Volume 6 Chapter 22 Cianie Hartmann ③
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Hey, why are you in my room?” Klock’s voice was sharp, though not yet angry, cutting through the still air like the flick of a drawn blade.
Cianie froze, her breath snagging in her throat. A puzzled expression clouded his face, but there was something else—an undertone heavy with unspoken suspicion.
”…It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she murmured, her words trembling despite her effort to steady them.
”…Yeah, it has. I’m surprised by such a quick reunion,” he said, narrowing his eyes slightly as if trying to read her.
She swallowed, forcing herself to keep her tone even.
”…So, Why are you here? This is my room, you know?”
Her voice faltered under the weight of his question, the anxiety pooling inside her like an overfilled river about to burst its banks. The sensation made her chest tighten.
”…I’m sorry, Klock. I suddenly wanted to see you, so I came over unannounced,” she confessed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as if it could somehow hide her guilt.
”You say you came unannounced,” he replied evenly, “but didn’t you just come in without permission?”
Her lips pressed together. No answer came. She glanced away. His gaze sharpened, a thin sliver of suspicion sliding between them like a cold draft.
”──You shouldn’t just enter someone’s house without permission,” he continued, his voice low but firm. “It’s a basic rule. You understand that it’s wrong, right? Why did you do something like that?”
She could not speak. Silence thickened between them, the kind that presses against the ears until it hums. Klock stepped closer, the faint creak of the floorboards beneath his weight sounding far too loud.
A hand moved, quick and deliberate. He withdrew something from his pocket—and Cianie’s heart gave a startled thud.
”…Cianie.”
Her eyes widened. He was holding a pair of men’s underwear. His underwear.
”…I feel like it’s a bit strange to ask this,” he said, voice laced with restrained disbelief, “but why did you come into my room and put my underwear in your pocket?”
”That’s… my hand slipped…” she whispered, heat crawling up her neck.
”…Your hand slipped? So your hand slipped and ended up in the pocket of your dress?” His eyebrow arched.
She faltered. “…I wanted it.”
”You wanted it? Why?” His tone was flat, though the faintest trace of incredulity bled through.
”…Because we can’t meet often,” she admitted, her voice barely audible, “I wanted something of yours.”
Klock’s expression didn’t change, but the quiet in the room seemed to grow heavier. “So you tried to fill the gap with my things because you have few chances to see me?”
”Yes,” she said, the word escaping like a reluctant exhale.
”…What are you saying?” His irritation finally cracked through the surface of his calm, a ripple in the otherwise still lake of his composure.
”Cianie. You know you shouldn’t just enter someone else’s house without permission, right? And what you were trying to do was theft. Stealing is a serious crime in this kingdom. In some cases, it can even lead to hanging.”
She nodded faintly, the reality of his words pricking at her. He turned his back and placed a hand on the door. Click. The lock slid into place. When he faced her again, his brows had lifted ever so slightly, but his eyes were unwavering.
”Cianie. I’m going to ask you again, and I want you to answer. You came to my house, entered without permission, and tried to sneak into my room to take my underwear… Is that correct?”
Her head dipped in reluctant confirmation.
”…I didn’t think you were that foolish,” Klock said, voice clipped. “Sit on that bed.”
She obeyed without protest, the springs beneath her sighing softly under her weight.
”Listen, Cianie,” he began, his hands on his hips, posture as rigid as a lecturing instructor. “Do you understand how foolish what you did was?”
She could only nod, her chest tightening at his stern gaze.
”I am the next heir of Livorno. And you and I are lovers who have sworn to each other about our future. Yet for someone who is supposed to marry into a noble family to act like a burglar in her lover’s house is simply unacceptable.”
”…I’m sorry,” she whispered.
”An apology isn’t enough,” he replied, his voice carrying the weight of finality. “This is something I can’t overlook.”
He paced slowly, each step deliberate. “If you had come here after finding someone seriously injured, I would forgive you. I would be proud of you for being kind-hearted. If you had sought refuge from danger, I would have let you stay. But that’s not the case, is it?”
