27 - The Time of the Blind Beast (15+ Revised Edition)
Chapter 27
Ah.
It was felt so vividly. The heavy, scorching heat that ran long across her lower back.
Even if she had insisted that it was a biological reaction caused by deliberately rubbing her body for stimulation due to hypothermia before, such a flimsy excuse wouldn't work this time. She wasn't at the stage of complete recovery, but he had improved enough to begin preparing to return to his daily life.
She sensed it. No, to call it mere intuition would be an understatement, as the signs transmitted from body to body were too stark.
Therefore, this was a certainty that could not be doubted or denied.
This man… desires me this much.
Hearing with words that he intended to do something to you was worlds apart from feeling it directly with your body. If her heart had fluttered before, now her body was fluttering. As if under a spell, all her senses became agitated.
She felt as if his hot body temperature had transferred to her. Her lower back burned hotly. Her fingertips and toes twitched uncontrollably, and her breathing grew tight and shallow.
No matter how much she tried to calm her insides, it was useless. Instead, the more she was conscious of it, the stronger it became.
His large hand moved up her waist. The man, who relied heavily on his sense of touch in place of his eyes, would grope and explore with a sticky, persistent touch to familiarize himself with textures.
It was the same now. He tickled her hollow stomach with his thumb, and stroked it, applying a slight weight with each finger. He rested his index finger on the bumpy ridges of her ribs and traced them. His hand, which had circled her yielding ribcage halfway, caressed her back.
"There isn't a single part of you that isn't slender."
Rose's flesh was so soft and delicate that Ezekiel always had to pay extra attention to reduce the strength of his hands. Otherwise, he feared he might injure Rose's skin. His hands, calloused from pulling triggers and gripping reins, were stiffer and rougher than those of most people.
"...Major."
Rose flinched. Her voice, barely a whisper, was an effort to calm her increasingly rapid breaths.
"Why, does it hurt?"
Rose lowered her gaze, which was swaying dizzily.
It wasn't pain, but rather...
An extreme stimulation.
It was different from when he had roughly explored her, suspecting her of being a spy. It was different from when she had used her body as a tool and means to hold him down as he writhed through opium withdrawal symptoms.
Today, she wasn't scared. It didn't hurt. A shiver ran along the path his fingers traced. Her stomach tingled.
"I... can't breathe."
She must have forgotten how to breathe. Her chest rose and fell irregularly. Her heated breaths were never this rough.
"I think I can fix that."
Ezekiel, fumbling with his thumb to find her lips, immediately tilted his head and pressed his lips to hers. The curves of their lips fit together perfectly.
Their tongues tangled. Their hearts mingled.
Water sloshed. She felt as if she had sunk into the deep sea. All the strength drained from her body. Ezekiel reached out and held her as she swayed.
He closed his eyes. It made little difference whether his eyes were open or closed, but closing them made it slightly better for imagining Rose.
Beyond this dark curtain, she was there.
If he could, he wanted to tear through this dark curtain and see Rose's face hidden behind it. He wanted to know what expression she wore as she was held in his arms. He wanted to feel her completely, every inch, with all his senses.
But for now, it was an impossible wish.
Unresolved thirst burned his throat even more. Even as he swallowed her and swallowed her, he was never satisfied. Ezekiel leaned against the bathtub, tilted his back, and lifted Rose to sit on his lap.
Rose flinched slightly at the sudden sensation of her view spinning halfway around. In the blink of an eye, his face was right in front of her. But the moment for other thoughts was fleeting. Ezekiel, cupping the back of her head with his palm, plunged deep.
As he lifted her, he slowly slid his lips downward. He kissed her gently at the edge of her jaw and traced down her collarbone.
At the point where her chest began to swell softly, he pressed his lips again and inhaled deeply.
"You smell like flowers."
Even though it was natural, as they were in the same bathwater, the man pressed his nose against her chest as if displeased. Her wet hair tickled her sensitive skin. Rose trembled lightly at the fleeting sensation.
