According to what I heard in the basement, Igor had a habit of checking the treasure vault immediately upon returning from an outing.
If Chirpy quietly followed him, I wouldn’t need to struggle to find the grocery storage room.
I would just need to follow Chirpy later.
I planned to act immediately after safely getting through the bath attendance.
Though that was the biggest problem at the moment, it was possible that an opportunity to escape the mansion had arrived sooner than expected.
“You absolutely must not get caught.”
In response to my worried words, Chirpy didn’t reply but clenched its tiny fist and sent me a resolute look.
Then, faster than ever, it slipped out through the gap under the door.
I watched it go with a look of concern and then shifted my gaze to the gown on the bed.
In truth, the person I should be worrying about wasn’t Chirpy, but myself.
As mentioned before, to succeed with the plan, I had to somehow endure this hellish bath attendance.
Creak.
“Ha, getting used to it is what’s more infuriating…”
As I quickly changed clothes and checked the bathwater temperature, a sudden moment of self-loathing hit me.
Just yesterday, my reflection was so disgusting to me, but now I was just taking it in stride.
Moreover, my actions flowed naturally as I filled the tub and finished preparations.
Humans might be creatures of adaptation, but I was adapting to unnecessary things.
‘What do I do now, though?’
I moved diligently, racking my brain ceaselessly, but still, I had no gain.
Today would surely not be easy to get past, and I couldn’t think of any excuse to avert the crisis.
Time was running out, and I was about to be trapped, so my heart became desperate.
“Ugh, what was that?”
It was then, as I sank into thought once more.
I winced in sudden pain while stirring the water with my hand.
A tingling sensation, as if an electric shock had run through it, passed over the back of my hand.
Since the location was exactly where the tracking device had been, I momentarily wondered if it was an after-effect.
But the uninhabited island dungeon was months ago.
It couldn’t suddenly be a problem now, after being fine all this time.
“Is there anything that is troubling you?”
At that moment, a heavy voice was heard right next to my ear.
I was startled by the close proximity and instinctively twisted my body.
But before I could retreat, he grabbed my waist, and I ended up in his embrace.
Igor, who had appeared without any sign, gently stroked my hand while putting force on the arm wrapped around my waist.
“Is it this hand?”
The hand that was slowly rubbing my palm soon burrowed between my fingers.
Just by the act of blatantly rubbing the joined parts of my fingers, I could feel the filthiness of the man’s intentions.
He was staring intently, watching my reaction, so I had to suppress my displeasure internally without showing it.
“The water… was hot, so I was startled for a moment. I’m fine.”
“Oh, dear…”
As I barely maintained my expression and subtly pulled my hand away, Igor lowered his eyebrows, feigning kindness.
Was it the confidence that he could take me anytime?
He slowly let go and opened his arms wide.
“Then, I look forward to your service today as well.”
The process of attending to him afterward was not much different from yesterday.
The thing I had worried about didn’t happen while I was washing the hair of the man sitting in the tub and lathering his shoulders.
It was just that his hands moved much more explicitly.
“I felt it yesterday, but Hunter Seo Inho’s skin is truly soft. Did you know?”
“…”
“I’m already looking forward to how soft the inside will be.”
The hand, which had been slowly moving between my waist and hips during the service, gradually began to move lower.
My body instantly stiffened because I knew the meaning of those words.
I instinctively grabbed his wrist, trying to stop him somehow, but my strength was utterly insufficient.
Igor was deliberately dancing dangerously close to the boundary line, as if he found me cute.
“Shall I tell you an interesting piece of news? You might find it fascinating too, Hunter.”
“…”
“Didn’t I mention that a Gate appeared at the mansion yesterday? Well, it turns out not everyone was sucked in.”
I was listening with one ear and letting it out the other, as this was not the time to focus on other things.
But I couldn’t help but stop my hand at the words that followed.
“The Korean Hunters.”
At that moment, I almost jumped up from my spot.
It was because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
It was enough to make me wonder if he was trying to test me.
Fortunately, instead of doing something stupid, I managed to hide my agitation and continued lathering him.
But despite my calm actions, my mind was in utter turmoil right now.
