Chapter 35
Edith squeezed her eyes shut, a faint moan slipping past her lips.
In truth, she shouldn’t have made a sound at all.
The solid warmth at her back was a constant reminder of who stood behind her.
You have to endure this.
He had been watching her with suspicion lately. She couldn’t afford to give him the slightest opening.
He would worry, without question. And more than that—she couldn’t let him find out about something like this.
To be flushed and trembling like this… If he discovered it, she might very well die of shame.
Just a little longer…
The past few days had been a kind of hell.
It wasn’t as though her reason had been stripped away all at once—thankfully. But there was still a spark inside her that refused to go out, a heat lodged deep in her body that would not dissipate.
It was a quiet burn, constant, threatening to erupt into an uncontrollable blaze at the faintest touch. The thought alone made her dizzy.
She had considered using the antidote—her mother’s keepsake. But that was for the very last resort. It would also serve as the funds she needed when she finally became independent.
Heightened senses brought more troubles than she’d imagined. Tingling sensations drifted through her like shimmering heat haze, blurring her thoughts. The unspent desire piled up inside her, an unstable tower on the verge of collapse.
And now, that tower was shaking.
“Haah… hh—”
A breath of heat escaped between clenched teeth. She bit her lip to keep the sound in, only to part her lips again to draw in a deep breath—anything to hold on to the fragments of her reason.
It’s fine… just a little longer and it will pass.
The one mercy was that the drug’s effect wasn’t permanent. A week—that was the duration Rachel had mentioned. Just one or two more days and she could return to her normal life.
She curled in on herself, trying not to move. Even the smallest shift in her legs sent residual warmth flooding through her. That sensation alone was enough to rob her of sleep.
I can… endure this.
She was swallowing back another groan when—
“Edith?”
Her body went rigid.
She froze, eyes snapping open. No…
But her hope shattered as Denok’s voice came again, closer now, brushing against her ear.
“You’re sweating… Are you all right?”
A large hand took hold of her, trying to turn her toward him—
“Don’t touch me!”
Her voice came out sharp and high, startling even herself.
Denok’s hand halted. Her shoulders trembled, and silence stretched between them.
“…Do you distrust me so much?”
She flinched.
“I know I haven’t given you reason to trust me… but I still want to help you.”
The low, somber timbre of his voice made her shake again. Overwhelmed by the shame of the situation, she lashed out.
He’s misunderstanding everything…
She could never explain that Rachel had drugged her, and that she’d been burning with restless heat ever since.
Her cheeks grew hotter still.
Despite the whirlwind of thoughts tearing through her, one thing remained clear—
She didn’t want to hurt him.
She drew in a breath, opened her eyes, and made her decision.
“The truth is…”
After a long hesitation, she turned toward him. She glanced at his darkened gaze before lowering her eyes and murmuring in a voice barely above a whisper—
“Rachel gave me a drug… It heightens the senses.”
Her shoulders quivered, her head bowed. She couldn’t bear to meet his gaze.
Denok was silent, his thoughts swirling.
So that’s what happened…
Alongside the shock, anger rose within him—anger that she had endured such humiliation, and that she had suffered through it alone.
“…Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Her fingers curled tight.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just… this isn’t something you could fix.”
“I understand. It wouldn’t have been easy to say.”
But the thought of her enduring that torment alone gnawed at him.
His expression shifted, the shadows lifting to reveal a clear, unshakable resolve.
“Let me help you.”
“…What?”
“I’ve been through something similar. I know how torturous it is.”
The unrelieved pleasure would eat away at her reason. And he couldn’t stand by and watch her suffer.
Edith’s breath caught—she didn’t want to believe he meant that kind of help, but the atmosphere told her otherwise. Heat flared in her face.
“N-no… I can endure it.”
“Rachel is cunning. Can you guarantee this will end with just one incident?”
She had no answer. Her lips moved soundlessly.
“You can’t even sleep from the pain as it is.”
He reached out, gently tucking back the damp strands of hair clinging to her cheek. Even that light touch stirred the heat inside her, feeding it.
She hunched her shoulders, hesitated, then lifted her gaze. His eyes were calm, sincere.
“I won’t do anything you don’t want. Not for a single moment. I only want…”
He held her gaze.
“…to help ease your suffering.”
Her eyes shimmered with moisture.
“…If I tell you to stop… you’ll really stop?”
If she’d been her usual self, she might have agonized over the decision. But pleasure was dangerous—it dulled the mind, eroded reason.
