Chapter 11: The Terms of the Bargain

At that moment, the faint powdery scent lingering on my chin drifted on the breeze and reached the demon’s nose.

It instantly reminded me of the rich fragrance I had once smelled on Chowol.

The very scent that had made me mistake Chowol for a courtesan.

Heat rushed into my cheeks.

“Come now, you’re joking.

You’ve startled the strategist too.

No matter how beautiful Chowol may be, you can’t compare him to the strategist.”

Unaware of the circumstances, Hwangbo Min glanced back and forth between the demon and me.

Sensing that the atmosphere had turned dangerous, he waved his hands with an awkward smile.

Even so, he wisely took a couple of cautious steps backward, unwilling to get caught in the demon’s wrath.

“The way you spread your legs to get what you want is exactly the same.”

“…Watch your tongue.”

Hwangbo Min could hear every word.

Unable to even look at him from sheer humiliation, I forced my stiff tongue to move.

My gaze, fixed on the demon, trembled more violently than ever before.

I knew.

What I had done was no different from selling my body.

Worse still, I had accepted it with gratitude simply because the demon desired me.

“…Even so.”

Even if I were placed in the same situation again, I would make the same choice.

There was nothing to deny now that it had been exposed.

Nothing to regret.

Yet despite my resolve to remain composed, my fingertips refused to stop trembling.

Suppressing the shaking, I spoke.

“I suppose I’m no different from that courtesan.

But unlike him, I won’t be cast aside just because you decide you’re done with me.

I’ll cling to you until I get what I want.”

“…”

“Don’t forget our bargain.

You aren’t the one abandoning me.

You’re the one who can no longer escape.

Until I’m satisfied… you belong to me.”

The crimson eyes looking down at me were as cold and unsettling as a reptile’s.

My knees threatened to buckle.

Every instinct screamed at me to collapse.

Still, I refused to blink.

As the silence stretched on, the demon’s very presence seemed to swell until it became difficult to breathe.

Then he raised an arm.

“…!”

He’s going to hit me.

The thought came before anything else.

All my determination not to flinch vanished as I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the blow.

Instead, my wrist was seized.

I was pulled forward.

I dug in my heels, trying to resist, but there was no overcoming the demon’s strength.

Desperately aware that Hwangbo Min was still watching from behind us, I protested.

“Let go!

Where are you taking me…?!”

“You want to do it here instead?”

Unable to keep up with his pace, I stumbled.

Only the grip on my wrist kept me from falling, dragging me along like a puppet.

We crossed the vast imperial palace at a brisk pace.

Whenever someone appeared in the distance, even no larger than a thumb from where we stood, the demon immediately diverted us down deserted paths.

Eventually, he brought me to an old, neglected archive tucked away in a forgotten corner of the palace.

Golden sunlight streamed through narrow windows near the ceiling.

Dust drifted lazily through the beams.

Every bookshelf was stacked neatly with old volumes, each covered by a thin layer of dust.

Seeing how abandoned the place was eased my nerves enough that I allowed myself to be led farther inside.

Even after arriving, the demon wandered between the shelves as though searching for something.

At last, he found an old desk shoved against a corner wall.

Without hesitation, he dragged me over and lifted me onto it.

In one swift motion, he grabbed my trousers and undergarments together and pulled them down.

Startled, I reached to pull them back up.

Instead, he snatched the discarded clothes and threw them well out of reach.

Looking down at the man kneeling between my exposed legs, I cried out in panic.

“W-we’re inside the imperial palace!”

“I know.”

Trying to climb down, I lost my balance and fell against him instead.

Instinctively, I caught myself by grabbing his shoulder.

Hard muscle, solid as iron, met my hand.

No matter how much weight I put against it, it didn’t budge.

For a moment, I forgot whose body I was touching.

Looking down, I saw the demon staring with frightening concentration between my pale thighs, framed by the crimson folds of his official robes.

I didn’t want this.

The wounds from several days ago had only just begun to scab over.

Sitting properly had been impossible ever since.

The constant pain in my abdomen had left me barely able to eat.

I had only just begun to recover.

Now I was expected to relive that hell all over again.

My own instincts recoiled in terror.

I’d been the one to remind him not to break our agreement.

Yet my legs kept trying to close.

My trembling thighs fought helplessly against the force of his hands spreading them apart.

Apparently satisfied with his inspection, the demon stood.

“Lie down.”

“…”

When I remained frozen, he simply picked me up as though I weighed nothing and turned me over.

The hem of his robe lifted away from my exposed lower body.

Cold air prickled across my bare skin.

But the moment my hips were pulled apart, cold sweat immediately broke out over my body.

Before anything had even begun, the memory of pain returned.

Cold perspiration spread across my skin, dampening the hollow running along my spine.

Then fingers pressed against the still-healing flesh.

“Ugh…”

Everything about him was larger than ordinary people.

Even a single finger felt uncomfortably thick.

The unpleasant sensation of it moving inside me made my grip tighten around the edge of the desk.

As it reached deeper, my lean stomach pressed painfully against the sharp wooden edge.

Each attempt to squirm away caused the old desk to rock back and forth.

Its legs protested with loud creaks.

My muffled groans mingled with the groaning wood, disturbing the dusty silence of the archive.

“Ah… ngh…”

After some time, a narrow beam of light suddenly caught my eye.

Through a warped crack in the wooden wall, I could see outside.

Two officials in green robes were walking along the narrow passage beyond.

Their black boots stopped only a short distance away.

Startled, I twisted around and grabbed the demon’s wrist.

“T-there are… people outside!”

“So?”

“They’ll hear us!”

The thin wooden wall couldn’t possibly keep out sound.

My heart dropped.

The demon merely curled his lips into a grin, exposing sharp fangs.

“So what?

Should we let them watch?”

“Have you lost your—”

I bit down hard on my lower lip to stop myself from crying out.

I hadn’t even realized his fingers were gone.

The sudden intrusion stole the breath from my lungs.

Taking advantage of the brief pause, I desperately pleaded with him.

“P-please…

Not now…

Please, wait until they’ve gone.

I’ll give you whatever you want.

So please…”

It was useless.

The demon had nothing to fear if we were discovered.

If anything, he looked as though he would find it amusing.

The memory of the orgy I’d witnessed at his estate flashed through my mind.

For a terrifying instant, I thought he might actually call the officials inside.

Panic overwhelmed me.

I struggled wildly, trying to shove him away.

Or at least I tried to.

Before I could even resist properly, he forced me face-down against the desk.

The impact drove straight through my back into my chest.

The shock left me unable to think.

The pain tore through me so completely that a scream escaped before I could stop it.

“Ahhh…!”

The old warped boards failed to muffle even that restrained cry.

Outside, the officials stopped walking.

Their boots remained where they stood.

Soft voices drifted through the wall as they seemed to search for the source of the sound.

“Hngh…”

Only then did I clap both hands over my mouth.

My eyes flew wide open.

Every movement behind me was agonizingly vivid.

Pain swept through my rigid body.

Violent tremors ran from head to toe.

My calves cramped.

My legs straightened involuntarily.

Balanced on trembling tiptoe, my feet scraped helplessly against the floor.

Even without making a sound, the pain alone was enough to make nausea rise in my throat.

Yet more unbearable than the pain itself was the desperate need to silence every scream threatening to escape.

I could only force my own mouth shut with trembling hands.

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