Chapter 19.1

At first, she thought her eyes were deceiving her, but no. The figure swaying against the gray stone wall was unmistakably human. A body that had to have been dead for days.

Suddenly, the maid’s words flashed through her mind:

— You can see it hanging on the east wall, madam.

“I thought you might want a look.”

“Wha…”

“So? Is it just like you imagined?”

Each gust of wind made the corpse sway slightly. It almost looked alive. Like it was bleeding and suffering.

Look. Just look at that face, Livi. She’s crying. She’s moaning. She’s in pain.

…She’s begging you to run away.

‘Nonsense!’

The figure was far enough away that Livi could barely tell it was human. Even if it screamed, the sound would only faintly reach her. There was no way she could see its expression.

Cold sweat streamed down her temples as she tried desperately to erase the image before her eyes.

That wasn’t her mother. It wasn’t her family. That woman had simply received her due punishment. Anyone who acted as a spy during the war deserved to be torn apart alive.

As Livi fought to steady her breathing, Dominic’s sly, insinuating voice reached her ears.

“Would you like me to find out what became of the Marquis of Joseph’s family, my dear?”

He spoke lazily, almost amused.

“By law, they should be hanging just like that. But knowing His Majesty, he’s been so thoroughly vexed, he might’ve decided to take it out on them a little.”

“Shut up.”

“If you’d like, I could bring you back a piece of their remains—”

“I said shut your mouth.”

“An arm? A leg? Which would you prefer? Or perhaps the head would be best, so you can recognize it properly—”

“Do it and I’ll kill you! I’ll make you just like them, and then I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!”

Her shrill scream ripped through the air. Livi shoved at his shoulders, fists pounding against his chest with all the strength she had. She clawed, swung, and summoned flames that seared his arm.

But Dominic didn’t move. He didn’t even try to block her. He watched her the way someone would watch a pet biting at their fingers, with a detached curiosity.

Livi screamed until her voice tore.

“Don’t look at me like that!”

“Like what?”

He laughed softly, reaching out. Then, catching her wrists mid-swing, he twisted them down and slid his hand beneath her skirts. His fingers traced up her thigh and pressed cruelly into the sensitive flesh, and Livi collapsed forward onto the ground.

“Like you’re just some powerless woman who can’t kill me no matter what you try, so you figure you might as well just sit back and watch? Is that the look you’re talking about?”

“…”

“Or is that relief I see? Thinking, ‘Oh, he’s finally tolerable to look at,’ and it actually pleases you?”

“Hn, ngh, shut up…”

“Then try harder. Charm one of the maids, get your hands on some poison. Do something. You’re boring me to death, wife.”

He moved his fingers slowly, and her body beneath him shuddered. He hadn’t even given her time to recover, yet he pushed his fingers into her anyway. It was bound to hurt.

Dominic flipped Livi’s body over on the grass.

He wanted to see her face. It was the first time she’d completely lost her temper like this, so maybe she’d beg and plead for once.

His expectations were only half met. Her pale face was indeed full of pain, sweat beading across her brow, her tightly knit brows trembling as if about to split apart.

But her small lips stayed clamped shut, sealed tight with defiance, as if she refused to let even a single whimper escape.

Dominic found it absurd. Even trained spies didn’t hold out like this.

Spies could withstand torture, yes, but they still screamed. For them, it was information that mattered, not pride.

And yet here she was. A fragile, well-bred daughter of a marquis, thrashing and clawing like she’d die before yielding. The way she flailed her weak hands and screamed with that pretty face was laughable at first, but now it was almost frightening.

“Any chance you’ll finally behave—”

Before he could finish, Livi spat at him. The hot saliva splattered across his cheek and ran down slowly.

“Go to hell, Dominic Celsion.”

A low chuckle escaped his throat. Dominic wiped the sticky moisture off his face with his palm, then started laughing, wild and hysterical.

He clutched his mouth, his chest shaking as he tried to contain it, but the laughter still broke through, ragged and uneven, spilling out between gasps. The sound, muffled and breathless, wasn’t much different from sobbing.

He was mad.

There was no other word to describe him.

After laughing for what felt like an eternity, Dominic reached out and forced Livi to her feet. He brushed the dirt and grass from her skirt, then tucked her disheveled hair neatly behind her ear.

He brought over the horse that had been pacing nearby and lifted her onto it.

Mounting behind her, Dominic pulled on the reins. The horse snorted and tossed its head. The eastern wall receded in the distance, yet the stench of decay seemed to cling heavier and closer with every breath she took.