Chapter 15: 15 | The Message
At that moment, Lydia heard the approaching, indistinct footsteps and realized her own state. She was leaning over the completely naked Damian, touching the cock that had just been in another woman's mouth.
She had been played. Damian's passionate demeanor was all a deception. She had experienced this before. As a child, he had followed her around until she lost her family, and when she did, he had screamed in her face that she was ugly.
Damian's only desire was to silence her with shame and guilt by using her for his sins. Just like he had done to the princess's companion...
With the lustful clouds in her mind dispersing, she could now clearly see the truth. Nevertheless, filled with the desire to take revenge on Damian, even at the cost of being caught by the approaching person, she found the whip that had fallen into Damian's lap with her free hand and forcefully swung it at the naked skin, which was shining with a perfect brightness and slickness before her.
The unexpected feelings and events had exhausted her strength, so the blow was not as painful as she had hoped. Nevertheless, watching Damian's green eyes fill with a momentary flinch brought on by the pain was incredibly satisfying and soothing to Lydia in a way she could not have imagined.
Lydia didn't even notice the door opening and the person calling out to them until it was too late.
"Are you alright, my lord?"
As the servant quickly approached them, Lydia straightened up and moved away from Damian. Damian, holding his jaw where the whip had struck, turned to the approaching man.
"I'm fine, Winfred."
"Oh my, I must fetch some ice immediately, or there will be a mark. Is this something a lady should have in her hands?"
Instead of leaving, Lydia was preoccupied with enjoying the servant's concerned demeanor. She watched as Damian finally got up from his seat, straightened his pants, and ignored the way his muscles rippled as he put on his shirt and the color of his skin under the sun.
"It must belong to Mr. Sherman."
Despite herself, Lydia's gaze shifted to Damian. When she saw the faint purple line on Damian's jaw, she couldn't take her eyes off her handiwork for a while.
"However, my advice to you, Miss Lockhart, is not to try the whip on Mr. Sherman. A man struggling with gambling and alcohol addiction may not be as understanding as I am."
Lydia found it difficult to conceal her astonishment, as she had never had such an impression during her walks with Sidney. Damian's expression of awareness about her walks with Sidney only added to her astonishment.
Nevertheless, she responded with the coldest and kindest smile on her face.
"You are very considerate, my lord."
Damian was now dressed and had returned to his usual gentlemanly demeanor. Although his gaze carried remnants of pleasure that only Lydia could notice, he appeared calm and somewhat cold.
"I am like this as long as my friendship with the princess continues, Miss Lockhart. Otherwise, you would never recognize me."
As Damian spoke these words, there was truly a threatening expression on his face that scared Lydia. Fortunately, he couldn't resist his servant's insistence and left the room with him to get some ice.
Meanwhile, Lydia found her way to her room at a quick pace instead of going to the stables. Even as she wrote a message to apologize to Sidney for not being able to go on the walk, her hand continued to tremble. As soon as she finished the message, she threw herself into the hot water and stayed there for a long time.
When Lizzy brought her the message from Sidney, it was already well past noon. She was busy reading her book at the table in front of the window. In reality, she couldn't manage to read even a few pages from the book of mythological stories that her father had given her and that she had loved and read multiple times since receiving it.
Of course, Lizzy hadn't noticed this. With her cute face, she watched Lydia read the message, and her eyebrows raised at Lydia's changing expression.
"Is there a problem, my lady?"
"No. Well, I've decided to attend tonight's ball. Can you prepare my dress?"
"Of course."
Lizzy, being as tight-lipped as Amelia had described her, didn't ask why Lydia had made such a change. If it had been her nanny, she would have asked right away. Lydia would give anything to talk to her nanny about what to do about Sidney Sherman's night meeting proposal, but she didn't have that option, and Sidney Sherman had informed her that he had to leave the mansion tonight, so her options were limited.
She would either see him tonight or never...
As Lydia tore up Sidney's message and tossed it into the fireplace, she was aware that she had used another man to quench the fire Damian had started in her. What she wasn't aware of, however, was that this could be mutual.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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