gritted her teeth beneath the blanket.

“Please vacate the annex for two hours from now.”

As soon as Leon kicked the officers out and entered the torture room, he let out a short sigh. The silver tray on the table at the foot of the bed was still covered.

It was clear that it had never been opened.

If he treated the woman the way he felt, like he was stuck in a gutter, their relationship would get even worse. He tempered his anger as much as possible and asked softly.

“Are not you hungry?”

As expected, the woman did not respond. He grabbed what appeared to be her shoulder by the blanket and shook it slightly, and only then did a gruff voice come out.

“Leave me alone. I suffered enough from your trick today.”

What trick?

Leon clicked his tongue briefly.

The woman dismissed the truth that she was evidence of a seduction trap as a trick from him. He was worried that the egg would break all at once and hurt the bird inside, but instead of breaking, the woman applied another layer of plaster to the thick membrane.

Look at this. She has completely become a piece of tissue paper.

She was almost devastated.

“Get up. Because I have something to give you.”

“I don’t need it. If it’s candy, shove it up your a*s. If it’s a candy apple, shove it in your mouth.”

He was left speechless by the shallow reply. It was because he had been tormented all day, and his patience, which was as thin as paper, was bent dangerously close to breaking.

“Why is your mouth so foul? You still haven’t gotten rid of the habit of rolling around in the back alleys.”

In the end, he couldn’t stand it anymore and scolded her. However, in reality, he wanted to try to sarcastically say that if she was a royal, she should refrain from frivolous words and actions. Still, he used his last remaining bit of patience and held back.

Leon removed the blanket covering the woman’s head. As soon as he saw her dark-clouded face, his anger calmed down a bit, and he decided to have a rational conversation.

“It’s not something you should be angry at me for. I just told you the truth as you asked.”

It was true that he had committed countless tricks in the past, but not this time. It was the first time in his life that he felt so unfair.

“…Yes, it’s all my fault to you.”

The woman did not make eye contact with him or respond to him until the end. Leon decided to put this aside for a moment and placed his hand on the back of the woman’s neck. Her dog collar came off in an instant.

“Don’t be like that, just follow me. The fireworks are about to start.”

Grace felt deceived again.

She thought that since he was showing fireworks, he would at least take her out of the annex, but it was in his bedroom that the man brought her. It was stupid to have any expectations from a man who always lied so cleverly that it seemed like it wasn’t a lie.

“No more fireworks. I’m tired.”

While she was about to crawl into the man’s bed as if it were her own, he grabbed her wrist.

“Wait. I have something to give you.”

The place she was taken to was the dressing room. The man turned on the light only after he had tightly drawn the thick curtains on the window.

“Open them one by one.”

The pile of boxes piled up in the dressing room belonged to Grace, not the Grand Lady. She was shocked that he had been cold to her lately and then suddenly gave her a mountain of expensive gifts. Maybe it was because he ordered it a long time ago and couldn’t get it away.

‘…Why is he buying me gifts in the first place?’

Was it also for perverted self-satisfaction? She opened the box reluctantly as if someone had taken on a troublesome task.

Grace’s face darkened as she checked each of the gifts.

An extravagant lingerie was neither surprising nor offensive. What caught her off guard and offended her were quite normal items that any rich man would normally give to his lover. Various cosmetics, jewelry decorated with gold and pearls, silk high heels and birdcage veils decorated with small jewels, and even elegant silk dresses.

Why, at his engagement party, does he give his mistress, who was treated worse than a dog, an expensive gift and even a gift for grooming?

If it was a mockery, it was unpleasant… and if it was sincere, it was uncomfortable.

As she just stood there expressionless with all the boxes open, the man across from her, who had been watching her with his hands in the pockets of his pants, walked around the room and came up behind her.

A headband with a veil was placed on her head.

Grace frowned as the veil covering half her face tickled the tip of her nose. The man lifted the tip of her chin and made her face the mirror.

Next to his face, where a faint smile was spreading, her face became even more rigid.

“I hand-picked it for you. Don’t you like it?”

How could she like it? He gave a trapped woman a headband decorated with gold wings and feathers.

“Now, the two of us are going to throw a party to celebrate my engagement.”

The man pressed his hot lips against her cold cheek, ordered her to come out wearing only what he had bought her, and went to the bedroom.

‘He actually made me do a clown show…’

Grace let out a deep sigh as she lifted a light cream-colored silk dress from the largest box.

