Chapter 22

What about the bathwater? What’s the problem?

Unable to bridge the massive, chaotic gap between being non-consensually sexually assaulted and the current state of the bathwater, Lino’s eyes darted frantically back and forth between Grondil’s hand—which was currently teasing his cock with maddening slowness—and the surface of the water, which had indeed been pristine but was now distinctly cloudy.

What now? What’s wrong with the fucking water?

“It appears the aphrodisiac used by the Baron Merchant Guild is extraordinarily potent. Because despite me stroking you until my arm felt like it was going to snap off, you are still incredibly lively.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Why are you pretending not to know? This hand could be submerged in boiling lava and remain perfectly unscathed, yet I assure you, I stroked your cock until my palm was completely raw and red. I think I counted up to six times… but I stopped counting after that. Because it felt as though you were going to continue climaxing endlessly until the end of time.”

“What kind of absolute nonsense…”

“If you don’t believe me, look closely at the water.”

“……”

Is he telling the truth?

Because the Duke’s claim was delivered with such terrifying, unshakeable confidence, Lino violently rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, forcefully clearing his blurred, feverish vision. With significantly sharper focus, he glared down at the bathwater.

Beneath the thick layer of steam rising from the still-scalding water, he could clearly see small, clumpy, cloudy white masses drifting sluggishly in the gentle current. What is that? Don’t tell me. No, it can’t be. There’s absolutely no way.

“……”

However, no matter how desperately he tried to deny it, it was undeniably exactly what he feared. Once he accepted that horrifying truth, the bathwater suddenly looked profoundly, disgustingly murky. Six times? No, you’re saying I came more than six times?! Me?!

“Why. Does it feel so incredibly good that you can’t even breathe?”

The Duke’s hand, which had been wrapped entirely around Lino’s neck, suddenly shifted. The fingers curled inward, leaving only a single index finger extended to tap lightly, rhythmically against Lino’s prominently protruding Adam’s apple.

“You are going to need to use this throat quite extensively later on, so we absolutely cannot have you destroying it prematurely, now can we? It must already be in agonizing pain from the fever, so please, do not exhaust your voice too early—that is what I am trying to say.”

The tone was incredibly soft and gentle, sounding as though he were genuinely, deeply concerned for Lino’s throat health, but the actual content was a blatant, terrifying threat. Use my throat? Why? For what? How? Lino desperately wanted to spin around and scream the questions directly into the Duke’s face, but having rolled through the absolute gutter of the slums for years, Lino already knew exactly what that implied. It was a deeply, profoundly tragic realization.

“Pretending to be so innocent when you clearly understand exactly what I mean is quite endearing as well.”

I’m submerged up to my shoulders in scalding hot water, so why am I freezing to death? A dense, violent wave of goosebumps erupted across his submerged arms and thighs.

The Duke’s tongue slid out, slowly licking the goosebumps that had prickled across Lino’s cheek. Lino’s cock—which he had inadvertently and frantically rubbed against the Duke’s stomach and groin while desperately trying to squirm away from his hand—was now being aggressively, deliberately ground against by the Duke’s own thrusting hips. The hand that had been tapping his Adam’s apple drifted downward, firmly grasping the goosebump-covered flesh of his inner thigh, squeezing and releasing it with a heavy, kneading pressure. Digging his fingers in slightly, he lightly scratched the agonizingly sensitive skin higher up his thigh, causing Lino’s entire body to jolt violently.

“W-Wait a minute. Your Highness, you should be doing this with Sir Disson, not me…”

“Hmm? Why on earth would I do something like this with Sir Disson?”

“Excuse me?! Because obviously… Hiiik!”

There isn’t a single soul in this estate who doesn’t know Yuneria is parading around acting like your fucking lover. So obviously, shouldn’t you be doing this with Yuneria?! Lino desperately wanted to scream the accusation, but the horrific, searing friction of the Duke’s cock grinding aggressively against his lower back completely silenced him.

