Chapter 116: Confinement – 1

Valon, Wallace, and Martin dragged me and pinned me down on Vivian’s bed.

They hooked the handcuffs binding my arms behind me onto the thick wooden post of the bed.

They couldn’t look me in the face.

No matter how much I tried not to resent them, I couldn’t shake the feeling of betrayal.

“…Bastards.”

I whispered.

It wasn’t a deep rage from the depths of my heart, but a fleeting irritation.

My resentment was directed entirely at Vivian.

These men were merely her pawns.

“You might as well have just killed me.”

“…Seriously, should’ve just killed me and left.”

Valon, while restraining me to the bed, turned to look at Vivian.

She was still busy issuing orders, trying to manage the situation.

“…Just hold on a bit longer, Kailo.”

Valon said.

“Hold on? How long do you expect me to be stuck here like this?”

“…Guests will be arriving soon.”

He replied.

“Lady Vivian’s birthday isn’t far off. She can’t keep you tied up like this until then.”

…If that was the case, she wouldn’t have tied me up in the first place.

I swallowed my words.

Right now, Vivian was changing.

Her determination not to let me go was plain to see.

No, perhaps she was simply revealing her true colors.

Maybe she had been this way from the very beginning.

When I first arrived in this labyrinthine city, I remembered what she did to me, drenched in rage.

Perhaps this was her true nature, something she had been hiding all along.

When pushed to her limits, Vivian would bite back.

The trio soon finished their work and stood up.

I shook my arms, bound behind my back, but nothing budged.

Even when I put all my strength into it, nothing changed.

I was completely confined.

“If you’re done, leave us.”

Vivian commanded.

The chaos began to dissipate as everyone in the room, from maids and soldiers to my companions and Nestor, shuffled out one by one.

Vivian quietly followed them to the door, closing it behind them once everyone had left.

Silence filled the room that had been noisy just moments ago.

Even after closing the door, Vivian didn’t immediately let go of the handle.

She didn’t turn to face me.

It seemed as though she was just now realizing the gravity of her actions, unable to meet my gaze, frozen in place.

“…What are you thinking?”

I couldn’t hold back any longer and asked.

“What outcome are you expecting from this? Do you think this will end well?”

It was a completely irrational decision.

I hadn’t expected her to make such an unreasonable choice, which is likely why I ended up in this situation.

Vivian, still holding onto the door, whispered,

“…Even if the outcome is ruin.”

She slowly turned to face me.

Her crimson eyes locked onto mine.

“…I need to have you by my side, even if it’s just for one more day.”

“…Not having you in my life is my ruin. I can’t bear to see you happy without me. You’re meant to share sadness, happiness, pain, and even pleasure… with me.”

After saying that, she averted her gaze from me and walked over to the desk.

She sat down, her movements calm, as if she had found peace after a storm.

She began sorting through documents, holding a quill in her hand, continuing her work for the day.

It was as though I wasn’t even there, restrained on the bed.

I let out a dry laugh, but it was brief.

Expecting rationality in this situation would be just as foolish.

So I clenched my teeth and glared at Vivian.

Vivian, on the other hand, paid me no mind.

Yet as time passed, she would occasionally glance at me, her gaze tender, as if looking at the most precious thing in the world, with a faint smile.

Maids entered the room, bringing steaming hot water.

They first brought in a wide wooden tub, then carried in pitchers of hot water to fill it.

After several trips, the tub was filled to the brim.

Before undressing Kailo, Vivian dismissed the maids.

She didn’t want anyone else to see his body.

If possible, she wanted to hide him away from the entire world and keep him to herself.

Once the maids had left, Vivian stirred the water with her hand to check the temperature.

Her actions were natural, as if she had done this many times before.

Perhaps, deep down, she had always imagined this day, which made it feel so effortless.

Vivian turned her sharp gaze to Kailo.

…Strangely enough, even his angered expression was appealing to her.

There was a sense of relief in clipping his wings and locking him in this cage.

Even his defiance seemed beautiful to her.

“…Getting angry won’t change anything.”

Vivian murmured.

“So why not smile? I think it suits you better.”

She began removing the equipment he had worn for his travels.

To her, they were like wings he had put on to leave her.

She wanted to burn them all, but she steadied her mind, knowing it would be mere venting.

One by one, she unfastened the straps of his protective gear and set them aside.

For clothes that couldn’t be removed due to his restraints, she tore or cut them apart.

Before long, Kailo’s bare upper body was exposed.

As she faced his body, Vivian let out an honest sigh.

“…I’ve never told you this, Kailo, but I think your body is absolutely magnificent.”

Her long fingers gently descended onto his body.

“…So, thinking back, when Lani Dubois touched this body in the rain before I did, I think I might have been jealous.”

