Chapter 30

Rewards and Punishments (3)

Lily still didn’t see his face.

He had grabbed Lily’s shoulder and turned her before the blindfold even came off. At that moment, she lost her balance and fell on the bed.

“…You must have gathered all your courage, my wife.” His low-pitched voice was as cold as steel, emotions reined in tightly.

Her skin and lungs felt prickly. Lily now realized just how kind he had been to her.

A large hand pressed down on her head, not quite gripping her enough to stop Lily from moving.

His hands were so huge that only one of them could almost completely hold Lily’s entire head.  Lily felt like she had her head pushed into a wolf’s jaw.

“I… well…” Her tongue felt clumsy with fear and regret. “I’m trying to prove… Even if I see your face…” she managed to eke out.

“Prove?” Vlad felt strange no matter how he thought about it.

When did this courageous woman, who tried to disobey him just a moment ago, start trembling with fear?

He couldn’t exactly say he knew Lily well, but he was certain that it was an act of impulse on her part.

“Did your brothers persuade you? To prove something… about me?”

Admittedly, it was certainly illogical that she did not even know what her husband looked like even though they were a married couple who had even somewhat spent the night together.

Either she did it impulsively because she was nervous, or her younger siblings persuaded her.

Well, both ways wouldn’t work

“H-how… No, I…”

“I have told you. It doesn’t feel good when you follow someone else’s words.”

Lily’s eyelashes trembled. Her mind was gripped with bitter regret, but it was already too late.

Vlad’s hand gently caressed her back. “And I don’t like to repeat things. I made that very clear, Lily.”

Her pale hands gripped the sheets. Her whole body stiffened and she shut her eyes tightly. “I-I’m sorry. I was wrong, Vlad…”

“You were very wrong. Then—” He pulled Lily’s body back to his lap so that her knees were on either side of him. “You know very well that you should be scolded.”

He rolled up her robe and pulled her underwear to her knees, then shifted her legs so that she was straddling his thighs.

She blushed furiously, jolting at the cold air touching her newly-exposed skin. “Wait a minute, Vlad, this position is… Ngh!”

The duke squeezed the breasts that were peeking out of her robe, pinching her hardened nipples. “I never said you had a choice.”

“Mhm, hngh… I… was wrong… Ngh!”

His fingers ran over her areolas, pinching and stroking in equal measure.

Pain and strange sensations alternated, but as a broad palm gripped an entire breast, it all eventually dissipated into a tingling sensation.

He continued speaking, “From now on, I’m going to scold you ten times. Count each of them. If you forget, you’ll start over, so you better focus.”

“Hngh… hm, what’s that— Ah!”

There was no way she could understand what he was saying, because his hand smacked her bottom as she was about to finish speaking.

Lily lifted her head at the warm, unfamiliar sensation. “Ngh! What’s this, Vlad…!?”

“If you don’t focus, you’ll get slapped all night long, my wife.” He repeated the motion. “Count properly.”

“Wait, wait a minute… Hngh! Ha! Ah… o-one…!”

It wasn’t so much the pain—he was obviously controlling his strength—as it was the mild tingling and burning sensation, compounded with the sound of skin hitting skin, that strangely made her core tighten.

Lily lowered her head and grabbed the sheets, tears welling up in shame.

Contrary to how she felt on the surface, she felt bitter and resentful as her hips shook at his touch.

“Haa.. Ah! Seven… Hm! Eight… haah…”

“…I don’t know if I’m punishing or rewarding you.” A hand dug between her legs, fingers slowly spreading her. “It’s not even the end of the punishment but my legs are already drenched, Lily.”

The fingers tangled in her pubic hair tugged her closer to press against him.

Lily let out a short shriek and tried to move away as her lower abdomen made contact with his erection through his clothes.

He chased her touch.

She screwed her eyes shut beneath the black cloth. Tears wet her eyelashes. “Vlad… Please finish punishing me. Please.”

“…”