A Snake Entwining Flowers

He had eyes that sparkled like amethysts, or perhaps akin to hidden mulberries. No, the person bearing them wasn’t elegant or noble. Instead, they resembled an animal, lurking in dark and secretive places, revealing its true nature.

“Your small and inadequate head must have worked hard to come up with that plan. It’s so cute that I almost want to swallow you whole.”

“Ah…!”

It was futile to resist belatedly. The weak hand shrugging off the shoulder felt ridiculous. With a cold chuckle, the man wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing her trembling hand with his own, and slid his finger under her knuckles.

“It’s annoying how you took a step back and let things happen. The more I think about it, the funnier it gets.”

“W-What do you mean…?!”

It felt like cold water was poured over her head. The more she struggled, the stronger the force became, rough and firm like a trapped prey. Mocking her helpless struggles, Richard exposed his teeth and asked, “So, do you find me amusing? Is that it?”

“Ah…”

“If not, then tell me. Whose tie pin is this?”

Lies wouldn’t work. In the face of his implicit warning, Charlotte bit her lip.

“Have you been cozying up to someone during the week I gave you to breathe? Is that why that someone gave you this pin as a gift?”

“P-Please stop…”

“Tell me, Miss Hegel.”

With the intensity that could tear through bone, his voice was tender, like coaxing a child.

“I haven’t! There’s no such person!”

Charlotte instinctively understood. Like someone desperately struggling not to be swept away by rising seawater, there was nothing she could do but deny it.

“It’s true.”

Like a convict denying their crime on the verge of execution, she desperately denied her guilt. Unfortunately, the man she faced only showed mercy by closing the eyes of prey shot by a bullet.

“Pitiful.”

With a gaze tinged with sarcasm, Richard laughed. He remembered the deer he once saw, struggling and crying out, unable to stand the thought of its meat being enjoyed. He hadn’t eaten it out of respect. Instead, he had severed its head and mounted it above the fireplace in his villa.

“Richard…”

The snow that had fallen softly. The blush staining her white cheeks.

Before he saw her like that, he had thought about slitting her throat. If Charlotte Hegel died, he wouldn’t feel this annoying sensation anymore. It was an impulse, but he refrained from acting on it.

Because…

“Charlotte.”

Because those eyes, trembling without restraint when called tenderly, were endearing.

“…?”

For the first time, she was called by her name instead of her title. Moisture gathered in Charlotte’s eyes. Often they had threatened to overflow, as though suffocating, yet he was a man who never crossed the line, and even this small gesture filled her heart.

“Then please explain.”

Softly questioning, Richard bowed his head deeper. Overwhelming height cast a deep shadow upon his pale face. Yet his eyes, still meeting hers, seemed surprisingly gentle, almost illusory. He called her name once more.

“Charlotte.”

…Was it another illusion? Once again, she felt as though she faced an unknown creature amidst a veil-like mist. Though her body froze with a chill, heat surged from her nape. Charlotte nodded.

“Yes, yes! It was something I bought a while ago. To give to my father…”

It had been her first luxury item, saved for and bought with meager wages over the years. She never got the chance to give it to him before he passed away.

“I see.”

The grip, once crushing, loosened slightly. Yet simultaneously, she felt a rush of air, as if her throat had cleared. Though he didn’t release her, Charlotte pleaded with her flushed face.

“Please, let me go now… if anyone sees…”

The response was refreshing.

“If anyone sees?”

Surely, it wasn’t meant as a threat. Yet the face she faced remained calm.

“Is there someone you shouldn’t be seen with? A butler? A servant? Or perhaps, a gatekeeper?”

Charlotte was taken aback. She had denied it just moments ago. She couldn’t fathom the man’s judgment. Before she could gather her thoughts to speak, her vision flipped.

“Richard?!”

“Keep quiet.”

He grabbed her waist lightly, like luggage, and strode toward the main entrance without hesitation. As she struggled, her waist and thighs tensed under his grip. All her focus was on the large, firm hand beneath her clothes.

“Let go, what’s going on…!”

Her mind was spinning, unable to comprehend the situation. Her protest, barely escaping her lips, was ignored by his cold warning.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to see what’s going to happen.”

There seemed to be no room for further objections. As Richard chuckled at the sight of Charlotte, gasping for breath, he continued confidently into the house.

Thud.

As the door closed with a resounding sound, she sank onto the soft bedding behind her. Fortunately, it was late at night, and apart from the bustling maids in the dining room, all the servants were in bed.

