Between Annihilation and Pleasure - Episode 1

Episode 1: Prologue

“Ouch…”

As soon as Catherine sat on the sofa, she kicked off one of her high-heeled shoes. It was pretty, but the size didn’t fit her to begin with.

Her swollen calves and scraped heels stung belatedly. It hurt so much that tears pricked her eyes.

Her expression looked quite innocent, but her mind was tangled with all kinds of thoughts.

Catherine tried to soothe her aching foot with a massage, then just gave up.

She was too exhausted to even do that.

She was now used to feigning a strange expression and a sharp tone of voice, but today felt even more tiring than usual.

“Hah.”

Catherine slumped languidly onto the sofa. The gorgeous rose-pink dress crumpled haphazardly and rode up. Her pale legs were exposed beneath it, feeling the cool air, but she just left them.

She didn’t want to lift a single finger.

‘No one comes in here anyway.’

Because Catherine was also a princess, she was assigned a personal lounge, but it was actually a very secluded and small space, unbecoming of a princess. It was probably more shabby than the rooms of most high-ranking nobles.

In the quiet room, the faint sound of string instruments leaked in with the boisterous noise from outside. The ball was still in full swing.

‘I’ll just rest for a bit, then go out and…’

Click.

Just as she was closing her eyes, she heard the door open.

“Who is it… Amy?”

She thought that no one but her lady-in-waiting would open a princess’s waiting room door without knocking.

But there was someone.

When there was no answer to her question, Catherine sat up slightly and opened her eyes.

“You are…”

For a moment, she thought he might have found the wrong room, but his footsteps as he walked toward her showed no hesitation.

He was Duke Lucas Williams.

His jet-black hair swayed with each step, scattering an mysterious yet cold light. Even in the dim room, his handsome face was clearly visible.

As soon as she recognized who he was, Catherine immediately straightened her posture. She put on her arrogant mask for her sole audience and cried out sharply.

“How dare you enter here so presumptuously?”

But she couldn’t help the tremble at the end of her voice. Why did he come in?

‘Did he find out?’

She calmed her anxious heart and maintained her expression. Lucas approached, knelt in front of the sofa, and nonchalantly grabbed the princess’s exposed leg.

He even clicked his tongue, “Tsk,” as he looked at her scraped heel.

“Is it here?”

“Ugh.”

The hand that massaged its way up her calf was both painful and soothing. But with him suddenly barging in and massaging her leg, she couldn’t just enjoy it.

The cobalt-blue tie around the man’s neck caught her eye. Catherine snatched his neatly tied tie in an instant and twisted one corner of her mouth into a sneer.

“What do you think you’re doing? Do you want to die?”

In this empire, the only person who could say such a thing to Duke Lucas Williams would be Catherine, the notorious “scoundrel princess.” Even the emperor treated him cautiously and did not dare to be so presumptuous with him.

Conversely, no matter how much of a figurehead princess she was, the only person who could grab a princess’s leg and remain unscathed was also Lucas Williams.

She tried to push Lucas’s hand away, but the large, veiny hand didn’t budge.

When their gazes met in the air, a tension as sharp as the tightly pulled tie hung between them. Catherine tugged on the tie even harder.

“Let go, you’re just a dog in heat. Do you want to lick it like a dog?”

She deliberately hurled insults, but a subtle smile played on Lucas’s lips, and he didn’t seem at all displeased.

“Just stay still.”

Instead, he said it in a polite yet forceful voice, and his hand began to move up, gently massaging her leg.

“To think that Duke Lucas Williams, of all people, was such a pervert.”

“You have a good eye, Princess.”

His demeanor was still leisurely.

His hand, which was just about to enter beneath her dress, was caught. Catherine’s body stiffened, and Lucas slowly rose from the floor.

The height of their eyes had changed.

“But this isn’t our first time, is it?”

A relaxed smile showed on Lucas’s lips. His words made it certain.

He knew who the woman he had slept with at the masquerade ball at the social club “Ballroom” was.

Since when? From the very beginning? Or did he find out later?

Catherine’s crimson eyes trembled slightly, yet she glared at him fiercely. Lucas met her gaze, put a knee on the sofa, and slowly leaned his upper body down.

As she tried to distance herself from him, Catherine’s body naturally lay down on the sofa. As she was caught off guard, he lowered himself further and buried his face in the nape of her neck.

He inhaled her scent deeply and whispered with a hot breath.

