Derek slowly turned his head, his hips still rocking in an obscene rhythm. Unable to bear such shamelessness, Adelina whipped around, her back rigid with disgust. Behind her, the maid's moans and the wet **slap** of flesh against flesh continued unabated.
"What right do you have to treat the servants like this?" Her voice trembled—not with fear, but fury.
"It's precisely _because_ she's a servant that I can do whatever I please. If she were a noble lady, I wouldn't dare. After all, I'm not an **animal**." The irony in his voice was palpable.
A short, bitter laugh escaped the duchess. She was struck by the sheer absurdity of the words spoken in such a situation—as if performing the act itself didn't contradict his claim entirely. Derek, however, remained utterly unmoved.
"She started it, Princess. No man can resist a woman who offers herself so freely. Otherwise, he's either a eunuch or... unconventional." His breathing grew heavier, more ragged.
"I don't want to hear another word."
"Princess, she doesn't mind what's happening now. Besides, soon—ha-ah..." Derek's voice turned languid, drunk on pleasure. "It'll all be over. It won't take long, so why don't we continue our conversation when I'm finished?"
The exchange had been pointless from the start. Engaging in rational discourse with someone who behaved more like a rutting animal than a man was a **mistake**. Adelina clenched her teeth and fled the library, her footsteps sharp and hurried against the polished floor.
She slammed the door behind her and sank into a crouch, pressing her back against the solid wood. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps.
"Madam? What's wrong with you?" Sophie's worried voice cut through the haze.
"Sophie..." Adelina managed to rise only with her maid's assistance. Having witnessed such a vile spectacle, her entire body had begun to tremble—whether from shock or rage, she couldn't say.
"Oh my God! Why are you burning up?" Sophie's hand flew to her mistress's forehead, alarm flashing across her features as she felt the unnatural heat radiating from Adelina's skin.
"I think I'm just overtired. There's been far too much to handle since arriving at the estate." _Too much luxury. Too much cruelty. Too much depravity._
"That's absolutely true. You've taken on far too much, and I didn't even think to stop you. Come—I'll take you to your room at once."
Adelina nodded weakly and cast one final glance at the sturdy library door. Then, as if trying to physically shake off the unpleasant memories clinging to her like cobwebs, she turned sharply away.
First, she needed to cool down.
---
**Knock-knock.**
The sound at the door interrupted Alexio, pulling him from the dense thicket of paperwork spread across his desk. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have reacted so immediately. But the knock had come from the door leading to the shared sitting room between his chambers and his wife's. Since neither his butler, nor his personal assistant, nor any of his servants made a habit of knocking in the middle of the night, logic pointed to only one possibility.
_Adelina._
Alexio glanced at the desk clock. Its delicate hands indicated the hour had grown late—**very** late. His wife's visit at such a time struck him as odd, but he nevertheless set aside his documents and crossed the room in several long strides.
Without making a sound, the duke opened the door.
Adelina stood before him, eyes wide as a startled rabbit's.
"You scared me."
"I'm surprised as well. It's quite unexpected to find you at the door of your ardent husband's chambers at this ungodly hour." Naturally, Alexio hadn't expected Adelina to come to him with _those_ kinds of intentions. It was merely a jest, meant to fluster her. However, his wife's reaction proved entirely different from what he'd anticipated. The flushed, **strange** expression painting her features was so unusual that the duke immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Did something... happen?"
"I don't even want to talk about it." Adelina's voice was strained, tight. "I'm sure you're perfectly aware that your brother is an incorrigible libertine."
"Indeed. This is hardly news to me." The man replied casually, though he tilted his head to study Adelina more closely. The girl's brows were drawn together in a sharp furrow, clearly broadcasting her displeasure. "You don't look well at all. I can't believe Sophie left you in this condition. We need to summon a physician."
"A physician? Sophie said the same thing—that's precisely why I came." The girl sighed heavily, as if she were suffering unbearable pain. "I would rather **not** have to explain to a doctor that I felt unwell after witnessing my brother-in-law's... _lovemaking._"
"My brother's lovemaking?" Alexio's question was brief, his voice carefully neutral. But there was a flicker of dark amusement in his eyes.
Adelina continued without noticing, too caught up in her own indignation.
"In the library, I happened upon a secret... intimate scene between your brother and one of the maids. I never thought I'd witness anything like it in my entire life. Ha-ha." Even the memory brought a flush creeping up her neck. Derek's utter lack of common decency and his shameless behavior outraged Adelina more than the spectacle itself.
"Understood. I'll ban him from the library. From now on, you can enjoy your reading in peace."
"Is that... possible?"
"He's not the type to visit the library for **reading** anyway. Let him find his sordid entertainment elsewhere."
"My God. Doesn't he have anything else to occupy his time?" _How utterly depraved was this man?_
Observing his wife's flushed face, the duke pressed the back of his hand gently against her cheek. Her skin was burning—as if fever had settled beneath the surface.
"Your cheeks—"
"Why are your hands so **cold**?" Adelina interrupted, her eyes widening with surprise.
"It's not that I'm cold. It's that _you're_ hot. And it seems this isn't solely about the scene you witnessed." The man's lips curved into a faint smile.
"No. When Sophie touched me earlier, her hands were warm. Perhaps there's something peculiar about the Duke of Pembroke specifically?"
"Not 'Duke of Pembroke,' but—"
"Yes, I know. Alexio. I'm simply not accustomed to it yet." Fearing the man would begin scolding her again, Adelina quickly corrected herself and craned her neck to peer around his broad shoulders into the room beyond. Her brow furrowed once more as her gaze settled on the desk—**buried** beneath stacks of papers and several empty coffee cups.
The duke, noticing his wife's intent scrutiny, merely shrugged.
"I always work like this."
"Is this normal? Are you always this busy, not just today?"
"Otherwise, where do you think the Pembroke family's wealth comes from? The days of earning a living while sitting idle are long past, Princess." When Alexio offered her a mocking bow, Adelina reached out and swatted him lightly on the chest.
"I'm not so spoiled as to misunderstand basic economics." Quite the opposite, in fact. The girl had effectively shouldered the burden of managing the household on behalf of her father—a man who knew nothing beyond squandering money on frivolities. While it wasn't something Adelina took pride in, she believed she'd done her best to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
"I never thought everything you possess now appeared by magic. I think I understood that from the very beginning."
"From the very beginning?"
"It may sound strange, but hardworking people carry a certain... **aura**." She could sense it in every clipped phrase, every deliberate action, even in the sharpness of his gaze. To the girl, Alexio Pembroke seemed like a man who hadn't wasted a single day of his life—who couldn't **afford** to.
The duke, however, held a different opinion entirely.
"Don't be deceived by appearances, Princess. People are rational creatures, perfectly capable of creating and maintaining elaborate illusions." Alexio didn't trust those around him. And their lack of trust in him bothered him not in the slightest. "Therefore, don't trust me either, Madam. Because I can't even trust **myself**."
_The deal must remain fair. Otherwise, any imbalance will destroy it._
"I know you trust only our contract—and I won't ask for more than that," Adelina replied evenly. Was it strange that she found someone who so openly admitted to trusting only legal agreements more reliable than most? Despite this curiosity, she decided to keep the thought to herself, fearing her words might be misinterpreted as a plea for his personal trust. All she wanted was to be a competent contract partner. "Therefore, Alexio, I would like to remind you about the proper fulfillment of our agreement."