“Richard…!”

It was a relief that no one had seen them from the entrance hall to his bedroom upstairs. Yet Charlotte’s situation remained precarious.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

He gently placed her on the bed as if tossing her there, then proceeded to remove his jacket and loosen his tie. His neat, swept-back hair caught her attention, with a few strands out of place. His prominent Adam’s apple and collarbones stood out. She felt a tightening in her gut as his cold gaze bore down on her.

“You don’t need to be afraid. I’m just going to check something.”

“W-What are you checking?”

“Just confirming that no one else has touched you.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. If not, there won’t be any trouble.”

In the darkness, he seemed like a lamb standing on an altar. What was even more shocking was the casual demeanor of the man. Despite uttering words that could raise suspicion, his tone remained purely businesslike.

“Why…why do you need to check that?”

Charlotte trembled slightly as she weakly pushed herself back. She couldn’t understand any part of his psyche. He seemed cold one moment, then hot, and when hot, icy and aloof. As he approached the bed, she reached out to stop him.

“I, I’m, I’m Sir Richard’s maid, and, uh…”

“Have you not learned your lesson?”

Her words turned into a terrified scream. After brushing lightly with his fingers, Richard licked his lips, inspecting her like a predator examining its prey. There was a savage and moist sensation. Charlotte’s body stiffened like someone caught in a spider’s web.

“I told you not to call me that or try to escape.”

Then, his lips touched her hand, and his lips moved up to her wrist. Her attempt to escape from the bed was thwarted before it could be executed. He pushed her down and climbed on top of her. Charlotte’s body was engulfed by his overwhelming physique. Even in the dim light, his jawline, hardened by determination, was visible.

“I knew you had that timidness, but you should have at least stayed put.”

Wiping the tears that trickled down her eyelashes, Richard whispered as he wiped them away.

“If you had, I might have endured my paltry patience a little longer.”

His neat fingertips brushed her pale cheek before descending to her jaw. If clenched, it seemed like it would leave a red mark. Swiftly, his fingers began unbuttoning her blouse one by one. His cold fingers gripped her swollen throat and then her plump breast.

“Ah…!”

Charlotte’s neck was bitten as if she were prey. The strange sensation made her lips part involuntarily. As Richard inserted his fingers into her mouth, he lowered his head and nibbled on her tender neck.

“Ah… it hurts…! Ah… ahh…”

As Charlotte, kneeling, pushed back the man’s shoulders, it felt like pushing against solid rock, or rather, an ice wall. Before she could voice her refusal, Richard, who had seized her delicate wrists together, restrained her. His face buried in her hair, his cheeks reddened, and his eyes teary, met hers, and they shared a deep kiss.

“Ugh…”

As their lips momentarily parted during the long kiss, Charlotte stammered as she wept.

“The master I worked for before, he…he was like this at first, so kind…I wondered if he was always like this, and it felt exciting…I liked it, but…”

“…”

“But in the end, he wasn’t like that. Even though it was my first love, to him, I was just a maid to play with…”

“…Charlotte.”

“Is…is that the same for you, Richard?”

It was a long-standing wound. His voice, as if vomiting out the name she hadn’t heard, was painful to hear.

“Goodness.”

Though someone else might have pitied him for what he heard, Richard simply laughed.

“You hear all sorts of fucking things.”

His smile, more menacing than chilly, made Charlotte instinctively shrink her shoulders. Then, as he rose from the bed, it returned to its original position. With a sudden change in the situation, his cold voice fell.

“…Get out, before you get ruined.”

 

 

🍉🍉🍉

T/N: There was no clear indication in the raws that they travelled somewhere or how much time have passed ever since Richard and Charlotte exited the birthday banquet. I was also lost in the scenes when I was translating this, as there were lots of flashbacks sandwiched in the present events. But just to be clear, this is the order of events: Charlotte serves at Kiara’s birthday party > Charlotte goes outside to take a breath of air > overhears some maids talking about Kiara’s plan to lead Richard into her room > bumps into Louise Denoir > asks Louise to ‘save’ Richard from Kiara’s plan > Kiara gets mega-dumped on her own birthday party (oof) > Richard figures out Charlotte was the one behind the ‘plan’ > takes her back home to his study to “check her purity” for some reason. whew. this chapter was kind of…intense. I was almost sure it was a smut scene. But ah, unfortunately we are not quite there yet 😀