1.

[classes will proceed as usual. please bring the red branch and visit my private study by 12 o''clock.]

with takasho going to the modern world for a high-end liquor deal, siwoo was left alone with no one to talk to, so he had been stewing in his own worries.

but suddenly, he received a letter from the countess that said as such.

for him, who was stressing over how to sort out the mess, this was like a lifeline.

“thank goodness...”

there was no sign of her trying to pressure him about what happened the other night.

the letter also wasn’t a dismissal notice saying he didn’t have to come in anymore.

all things considered, maybe things turned out better than he expected.

through this incident, he also learned a good lesson about how one shouldn’t swing his cock around carelessly.

although, he still needed to have a talk with the countess to get more details about the situation.

“...well, this is good enough.”

at the very least, he had the chance to bow his head and apologize, which was a relief.

so, he vowed not to make the same mistake again, before knocking the door and entering the countess’ private study.

“it’s been a while.”

he could hear the rain softly drummed against the window.

countess yesod stood by the window, watching the raindrops tapping against the glass.

“...”

he was at a loss for words.

for a second there, the image of her naked body crossed his mind.

the softness of her breasts, the sweet touch of her lips...

and her lower body, which was more defenseless than he expected.

he had tried his best to stay focused so that things would proceed smoothly, but the moment he saw her in that outfit, his mind just went straight to dirty thoughts.

so, he quickly shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

“i’m sorry for leaving without a word the other day, mr. siwoo. something urgent came up.”

“no need to apologize, countess. i understand that you’re a busy woman.”

wearing her usual gentle smile, the countess gestured for him to take a seat.

seeing her attitude siwoo guessed that she was trying to sweep the whole thing under the rug, as if it had never happened.

the way she was acting as if there was nothing going on made him feel even more certain about this conjecture.

he wanted to apologize to her, but that meant he’d have to bring up what happened last time.

in any other circumstances it wouldn’t be a problem, but if she really wanted to pretend that everything never happened, bringing the topic up carelessly would be a bad idea here.

he decided that staying quiet was the safest move he could take in this situation.

and so, while keeping his mouth shut, he sat on the sofa. soon after, the countess took her seat across from him, starting their lesson.

“where did we leave our lesson off last time?”

“we were calculating the red branch’s shielding efficiency.”

“oh, right, that. have you made any progress on that?”

“yes, i have.”

“oh my. as expected of mr. siwoo.”

their conversation and lesson proceeded just like any other day.

but even if it seemed normal, not everything was the same.

for one, the countess, who usually flaunted her figure with tight outfits, was wrapping up her body in thick fabric.

she also wasn’t playfully teasing him like she normally did.

not only that, she also kept her distance from him, only passing papers back and forth during the lesson.

because of this, the discomfort that had made his stomach churn when he first entered the room faded away for a moment.

as it seemed like they were just going to move past what happened, siwoo was finally able to settle in and focus on the lesson.

the four-hour lesson ended up being more productive than usual, since he had a lot of pent-up questions and issues he had been stuck on.

“you’ve worked hard, mr. siwoo. starting tomorrow, you can come in as usual. sorry for not letting you know earlier.”

“yes, i understand.”

they didn’t need to say it out loud to reach a mutual understanding.

both of them tacitly agreed not to bring up what happened a while ago.

that seemed to be the conclusion they had reached during the lesson.

although, siwoo couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of disappointment over this, as he wasn’t ready to move on from the matter yet.

but then...

then, he casually wrapped his arm around her waist.

his movements were so natural, as if this was how things were supposed to be, as if they were lovers.

“m-mr. siwoo?”

the countess hesitated, unsure of what to do, but she finally managed to get a word out.

she was scared.

all the years of etiquette, manners, and sophistication she had cultivated...

seemed to crumble under his touch.

she would end up panting like a bitch in heat, showing him every last bit of her shameless display.

but still, it wasn’t like she could help it or anything.

after being forced to eat her veggies for so long, her mind craved the taste of raw, bloody steak she never knew she wanted.

and siwoo had definitely caught on to that hidden desire of hers.

as proof, his hand slid down like a snake and gently stroked her ass.

this was undoubtedly a blatant act of sexual harassment, as he did it without her consent.

but instead of getting angry, the countess just sat there with stiff shoulders.

how could he touch her body so carelessly?

it didn’t matter that he was her loyal employee or that he had helped her out in the past; this wasn’t something she should allow.

if the countess was acting like her usual self, or if it was any other man, she would’ve gotten mad and kicked him out right then.

at the very least, she would’ve shouted, ‘how dare you touch me like this!’. but...

“to be honest, i felt a bit disappointed, countess. we didn’t really get to finish the lesson you mentioned last time.”

he whispered in her ear while casually fondling her ass.

it was a complete reversal of roles, a picturesque turnaround from the time when she was teasing him relentlessly.

“you said you want to teach me about your body, no?”

“m-mr. siwoo, i-i was...o-out of my mind back then. i shouldn’t have said those things so lightly... mmngh...!”

“that’s a shame. i thought you’ve finally made up your mind by now. after all, you did call me back after running off like that.”

he squeezed her ass harder, it was almost painful.

the countess deliberately lowered her voice, speaking in a solemn tone, as if she was angry at him.

“...how rude. do you see me, lucy yesod, as some kind of a loose woman? a tavern wench that you can grope whenever you like?”

“of course not, countess, i have never entertained even the slightest thought of such rudeness in your presence.”

but even as she spoke coldly, she could feel it...

the slight tremble at the end of her voice.

stemming from anxiety, and perhaps, a bit of anticipation.

“i just think that you should probably try to keep your promise.”

“mr. siwoo, i—mph!”

whatever excuse she was about to make was cut short as her lips were gently sealed by his.

she tried to push him away, but he quickly grabbed her wrist and kissed her.

her soft lips met his slightly thin and rough lips.

before she realized, her tongue quickly reached out to meet his.

then, they proceeded to exchange more kisses.

the memory of that ecstatic and terrifying night flooded back with each kiss.

before long, her clothes slipped off, piece by piece.

actually, it felt less like they were being undressed and more like they were being torn off.

the strangest part here was...she wasn’t even resisting.

even though she was being treated so rudely, and she knew she could easily stop him if she wanted to...

she just stood there, showing her naked body in front of him, without doing anything.

it brought her a different kind of shame from when she had willingly stripped in front of him before.

a deep blush spread across her porcelain skin.

“please guide me through the lesson again today.”

his hand suddenly moved to grab her breast.

then, they intertwined their bodies on the newly bought sofa.

from then on, in this space, there was only a hungry predator, and a prey that was waiting to be devoured.

and that fact only became truer as time went on.