***

That night. Elise had a nightmare.

It was the Duchess Bernhardt.

Her hair, which had always been braided and molded to perfection, was completely unkempt and disheveled, and there was madness in her dry eyes. She looked like she was going to kill someone at any moment, and she had a bloodstain on her neck.

<To have that filthy, lowly blood in this house!>

The man sitting in the study could only be seen from behind, but Elise knew who he was at a glance. Only her father could have made her like that. With the world at his feet, he leaned back in his chair, his demeanor as relaxed as ever.

<Don’t speak ill of the child I sponsor. It’s more vulgar.>

……!

Hearing those words, her mother shouted at her very quickly, and Elise covered her mouth with her trembling hands. She couldn’t make out the exact meaning of the many words that poured out of her mouth, but she knew at once that they were curses.

<Elise needs a friend. I can’t make her live a suffocating life like yours.>

?Friend? You’d let her be friends with that filthy mongrel? Are you out of your mind??

The Duchess screamed sharply, and there was a cracking sound, as if something had been broken and shattered. What followed was a flurry of accusations and insults, but only one word rang in Elise’s ears.

‘Mongrel.’

Elise shuddered, even in her dreams.

‘They’ll take Argen from me.’

“Elder, Elder.”

Elise broke out in a cold sweat at the sound of Argen’s voice. He stared down at her, looking very concerned, and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. Elise caught the look in his jeweled eyes.

Mine and only mine.

Her dog who waits only for her, looks only at her, follows only her.

“You’re mine, aren’t you?”

Elise asked, pulling Argen away from her body and holding his face. Emerald and black eyes tangled together in the darkness.

“…….”

Argen nodded good-naturedly, his jet-black eyes shrouded in darkness. Elise pulled him closer and buried his face in her chest.

“Never forget.”

The faint moonlight illuminated the last traces of red on his pure white skin. Elise wished it was a little redder.

Tomorrow, the leash would be tighter. She would not let anyone take Argen away from her, even if it meant strangling her.

“You’re…… mine, Argen.”

Elise ran her fingertips over the reddened marks and muttered to herself.

***

When she opened her eyes to the morning light, Argen was asleep in her arms. His expression could not have been more serene. Long, black eyelashes draped over his gentle cheeks. Elise’s gaze lingered over the beautiful red lips.

“Beautiful.”

Elise tilted her head and gently kissed the top of Argen’s lips. The softness and warmth of his lips lingered on hers.

Then, waking up, Argen stuck his tongue out and licked her lips.

“Mmmmm…….”

A pleasant sound escaped from the tip of Argen’s nose. His tongue slipped between Elise’s parted lips in surprise. It was a strange sensation that made her tingle between her legs. Her heart pounded in her chest as the ethereal feeling from last night took hold.

“…….”

Elise looked up at the bright sunlight breaking through the glass window. At the realization that it was broad daylight, with everything clearly visible, some of the fear she’d felt the night before when Argen had clung to the nape of her neck and sniffed her was gone.

In its place was a lustful curiosity.

“Stick out your tongue.”

Argen looked at Elise with a puzzled expression.

Elise slipped her fingers inside his mouth to take his tongue out. The delicate flesh was hot and soft against her fingers. Her fingertips felt like they would melt from the unfamiliar sensation.

Elise urged him, tugging at the slick tongue with her fingers.

“Come on.”

“Hmph…….”

Argen parted his lips and stuck out his tongue. The reddish color that peeked out from between his wet, parted lips was all too tempting, and without realizing it was the color of desire, Elise slowly opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue as well.

“Hmph!”

The moment the red tongue met Elise’s tiny tongue in the air, her entire body melted. No sweet cream had ever tasted so soft. Elise shuddered and stuck her tongue out longer, intertwining and rubbing against Argen’s.

“Hmmm…… mmm…….”

“Ah…… mmmmm…….”

A strange moan escaped Elise’s lips that had only come from Argen’s mouth. A dry, wet, warm sensation seemed to burn somewhere in her body. But the more she intertwined her tongue with his, the more she felt a deep, unquenchable thirst.

She remembered how she’d felt when she’d pushed her finger into Argen’s mouth earlier. The saliva that had pooled as soon as her finger touched the root of his tongue. Drinking it would quench this thirst. Elise looked at Argen through narrowed eyes.

