***

Outside the window, there was a black darkness.

And the stars twinkled in the vast dark sky.

Evely stared at the stars endlessly and bit her lips again. Her eyes turned red.

Suddenly, she missed her mother.

Whenever Evely was sick, her mother would stand in front of the fire for hours, boiling soup for her. Then she would put her hand on Evely’s forehead while she dozed off on her pillow to see if she was still hurting. Then Evely started crying.

“Why are you crying?”

“No, just suddenly….”

Her mother would kiss her forehead if it was hot, kiss her hands and feet if they were cold, and kiss her on her chest if she had a sore spot.

“I miss my mother.”

“When I said to cry under me, I didn’t mean it that way.”

Alec’s voice was the same as usual, but his language was strangely generous.

“I promise you this. If at any time you wish to go and see your mother again, I will give you another vacation.”

With that he put his hand on Evely’s forehead.

It was her forehead that Alec was touching, but it was somewhere in her chest that was responding.

A corner of her heart was thumping from earlier. Then, when he removed his hand from Evely’s forehead, her heart jumped a little higher.

Evely blinked slowly. But it shouldn’t have been a big deal.

People were always more emotional when they were sick.

“I’m sick. It had to be.”

* * *

Evely came down the stairs carefully, carrying a full set of white bedding. The castle had a separate staircase for the servants. Unlike the central staircase, which was built with smoothness, this staircase had a slightly steeper feel.

One step at a time, Evely slowly and carefully walked while checking her feet. Suddenly, someone took the top bedding. When she lifted her head, she saw Charlotte.

“Why do you carry so much? Will you take responsibility if you sprained your foot?”

Charlotte tried to speak as gently as she could, but her usual annoying voice kept leaking out. Perhaps it was very hard on her part.

“No, I’m the one who’s going to break my leg…….”

Before Evely could finish her sentence, Charlotte’s eyes opened like two big circles and she gave her a half-hearted look. Evely sneaked a peek at her face and added one more thing.

“I used to carry a lot heavier things. I’m fine.”

“You really want to see me get fired, don’t you?”

Evely, who had been thinking for a while, shook her head. Then Charlotte continued with a contrived smile again.

“You’ll do some light work for the time being. Is that clear? Master told me not to let you do it.”

Evely nodded reluctantly. If she tried to argue with Charlotte, she would have whined at her the whole time. Evely walked past Charlotte and headed for Alec’s bedroom.

Normally, a maid’s job before the master’s bedtime was to tidy the bed, but he was not interested in Evely’s work. He just concentrated on his thing.

Alec was sitting in a chair reading a book. His gaze fixed on the book whether Evely came in or not, and Evely glanced at him.

His head was lowered slightly, but his dark eyebrows and high nose were straight and clear. Even the shadows cast by the light were wonderful.

‘I know he’s handsome, but is he really that handsome…?’

If in the past, she used to admire her Master like admiring a work of art, now, he was someone who ate, talked, and breathed by her side. Evely pretended to be unconcerned and began to do what she had to do. She cleaned and organized the mess, and even lit a faint candle to help him sleep comfortably. Suddenly, Alec grabbed her wrist when she was checking the bedding one last time.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Evely turned her head at the sound of Alec’s voice and saw an overturned book on the table. Immediately, Evely answered with a bright smile.

“Of course. I’m completely healed.”

Then she shrugged and smiled cheerfully.

“It’s all thanks to Master’s care.”

Alec chuckled without answering. Evely smiled along with him.

“You can’t sleep yet…I haven’t finished my work.”

Evely glanced towards her wrist, signaling with her eyes as if telling Alec to let her go.

“What are you supposed to do with all the disorganization anyway?”

His voice was casual, but Evely realized the meaning of the words and opened her eyes wide for no reason. Then Alec silently began to take off his clothes. Evely should have been embarrassed because his action was so majestic and unconcerned. However, she didn’t deliberately look elsewhere or close her eyes like before.

It was both strange and funny that she was slowly getting used to seeing the man’s naked body. She was also slowly getting used to accepting him. At that moment, Evely suddenly felt the desire to touch his body.

His body shining in the sun, his hair wet with sweat, his lean gestures….. Perhaps it was because the image had suddenly popped into her head at that moment, Evely asked cautiously.

“May I touch it?”