“…Coming from someone who condemned me for lust being filthy?”

“…Isn’t it always the ones who deny it that are the most obsessed?”

As if to prove her words, Vivian continued caressing Kailo’s upper body.

Her touch was careful and soft, as if she were handling a statue.

Desire flickered in her eyes.

But for now, she calmed herself, soaking a towel in hot water and began wiping his body.

“Does it feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Vivian asked warmly.

“…It’s uncomfortable that you’re the one touching me.”

Vivian shook her head.

“Don’t lie to me, Kailo.”

She meticulously cleaned his body, especially careful around the scars scattered across it.

Whenever her touch reached a scar, Kailo would flinch slightly, as if they were still sensitive.

“Does it hurt?”

She asked.

Despite Kailo ignoring her, Vivian remained unfazed.

Instead of waiting for his answer, she climbed onto his lap and kissed one of his scars.

“I’m sorry every time I see these.”

She murmured as she kissed them.

“…When I think of these as wounds you got because of me, I feel so sorry… and so grateful.”

“And you’re not sorry about what you’re doing to me now?”

She smirked slightly.

“…You tried to leave me, but that doesn’t matter, does it?”

Kailo might have thought her logic was contradictory, but Vivian was sincere.

She genuinely felt sorrow and gratitude for each scar.

They seemed like remnants of their tumultuous past etched on his body.

Vivian kept cleaning him, her eyes carefully scanning his body.

The more she touched him, the harder it became to suppress the desire rising in her chest.

Could anyone maintain their composure while caressing the body of a man they loved to the point of obsession?

Vivian certainly couldn’t.

So, midway through wiping him, she hugged him tightly.

Kailo let out a soft breath as she clung to him.

Noticing a change in his body, she chuckled.

“…You’re aroused, Kailo.”

Kailo groaned before responding.

“…Stop disappointing me.”

The sudden sting of his words made Vivian grit her teeth.

Overcome with anger, she pulled away from his embrace and grabbed his face.

She leaned in to steal a kiss, her tongue darting out, but Kailo turned his head away.

“…No matter how much I love you, this isn’t right.”

He said.

A spark ignited in her chest, but Vivian tried to regain her composure.

“…Fine. There’s plenty of time anyway.”

She stepped down from his lap.

“Where do you get this confidence from?”

Kailo smirked, mocking her.

It was as if they had gone back to their past fights.

From the moment Vivian confined Kailo, mercy had vanished.

Kailo no longer held back his words, throwing them at her without hesitation.

“You think I’d still like you after this? The more you act like this, the more I hate you. You’re just spitting on our memories.”

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? Our memories are filled more with fights than good times. And yet, you loved me so deeply, to the point of treasuring me even as your body became battered. So don’t tell me you’d hate me just because I yearned for your love.”

Her arrogance was rooted in their deeply intertwined past.

Seven years might not seem long, but their bond had been incredibly intimate.

They knew each other almost as if they were the same person.

“You’ve already seen all my dirty and ugly sides. No one knows or understands me like you do. So what’s the difference if I become even more monstrous now? Honestly, I’m more surprised that you’re shocked. You always knew I was this kind of woman.”

Kailo shook his head.

“…I didn’t know, Vivian. If I had, I would’ve never fallen in love with you.”

His words stung her heart.

His sharp words pierced through her like a knife, but instead of letting go, Vivian trembled with the realization that she could never give him up.

The one who hurt her most was Kailo.

The one who made her suffer most was Kailo.

And yet, not being able to let him go felt like a curse to her.

Even though she knew confining him would ruin all her achievements, she couldn’t stop herself.

Vivian steadied herself and replied,

“…Your love is so convenient. Sometimes your feelings for me are a curse; other times, they’re your driving force. Now you’re saying you wouldn’t have loved me in the first place? Wasn’t it a curse before? Why act like it’s your resolve now?”

“Pick a side. Is it a curse, or are you infatuated with me? Stop changing your words to suit your mood.”

Slowly nodding, Kailo accepted her argument.

Then he answered,

“…You’re right. It’s a curse, Vivian. Otherwise, I’d never have loved someone like you.”

His tone was resolute, and it shattered her heart once again.

“You’re spiteful, selfish, and utterly lacking in charm.”

Words filled with the intent to wound flew back and forth.

The problem was that they knew each other too well.

As close as lovers, as entangled as enemies, they knew each other’s weaknesses better than anyone else.

Having already inflicted countless wounds on one another, there was no resistance to saying such things.

The more they fought, the more they tore each other apart.

Kailo rattled the chains of his cuffs before speaking again, his words once again aimed to hurt.