She wondered what it would feel like to part those red lips and slip her tongue inside his mouth.

“Ugh……!”

Elise grabbed both of Argen’s cheeks and shoved her tongue inside his mouth. It tasted sweet and soft inside Argen’s mouth, which was instantly invaded with a choking sound. Elise licked it thoroughly with her tongue, feeling the delicate mucous membrane, the sharp teeth, the alternating softness and hardness of it.

Saliva flowed as her tiny tongue nibbled at the root of Argen’s tongue. Elise sucked and swallowed the endless stream of sweet saliva. It was all she could do to keep from gasping for air, and a soft moan escaped her mouth.

“Hmph…… Elder…….”

“……Argen.”

Elise’s eyes narrowed as she spoke Argen’s name in a muffled voice. Argen’s reddened eyes were unfocused. It was like the mark on the nape of his neck, Elise thought. The one and only sign that he was hers.

Elise swirled her tongue, still lingering in Argen’s mouth, sucking up the saliva vigorously, and cupped the reddened nape of his neck in her hand. She left a fiery imprint on his delicate flesh. It was strangely arousing to know that a brief grip could leave such a mark.

“Haah…… ha…….”

When Elise pulled her lips away from Argen’s, a thread of saliva hung between them. Their hot breath mingled unrecognizably due to their close proximity. After a moment of huffing and puffing, Elise pushed against Argen’s chest.

“Hold still.”

“Ugh…….”

Elise sat on top of him, tilting his head at an angle. Just as she was about to wrap her hands around his neck to tighten the leash, Elise noticed a black mole at the nape of his neck. The dot stood out like a sore thumb against the pure white, smooth skin.

“What is this?”

Elise rubbed her fingertips over the mark as if to erase it, but it wouldn’t budge. The delicate flesh swelled with the constant friction. Argen winced in pain.

“Ungh, Elder……!”

“Hold still.”

Elise grabbed the struggling Argen and held him down, her sharp teeth biting into the mole at the nape of his neck. She flicked the pointed tip of her tongue across the mole as if to dig it out, then nibbled at the nape of his neck again, sucking it to her lips. The delicate flesh felt good in her mouth.

“Mmm! Elder, ungh!”

“I told you to hold still.”

Elise furrowed her brow in annoyance, and Argen shuddered and nodded. He grunted again as Elise began to suck on the nape of his neck, but he tried to stay still as he was told. He moaned and squirmed, but soon found himself biting his lip and holding back.

“You’re a good boy, Argen.”

“Ah…! Hu….”

Elise pulled her lips away from the nape of his neck only after a long moment. The constant rubbing, sucking, and nibbling had caused the sensitive flesh to swell, making the mole even more prominent. It felt like a lost cause, but given Argen’s condition, there was nothing more she could do.

“Hngh, Elder…….”

After Elise let go, Argen sagged, wheezing for air. His eyes were red from the slightest tear, and his ragged pajamas sagged, revealing his collarbones and bare chest. Another red mark, the one sheI’d left earlier on her pure white skin, stirred Elise.

‘I want to touch him.’

Elise reached out as if she were going to rip Argen’s clothes off without realizing it.

It was then.

“Lady! Miss Elise!”

Elise jerked away from Argen’s body, startled by the sound of someone calling out to her from outside. Like a child caught doing something terribly wrong. Fear and panic flashed in Elise’s emerald eyes. Unconsciously, she clasped her hands together and rubbed them fiercely.

<I was wrong, and I won’t do it again.>

<I didn’t do anything. I’m serious.?

The rod that used to land hard on her thigh whenever she did something bad. The white flesh that used to swell up red in a shovelful. Elise closed her eyes and shuddered, the pain coming back to life in the now-scarred marks.

‘No. I didn’t do anything.’

Elise looked down at Argen, still barely breathing through his saliva-soaked red lips. Elise fought down the desire to touch the smooth, white flesh and trace the red marks across it.

‘……nothing.’

When Elise looked up, she saw her face in the window, flushed red. Heat flared beneath her skin. There was something subtly different about her squinty eyes.

Elise wiped it away, trying not to notice.