Chapter 2

Asil met Arbella purely by chance.

It was at a royal ball. Like many other unmarried noblemen, he attended to find a suitable bride. In the garden, he stumbled upon a small altercation.

“Arbella! How could you abandon me? We were perfect together. I can’t forget that night we spent together…”

It was clearly a lover’s quarrel. A disheveled man with a tear-streaked face knelt at a woman’s feet, begging her. But it seemed he couldn’t sway the heart of the beautiful woman.

Looking down at him with an air of aloofness like the Snow Queen, she answered coldly.

“Did you think you could own me just because we shared a bed once? Then there must be dozens of men in this capital who own me.”

“How can you say that! I know you have many lovers! But you told me I was special. That I was different…”

“It was a lie. Can’t you tell the difference between a joke and sincerity at your age?”

“Arbella!”

Issues between a man and a woman are private matters, so Asil intended to pass by without getting involved. However, when the man suddenly stood up to strike Arbella, Asil couldn’t help but step in.

“What’s going on here?”

“…!”

Asil worried that the man might act recklessly, but fortunately, he retained enough sense to refrain. After meeting Asil’s eyes, the man stumbled away without composing his expression.

‘He seems sincere.’

Although there was no obligation to reciprocate feelings just because someone loves you, it was hard not to feel pity for the grown man shedding tears.

That must have been why he spoke up, despite usually not meddling in others’ affairs.

“It would be better if you treated others sincerely.”

Arbella’s face twisted at Asil’s advice. The sudden hatred in her gaze surprised Asil.

Arbella, as if her dignity had been trampled on, glared fiercely at Asil.

“What do you know to say such a thing? You arrogant, insufferable man.”

Considering he had intervened to stop her from being struck, Asil felt like he was being insulted despite his good intentions.

But Arbella didn’t stop there. With icy eyes, she cursed him.

“You need to learn that life doesn’t always go your way. If no one else teaches you, I’ll make sure you understand to your very bones.”

“You seem energetic enough. Go inside.”

He didn’t think he had said anything to warrant such anger.

As Asil turned away, he couldn’t have imagined that he would become deeply entangled with this woman.

His days continued as usual: managing his estate, discussing business ventures with trustworthy gentlemen, playing simple card games…

Then he was summoned by the king.

“You are to marry Lady Carmen.”

“…What?”

Lady Carmen referred to that very woman.

Arbella Carmen.

– You need to learn that life doesn’t always go your way. If no one else teaches you, I’ll make sure you understand to your very bones.

The woman who had left him with a chilling warning at the ball not long ago. Her face was enchantingly beautiful, but the malice in her words had been unmistakable.

‘Why her, of all people?’

He knew Arbella was a close relative of the king, but he hadn’t expected such a blatant matchmaking attempt.

Especially in the form of a command.

“She’s reached marriageable age but hasn’t settled on anyone. She just flits about with men. But recently, when I subtly brought up marriage, she named you as her preference.”

“She specifically chose me?”

“Yes. It seems she fancies you.”

The king, seemingly pleased, appeared to think Arbella had finally come to her senses. But Asil couldn’t smile back.

The ominous warning from the ball echoed in his ears.

Did she choose him because she liked him?

A sense of discomfort crept over him like bugs crawling on his skin. The king patted Asil’s shoulder and laughed heartily.

“The royal family will contribute to her dowry considering the circumstances. Please take good care of her.”

The king’s words of “please take care” meant it was already decided, and all he had to do was marry.

Asil, who had lost his parents at a young age and maintained his title with the king’s help, had no choice but to agree.

“I understand.”

He could only hope that his unease was unfounded.

* * *

But, as is often the case, his bad premonition turned out to be correct.

There was no wedding night. After spending a sleepless night alone, Arbella appeared before Asil only in the afternoon.

She reeked of s*m*n. On their wedding day, she had been with another man instead of her husband.

His body trembled with humiliation. Enraged, Asil asked coldly,

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Arbella tossed her hair back with a seductive smile. Her white, long neck was marred by red kiss marks like scattered petals.

“Didn’t you know I would live like this? Isn’t that why you prepared a separate house for me?”

“Well…”

She wasn’t wrong. Even after their marriage was decided, Arbella’s behavior didn’t improve, and it was the king and the Duke and Duchess of Carmen who suggested the separate house.

Otherwise, it would be publicly known that Asil was a cuckold, and it would also tarnish their own reputation for forcing the marriage despite knowing her character.

Arbella, it seemed, had decided to make the most of the situation.

With a pretty smile, she lifted her nightgown with both hands.

“How do I look? Don’t you want it?”

As her slender white legs were revealed, Asil’s face flushed involuntarily. Arbella, as if unaware of his gaze, lifted her nightgown higher and higher.

Past her soft, pink knees and the firm flesh of her thighs.

Just as her bare gr**n, devoid of underwear, was about to be exposed…

“You’ll never enter my bedroom.”

Arbella let the hem of her nightgown fall, flashing a wicked smile.

Asil, who had been mesmerized by her movements, came to his senses and coughed awkwardly.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Asil couldn’t understand. What had he done to deserve living as a fool who watched his wife’s infidelity?