"...You do too, Major."
"Your scent is sweeter. It must be because your name is Rose."
Rose lowered her gaze. That name was merely an alias Achenaus had given her for convenience. She didn't resemble a rose at all.
"Scared, Major, just for a moment..."
Rose, frightened by the continuous sensation of her hips lifting, struggled. Even though he held her tightly by the lower back and would never let her go, she felt unstable from her position, being pushed higher and higher.
The bathtub's uncomfortable structure was already starting to feel insufficient. The bathroom, slippery all over with spilled water, was not suitable for him to enjoy her to his heart's content.
Ezekiel pulled Rose close and stood up.
"Hold my neck tightly."
It was instantaneous. Carried by his wide strides, she swayed only a few times before Ezekiel brought her to the bedroom. Every movement, from crossing the room to laying her on the bed, was concise and swift.
Rose looked up at his dark silhouette. Although she had seen him many times before, today he seemed unusually unfamiliar. The man, fumbling to feel her face to confirm its position, grabbed a handful of her hair and pressed his lips firmly.
"It angers me anew that I cannot see this. How reddish must your hair be? Is it truly as I saw it in my dreams?"
"...Dreams?"
"Your red hair appeared briefly in a dream once. But I woke up quickly, so I didn't get to see much of it."
Recalling the sensation and color that had brushed against his nose, he brought his nose to her hair.
A rich floral scent filled his breath. He inhaled and exhaled deeply a couple more times. However, vision, limited information, was only half complete, no matter how thoroughly he examined it.
There were so many things he was curious about.
His lips moved to Rose's forehead.
"Will your skin be moderately tanned? Or will it be so pale that your veins show through?"
Next were her eyelids. He kissed above her fluttering eyelashes.
"Will these eyes be a clear green like new leaves, or a deep emerald? Do your eyes resemble a cat's, sharp and aloof, or a dog's, round and gentle?"
The man's lips slid down his nose and stopped at the tip.
"Is this nose long or short? Your face is so small that I can't get a good sense of it even by touching."
He lightly sucked the center of her protruding upper lip.
"Your lips... I only know they are soft."
Even after the brief kiss, his lips hovered at a precarious distance around Rose's mouth.
His desire to sketch her face was too intense. Rose subtly evaded him.
"...You might be disappointed if you imagine it too vividly. I am not that beautiful."
"When did I say I was curious if you were pretty?"
He seemed determined to silence Rose multiple times today.
"I am curious about you."
He pressed his body against hers. Rose involuntarily shivered at the soft pressure on her chest and stomach. She couldn't move. The bed swayed under their combined weight.
"From now on, I will sense you. Listening with my hearing, feeling with my touch..."
Even though he seemed to be fumbling based only on feeling, sparks flew wherever he touched, grasped, and caressed.
"If touch is not enough, I will smell you with my sense of smell, and if that is not perfect, I will taste you with my sense of taste."
"What? What did you just say..."
"Every inch of you, from head to toe."
Ezekiel heralded a long night. That night had just begun.
In the morning, when Ezekiel called for Madam Serva to prepare the bathwater, Rose met her with an awkwardly flushed face. She had tried her best to clean away the traces of the previous night, but she couldn't ignore the experience of Madam Serva. She wished she could hide in another room, but it would be dereliction of duty for a maid to abandon her master alone.
"Rose, there's no need to make that face."
Seeing Rose's hesitant expression, Madam Serva, unable to bear it, took her aside and whispered discreetly. Madam Serva had already understood everything that had happened the previous night as soon as she entered the bedroom.
"I expected this would happen. I was sure the master would take a liking to you."
"...Don't worry."
Rose hesitated before speaking. She felt embarrassed to say such things herself, but she felt it was necessary to clarify things now to avoid future burdens.
"You don't have to worry, Madam. I will continue to work diligently at my assigned tasks and will not cause trouble for my colleagues or the Major."