“Miss Riddle, even if that b*stard generously marries you, don’t wear a white wedding dress because you are no longer pure. Then, I will go and dye it bright red, okay?”

The man who insulted her, saying that the only white color that suited her was the color of his s*men, tried to make her wear a white dress. And it was a dress that resembled a wedding dress after he came back after getting engaged to another woman.

Grace suddenly remembered that the man had hidden the smallest jewelry box instead of giving it to her.

What on earth was he doing?

It felt like he was planning a wedding as an engagement celebration party, and it sent a chill down the back of her head.

“Should I call a maid?”

A deep voice came from the bedroom, pressing on her. Grace quit her idle thoughts and began to take off her clothes.

No matter what this person tried to do, she was powerless to stop it.

In a bedroom with the lights off, the man was sitting with his back to the light in the only dim light coming from the window.

“Come here.”

The man held out his hand.

As she took one step at a time, uneasy and unsteady as she was not used to wearing high heels, the contrast in the previously black figure began to become clearer.

He had already taken off his jacket and was wearing a black vest over a white dress shirt. The clown-like bow tie had come loose and was hanging diagonally around the stiff shirt collar.

He didn’t go any further but stopped between the bed and the window.

The man withdrew his hand and tilted his head, resting his temple on his outstretched index finger. As he sat with his legs crossed, the nose of his black shoes lifted up and caught the light streaming in from the window and sparkled silver.

The eyes of the man appreciating her also flashed sharply.

He moistened his dry lips with the tip of his tongue and moved his hand to the nape of his neck. The man unbuttoned a couple of buttons on his shirt and removed the cuffs on his sleeves. The action of immediately folding up his sleeves seemed angrier than usual.

“Turn around.”

The woman, who was looking at him with an expressionless face, slowly turned in her place. The end of her dress brushed against her lean thighs and her thin, fragile ankles, making a pleasant sound.

The white dress fell long, exposing only her slender arms and collarbone. A golden belt in the shape of leaves and tree branches was tied in the middle, further highlighting her slim waist and the attractive curves of her pelvis.

The jewels and luxurious silk dangling from her body sparkled softly in the faint light streaming in from outside the window, creating the illusion that the woman was glowing herself.

In short, the woman was like a goddess in mythology.

Others would say that it was a waste to see this sight alone. However, Leon only became more convinced that it was a waste to show this woman to others.

“It’s pretty.”

It was a bitter-sounding voice.

Holding out his hand again, the woman began to reluctantly approach him. Every time she moved her legs, her dress flared. Mismatched black stockings peeked out between them, giving off a decadent vibe to the woman who was elegant in itself.

Her silk skirt traced a deep curve between the gold decorations that held her shoulders in place. The fabric underneath clung to the woman’s body, clearly revealing her outline.

As the woman took her steps, her voluptuous flesh swayed, and the bump at the apex scraped gently against the fabric.

“Are you cold, honey?”

The underwear he bought her was just a thin piece of lace. He could clearly see that her n*pples were poking out through the fabric because she couldn’t cover anything that needed to be covered.

“Or are you just happy to see me?”

As the corner of his mouth twisted into a smile, the woman bit her lip and glared at him.

Leon sighed happily.

It was a body that he always took off and looked at and controlled without hesitation whenever he wanted. The familiar female body looked strangely hidden behind one or two layers of thin fabric. The desire to conquer, which had been suppressed for a while, boiled over for the first time in a long time.

When the woman had only one step left, Leon couldn’t hold back any longer. He snatched her fragile, thin waist and sat her on his thighs before grabbing her back and engulfing her lips.

“Heup…”

Leon pushed until the woman declared surrender, and she gently gave him her tongue. As soon as her lips parted, a silver thread hung down.

He chuckled.

Just one kiss turned into a wild party all night long. The bright red lipstick was smeared here and there on her lips.

He then took out his handkerchief and wiped the lipstick smudged around the woman’s mouth. As he was wiping off the cosmetics that must have been on his lips, a tingling pain came from the left corner of his mouth.

It seemed like the wound had opened again.

“Honey, did you feel relieved when you hit me?”

The woman nodded, still with an expressionless face like a doll.

“Yes, I’m glad you did…”

He smiled bitterly, folded his handkerchief and put it in the back pocket of his pants.

“I had a hard time today because everyone who saw me asked how my lip got busted. I can’t honestly say that my mistress hit me to stop me from getting engaged to another woman.”

__