“A familiar scent, this is.”

“Hmph, get… away!”

It was a small amount of strength, but when Catherine pushed him away, he obediently backed off just a little.

“These eyes and these lips are also familiar.”

With his tone of certainty, it was difficult for Catherine to remain calm any longer. But she hadn’t completely lost control. On the contrary, Catherine challenged him more boldly than before.

“So what? What happened at the masquerade ball is not to be spoken of. Are you planning on blackmailing me with it?”

Lucas’s red tongue flickered between his lips. The way his tongue licked his lower lip was like a predator before it fed.

“Of course not.”

His hand, which was vaguely resting just below the hem of her skirt, traveled up her thigh. It was slow but unrestrained.

“If you go any further, I’ll scream.”

Even if she did, no one would hear it in the main hall. And even if someone heard it and came in, they would just leave upon seeing this sight. And the rumors of a lewd princess would only grow.

When Catherine warned him in a low voice, his ascending hand unexpectedly stopped. As Catherine tried to let go of the tie she was holding to push him away, his large hand overlapped hers, not allowing her to let go.

When her hand was caught, Catherine’s brow furrowed.

“What are you doing?”

“What would it take…”

He bent one knee again and knelt on the floor. The image of him teasing Catherine was gone, and he looked up at her like a knight genuinely worshipping his lady.

“…to have you?”

Catherine stared intently at Lucas.

Many thoughts swirled in her crimson eyes, but she soon dismissed them with a sneer.

Lucas’s hand was still resting on her leg.

“You speak as if you can grant any wish.”

“Just tell me.”

“Why are you going so far? Was our night so satisfying? But there are plenty of women around you who want you. Why not just take any of them?”

“Because among the women in this empire, your bloodline is the best. I have no hobby for men, and even less of a hobby for sleeping with the old Empress or Emperor. Besides, you are the only one who can bear a child.”

This man was casually insulting the empire’s prince, empress, and even the emperor.

“There’s Olivia. You know she likes you, don’t you?”

“Posh women are not my type.”

That simple comment made her let out a snicker.

Bloodline, huh. She was pleased that he was at least honest. If he had clumsily talked about love in this situation, this man in front of her would have seemed truly laughable.

“I like you. Fierce, pitiable, haughty, pathetic, yet beautiful.”

Lucas gently stroked the ends of Catherine’s silver hair.

“I must be easy to handle. You crazy bastard, right. You were also an illegitimate child, weren’t you? So you need the bloodline of the imperial family?”

“Well, that’s a secondary matter. So, please tell me your wish, Princess.”

This time, with her hand still in his grip, Catherine pulled Lucas close. He was drawn in by her pull, and their faces were close.

At a distance so close that their breaths touched, Catherine observed his black pupils as if studying them. But other than the slight curve in his eyes, his gaze was calm and composed.

Catherine took a breath and then whispered in his ear.

“Destroy this sickening imperial family and bring down the empire.”

Catherine smiled wryly as she whispered. No matter how confident Duke Williams was, he would surely be flustered by such a wish.

To ask for the destruction of the empire—that was an incitement to treason. No matter how much the authority of the imperial family had fallen and how much Duke Williams had risen in power, it was still…

But his reaction was completely different from what Catherine had expected.

“Is that all?”

He smiled brightly, as if he were truly happy.

It was Catherine who was flustered by his question. She frowned and asked sharply.

“Did you hear me correctly?”

“Of course, Catherine Bennett Linzward, Your Highness the Princess.”

He easily released Catherine’s hand from his tie and gracefully kissed the back of her hand. Then he rose and put his knee on the sofa again.

“Lucas…!”

“Even my wretched name sounds sweet when you say it.”

“Wait…!”

Lucas did not take his lips off her hand. His red tongue flickered and ran between her slender fingers.

At that ticklish sensation, Catherine tried to pull her hand away, but she couldn’t match his tight grip. Furthermore, his hand moving under her skirt was even more unrestrained.

His fingertips, which had reached her underwear, caressed her through the thin fabric.

“I will overturn everything just as you wish, to your heart’s content.”

A growl like that of a beast came from his throat. Her underwear was instantly pushed aside, and his fingers burrowed into her intimate, moist valley.

“Hmph…!”

Catherine flinched and tried to close her legs, but she couldn’t because of his firm knee that was holding them apart.

“All you have to do, my Princess, is allow me whenever and wherever I wish.”

With that, he unbuckled his pants.

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