Episode 32
“Then, would you mind undressing me, Yvonne?”
When Yurian confidently spoke, Yvonne froze for a moment. However, she didn’t feel as threatened because she knew that her existence would completely disappear from Yurian’s memory when they escaped from here.
Although Yvonne felt sorry for Yurian, she was confident that she wouldn’t succumb to his temptation. Yurian was indeed handsome, and his body was attractive. His voice also matched her taste perfectly.
But there were already four handsome men around her. So, once she got used to it, no matter how handsome Yurian was, her eyes would be leveled up, and she would adapt.
Moreover, Yvonne was the most important person to herself. The man in front of her might be handsome, but life was life.
If asked which was more important, it was obviously her own life.
So, Yvonne chuckled and said, “You might accidentally open your eyes, so let’s wear a blindfold.”
“Yes.”
Yurian was pleased that she accepted it quite willingly, and he smiled unknowingly. He thought suggesting to wear a blindfold was a wise idea. He felt an impulse to open his eyes because he wanted to see Yvonne’s purple eyes. He wanted to see her face flushing and her ears turning red every time he looked at her.
But there was much he could sense without seeing.
For instance, the sound of her breathing when she laughed was a sound that came out when she had a misunderstanding about herself.
He knew it all too well.
“It’s uncomfortable, so please take it off quickly.”
“Yes, yes.”
Seeing Yurian seeming somewhat excited, Yvonne worried that he might open his eyes, so she took off the scarf she had around her neck and covered his eyes.
Feeling the softness of the cloth against his eyes and the scent of Yvonne permeating through it, Yurian bit his lips in ecstasy.
“Yvonne.”
“Yes.”
“Is this the scent of hydrangeas?”
“Probably.”
She replied vaguely and was contemplating whether she really needed to undress him. It was understandable because with her eyes covered, it would be difficult for him to undress.
Wouldn’t it be better for him to leave and undress and bathe alone?
However, Yurian’s flexibility was lacking. Although his body was well-built and his neck was thick and elegant, he was muscular. Therefore, his back seemed hard to reach, and if he moved too forcefully, the wounds scattered around his arms and elsewhere might reopen and bleed.
“Aren’t you going to undress me?”
“Were you always this impatient?”
“Yes.”
Yurian was quite patient. When he remembered enduring the abuse without any sedatives and waiting only for Yvonne, it seemed so.
Moreover, even though he wanted to rush forward as soon as the shackles on his body were released, and even though his desire to touch her outweighed his fear of death, he didn’t act on it.
“Yvonne.”
“I understand.”
As he called her, Yvonne, feeling a little scared, hesitated to move away from him. Somehow, she felt that if she distanced herself from him, he would harass her more openly.
“I don’t like it if you breathe strangely.”
“I don’t feel like breathing, but it’s not easy.”
At his nonsensical words, Yvonne smiled softly. Then she slowly began to undress him. It wasn’t difficult, probably because she had dressed him in clothes that were easy to take off.
The reason she dressed him in easy-to-remove clothes was simple. When Yvonne was not around, she had the servants manage Yurian.
Anyway, Yurian was a gift from the emperor to Princess Yvonne, and although he knew he was the Duke Leonhardt, in the imperial palace, all the servants’ masters were the emperor. Therefore, regardless of being a duke, he wasn’t treated differently from other slaves.
“You’re undressing too carefully.”
“Should I just rip it apart?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha.”
Yvonne found Yurian’s acceptance of her joke amusing. However, contrary to her thoughts, Yurian’s words were not a joke. Instead, he found it strange to laugh at what he said sincerely. But unlike when he released the shackles, he didn’t want to get angry at the slight touches.
“Kess says that Father might change his itinerary for the imperial inspection.”
“His Majesty is someone who cannot be sure of anything until the day of the execution.”
“That’s true.”
In response to Yurian’s words, Yvonne acknowledged Hildebrandt’s personality.
“Why are you pulling away?”
“Has there ever been a reason for my actions?”
“Oh.”
Yurian thought that Princess Yvonne didn’t seem to know much about Hildebrandt. Although the emperor might seem like an arbitrary and capricious tyrant on the surface, that was not the case at all.
Despite wielding numerous acts of tyranny, he remained unscathed because of it. Rather, although he was cursed as a tyrant wielding tyranny, his support base was very loyal to Hildebrandt.