The only thing he could think of was helping Arbella at the ball when she was about to be hit by another man.

Arbella’s answer to his question was brutally simple.

“Because you’re unlucky.”

* * * 

Arbella always spent her days rolling around with different men in her separate residence. Day after day, it continued. When the Duke and Duchess Carmen came to check on their daughter, they found her sleeping with her head resting on an unfamiliar man’s arm and quickly fled the Conte mansion.

Arbella sometimes roamed the grounds without even bothering to wash. When Asil advised her to at least maintain the dignity of a Countess, she responded with a sly smile.

“I know you’re attracted to me. But I won’t allow you to have me. That’s the punishment for your arrogance.”

She spoke with confidence, convinced that she was desirable and that Asil was undoubtedly aroused by the traces of her s*x**l encounters. However, the more she behaved this way, the less attractive and more repulsive she became to Asil.

‘I will never have feelings for that woman.’

Whether it was a feeling akin to friendship or a base carnal desire, harboring any positive emotion toward her would make him a fool.

Due to Arbella’s total lack of respect for Asil, the resentment among the people of the Conte estate grew. Even the butler clung to Asil, expressing his disdain.

“She’s definitely a demon.”

“Butler.”

“Please, my lord, just ignore it. I’ll handle it.”

He was implying that he would poison her. Asil sighed. Although he shared the hatred, he couldn’t condone murder.

“Have you forgotten who her family is?”

“Yes, the family who irresponsibly dumped that demon on you while living a carefree life.”

“That’s…”

Asil was momentarily at a loss for words. The Duke Carmen, unable to control his own daughter, had coerced the king into arranging the marriage, yet still had the audacity to advise Asil on managing his household.

Recently, they had even sent an official complaint about Arbella’s absence from public functions.

‘If they care so much, they should have taken in a son-in-law themselves.’ Asil suppressed his boiling anger.

‘Why should I be the only one to suffer this misfortune?’

If anyone deserved to be unhappy, it should be that irresponsible family and Arbella herself. Suppressing his resentment, Asil finally spoke.

“…Don’t do anything.”

“My lord.”

The butler, looking exasperated, wiped his dry face repeatedly. Then, changing his tone, he suggested to Asil,

“Why not go to the church and pray? Surely, if she’s a demon, prayer is the only way to deal with her.”

The suggestion was tempting, but Asil shook his head.

“Her baptismal name is Gabriel.”

“Oh dear.”

The Carmen family was known for their devout faith among the nobility. Despite their reputation, Arbella’s tyranny eventually drove Asil to the church, desperate for any form of help.

About thirty minutes into his prayer at the altar, he heard a strange voice.

“Asil Conte.”

“Who’s there!”

The voice shouldn’t have been audible in the secluded church. Asil looked around but saw no one. Instead, the strange voice continued.

“True love will save you.”

‘True love?’

He asked for clarification, but there was no further response. It had to be a divine answer to his prayers, but its ambiguity left Asil puzzled.

‘Is it suggesting I find someone else?’

No matter how much he despised Arbella, he wasn’t interested in taking a lover like she did. That would mean he had to develop love for Arbella, which seemed more like a death sentence than a solution.

‘That would be a grave mistake. It’s better to take the butler’s suggestion.’

Though he received an answer to his prayers, it only increased his frustration without solving anything. Days passed, and the first to notice something strange at the separate residence was the butler.

“The Madam has changed. Is she on her deathbed?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well… she’s reading books.”

While it wasn’t unusual for a noblewoman to read, it was indeed surprising for Arbella Conte. 

‘The butler must be mistaken.’

Perhaps she was reading some erotic literature. Thinking this, Asil headed to the study and found her reading a perfectly normal book. Moreover, she had come to the study in the morning—a time she usually would never be active.

“You look well, Madam.”

At his sarcastic greeting, Arbella rolled her large eyes, clearly unsure how to respond.

‘She really does seem like a different person.’

But it was definitely still Arbella on the outside. She continued her debauched lifestyle at night. Remembering the faces of the lovers he encountered while entering the residence, Asil clenched his teeth and spoke.

“I hear you’re living quite healthily, but as the Countess, shouldn’t you start taking on some responsibilities?”

He didn’t actually expect her to work. However, to his surprise, she was quite diligent and intelligent. When he deliberately gave her an overwhelming amount of work, she handled it all.

“The Madam has finished today’s work as well.”

Moreover, she dismissed all her lovers from the separate residence and began living a celibate life.

Had she really changed? Asil observed Arbella with a mix of hope and suspicion. Then one day,

“The Madam is ill.”

“…What?”

The butler, who had started addressing her properly due to her recent behavior, brought this unexpected news. Hearing it made Asil’s heart sink.

‘Why do I care?’

Why should it matter if she was sick? Was he starting to care for her just because she had been acting decently lately?

‘Foolish. Have you forgotten who she is?’

He berated himself, but his body moved honestly toward Arbella’s residence. She was genuinely ill, groaning under her blankets.

Feeling guilty for doubting her, Asil soon realized her groans were not those of someone in pain.

