I Tamed the Slave Male Lead Chapter 0

Creak—click.

The moment I stepped into my room, I leaned my back against the closed door and let out a sigh.

“It was a brutally long day.”

The scent of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and perfume clinging to my entire body made my head throb.

I should hurry up, wash, and get a good night’s sleep.

I sighed as I reached behind my back to take off my dress. That was when—

Oh no. I can’t reach the button.

After struggling with it for a while, I finally managed to get hold of the button. I hurried to undo it before the tightly stretched button could snap.

“Do you need help?”

A low voice echoed from a corner of the room, which was shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

“…!”

I froze in the exact position I was in as I tried to undo the button, but soon relaxed.

“Yusiliph?”

“You aren’t even surprised.”

He slowly stepped into the moonlight. Despite his large frame, he made not even the slightest sound as he walked, giving me the strange impression of a wild animal emerging from the shadows of the night.

“If you were here, you could at least have turned on the lights.”

My heart fluttered, half from surprise and half from happiness at seeing him. But at that very moment, the thread holding the button I had barely managed to grasp came loose, and the button popped off the dress.

Tick.

The button landed on the carpet with a tiny sound, and at the same time, the dress that had been fastened by it slipped open on both sides and fell away. My bare shoulders and the upper curves of my breasts were completely exposed above the red dress, which had spread open like flower petals.

Yusiliph silently looked down at me, flustered as I was. His expression seemed strangely furious, and his unabashed gaze felt as though it were licking slowly over my skin, making it hard for me to breathe. I awkwardly turned my head away and quickly draped my coat over my shoulders.

“You’re back, so you should rest for now. You can tell me about it tomorrow.”

“There is something we can’t put off.”

“What is it?”

“Are you even capable of listening while you’re drunk?”

His voice was stiff, as though there was a hard core running through it. Only then did I realize why he was angry.

“It was difficult to keep refusing at the party, so I only had a few drinks. I’m not drunk.”

“Looks like you’ve been attending quite a lot of parties while I was away.”

I stopped at his words. How did he know that? He had been away from the capital the entire time.

“I had my reasons.”

“Your reasons.”

Yusiliph’s handsome lips twisted into a crooked smile.

“Come to think of it, your articles have been on the front page of every newspaper. Things like, ‘The Countess of Maiona’s Dangerous Night Outing,’ and ‘Exclusive Interview: Three Male Aristocrats Seduced by the New Queen of the Night.’”

As I stood speechless, Yusiliph took another step toward me. His wide, dark-red irises, narrowed by his contracted pupils, glowed ominously, as though they could strangle me where I stood.

“And apparently, you even kissed Prince Karin on the lips recently.”

“Th-that…”

I hurriedly began to answer, then suddenly stopped.

For some reason, it felt as though I were making excuses.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why was I so concerned about what Yusiliph thought? As I kept my mouth tightly shut like a mute, Yusiliph’s expression grew even more ferocious.

“And on top of that, the Crown Prince has declared that he intends to take you as his Crown Princess. I’m only asking because I’m curious, but have you decided to fool around with every man in the capital?”

“What kind of thing is that to say?”

I snapped back at his sarcastic tone, and he glared at me without backing down.

“Listen, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s just that the Crown Prince keeps putting my name forward as a candidate for Crown Princess, so I deliberately caused those scandals to avoid—”

“Enough.”

He cut me off and strode closer.

“Just how long… Do you intend to deceive me?”

“…What?”

“I saved a woman who was practically dying, only for you to leave me behind and run off to the capital? You were perfectly happy to enjoy yourself when it suited you, and now you’re going to take the body I saved and have your fill of other men?”

“Yusiliph! W-What are you saying? Someone might hear you and misunderstand!”

“Is anything I said untrue, Lady Arabella?”

His speech was already impossible to pin down, switching unpredictably between formal and casual language, and even his voice alternated between icy coldness and warmth.

Startled by the atmosphere surrounding him, as if his anger had reached its peak, I took a step back.

And then—

Thud.

The coat slipped from my shoulders.

Moonlight fell upon my exposed skin, giving it a pale, bluish glow, while my breasts pressed against his upper body rose and fell rapidly with every breath.

This was dangerous. His face was far too close, and the heat radiating from his body was far too intense. The sound of his strong, pounding heart became hopelessly tangled with the beat of my own frail heart.

He caught the tip of my chin and forcibly made me face him.

“Yusiliph…?”

“This body of yours. The body that was dying not long ago—I was the one who brought it back to life, wasn’t I? Surely you haven’t forgotten that already?”

His fingers brushed over my lips.

“This warmth…”

Then he traced the line of my jaw.

“This softness…”

His hand traveled down my neck, caressing the area around my throbbing carotid artery.

“Even this heartbeat—I am the one who brought it back to you.”

“Y-Yusiliph.”

“So you’re mine, Arabella. You can’t dare fool around with another man.”

“…!”

My heart sank at his voice, overflowing with possessiveness and obsession. Meeting my trembling gaze, he gave a bitter smile. At that smile, my mind went completely blank, and I barely managed to open my mouth.

“We… can’t do this anymore, Yusiliph.”

“Why?”

“Because you know. Crown Prince Sota won’t leave you alone.”

For a moment, a blaze flared in his eyes before settling into a cold calm. He stepped closer, his breath tickling my earlobe.

“Listen carefully, employer.”

“…?”

“Whatever damn plan you’re plotting, you’d better give it up.”

“What?”

“Whatever your plan is, I’ll chase after it all and ruin every last bit of it.”

“Yusiliph!”

“So if you want to live, look only at me from now on. Pay attention to me instead of that crazy bastard of a Crown Prince, and make me yours. Because that’s the only way your plan will succeed!”

His terrifying declaration left me speechless. Then, the next moment, he slowly leaned his face toward mine.

My reason screamed that this wasn’t the time for this.

But it was useless. My body, already thoroughly accustomed to him, welcomed him as though it had been waiting for this moment.

When he gently kissed my lower lip and licked the seam of our joined mouths, my lips parted naturally, as though they were a living creature moving of their own accord.

Our body heat intertwined, and neither of us knew who had started it, but our breathing soon grew ragged. His arm around my back gradually tightened. The pounding of our hearts became so loud that it was impossible to tell whose heart it belonged to.

Soon, a low moan escaped my throat. Hearing it, his hand stroked my back as though praising me, then slowly slid downward and began undoing the remaining buttons of my dress.

Click. Click.

The dress, loosened little by little beneath his touch, slipped down like a discarded shell.

He trailed kisses down my exposed skin, then eventually removed the dress and undergarments around my waist completely.

Whenever his mouth latched onto my tender bare skin, a sharp sensation and pleasure raced simultaneously along my spine.

Moans mingled with excitement and fear escaped my lips. But he was already so absorbed in exploring my body that he seemed unable to hear anything.

I stood naked by the moonlit window, struggling to endure his rough caresses.

How did things end up like this?

I had only struggled desperately to survive and prevent the coming apocalypse. So why had the result been that I became so hopelessly entangled with you?

But even if I could return to the very beginning, when all of this had started, I would inevitably make the same choice. I would struggle to survive, and I would find you first and keep you by my side.

Because you’re the protagonist of this world, and the only person capable of preventing the coming apocalypse.

Yes. That’s all.

The reason I kept you by my side was clearly only that.

But despite the vow I made to myself, my body helplessly melted beneath the heat of his touch.