The time struck midnight. Unlike how he was usually, the Duke reeked with the strong smell of blood.
Due to the murderous atmosphere surrounding his master and the smell of blood, Jerome was frightened for a moment then he masked his expression.
"Milady is asleep and the young master had arrived. There's nothing else of particular importance that needs to be reported."
Jerome gave a brief report of what his master mostly wanted to know. Hugo simply nodded at him, turned around, and walked away. As Jerome watched the further moving back of his master, he once again ordered a maid to prepare a bath for his master.
After which he turned around quietly and quickly chased after the group of Knights that were leaving the castle.
"Sir Heba!"
One of the Knights stopped walking and waited until Jerome had reached him.
"What's wrong?" (Sir Heba)
Dean wondered quizzically as he looked at Jerome who seemed somewhat serious.
"Did something happen? The Lord doesn't usually return covered in blood…"
"Ah, we met a group of thieves on our way back."
"Thieves in the vicinity? I don't think the security here is that lousy…"
"Tell me about it, I don't know where they came from but they were robbing nearby peddlers and the Lord discovered it."
"…I see. Did his Grace personally punish them? It seems they weren't usual robbers."
Instead of replying, Dean gave a wry smile. They weren't professional robbers. It was unfortunate for those roaming beggars that were trying to steal and were caught.
Punishment? The Lord didn't ask about their crimes. He just blew their throats off on the spot. Thanks to that, the peddlers that were able to escape from their robbers were much more afraid than they were grateful.
Through they were robbers, among them were young men that had not yet reached maturity but the Duke didn't tolerate such charity. Rather than call it a punishment, it was more of a slaughter.
Dean would think that he'd gotten used to it but every time he witnessed the cruelty of the Duke, he would recoil. Just like today.
"So, you're saying nothing else happened?"
"Yes. Pretty much."
Dean shrugged. Apart from the death of a few thieves, there wasn't much else that needed to be mentioned.
"When he was subduing barbarians, did his mood seem foul or…?"
When they were subduing barbarians, the manner in which the Lord killed them off was extremely cruel. It was on an entirely different level from the way he killed enemies in the past war.
Only the seasoned knights that accompanied him to subdue barbarians were able to see this side of him. It was not a situation that could easily be described with 'he was in a bad mood' or whatnot.
Dean was unable to put it in words so he just shook his head.
"I understand. It must have been a tiring journey. Please rest." (Jerome)
"I will. Farewell"
***
Hugo spent a lot of time soaking in the bathtub as though to wash off the pungent smell of blood. However, the sickening bloody smell under his nose still didn't disappear.
Before, such things had never bothered him but when he saw Jerome's hesitant-to-draw-closer face, the face of his wife came to mind.
When he imagined her seeing him and stepping back in fear, his heart sank.
'I don't want to show this to her.'
The moment he reached that conclusion, the feeling of blood that he'd never felt anything wrong with before suddenly felt disgusting.
'An Honorable Noble? A Mighty Knight? What rubbish.'
When he stripped off his shell, he was no more than a hunter. A slaughterer that hunted humans.
Hugo knew of the madness that flowed within his blood. It was tenacious as it urged him into that madness, for it wished to see rivers of blood.
If it weren't for the past war, he would have probably become a notorious murderer. The dull feeling of a person's neck flying off filled him with thrill, the smell of blood gave him a sense of liberation.
Even when he could see the desperation in the eyes of the people as they faced death, he didn't feel any sort of guilt. He'd never had any nightmares either.
For generations, the Master of Taran was a mighty knight and a brilliant Lord. The Taran lineage had special blood that passed down superior physical abilities and intellect to their descendants hence why the Taran family was obsessed with preserving the purity of their bloodline.
According to the words of Philip, Hugo was a successful product. However, he'd never felt proud of that fact.
[This cursed blood. I will gladly end it here.]