His words were measured, deliberate, as if he were carving them into her.
”In most cases, there is no reason to enter someone else’s house without permission,” he continued. “And what is a girl doing with a man’s underwear? It’s not normal. There is no dignity in it. You are wrong as a lady.”
Her heart felt as if it were being gripped in a vice.
”──Honestly, I’m disappointed,” he said at last. “I thought you were a bit absent-minded, but you’re much dumber than I thought. You haven’t changed at all since we first met five years ago. You’re still just the same selfish girl. How long do you plan to remain a child? I’m sorry, but I don’t want to marry someone like you as you are now.”
The words struck her like a sudden drop in temperature. She could not breathe for a moment.
”…But I… I’ve already… but…” she stammered.
”What?” he asked curtly, slipping the undergarment back into the drawer.
For a fleeting second, his gaze brushed against hers before turning away. The gesture was small, but the distance it created was enormous.
Absent-minded. That was the label he had given her. And perhaps, looking back, it was not entirely wrong.
At least, not enough for him to hold on to her tomorrow.
Back then, they both believed they understood and loved each other. But perhaps that was only the self-assessment of a girl who still hadn’t grown up.
After living more than twice the life she once had, Cianie could see things differently now.
At this point, it was unmistakable—Klock held a quiet, simmering resentment toward her deep inside.
”Should I… turn myself in?” she asked, voice low but steady.
”That,” Klock replied coolly, “depends on your attitude.”
Even if she did turn herself in, once she left this mansion it would only mean giving up for the night. Tomorrow, when she woke and Klock drifted off to sleep, she could simply return to the hideout.
And this time, she vowed, she would get hold of his soul for certain.
”What do you mean by ‘attitude’? What should I do?” she pressed.
”It means taking responsibility. You understand that, being from a noble family, don’t you?” he said, his tone level but laced with weight.
Responsibility. Fine compensation, perhaps.
If it was theft and trespassing, that seemed about right. But even as a noble, she had only ever been a pawn for political marriage—never given time for elite education. Such matters were still foggy to her.
”…I understand,” she said quietly. “Please wait until tomorrow. I’ll find a way to get the money.”
”But you personally don’t have the ability to pay, right?” Klock’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not seriously thinking of telling your family, are you? If you do that, we’ll have to break up. You know that.”
That much was true. If this became public, tension between their houses would be inevitable.
She wondered at the mismatch of it all, especially since she was already planning to wake up elsewhere. The fact that Klock still spoke of marriage was the real surprise.
He spoke of responsibility, yet his gaze held no warmth—only the quiet finality of a man who might already have given up on her.
”…Then what should I do?” she asked at last.
”Well,” he said, as though the answer were obvious, “you could act as collateral.”
Collateral. Payment given in advance in case the debt could not be repaid.
She’d heard enough whispers about debtors who ended up as slaves.
”…I’ll be the collateral? …Well…” Her words trailed into the space between them.
”In simple terms, yes. Show me your hands.”
He opened the wardrobe again, pulling out some clothes at random.
Stepping forward, he waited. She obeyed, holding her hands out.
By then, she already knew what he intended. Twisting the garments into a makeshift rope, he began wrapping her wrists.
”I’m afraid,” he said almost formally, “you have been detained as a matter of responsibility. Your fate now rests with me—the one holding your claim.”
”It’s not like I’ve seized you; I’ve only tied your hands lightly,” he added, his voice softening.
Indeed, the cloth didn’t bite into her skin. It could easily be undone—especially with the strange, extraordinary strength she carried at this moment.
A child’s game. Was it rude to think that? Or perhaps she ought to commend him for his restraint, for acting the part of a fine noble even now.
”Not an arrest,” she murmured, “but confinement in your home here in Livorno?”
”That’s right,” he confirmed. “As seized property, you will be temporarily managed as one of my household assets.”
The word property stirred something unnameable within her.
One way or another, it seemed she was to be kept.
”I’m sorry, Sir Klock of Livorno. I appreciate your… generous treatment,” she said, attempting a proper noble courtesy.
He blinked, as if struck by a stray bean.
