Lyra flashed a smile, albeit a bit stiff, upon seeing Duke Kleo come and sit right beside her, exuding bubbling happiness. His face, which looked very fresh after taking a bath, as well as the smell of soap and other moisture, reminded her of something.

Her face was lowered, feeling her thoughts were too perverted.

"Are you sure you don\'t want to work after taking a shower?" Lyra asked pleasantly. "Usually someone will get more inspiration after a shower."

"Yes," nodded Duke Kleo. "And my inspiration is you." Chuckling, he bit his lip while his eyes locked onto her luscious, moist lips.

The sun ruled the horizon, kicking the clouds that curled like cotton, leaving thin patches like scattered sand. The fresh wind blew away the hot day.

"So what do you do when I\'m not in Wereal? The servants say you didn\'t do anything bad, but the only person who knows that is yourself," he added.

She glanced at him, directing her gaze straight ahead, at some of the shady trees that were in bloom. "I didn\'t do anything bad. Embroidery doesn\'t seem like a bad thing since it was you who recommended it to me." The gazebo can be transformed into an open dining area if you wish, or a place to lie down while unwinding.

The green and bright landscape will have many healing effects on anyone. In the distance, some maids were walking around to check on something, or maybe sprinkle some manure because they hadn\'t had time to do so this morning.

Diving into Lyra\'s expression, Duke Kleo couldn\'t wait to touch her. His hands reached out, rubbed her face, and then grabbed her hands, squeezed her fingers, locking them very tightly as his body sat closer. "I\'m glad you didn\'t do anything bad because I\'d be announcing our marriage if you pissed me off one more time."

Glaring, she snorted, spontaneously reminded of his anger that hit her viciously a few days ago. Even though everything was resolved, in a way that was quite embarrassing for her, there was still a sense of irritability that wanted to get rid of it.

She did not want herself to suffer the same consequences in the future when his fingers punished her by stabbing and shaking inside of her sensitive moist. Her skin gets tingling at the thought, especially when she remembers how much she enjoyed it, giving him a space to do more.

Squeezing Duke Kleo\'s fingers back, Lyra looked up. Just a moment ago, ever since he left to take a bath, she had been pondering carefully. She didn\'t want to live in Wereal like this, like someone who was imprisoned or like someone who had to be overshadowed by terror, nor did she want to be defeated in a very seductive bed game.

So she thought what she could do to at least gain some freedom without having to make such a difficult escape? What could she possibly do so she can do whatever she wants? Making Duke Kleo hate her seemed too risky because the execution was inevitable.

As a result, she changed her strategy.

"My Lord," she said, showing a face that was both sweet and fragile. "I don\'t want you to always be angry with me. Do you know that I am a girl who doesn\'t want to be scolded? My heart breaks easily." The pressure in her voice was dramatic, just like Baron Jason\'s when inciting Duke Kleo. "So never do that to me again, I beg you!"

"I won\'t be angry if you don\'t outrage me," he said in response. "But you always make me mad."

"You didn\'t explain to me why you were angry," she snorted. "If you want to open up for sure I will be an obedient girl."

"I was open about marrying you, but you turned me down."

BANG!

"I-I mean, about the others. You know marriage is too sudden and is certainly not good. You also said that we didn\'t even know each other."

"So you\'ll accept my proposal when we get to know each other?" Duke Kleo\'s face drew closer, his lips pulled into a corner, a handsome grin.

Lya cleared her throat, realizing her easily charmed self. "Please don\'t push me too hard, My Lord."

"You should have told yourself when you insisted on sleeping with me."

"Hey!" Lyra screeched, then lowered her voice when she realized she was being too rash. "You should have pushed me away at that time, My Lord, so I won\'t be able to force you anymore then." Her voice suddenly became very soft.

"If only I could have done it then. I was drunk too, just like you. And my hangover was even worse, so I didn\'t have enough energy to push you away."

"But you can still remember what happened that night?" Lyra\'s eyes widened in horror and admiration for Duke Kleo.

Nodded. "Of course," he replied. "I\'m a little different from other people." His eyes narrowed at her. "Then what about you? You could still move stronger than me, and could even sit on top of me and seduce me," seeing her blush and awkwardly, "did you forget what happened that night?"

"I-I remember a few, My Lord. I even apologized to you, right?"

"What do you remember?" Looking hopeful, he waited without a blink.

It burdened Lyra as if she would have to take responsibility if she just remembered everything. Hey, she didn\'t mind being a physical laborer for him, but not by marrying him even though it was one of the common punishments in this case back then.

"I-I don\'t think it\'s ethical to talk about it," Lyra stuttered.

"Touching me forcefully is even more unethical," Duke Kleo protested. "And taking a man\'s first night without marrying him is even more immoral."

\'Stop, you make me look so despised,\' thought Lyra. "I… I remember I forced you. At the time I thought you were someone else."

"Who is that?" His back was stiff, as was his stifled breath. He had already predicted this, and at the same time denied it because he didn\'t want to get hurt. But there was another part of his heart, a big hole, which kept urging him to find out. "Do you see another man in my eyes?"

Lyra nodded slowly.

Clenching his fists, Duke Kleo held back his anger and tried to interrogate her again in a smooth and calm voice. "Is he the man you love? Do you still love him?" Involuntarily his eyes bulged, his heart racing in the short but painful wait. He never thought that he would sleep with a girl who doesn\'t even want him when so many girls do want him out there.

"I think you do," he continued, after getting no response from her. "Looks like you love him." His face looked sad and gloomy. His head was lowered, his voice hoarse and low, playing her fingers in his grip. "But what about me? You can\'t even give me back my first night. You\'ve ravished me. At least you have to take responsibility."

Desecrate is quite an exaggeration, right? And somehow that made Lyra even more burdened. Now she saw a man like Baron Jason in her eyes, who looked pitiful, but in a sweeter and lovable version, made her want to hug Duke Kleo and soothe his sadness that she couldn\'t promise anything.

"But I don\'t want to commit to anyone, My Lord," Lyra hissed apologetically. "I don\'t want to get married."

"But I want to marry the girl I sleep with." Duke Kleo didn\'t want to give in. "I promised my mother about that. If you want me to break it then you have to tell her, or you can bring her back to life so I\'ll promise her something else."

It\'s the same, he still forces her to marry him.

"I don\'t want to take a bad way to marry you," he said again. "Like for example getting you pregnant so you want to marry me."

Lyra\'s face paled for a moment. After she had melted and been lulled, now she finally realized what kind of man Duke Kleo was. He was a ruthless and domineering man, who would get anything he wanted.

***