He scrutinized her again. Amid her fair, pearl-like skin and plump b*tt*cks, he noticed a round, black plug.

To think she had something like that inserted. His mind went cold as he spoke in a chilly voice.

“You’re not sick; you’re in heat.”

“W-what do you mean, in heat!”

Arbella’s reaction was strange. Normally, she would have acted shamelessly, but she squirmed as if to make excuses and curled up with a flushed face.

“I-I didn’t know… Ah!”

It was as if she was unaware of the device inside her. Asil’s eyes were drawn to her lower body, now fully exposed.

Her smooth, pale legs framed a golden p*b*c region, slick with transparent l*q**d. It was a sight both base and strangely mesmerizing.

“Please, do something.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she clung to him. Seeing her like this, Asil’s resolve to keep his hands off her wavered. He found himself moving closer to the bed she lay on.

-Clatter.

Every movement she made caused the objects inside her to make a small clattering noise.

‘What in the world has she done?’

Despite his lack of experience due to his chaste lifestyle, Asil could tell that these were some kind of adult toys, thanks to Arbella’s outrageous behavior. 

Hesitating for a moment, Asil grabbed her thigh. Her white thigh was already burning hot. The heat seemed to transfer to him.

Asil hooked his finger around the ring sticking out from between her b*tt*cks and pulled it all at once.

-Pop!

The tightly closed hole opened slightly, and a smooth, pearl-like bead popped out. It wasn’t just one. The beads, slick with fl**ds, came out one after another, ten in total.

“Ah!”

Regretting not pulling them out one by one, Asil was startled by the endless string of beads and watched Arbella tremble and cl*m*x from the stimulation.

She was the most vulgar woman he had ever met, yet his body responded to her sight.

The answer to the enigma was revealed when Asil met the gaze of the woman panting softly after her cl*m*x. In her eyes, there was no trace of the usual hatred or hostility towards him.

“Could she really be a different person?”

To confirm this suspicion, Asil spoke her name.

“Arbella.”

Her response confirmed his hypothesis.

“Don’t call me that,” she pleaded.

“Isn’t that your name?” he asked.

“Call me Bella! Please, call me Bella!”

Bella.

“Was the prophecy I heard in the church about this woman?” 

True love would save him, they said.

It felt as if the prophecy was being fulfilled right in front of his eyes. The woman he thought he could never love had transformed into someone entirely different.

Unexpectedly, his heart began to flutter.

“I never thought this moment would come…”

He used to feel utterly disgusted by her. Now, with just her soul changed, his heart pounded at the sight of her.

“Spread your legs.”

Her v*lv*, soaked from multiple orgasms, was revealed. It was red and swollen from the vibrator, with her cl*t*r*s *r*ct like a n*ppl*.

It was so strange. How could the same face feel so different? She even looked cute to him now. 

Through the thin slip, her protruding n*ppl*s showed a light pink hue. Though he wanted to bite and lick them immediately, his desire to cl*m*x took precedence.

Seated between her legs, Asil thrust his already pre-c*m-slicked m*mb*r inside her in one go.

“Ah!”

Bella’s supple waist arched in response. She let out a moan, and her insides clenched tightly around him. Her warmth and tightness enveloped him.

He didn’t need to think about how to move; his hips moved instinctively. Each thrust pushed his gl*ns deeper, parting her inner walls.

“Ugh.”

Her moans were sweet, almost like a purr. Asil, with reddened eyes, looked down at Bella writhing beneath him.

Her body was as honest as she was. Just like her flushed face, her lower body clung to him desperately, not wanting to let go. Meeting her gaze, with her drenched thighs in his hands, he gripped her harder.

“Damn it.”

Even as they had s*x, he felt a growing urge to reach deeper into her.

The sound of his flesh hitting hers grew louder. As if his brain was being massaged, his thoughts vanished, leaving only the image of the woman panting and moaning in front of him.

Breathing heavily, Asil asked again, “Who are you?”

Though she didn’t answer, he already knew the response.

Bella.

The woman sent by God.

With the certainty that he could love this woman freely, a sense of fulfillment accompanied the urge to cl*m*x.

Without hesitation, Asil *j*c*l*t*d inside her.

Sweat dripped from him, forming circular patterns on her smooth belly. The dampness caused her nightgown to cling to her voluptuous body.

The sight of her made his just-spent m*mb*r stiffen again.

Though he could have immediately engaged in another round, what caught his attention were the marks on her thighs.

“This won’t do.”

Her pale skin made the red marks more prominent. The thought of hurting her made him reconsider their position.

‘How about flipping her over?’

If he held her waist, there wouldn’t be handprints. When he flipped her over, Bella obediently assumed the position.

As their fl**ds mixed and dripped down, it felt as if someone was gripping his neck. Asil knew exactly what he wanted to do—hold her by the waist and plunge into her warm depths again.

“Aah!”

Taking her from behind was pleasurable. Her voice was clearer, her br**sts bounced in smooth curves. Embracing her from behind, he gripped her large br**sts that overflowed from his hands.

And once again, he poured his s*m*n into her.