Chapter 168
Sitting and looking up at him, Irene felt a stirring desire deep within her.
Just as Michael had once done to her, she wanted to make him cry out. She wanted to unravel him even further than he was now, to have him cling to her.
And now, Irene knew how to do it.
Raising her upper body slightly while still seated, she grasped his waist with both hands.
Then, without hesitation, she took him fully into her mouth.
“……!”
Michael couldn’t even make a sound, staring down at her with wide, shocked eyes.
His expression was so unfamiliar that Irene couldn’t help but smile.
Today was her turn to show him every pleasure imaginable.
***
What began in the bathroom carried on to the bed.
Not only did they order that no one else be allowed into the room, but they also locked the door securely. The windows, too, were shuttered with the thickest coverings.
The room became completely cut off from the outside world.
Unlike their usual encounters, tonight they didn’t delve deeply into each other.
Instead, countless kisses and slow caresses stretched endlessly.
The sticky warmth of their shared touches and kisses only subsided when the night was well underway.
Even Michael, usually composed, was left sweating and breathing heavily alongside Irene.
In the scent-filled room, they lay close together, their hands interlocked tightly.
Neither spoke for a long time.
Finally, Michael broke the silence.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Hmm… I was wondering what I should do after this subjugation period ends.”
“Is there something you’d like to do?”
“Something I’d like to do…”
She had no solid plans for the future.
Until now, her life had been focused solely on surviving day by day.
Though she now had more breathing room than in her past life, most of her thoughts had been consumed by paying off her ransom and navigating life in the fortress. She had rarely thought deeply about life after leaving this place.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it much, but I’d like to go far away, somewhere without dungeons.”
“And after that?”
“If I have the means, I’d like to buy a house. Or maybe even build one…”
At her words, Michael clasped her hand even tighter and replied.
“Come to think of it, I’ve arranged for all the rewards from the dungeon subjugation requested by the Alliance of Kingdoms to go to you. Altogether, it should be over 500,000 gold.”
“What? Why?”
Irene’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sheer amount, wondering why he had arranged for such a massive sum to be hers.
“Well, you’ll need funds if you’re going to build a house with a large bedroom.”
He answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Half a million gold—after repaying her ransom, it would leave her with more money than she could have imagined.
She should refuse such generosity, but…
“We’re building a house to live in together, so isn’t it only natural that I contribute as well?”
His voice was so casual, yet his words made it clear he saw himself in her future.
The realization brought tears to Irene’s eyes.
Whenever she had thought of the future, she had always envisioned herself alone.
She had never dared to hope for someone to stay by her side.
But now, in this life as well as the last, the man she had cherished in her heart was whispering promises of a shared future.
Sniffling, Irene deliberately joked to lighten the mood.
“That won’t be enough if you want to buy the big bed you’re imagining.”
Michael chuckled softly.
“Then I suppose, as your husband, I’ll have to work harder starting tomorrow. I won’t rest until I can give you the largest bed possible.”
At his words, Irene turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Oddly enough, what sounded like a joke was the most comforting thing he had ever said to her.
***
At the same time…
A maid tidying a corner of the purifiers’ quarters noticed movement at the end of a dim hallway.
“Who’s there?”
She was the only maid assigned to the area that night, so the figure must have been one of the purifiers…
But then she realized the silhouette seemed familiar.
That figure—wasn’t it the woman who had been reported missing…?
The maid was about to call out her name in surprise when the figure turned around.
In that instant—
“Ahhhhhhh!”
The maid’s scream echoed throughout the quarters.
