---
Benedict thought.
Elena Christie is a woman who only knows love.
“I cannot divorce you until you are acquitted.”
He said that releasing you was enough, but Elena insisted on continuing the contract.
“Your Majesty, we are destined to be together.
“Accept that.”
Benedict placed his hand on his forehead, amazed at her audacity to even conjure fate.
Elena wanted to stay with him at the Archduke's house, no matter what the cost.
At the same time, he could not help but acknowledge that she was restraining herself and not expressing her love directly, for fear of breaking the contract.
It seemed that Elena feared the contract ending more than anyone else.
'Of course, if she goes home, her vile father and brother will be waiting for her there, so maybe it's best to protect her in the Grand Archduke's house.'
He thought about forcing Elena to go home, but he justified it to no avail.
Ignore Victor's report that the two are currently in prison for assault.
Elena even offered to risk her life and catch the real culprit herself.
'What do you plan to do with this weak body?
I'd rather catch him myself.'
He grumbled, leaning down and hitting the stick carefully.
Of course, this was just to catch the culprit, not out of concern for Elena, whose back was hurting from re-enacting the crime.
Elena even asked him for kindness.
No matter how much he thought about it, the trial did not seem justified.
She was a shameless woman, trying to satisfy her selfish desires in this way.
He frowned, refusing to give Elena any room to maneuver.
He watched Elena's display with a trembling expression.
“Benedict—♡.”
The voice calling his name sent a flash of dizziness through his body.
Benedict swallowed dryly and looked at Elena.
Why are her eyes so wide?
The woman's already wide eyes blinked, as if they were shedding tears.
Her thick golden eyelashes cast shadows over her blue eyes, making them appear like sparkling pearls on the surface of the sea.
Having lived his whole life on a battlefield filled with men, he had never seen those eyes before.
'Do all fond eyes look like this?'
It was downright temptation.
He knew he should reject him coldly, but the look and voice were so gentle, something he had never experienced before.
He finally gave in to Elena's gaze, blushing.
'I think I was confused because I don't know anything about eyes.'
He was sure that anything that required physical effort would be a problem.
He could treat Elena's physical temptations indifferently, as if it were a strictly contractual relationship.
Fortunately, he was born with exceptional physical courage and never suffered from any physical exertion in his life.
But…
“Weren't you good at all physical tasks?”
"certainly.
I graduated with honors from the military academy, and on the battlefield, I slaughtered dozens of enemies at once, and beheaded the enemy commander...”
A slender arm, so thin that he could break it with one hand if he wished, was entangled with his body, and yet, as if bound by a strange and invisible thread, it refused to move.
If it were a steel chain, he would break it hard...
The strange thread finally broke.
"Oh, my God!"
Elena's shout from the stairs made him move instinctively.
His strong arms embraced Elena's toned, almost slender waist with ease.
'My skills are still intact.'
For a fleeting moment, he felt relieved.
He still had no difficulty using his body.
The ridiculous events that befell him earlier were nothing but a coincidence, a misunderstanding.
“……!”
But it didn't take me long to realize that the idea that everything was just a mistake was itself a mistake.
A soft, supple sensation spread from his fingertips, through his muscular forearms, and through the dense fibers of his body.
It was a feeling he had never felt before.
It was a woman's body, completely different from the hard and rough bodies of men.
The moment he realized this, his mind immediately went numb.
The cessation of his thinking was followed by the cessation of his body.
'Fuck.'
He had an impressive fall technique, able to survive unscathed even after falling off a cliff.
However, if he had used this technique in this situation, Elena would have undoubtedly become his pillow.
Boom!
In the end, Benedict's technique dropped him onto the wooden floor, his head hitting it mercilessly.
The impact of the fall sent a rumbling sound and a tingling sensation up his spine.
'My lower body… I can't feel it…'
He felt a different, heavier sensation in his lower body.
Soldiers often become partially paralyzed after falling from great heights.
What if I lose the use of my legs?
While he was imagining the worst scenario that would happen.
“Your happiness...?” Are you well?"
In that moment, he realized the truth.
His lower body was not numb, but overstimulated.
He blinked in confusion.
Elena didn't seem to realize she was sitting on him.
The dress was so thin, he could clearly feel her soft body through the thin lining of the dress.
Every time she held his cheek and caressed it, her body rubbed against his.
'Oh, no...!'
The explosive sensation took his breath away.
Worse still, Elena's actions became more aggressive when he stopped breathing.
“Breathe, breathe!”
As her hands removed his clothes, Benedict's broad chest was suddenly exposed to the world.
He was ready to leave things as they were.
“….”
His mind was immersed in thought.
As he gave in to the overwhelming stimulation, he felt a desire for more.
At that moment, Elena's small and delicious lips moved towards his.
He felt completely lost and closed his eyes.
That was the moment when his tiny mind spiraled into self-centeredness.
“Oh my God!
I-I'm sorry.
"I didn't see anything, so get back to what you were doing!"
Upon hearing that voice, his rushing instincts suddenly stopped.
Benedict stood up suddenly.
He then quickly explained the situation after a moment.
“I...I'm telling you this so you don't misunderstand, but I certainly didn't try to save you or hug you out of love...”
At that time, Elena was so busy with the clock that she wasn't even listening, so it was an excuse he made up for himself.
The watch Elena was looking at created another problem.
This time, she was offering to make him money.
'Is she really only thinking about me?'
Thinking like this, he also wondered how that weak woman could earn enough to support an Archduke.
'It would be faster if I gained it with my body.'
So, he came up with the idea of subjugating the barbarians.
From his experience dealing with barbarians, they were a nuisance, but not much of a threat.
The problem was that Elena, who was overly worried about him, was against subjugating him.
But he couldn't invest as Elena suggested.
His vast wealth was not the result he was hoping for.
He had nowhere else to put his money, so he invested.
To avoid being seen as competing with the Crown Prince in business, he selected only those in whom Lawrence did not invest.
Unfortunately, they all turned out to be huge investments.
This led to the belief that he used his cunning to undermine Lawrence.
'I didn't know Lawrence wasn't ready for his investment.'
So the only solution was subjugation.
But this time, Elena's fears were a little exaggerated.
“Well, the Archduke is more important to me.
“I would rather fire some soldiers and servants and cut costs.”
Elena might have suggested this out of love for him, but Benedict was a soldier.
The idea of expelling those he was supposed to protect was unacceptable.
In an instant, a cold shiver came over him.
He needed to draw a clear line.
He realized that he was being too lenient with Elena.
A cold voice came from his tongue.
“Let me say it again.
“Intrusive interference in my affairs is a breach of contract.”
He drew a clear line with various excuses.
As expected, things like love and wife were nothing but annoying obstacles in his life.
So the contract had to be fulfilled.
But if Elena's feelings ran out and she couldn't do it...
'I think I'll have to terminate the contract and get her out of here.'
At this thought, a feeling of unease washed over him.
Benedict strengthened his resolve once again.
“These are not my personal feelings...!
After all, as a wife, I have every right to worry, right?”
“No need to worry about a fake wife.”
Her shocked, blank face was reflected in the mirror on the wall.
He tried to ignore the sight, clenching his fists until they turned pale.
He did what he had to do, and he didn't care if Elena was hurt or not.
∗∗∗
“As expected, she shows no signs of it.”
Late at night, in Benedict's room.
Benedict was tossing and turning in his bed, feeling uncomfortable no matter how he lay.
That was the beginning.