”Generous treatment, huh? You really are a bit absent-minded, aren’t you?” Klock chuckled softly.
He lifted her bound hands—then, unexpectedly, untied them.
She looked up at him in surprise, uncertain of his aim.
His expression turned faintly mischievous—dangerously close to the Klock she knew in the present.
”Cianie,” he said, “take off your clothes.”
He took her hand, guiding her upright from the bed, his tone playful but edged with authority.
”…Huh?” she breathed.
”It’s an order. Take them off. You’re my property, and I won’t allow you to defy me.”
Her heart thudded sharply.
She almost blurted, What are you saying?, but stopped herself. That would only expose her confusion.
”…If I take them off, will that be enough?” she asked.
”Yes. Take them off and hand me each piece.”
Her pulse quickened.
She was not yet a slave—technically, he had no right to force her—but few would care for such rules here.
Being naked wasn’t exactly a crisis. Only hours ago, they had been skin-to-skin.
His mouth pressed into a straight line, his eyes fixed on her as if urging her silently to hurry.
She swallowed, her hands trembling as she touched the top button of her collar. His gaze dropped to her neck.
Pop… pop… the buttons came free, each sound impossibly loud in the stillness. She pulled the dress over her shoulders in one sweep.
”…Here,” she said, her face hot as she placed the garment into his waiting hands.
He took it without a word, leaving her in only her undergarments.
Once again, silence settled between them.
She knew what he expected. She’d shown her body to him many times before—yet now embarrassment clawed at her chest.
The soft thump of her skirt hitting the floor was followed by the whisper of straps sliding off her shoulders. In moments, both bra and shorts lay at her feet.
”…It’s off,” she murmured.
”Mm. Now hand them to me,” he said simply.
Her cheeks burned. Removing her underwear was one thing—handing it to him felt entirely more shameful. She bent to pick them up, folding them quickly before offering them over.
”You followed instructions perfectly,” Klock said with a faint smile. “Good girl, Cianie.”
Now fully exposed, she felt his gaze drift slowly over her—breasts, stomach, lower still—like the appraising stare of a buyer at a slave market.
He’d seen her countless times, and yet the humiliation was sharper now than ever.
”…Will you forgive me now?” she asked.
”That depends. If you keep listening to me, I’ll erase your crime under my authority.”
His smile was maddeningly fresh, far too bright for someone who had just stripped her bare.
Without warning, he took her hand again and began binding her wrists a second time—this time, while she stood naked.
She promised aloud that she would obey.
After a beat, his expression darkened, the mischief sharpening into something else.
”…I’m planning to take you now. You realize that, don’t you?” His hand reached out, fingers pinching her breast without ceremony.
His touch rolled and pressed, testing, and heat flickered deep in her chest.
”…Do as you like,” she said, nodding. She’d understood from his eyes—predatory for some time now—that this was coming.
”Hm. You’re obedient,” he murmured. “But do you even understand what it means for a girl to come into a man’s home? I’m a man. A male. And this is my room. You’re my woman. That means something. Do you know what?”
She frowned faintly. To her, this was her lover’s home—wasn’t that enough?
”Of course you don’t,” he said. “If you did, you wouldn’t have come here. Listen well, Cianie. In this mansion, in Livorno, I am absolute. That means I don’t have to act like a noble here.”
”…Ah—!” she gasped.
His hand gripped her shoulder and shoved her down onto the bed, deliberately rough.
Her heartbeat surged. His words—about not acting like a noble—seeped into her mind, quickening her breath.
”I wonder,” he said, “what kind of man Klock was to you. I tried to be the dependable type, the one who put his girl first. But that image doesn’t matter anymore… because right now, I’m going to ruin you.”
They had been lovers. They had slept together. Force was unnecessary between them—yet he declared it anyway.
Heat flushed through her. Her breath caught.
”Cianie,” he ordered, “spread your legs.”
”…Yes,” she whispered.
He loomed over her, his true nature revealed—a beast cloaked in human form.
And for the first time, she realized that the Klock before her was someone she had never truly known until the end.
Notes:
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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