The reason was that if he said ‘Hunters’ and not ‘Hunter,’ it meant that Woo Jaehyun and Do Soohyuk hadn’t entered the dungeon either.
I had so naturally assumed that the two were in the dungeon.
If his words were true, one variable—me—was causing the original episode to flow in a completely different direction.
“It seems those three people left the mansion before the Gate appeared. Isn’t that lucky?”
Igor slightly turned his head and looked at me.
His murky, sky-blue eyes held a cunning yet strange light.
He seemed to be quietly observing my reaction.
“They are probably out looking for Hunter Seo Inho.”
“…”
“Are you perhaps looking forward to it?”
At the same time, Igor’s demeanor was utterly relaxed.
When I couldn’t answer readily, he let out a snicker, pretending to be nonchalant, and tapped the bathtub with his fingertip.
“A more amusing fact is that they’ve been secretly trying to find the location of my mansion. Seeing that their instincts are this good, it seems they are the absolute best for a reason, ha ha.”
“…”
I, too, knew how completely hidden this place was, having seen the process of getting here.
It was perhaps impossible to find this mansion in an area that was mostly forest.
There was a reason why the man was so confident.
“So, I plan to lay low for a while. With Hunter Seo Inho.”
It was then.
While I was momentarily off guard, Igor grabbed my ankle and swiftly pulled me into the tub.
I tried to rise immediately, but he pressed down on me with his weight as if to say, ‘Not a chance.’
I felt like my breath was completely cut off by that tremendous pressure.
I couldn’t even put up a proper resistance as the man embraced my waist and pulled my body close.
My legs were tangled, so I couldn’t move as I wished, feeling like I was pinned under a huge rock.
My body rocked precariously, as if it would completely sink into the water with every struggle.
The water rose up to my chest, and only the sound of splashing filled the bathroom.
Ultimately, this fucked-up situation had come to pass.
“What do you think?”
The man’s wrinkled face slowly drew closer, and then he brought his lips close to my ear.
His unpleasant breath permeated my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
“I hope your condition is better today.”
“Ugh!”
And then, he abruptly bit down hard on my neck.
It wasn’t forceful enough to draw blood, but he persistently bit and sucked at my skin.
“I will carve my teeth marks all over this white body.”
His words didn’t seem to be a lie, as he licked along my neckline and bit my shoulder area again with a crunch.
As those distinct pains were engraved one by one, my expression gradually became more distorted.
If this continued, something truly irreversible would happen.
Whatever tragic outcome awaited, I had to take action immediately.
I couldn’t bear this dirty and unpleasant feeling any longer.
‘This is not it.’
Finally, unable to endure it, I clenched my fist tightly.
Unconsciously, I turned my head and saw a familiar face through the slightly open bathroom door.
I didn’t know when it had entered, but Chirpy was standing there, shaking uncontrollably without even using transparency, watching this scene.
It looked less terrified and more like it couldn’t control its surging anger.
‘Wait, Chirpy is here, which means…’
It meant that it had returned safely after completing its mission.
I didn’t know yet whether it was successful, but given the situation, I had to take a gamble.
It was time to make a bold move, even if it was reckless.
“W-wait a minute.”
“Don’t even think about escaping. I have no intention of letting you go today.”
“No, that’s not it.”
I gently ran my hand through Igor’s hair, which was still messing with my neck.
I slowly untangled the wet hair with my fingers and delicately massaged his scalp.
At that gentle touch, the man paused and slowly lifted his buried head.
“I like it too, but… not here.”
“…”
“Can we go to the bed?”
Pretending to willingly accept it, I lightly scratched Igor’s back with my other hand.
Igor’s body subtly flinched at that sensual stimulus.
But I felt it wasn’t enough to completely trick him yet.
Perhaps a slight overreach. I gripped his hair tightly and pulled him closer to me.
Then, just like he had done a moment ago, I brought my lips close to his ear.
“Punish me properly there, Master.”
I purposely mixed my breath with my words, and I could see goosebumps rising on his neck in real-time.
Since I would have to run away as a second option if this didn’t work, my eyes were quickly assessing the next route.
