Chapter 58 — The Duke's Discipline & The Duchess' reward

◽Florence Estate◽

The air in the hallway was thick with the scent of high-end wine and impending ruin. 

Jay and Emma didn't hide it; they paraded through the estate. 

Jay’s hands were clamped firmly onto her rear, pulling her body flush against his as her legs locked around his waist. 

They were locked in a jagged, hungry kiss, ensuring every maid and wide-eyed butler in the corridor saw exactly who was claiming the lady of the house.

◽In The Master Bedroom◽

Jay didn't lay her down; he threw her. 

Emma bounced off the silk sheets, her eyes wide and glittering with a mixture of terror and agonizing anticipation. 

Jay saw it—the flicker of the hidden masochist rising to the surface. 

He felt his own pulse quicken.

「You like that, don’t you?」 Jay’s voice was a low, predatory rumble as he loomed over the bed.

Emma nodded frantically, her breath coming in shallow hitches. 「I do.」

「Your husband doesn’t do it like this?」 Jay asked, his hands moving to his belt.

Emma scoffed, a look of pure loathing crossing her beautiful face. 「That piece of lard? Smurken could never. He’s as useless in bed as he is in a fight.」

「Fair enough.」 Jay stripped with a cold, efficient speed.

Emma looked at him, her brow furrowing in a moment of genuine confusion. 「Is it... is it always droopy?」

Jay’s eyes darkened, the cold sadist within him finally finding its voice. 「Bitch, put it in your mouth and find out.」

Emma didn't recoil. She shivered. The humiliation hit her like a drug, exactly what her sheltered, neglected soul had been starving for. 「Okay... Master.」

She went to work, and soon enough, the muffled sounds of her devotion were replaced by moans that bounced off the vaulted ceilings. 

It was in that moment Jay realized he had a taste for the dark side of the coin. 

He enjoyed the control. 

He enjoyed the break in her spirit.

◽In The Azure Capital◽

Three hours had passed. 

Smurken’s voice was a hoarse, pathetic croak, his throat raw from hours of begging for a mercy that wasn't coming.

On the elevated dais, the King and Queen were pointedly ignoring him, focused instead on their "grandkids."

Lena’s hair had thickened into a golden, mane-like texture, shimmering with power. 

Clara’s silver hair was slick and waist-length, her bushy wolf tail occasionally thumping against the floor.

Lena looked up at Alia, her eyes wide. 「Grandmother... where’s Papa?」

「He’s busy, little one,」 Alia said, her voice like velvet-wrapped steel. 「But he’ll be back soon. Don’t you worry.」

Zakry’s communicator chimed. 

He glanced at the screen and then toward his mother. 

Alia caught the signal and smiled down at the girls.

「Lena, Clara... you two are good girls, right?」

「Yes, Grandma!」 Clara chirped.

Alia giggled, gesturing toward the shadows of the twin thrones. 「Okay. If you hide behind the thrones and keep your eyes and ears shut until I come get you, I’ll have the chefs bring out all the best treats in the kitchen. It’s a game.」

The girls, lured by the promise of sugar, scrambled into their hiding spots, blissfully unaware of the political slaughter about to occur. Once they were tucked away, Zakry answered the call.

The holographic display flickered to life. 

Emma appeared from the neck up. 

Her hair was a mess—disheveled and wild—but her expression was perfectly composed.

⟦Your Highness,⟧ Emma said calmly.

「Lady Emma... err... is Jay there?」 Zakry asked, his eyes darting to Smurken.

Emma looked genuinely surprised. ⟦Oh? So that’s who this weird device belongs to?⟧

The throne room rippled with confusion. 

If Jay wasn't there, then where the hell was he?

「Lady Emma, was Jay there?」 Zakry pressed.

⟦He was. He showed up, drank a bottle of wine with me, and discussed the... incident. Then he left. That was over three hours ago.⟧ She turned a cold, icy gaze toward Smurken. ⟦And you. You fat, pathetic excuse for a man. How dare you embarrass this family by trying to rob children?⟧

Zakry blinked. 「Wait... Jay told you that?」

⟦Yes. That’s why we drank the wine. He left afterward, but this must have fallen out of his jacket pocket before he vanished.⟧ Emma’s voice was steady, but her eyes were lethal. ⟦Um... Your Majesty? Prince Zakry lacks a wife, does he not?⟧

Alia didn't blink. 「Are you proposing your daughter, Emma?」

⟦Yes.⟧

「You can't do that!」 Smurken screamed from the floor.

Emma looked at him with pure disdain. ⟦I can and I am. I’m not letting you sell our daughter off to some foreign noble family—especially one that has history attacking Loscraf. You’re a traitor as well as a coward.⟧

The mood in the room shifted from mockery to lethal disgust. 

Smurken sat in the center of the room, a broken, defeated pig.

「Is this true, Lady Emma?」 Alia asked.

⟦It is. I will provide a formal briefing when I arrive in the Capital.⟧

Smurken bared his teeth at the screen. 「Tch! You lying, cheating whore!」

⟦If that’s the case, we can have a Truth-Seeker test performed. And when I’m proven right, Smurken, we are finished. I’ll finally be rid of your insecure, controlling, underperforming fat ass.⟧ Emma rolled her eyes. ⟦I still don’t know what my parents saw in a pig like you.⟧

The screen went black.

 ◽The Florence Estate◽

The hologram had been a lie of omission. 

Jay was right there, seated in the high-backed chair with Emma straddling his lap, facing away from the device. 

He was buried deep inside her, his hands gripping her hips as she panted.

Emma’s composed facade shattered the moment the call ended. 

She was back to being a wreck.

「How... how was that, Master Jay?」 she gasped, her head rolling back.

「Hmm. What do you want, whore?」 Jay asked, his voice chillingly calm as he began to move again.

Emma’s face flushed a deep, bruised red. 「I get to choose? Master?」

「Of course. What kind of Master would I be if I didn't let you pick your own punishment?」

Emma’s heart hammered against her ribs. 「Um... from behind. Slap me. Hard.」

Jay leaned in, catching her lips in a brutal, biting kiss before flipping her onto the bed. 

He pulled her onto her knees, arching her back until her rear was high in the air.

*CRACK.*

Jay smacked her across the rear, leaving a bright red handprint. 「You really are a piece of work.」

Emma let out a broken moan. 「Y-Yeah...」

The afternoon dissolved into a blur of rough, depraved pleasure.

Jay took her with a savage intensity, punctuating every thrust with a stinging slap or a verbal humiliation that made her tighten around him in a frantic, desperate rhythm.

◽At Night◽

The sun had long since set when the storm finally broke. 

They had spent the entire afternoon in a cycle of peak and crash. 

Emma’s body finally gave out, sliding off Jay as he stood up, her muscles twitching in the aftermath.

Jay stood over her, looking down at the mess they’d made. 「You know, you’ve got a real talent for being a sex maid, Emma.」

Emma replied with a weak, shattered moan, her eyes glazed.

「Good to see you recognize your place, whore,」 Jay chuckled.

He gave her rear one final, hyper-sensitive smack. It sent a fresh jolt through her, making her back arch and her eyes roll into the back of her head. She lay there, covered in the evidence of her betrayal and her ecstasy, a satisfied, broken smile on her face.

From that night on, Emma Von Florence served only one man. 

It wasn't the husband she’d been sold to; it was the Master who had broken her.