"Trouble? Rather, I should be the one asking you to take good care of him. Soon, Rose, you will be in charge of this mansion. Since there is no one else to attend to Ezekiel but you, it will be difficult to juggle multiple tasks, but from now on, you must learn about the mansion's operations and how to manage the staff."
Rose couldn't believe what she had just heard. She doubted her ears and then her eyes widened.
"No! I... I absolutely won't."
Her place was as a maid. She had never dared to aspire to anything more.
"Why, Rose? When a man and a woman fall for each other, it's natural for them to take responsibility."
That's not true. He didn't need to take any responsibility in this relationship. From the very first day she entered the mansion, Rose had made up her mind. She would be a cog in the wheel that kept his daily life running smoothly. If she could alleviate his physical and mental discomfort, that would be enough.
Ezekiel was human, so he naturally had desires. And she was the only young woman interacting with him, isolated in this remote northern mansion. If someone were to develop feelings in this extremely harsh environment, it had to be her.
Therefore, overthinking was forbidden.
"Sister, don't you feel anything when you see him? Doesn't your heart race, don't you want to kiss him?"
"It's not like anything so absurd would ever happen to me anyway."
Children raised in less fortunate circumstances usually fall into two categories. Either they understand their place with sharp precision, or they scheme by any means necessary to climb the social ladder.
Rose belonged to the former.
If he hadn't lost his sight, would he have even glanced at a maid doing chores, given his noble status as part of the Valdemara family?
Of course not. He would have considered all conditions and chosen a woman befitting his reputation. Even Achenaus, who found it easy to catch the eye of those with merely pretty faces, wouldn't keep them close for anything more than playful teasing, let alone give his heart.
She had rarely indulged in excessive desires in her life. It was partly due to her naturally gentle disposition, and partly because her environment offered few opportunities for ambition.
"Honestly, if he ever wanted me, I don't think I'd refuse. A man I could never dream of marrying, I'd sleep with him just once and live off that memory forever."
The students at Milena Girls' School were right. In reality, this was the most realistic future. She didn't expect more than this. She shouldn't.
Rose quickly shook her head.
"I am just an ordinary maid, and you are Valdemara, Major."
"What do you mean... Ah, since you went to school, Rose, you must have heard things here and there. Yes, there are quite a few rakes in the world who toy with women using their status. But Ezekiel is not like that. I, who raised him, can guarantee it. My master will take responsibility for you. It is only right."
Watching Rose's face turn red with confusion, Madam Serva lightly changed the subject.
"Now that I think about it, it's much later than I predicted. Actually, I suspected your relationship even on the night he caused a commotion by throwing all the glass bottles."
Rose, her face bright red, explained.
"That was a misunderstanding. If you had seen how much he suffered from the aftereffects, you probably wouldn't have thought that."
"I can tell that just by looking at my master's face. And it shows more on him than on you. The day has simply come, so don't be too troubled, Rose."
While Rose was trying to compose herself in front of Madam Serva, the bath was ready.
"Rose, come here."
Ezekiel called Rose from a distance. It seemed he intended to share the bath with her again. Her whole body was sticky from the sweat of the night, so Rose readily approached Ezekiel this time.
Ezekiel, gauging the distance by her presence, found her hand and grasped it firmly.
"Ah, right."
As the hired help who had assisted were dismissed, Madam Serva turned back to the two just before leaving the room last.
"Master. There was some mail. I couldn't give it to you while you were unwell, but I think I can deliver it now."
"I was wondering why I hadn't heard from them lately."
Mail again.
Unlike the composed Ezekiel, Rose froze involuntarily. A chilling unease ran down her spine. She felt goosebumps, as if she had suddenly woken from a nightmare.
She glanced at the mail Madam Serva was handing over. The handwriting on the signature on the envelope was familiar.
Moncam.
It was mail from his subordinate, who had been tracking her whereabouts.
