Chapter 102

“You seem to have recovered well.”

“Pardon, sir?”

“Your physical fitness didn’t look all that good, though.”

Liv’s cheeks flushed red as she realized what the Marquis was saying. It took a while for her to recover her strength after their sexual intercourse. If they hadn’t done it in the Marquis’ mansion, she would have slept right there.

No, actually, the Marquis said she could sleep over.

It was Liv who insisted on washing up and returning home because she couldn’t bear the thought of Coryda waiting for her at home. And honestly, she wasn’t in the mood to stay in that dreary room with its cold air for long.

“… I have an average level of fitness.”

“Aha.”

The Marquis exclaimed, unimpressed, with a look of total disagreement on his face.

“If so, you might want to raise the baseline of that average.”

“What do you mean by—”

“Unless you’re going to turn me down now that we’ve done it once. I doubt I’ll be able to give you this much time to recover next time.”

Was it not a loss of interest, but rather a concern for her recovery that caused him to not call her for so long?

Liv looked up at the Marquis with a puzzled look. As always, he had an indifferent, flat expression on his face. Staring blankly at that face, a nonsensical thought crossed her mind; he must have a conscience, given that he gave me time to rest.

She honestly thought that if he didn’t have that bare minimum of conscience, he wasn’t really human. Having to take that kind of lethal thing in her first experience, Liv thought she was going to get sliced to pieces.

Later on, however, it was all replaced with pleasure, which made her cry unabashedly.

Liv quickly parted her lips, trying to shake off the sensations of that day that naturally came to her.

“I didn’t know I had a choice.”

“I have no intention of forcing those who don’t want it.”

Answering in a lighthearted tone, the Marquis’ blue eyes glanced at Liv.

“Also, I know they have no reason to say no.”

How arrogant of him. It implied that no matter who they were, they would want him.

What annoyed her was that he wasn’t entirely wrong. There was no shortage of men and women, young and old, who would jump at the chance to serve the Marquis for the night.

Liv, who had already spent the night with him, had no desire to turn the Marquis down in the future.

“Weren’t we both satisfied?”

“Were you satisfied with me?”

“Yes.”

Sometimes his affirmations were so easy to utter that she doubted their authenticity. Seeing Liv remain silent, unable to offer any response, the Marquis smirked.

“I’m a very picky collector. So be proud that you met my criteria.”

“It sounds like I’ve been chosen for your collection, my Lord.”

“You don’t think so?”

For some reason, Camille’s words came to mind at this moment. The Marquis, who was treated like an expensive statue by everyone, thought of other people less than statues.

Was she supposed to be grateful to be treated like a collection piece by such a man?

A subtle feeling of discomfort bloomed in the back of her mind. It was similar to the way she felt when she was left alone the day they had sex.

The idea that it was pitiful of her flashed through her mind. She was acting as if she expected something great from the Marquis and was betrayed, when their relationship had been so clear from the start.

From the beginning, the Marquis had seen her as a decent amusement, and Liv had been the one to receive his attention. It was nothing more than a shallow relationship where the control was one-sided.

Liv brushed aside her useless sentiment and asked in a casual tone.

“Do you also collect taxidermy?”

“Taxidermy?”

Noticing that Liv’s gaze was on the kingfisher, the Marquis replied in a nonchalant tone.

“There’s no harm in owning something of value.”

For such a thing, the way he managed them was not very good. She had heard that taxidermy has its own way of managing.

Liv, who had been studying the kingfisher’s delicate feathers, one by one, spoke in a slightly lowered voice.

“I heard that rumor. The rumor that you keep taxidermy people in the basement of your mansion.”

“What an interesting rumor.”

The Marquis let out a short chuckle as if it were truly funny.

“So are you afraid of being taxidermied?”

“I heard, but I don’t believe it.”

The Marquis clicked his tongue, not bothering to hide his laughter.

“What if it’s true?”

“If so, I’ll have to blame my foolishness and poor judgment.”

“Oh my.”

The Marquis grabbed Liv’s chin as she kept looking at the fountain, turned her to him, and tilted his head. Liv had clearly heard a hint of laughter in his voice, but as she faced him, it was nowhere in his face. The Marquis’ blue eyes were not only calm, but rather chill.