It’s hot. Human body temperature was naturally warm, but it absolutely shouldn’t be hotter than scalding bathwater, right? How is this possible? Is the Duke’s dick filled with literal magma instead of semen?

Experiencing the terrifying sensation of a man’s cock aggressively grinding against the very top of his butt crack for the first time in his life, Lino felt like he was going to genuinely lose his mind because he had absolutely no idea how to react.

While same-sex relationships were currently enjoying a period of high visibility and activity, it was also an era that supposedly highly prioritized and respected mutual consent. Therefore, if the other party explicitly stated they hated it, the action had to cease immediately; ignoring that refusal constituted a severe crime.

Dammit.

If this were a normal, ordinary citizen, it would undeniably be an illegal, punishable offense. However, the man currently pressing him against the tub was a noble residing in an entirely different stratosphere from “normal.” A Duke of the Empire, no less, who commanded the absolute, unwavering trust of the Emperor.

For an utterly insignificant, powerless commoner like Lino—who possessed absolutely nothing—he couldn’t even dare to throw a punch, let alone spit out a common, vulgar curse at the man.

Fuck. God doesn’t exist. He absolutely fucking doesn’t…!

No, wait, temples exist, priests exist, and divine power exists, so God definitely exists, but He undeniably, fiercely fucking hates me.

Still, unable to simply lie there and accept his fate, Lino channeled every ounce of remaining strength into his legs and feet, desperately trying to push his body forward. Earlier, he had scrambled backward terrified his neck was going to be snapped; now, the absolute, critical priority was putting even a single inch of distance between himself and the Duke’s massive, fully erected monstrosity.

However, that desperate escape attempt was brutally halted before his hips had moved even a single millimeter across the bottom of the tub.

“And just where do you think you’re running off to?”

“Gaaahp…!”

The Duke’s arms shot out from behind, ruthlessly grabbing both of Lino’s thighs and violently yanking him backward, slamming him flush against his chest. The soft flesh of Lino’s thighs bulged out between the Duke’s long, crushing fingers. The hands immediately began slithering inward, clearly aiming to seize his groin entirely, but Lino had absolutely zero mental bandwidth to worry about the Duke’s hands.

He’s insane.

Because the Duke’s cock was no longer pressing against his lower back; he could feel the blunt, searing heat pressing dangerously, terrifyingly close to the absolute center of his gluteal cleft. So this is what it feels like for your mind to go completely, utterly blank. However, that realization was fleeting; as the Duke’s hands swept up his inner thighs and violently seized his cock, a blaring, bloody red warning siren exploded across the blank canvas of his mind.

“What are you…!”

The threat level was exponentially, catastrophically higher than when it had simply been rubbing against his back. Panic-stricken and operating purely on adrenaline, Lino shot one hand down to desperately pry the Duke’s hand off his cock, while lunging with his other hand to grab the edge of the bathtub.

He was perfectly aware that his body was completely wrecked by the flu and the aphrodisiac, and that the Duke could easily, effortlessly subdue him with a single hand, yet his primal, screaming instinct to escape drove his body to move regardless.

Inexplicably, however, the Duke’s hands—which had been aggressively tormenting his cock and thighs—released him without a shred of resistance.

What…?

Lino’s body spun violently as he threw himself toward the edge of the tub. The bathtub was so absurdly massive that even with his arm fully extended, his fingertips only barely grazed the rim. Scrambling forward on his knees, he finally managed to grip the edge and haul himself upright. The water inside the tub surged violently, crashing like a tidal wave over the rim and flooding the bathroom floor. As his body—which had been submerged in scalding water for hours—was suddenly exposed to the cooler, humid air of the bathroom, a vicious wave of dizziness slammed into him, blacking out his vision.

Dammit, I absolutely cannot pass out here.

Biting down so hard on his lip it nearly bled, Lino locked his knees, desperately fighting against the encroaching darkness. A low, rumbling chuckle echoed from behind him. It sounded exactly like a predator mocking the pathetic, futile struggles of prey that already knew escape was impossible.