Although he performing solemnly at his conferment ceremony, inwardly, Hugo was grinding his teeth.
He wanted to trample the cursed Taran bloodline and not leave any traces. He wanted to revel in delight as those dead ancestors of his ran amok in hell with anger.
'If only that old geezer didn't come with Damian.'
When Philip appeared with Damian, Hugo's resolve to end his lineage became all for naught.
***
After Hugo was done with his bath, he walked to his bedroom then stood holding the doorknob. After worrying for a while, he turned around and walked to his wife's bedroom. After entering, it didn't take long for his eyes to adjust to the darkness in her bedroom.
He walked to the bed and for a while, he stood, watching her sleeping figure on the bed. Although he was just looking at her, his heart felt somewhat strange.
It was as though his heart was sick for it because somehow, he found it difficult to just keep watching her.
He lifted the blanket and slid in beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her soft body into his arms.
He then buried his nose in her neck, breathing in her fruit-like fragrance. He closed his eyes and after a while, he could feel his sharpened nerves calm down.
Within Hugo, two sides existed. The reason he could return to being the Taran Duke as though nothing happened after he'd hunted and soaked himself with the blood of humans was because he'd separated himself into two.
Perhaps a normal person would have gone insane but Hugo's spirit was abnormally strong and tenacious.
However, it took more time for him to fully return to being Duke Hugo after becoming Hunter Hugo than when it was the opposite way around. He needed more time to calm down the madness in his blood as it got excited by slaughter.
Surprisingly, this time, perhaps because of the warmth in his arms, he was calming down much faster than usual.
Now that the excitement from slaughter had subsided, the heat in his lower abdomen began to spread throughout his body. At first, he'd just wanted to embrace her and fall asleep however after feeling her warm temperature, her soft skin, and breathing her in, he couldn't stand it anymore.
'I'll feel just a little bit…'
He slipped his hands inside her nightwear as he kissed her neck then he carefully squeezed her breast, watching for her reaction.
'Will she wake up?'
Betraying his expectations, she was still fast asleep.
'Why is she such a heavy sleeper?'
He grumbled. Her husband had been away for a long time and just returned, kissing and touching her yet she stayed asleep. He was dissatisfied. He refused to hold back anymore.
He sat up on the bed and kicked the blanket covering her to the ground. He lowered himself to her legs, lifted her slender ankle, and kissed the tip of her foot.
He put her small foot into his mouth, licking it with his tongue then sucked and rolled his tongue around it like candy.
He kissed and licked her ankle then moved his lips to her calf, sucking on it before giving it a light bite and kissing it.
He didn't know if she was going to wake up even with all these caresses. He usually had a lot of work so he would retire late to the bedroom and sometimes he would wake her up after she slept off first.
She usually would have woken up at this point but today, it seemed like she was in a remarkably deep sleep.
However, seeing her like this only triggered his obstinacy. He lifted his hands to her waist and stripped off her petite lace panties.
He then grabbed her thighs and spread them apart causing the mouth of her bashfully concealed petal to open slightly. His lower abdomen began to throb at this sight causing him to frown.
He had to suppress his throbbing member that was begging to enter.
He lowered his lips to the pale, tender flesh of her thighs, suckling till he made a mark. As he looked at the red hickey, he gave a smile of satisfaction.
Because it wasn't in an easily discoverable location, she wouldn't be able to say anything.
'When would she find this mark?'
He really wanted to see her expression the moment she did. She would probably panic. Her face would go red and she wouldn't know what to do.
He looked up again only to find her still fast asleep.
"Sleeping so well you wouldn't even know when you're carried away."
'Let's see how far you can endure.'
He lowered his head again, kissing her hot spring that was hidden within her forest. He licked, suckled, swallowed, and repeatedly swirled his tongue around it then slipped the tip of his tongue into her slightly open entrance.
As he licked her tender flesh and continuously ravaged her insides with his tongue, her dry spring began to flow.
***