As soon as Alec chuckled, as if he agreed, Evely’s hand reached towards his body. She slowly began to skim through the interior. It was a warm and cautious touch, as if caressing the surface of an expensive pottery. No matter where she touched it, the firmness was clearly felt. It probably took a lot of effort to build a body like this.

Evely’s hand suddenly stopped at a long scar on the underside of his ribs.

“Can I touch this too?

Alec stared at Evely. It was a persistent gaze, as if he was gauging something. He nodded.

The scar was deep and clear. Evely could imagine the intensity and cruelty of it without having to see it in person.

‘It is already hurt enough just being pricked by rose thorns.’

However, Alec didn’t even raise an eyebrow when Evely touched the scar.

“Compared to the number of people I’ve cut, I’m thankful I got just this scar.”

Then he added,

“Life itself is a blessing from God.”

Alec didn’t seem to be very proud of the fact that he had killed so many people. His voice sounded like self-mockery. The world portrayed him as a killing maniac and praised his cruelty, but now his face looked rather warped.

“Ugly, isn’t it?”

His voice remained the same as he spat it out. Evely did not answer. Her hand stayed on the scar the entire time.

“While you’re touching it, why don’t you touch it some more?”

Was it Evely’s imagination, or did Alec’s voice sound strangely supple? He held Evely’s hand. His hand was large and hot. Soon he brought her hand gradually down. The hand that was staying under his ribs dropped lower and lower. It was the first time she had experienced a man taking her hand like this, Evely felt breathless and nervous.

“There’s a scar here, too.”

And when Alec took her hand to his manhood, Evely gasped. But he didn’t care and let her hand hold it. His manhood, which was already starting to get stronger, was already half erect. Its heat could be felt clearly along the palm of her hand as Evely slowly moved it up and down.

“Do you like touching it?”

The sound of Alec’s voice began to crack more based on Evely’s touch. His low voice sounded lazy in Evely’s ears.

“You’re very good at it.”

Evely was looking straight at him. Yet her hand was firmly on his manhood, and though she would normally have looked away, today she didn’t avoid his eyes. It was partly because all she could see when she shifted her gaze was her hand touching his manhood, but today was a little different.

She felt like she was suffocating. The atmosphere was tense as if a thin thread was pulled tightly.

Eventually her hand started to move a little faster. The feeling of rubbing his manhood in her hand was unfamiliar. It was a different kind of hotness than the few times she had almost burned herself working in the kitchen.

Alec’s manhood hardened and she felt the fluid run down from her below.

“Get on the bed.”

Alec buried his face in Evely’s chest as soon as she lay down on the bed. He caressed her breasts, tickling them with his tongue. Evely moaned quietly each time.

When he finished sucking her breasts, Alec moved his lips slowly down between her breasts. Then he gradually came down and put his lips on Evely’s petals. Her petals were already wet before he even caressed it.

“Are you wet from touching mine?”

Evely didn’t deny it. As if Alec was not interested in her answer, he just stuck his tongue into the gap of her petals. He pushed his tongue into the red, hidden spot and sucked relentlessly, as if he was drinking up her sweet nectar. Evely gripped the bedsheet tightly in her hands and moved her hips.

“Haaah…!”

“Or did this happen before you touched me?”

Evely felt herself getting even hotter with every word Alec said. Evely tried to shake her head and moan, but he didn’t stop. Rather, he just rubbed and caressed her apex with his fingers.

“I think I’m coming….haah!”

It was ambiguous whether Alec would let her go or stop. And after all that moaning, Evely’s hips raised up.

“Ha…..”

Her eyes closed and her body shuddered. Her body was infinitely defenseless against the pleasure, and Evely just accepted the climax that was coming. After struggling like a fish on land, Evely was completely out of breath. She had only reached her climax once, but she lost all her energy as if she ran fast with all her might.

While Evely was catching her breath, Alec lifted Evely’s legs over his shoulders. Evely’s eyes widened in a flash.

“I’m not ready yet.”

Evely huffed, looking at Alec. Watching him ignore her brazen remark, Evely asked cautiously.

“Maybe it’s impolite….”

Alec laughed out loud at Evely’s words. Evely burst into laughter as well.

But as soon as he pushed in, the laughter stopped, and only the moaning sounded strange.

***