Fine, ignore me and laugh. Whether it works or not, I have to try everything I can. I can’t just bend over and let him tear me open.

I’m not fucking Yuneria.

Ignoring the Duke’s mocking laughter, Lino lifted one heavy leg, desperately attempting to swing it over the edge of the tub. Seeing that the Duke hadn’t made a single move to stop him despite him making it this far, Lino tentatively concluded the entire ordeal might have just been an exceptionally cruel, sadistic prank.

Right, if I stop right here, this can end as just a terrible, low-quality joke.

Once I get out of the bathroom, I’ll choke down the cold medicine Enoch gave me and pass out. The exact moment he planted one bare foot onto the slick bathroom tile and attempted to lift his other leg…

“Sir Cliff.”

“…!”

Simultaneous with the low, terrifyingly dark rumble of his name, a massive hand clamped ruthlessly over Lino’s stomach and violently yanked him backward. Because the hand pressing against his stomach was searingly hot, he only belatedly realized that the solid wall he crashed into was the Duke’s broad, muscular chest.

“Who exactly gave you permission to leave?”

“W-Well, that’s…”

I desperately want to inform you that you are currently engaging in severe, non-consensual physical contact, and I demand you remove your disrespectful hands immediately before I report you to the police. He violently swallowed the words he desperately wanted to scream.

This man was the absolute apex predator of society; Lino wasn’t even at the bottom of the food chain, he was practically subterranean. He had to be diplomatic. He had to endure it.

Lino frantically brainwashed himself, repeating: I am the most benevolent, patient person in the world. For the sake of my future survival, I must resolve this peacefully. Slowly, carefully, he reached his hand backward.

His palm connected with Grondil’s iliac crest. The sharply protruding hip bone felt distinctly, terrifyingly intimidating simply by touching it. In truth, he had intended to push against the Duke’s stomach, but due to the massive disparity in their heights, his hand had landed significantly lower, pressing directly against the V-line near his hips.

A single, freezing drop of cold sweat trailed slowly down the back of his neck. If he had been even slightly shorter, or if Grondil had been slightly taller, he wouldn’t have been pushing against a hip bone; his hand would have landed squarely against the Duke’s groin. If he had miscalculated even slightly, he might have inadvertently grabbed the Duke’s lethal weapon.

Ugh…

Violently severing the horrific hypothetical, Lino focused on his breathing, applying steady pressure with his palm in a desperate attempt to push himself free. Please, stop doing this to me and go swing that thing around at Yuneria. Praying desperately in his mind, he tried to shove Grondil away, but tragically, the Duke merely snatched Lino’s wrist and twisted it ruthlessly backward.

“Aagh!”

Lino shrieked as a blinding, twisting agony shot from his wrist straight up to his shoulder. Another massive hand immediately clamped down on the back of his neck, violently forcing his upper body to fold forward in submission.

“I believe we made a promise earlier. That if you leaked semen for me until your balls were entirely empty, I would cherish you far more beautifully than Sir Disson.”

“No, that was… that was an entirely one-sided declaration made by Your Highness that absolutely did not reflect my intentions in the slightest!”

Ultimately pushed entirely past his breaking point, Lino roared in furious protest. Grondil, casually admiring Lino’s violently trembling body trapped helplessly beneath his hands, replied calmly.

“And why exactly are your intentions required?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I am stating that I intend to play with what belongs to me, so I fail to comprehend what the problem is.”

“Excuse me?! I am a living, breathing human being! I am a free citizen of the Terne Continent with the legal right to travel across borders! Freedom!”

“Ah~ That freedom?”

Grondil drawled, deliberately dragging out the syllable as he mocked Lino’s desperate plea. Why is he mocking me like my freedom means absolutely nothing? A profoundly terrifying, ominous premonition washed over Lino.

“Regardless! I am a free citizen, so you absolutely cannot do th—”

“Lino Cliff. Or should I say, Arno Neu Haklan?”

“…!”