* * *

After an unplanned time-travel trip, I returned to the present to find Carlisle already gone.

Voices calling my name grew louder in the distance.

Mercenaries, realizing belatedly that I had returned, approached me with worried expressions, asking where I had been.

Without answering, I continued walking.

Outside the cave, dawn had already broken.

With the mercenaries escorting me, I descended from the forest to the inn where we had been staying for days.

It was nearly time to leave, so I needed to prepare to depart.

Exhausted in both mind and body, I opened the door to my room.

“Mas…Master.”

A pitiful voice greeted me.

There was Ber, wrapped up in a blanket like a burrito.

Before I could ask why he was bundled up like that, I heard the sound of water from the bathroom.

‘I have the room key, so how did they get in?’

Even though I could guess who the intruder was, I felt the need to check their condition and headed to the bathroom.

As soon as I pushed the door open, a slight cough escaped me.

The air was thick with the scent of tobacco leaves.

I waved a hand to clear the smoke and froze.

Jerome was soaking wet, lying in the bathtub with his clothes still on.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“…”

“Are you going to stay there?”

Jerome didn’t respond.

He just lay there, staring at the ceiling with a vacant expression.

As I turned to leave, a low voice stopped me.

“Don’t go.”

I turned my head slowly.

Jerome’s gaze finally found me, and he followed my movements as I approached.

He beckoned me over with a crooked finger, his eyes urging me to come closer.

Putting out the smoldering tobacco leaves, I sat on the edge of the bathtub.

Before I knew it, Jerome had pulled me into the water, holding me tightly from behind as I landed with a splash.

“No matter how much a dog loves its owner, it won’t approach if they stomp and yell. That’s called a survival instinct.”

“…”

“But you… even if I shout or swing a club, you always forget and come wagging your tail, even jumping into the water if you must.”

The tub was already too cramped, and Jerome’s embrace made it even harder to breathe.

Just as I struggled to shift, his cold, cracked fingers slipped under my soaked shirt, trailing slowly over my ribs.

Startled, I tried to sit up, but a strong arm pinned me down.

Jerome pressed his lips against my neck, whispering in a chilling voice.

“Tell me. What did Carlisle do to you next?”

I froze at the heavy pressure against my thigh, still aching from a recent injury.

Trembling, I forced out a steady voice.

“Please, listen to me too. Don’t skip from the beginning to the climax alone.”

“What if the baby isn’t even mine…”

“Listen to me!”

Jerome finally relented when I yelled.

His grip on my side was more forceful than usual.

As I gasped in fear, he laughed quietly.

“Fine, speak.”

“There’s nothing between me and Carlisle.”

Silence.

Jerome turned my face toward him, his fingers biting into my cheeks, his eyes glinting with barely restrained fury.

“Then why did he call you his lover?”

“There’s a reason for that…”

“A reason? What reason? Explain why you’d betray your husband like this.”

I opened my mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

I had accepted Carlisle’s offer because I knew he was the First Prince.

If I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t have agreed to his proposal, even as a mere duke’s son.

It wasn’t foolish optimism that made me think a duke’s son could oppose a royal engagement.

And maybe that’s what puzzled Jerome.

Unable to make sense of my decision, he likely concluded I had feelings for Carlisle.

‘Should I claim divine intervention from Maya? No, if I do, he’ll just ask why I didn’t tell him first.’

As I faltered, Jerome chuckled darkly, picking up scissors from beside the tub.

A sharp snip echoed as he clipped a short nail.

“Already at the middle finger. If you don’t answer by the time I finish the ring finger, you’re not leaving this room.”

“……”

“You’re pretty smart, aren’t you? Come up with a convincing excuse already.”

The small scissors hovered over the last fingernail.

I hadn’t slept all night, endured time-traveling fatigue, and now, the thought of the scissors slicing into my finger rather than just my nail left me too terrified to think straight.

My mind went blank, and in the end, I couldn’t respond.

Jerome, who’d been staring at me blankly, let out a faint smile and asked.

“Hey, love, ever had sex with your face shoved in water?”

Before I could even think of a reply, Jerome grabbed my hair and dunked my head into the water.

The icy rush flooded my nose and mouth, and I barely had a second to react before my chest ballooned painfully from the lack of air.

Jerome’s iron grip on my hair kept me submerged, and all I could do was swallow water.

Only when my strength was ebbing away did he finally let go. As I coughed and gasped, he forcibly pressed his lips against mine.

“Gasp—mmph…”

Just as I managed to draw a breath, his tongue invaded my mouth.

Blood rushed to my head from the insufficient oxygen.

I used all the strength I had left to punch his shoulder, but he didn’t even flinch.

It felt like striking an unyielding wall.

Jerome caught my hands in a vice grip, lacing our fingers together as he pinned me down in the tub.

My head spun as he crushed my struggling body beneath his.

“I really do want to be a good husband. Family-oriented, devoted… But my nature is all wrong.”

I couldn’t stop coughing, the water I’d swallowed making me choke and splutter.

Jerome kept mumbling to himself, sounding almost like a madman, while I struggled to catch my breath.

“My nature is more like my father’s. I was born with the blood of a man who’d raise his hand against his wife, drag her around by her hair whenever he got angry.”

“……”

“I don’t know how to be a good husband. I mimic the behavior well enough, but I don’t actually understand it. No matter how hard I try, I always stumble over something.”

A droplet of condensation fell from the steamy ceiling, landing on Jerome’s cheek.

My water-soaked body shivered uncontrollably, and I realized the coldness I felt wasn’t just from being drenched.

“Tell me. What am I supposed to do with you?”

“……”

“What do you want me to do?”

Jerome, his eyes hollow and lost, repeated his question, reaching for my face.

I flinched and curled in on myself at his sudden movement.

Seeing my reaction, Jerome’s fingers hovered near my nose bridge before retreating.

Kneeling, he pulled himself up and climbed out of the bathtub.

The water, which had risen to my neck, rushed away as soon as he left.

In a voice filled with resignation, Jerome spoke to my exhausted form.

“Leave.”

“……”

“This is your last chance. If you don’t go now, I’ll never let you leave again.”

It was a final ultimatum.

In a way, it was the kindest gesture he could offer me.

I knew this situation would likely repeat itself.

Rationally, I knew I should run out of this bathroom and never return.

“I’m not leaving.”

But to pull Jerome out of hell, I had to step into hell myself.

Simply waving from the edge, beckoning him to come out, wasn’t going to work.

With my gaze lowered, I took a moment to reflect and replied calmly.

“The premise was wrong from the start. You don’t have to be a good husband.”

“……”

“You already have a good partner.”

I lifted my eyes to see his expression.

Jerome just stared at me silently, showing no reaction.

My body shivered, probably from an impending cold, but I forced myself to continue.

“If you ever raise a hand against me, I’ll make sure to beat the habit out of you, so don’t worry. If you use violent language, I’ll teach you better words.”

“……”

“I won’t let you go astray.”

It felt ridiculous, trying to say something meaningful while my teeth chattered from the cold, but this heartless man didn’t react at all.

Jerome finally spoke, looking down at my hand clasping his wrist.

“You chose to stay by my side. No take-backs.”

Jerome’s voice cracked as he whispered.

He then sat heavily on the edge of the bathtub, sounding completely spent.

“I hate your praises for humanity.”

“……”

“But…”

Jerome trailed off, his gaze meeting mine, looking as though he was lost in thought.

Without a word, he tilted his head and kissed me again, water spilling over the edge of the tub.

My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, my cheeks burning bright red.

* * *