Yurian even thought that Hildebrandt intentionally committed acts of tyranny. When he committed uncontrollable madness, his subordinates feared him.
Moreover, Hildebrandt was a jack-of-all-trades and his abilities were top-notch. Moreover, thanks to Hildebrandt, the Bricesys Empire experienced its greatest period of prosperity.
Even if there were complaints about Hildebrandt bringing astronomical amounts of money, they easily disappeared in front of money.
“Yvonne.”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to undress my pants too?”
“It’s easy, You can take care of it.”
“…Okay.”
Yurian took off his pants without hesitation. Then, after taking off his drawers, he wrapped a towel around his waist. Princess Yvonne was facing away from him to avoid seeing his body, but she couldn’t avoid hearing the sounds.
“Yvonne.”
“Yes.”
“Please hold my hand. The sound of the water is too loud and it hurts my head.”
“Alright.”
Yvonne took Yurian’s hand and led him slowly. After checking with her eyes whether the knot of the towel around his waist was securely tied, she looked at him, hoping he would follow obediently, and kindly guided him.
Yurian deliberately walked with a limp because he preferred her holding his hand tightly. Whenever he walked unsteadily, Yvonne would hold onto him even tighter.
“Are your legs hurting too?”
“You should ask if there’s anywhere that doesn’t hurt.”
“Is there anywhere that doesn’t hurt?”
“No, there isn’t. So, Yvonne should stroke me.”
For some reason, Yvonne didn’t mind Yurian’s nonsensical words today. Anyway, whatever memories she made with him, no matter what happened, he would forget them.
“When you’re bathing, just stay still, and I’ll stroke you.”
“I’ll remember.”
She led him to the bathroom, into the overflowing bathtub. When Yurian sat quietly in the bathtub, Yvonne let go of his hand. He focused on the small sounds she made, imagining what she was doing.
The scrubbing sound seemed like she was touching a sponge in the bathroom, and the sound of liquid being squeezed out seemed like she was squeezing shampoo.
Although there was no scent, the faint smell emanating from Yvonne’s hair and body became stronger as it mingled with the moisture on her body.
“Raise your arms.”
“Yes.”
Yurian raised his arms as if he were raising them in a cheer because he didn’t know how else to raise them. At his action, Yvonne couldn’t help but smile unknowingly.
“You shouldn’t do it like that.”
“Then how should I do it?”
“You need to raise one arm so you can scrub with the sponge.”
“Oh.”
Yurian pretended not to know even though he actually did. Since the servants at the duke’s mansion had learned about bathing practices, there was no way he wouldn’t know how to wash properly.
As if he truly didn’t know, he raised one arm awkwardly. Yvonne placed her hand on his arm and began to scrub with the sponge, but Yurian felt ticklish from her fingers gently brushing against him rather than the texture of the sponge.
It felt vivid each time she touched him.
With each touch, his magic found peace, soothing the strength that felt like tearing his entire body apart.
It felt like miraculously removing only the ink from black ink-dyed water, leaving behind clear water.
As Yurian’s magic gradually stabilized, he felt his body warming up. The water temperature had been similar to body temperature, but now his body felt hotter, making the water feel colder.
“Are you cold?”
“Yes.”
“Then I should turn the water up a bit more.”
Yvonne said so and turned up the warm water. Then, starting from scrubbing his one arm and wiping his fingers, she moved on to his palm, back of the hand, arm, shoulder, and finally reached his neck.
“Yvonne…”
“Yes.”
“Please pay extra attention to my neck.”
“Yes, of course.”
After Yvonne responded appropriately, she sat on the edge of the bathtub and moved the foam onto his neck. It was difficult to clean the neck properly because of the blood stuck to it due to the restraint.
“I’ll touch your neck a bit.”
“Yes.”
Yurian’s breath caught in his throat as she ran her fingers over his neck. The sensation was so ticklish and vivid that his breath stopped involuntarily.
With each deep breath, he felt euphoric, as if he had taken tranquilizers while bathing, thanks to Yvonne’s scent.
“I feel dizzy.”
“I see. Try to stay still. I can’t clean it properly if you move too much.”
“…Yes.”
Yurian laughed unknowingly, expecting her to grimace.
T/N: Judging Yurian for the third time now 🤹