“If not for this curse, I could’ve loved another woman. Someone like Lani Dubois, Serena, or even Princess Reina. They’re all far more—”

“…In front of me…!”

Vivian finally lost her composure at his provocation.

She extended both hands and grabbed his neck.

She could strangle him if she applied pressure.

The sensation of holding his life in her hands was exhilarating.

Her nails dug into his flesh.

“…Say something about another woman in front of me one more time.”

She warned, her red eyes gleaming.

“Whether it’s a princess or anyone else, I’ll kill them cruelly.”

This wasn’t a threat.

It was a promise.

The tension between the two was like a tautly drawn bowstring, ready to snap.

Kailo, understanding her sincerity, remained silent for a moment, but he soon spoke.

He wasn’t the type of man to succumb to threats.

“…I’ve made up my mind, Vivian.”

He even smiled.

“When I leave here, I’ll return to my homeland and marry a cute and lovely wife. And I’ll love her with all my heart, even more than I loved you.”

Vivian felt a surge of unbearable jealousy at his short statement and whispered,

“…You’re not leaving here.”

“If I leave, that’s what will happen. I promise.”

“…If you do, I’ll kill that woman and take you back.”

Kailo sneered.

“And how would you do that? I’ve never lost a war like my father.”

“Besides, I now know Rondor. There’s no way I’d lose.”

This time, Vivian couldn’t respond.

Her grip on his neck loosened.

Her voice softened, and with a mix of tenderness and pain, she asked him,

“…Is it so wrong……to want to keep being loved by you?”

His expression faltered slightly.

“What?”

Vivian bowed her head, lost in thought.

If she had treated him well from the start, would things have turned out differently?

The days she tormented him now filled her with regret.

The hostility he directed toward her hurt.

And yet, she couldn’t believe that only by doing things he hated would he stay by her side.

Vivian shook her head and rose from the bed.

His words had hurt her.

She stepped away from him and soaked a towel repeatedly in water, wringing it out as she pondered the painful intent behind his recent remarks.

Then she whispered softly,

“You’d better try harder, Kailo. Because this isn’t enough for me to hate you.”

At her words, Kailo’s handcuffs rattled.

When she looked back, his face was scrunched in discomfort, his gaze strangely unsettled.

“Because this isn’t enough to tarnish the gratitude and affection I feel for you.”

He looked displeased, as if his true intentions had been exposed.

Yet she still gazed at him with loving eyes.

In the end, she knew the answer.

She understood why he had said those things.

He hoped she would hate him, grow tired of him, and eventually let him go.

But her complicated feelings for him couldn’t be so easily shaken.

Her feelings weren’t so shallow that mere words could change them.

It was a depth of affection that even Kailo wouldn’t understand.

Now, she thought of him even more than he thought of her.

People say one never forgets the person who saved them.

The same was true for Vivian.

She knew exactly who had protected her over the years.

Beyond mere protection, he had been her emotional anchor.

That was the truth, no matter how tangled their relationship was.

At times, she found it pathetic how much she relied on someone she once thought of as an enemy.

But whenever he was by her side, her fears disappeared, and she felt a solid wall of support around her.

When everyone else abandoned her, Kailo extended his hand.

She trusted the warmth behind that choice.

And now, that warmth was something she could never let go of.

She knew how difficult it had been to trust him in the first place.

After losing her father, brother, and mother one by one, the emptiness and loneliness were indescribable.

No one could understand how utterly broken she had been or how desperately she had wanted comfort.

Only Kailo had filled that void.

Only Kailo.

For her, he was everything.

Others might have countless people—family, friends—with whom they could share deep connections.

But for Vivian, Kailo was her all.

She wasn’t foolish enough to let go of her everything so easily.

Even a beggar would risk their life for the last coin they had.

Vivian was ready to stake her life on the one person who had stayed by her side.

And Kailo wasn’t just a coin; he was a treasure beyond any price.

There was no one left to watch her now.

Who could do anything to her?

She no longer had to care about what others thought, and caring had never helped her anyway.

Vivian looked down at Kailo.

Did he know how much she wanted to utterly ruin him and make him hers?

Now that she had imprisoned him, there were no more restrictions.

She could force upon him anything she wanted.

There was a sense of freedom and forbidden pleasure in the release of moral restraints.

Kailo likely couldn’t even fathom the emotions she was feeling now.

“Haa… Kailo.”

She called his name, her voice sultry.

As she did, she regained her composure.

“…Is there anywhere that still feels uncomfortable?”

Then, as if cleaning a delicate artifact, she began wiping his body again.

“…You’re insane.”

Kailo muttered.

Even as she cherished the pain he caused her, she tenderly wiped him down.

“If I think of you leaving me… yeah. It drives me mad.”