Chapter 4

Grace Riddle's name was a curse.

Leon stared at her with eyes as frozen as glacial turquoise and refused to look away.

“I used to wonder why Daisy called me a pig. I’m not even fat.”

It was a joke, but Daisy didn’t laugh.

“Then yesterday, when I heard you call me that… I realized what the rebels call the king’s men. Dirty royal pigs.”

Her turquoise eyes, dark-brown hair, and defiant temper. Leon had always believed such an unusual combination could never appear in any other person. Therefore the conclusion was simple.

Daisy was Sally Bristol.

She had hidden a painful secret from him all this time. He had assumed it was some childhood trauma. He had never imagined it could be tied to his father’s death.

How stupid he had been. Sitting right in front of the obvious truth and still acting blind. Perhaps somewhere deep inside he had still harbored a tiny remnant of love for the girl he once knew, and that was why he had refused to connect it to the crime.

Leon seized her fox-tail by the hair twice, yanking her head back until she had no choice but to meet his gaze. The woman cried out.

“You knew my father was going to die that day. You still took me out to play. Even a demon would think twice about such cruelty.”

“No!”

Leon tightened his grip the moment she denied it.

“Everything you said back then was a lie. From the beginning you were just a whore who would kiss anyone if it served the duke.”

First love had all been a lie. Perhaps he could have stopped his father’s death if he had known. But he had missed the chance, blinded by a mere child. He now loathed himself even more.

“Was your mission to scout the annex? You were pretending to be interested in me, trying to distract me when you sensed something suspicious!”

“I didn’t know you were a Winston. I didn’t know you were trying to kill my father.”

“Don’t expect me to fall for it again. I now know you’re a heartless murderer.”

Deep in Grace’s subconscious still lingered resentment toward the boy she once knew. Leon had unknowingly provoked it.

“I wasn’t trying to kill you! It was an accident!”

Because of that resentment, Grace slipped up.

“Hah… you know even the smallest details. What else don’t you know?”

Leon’s hand clamped around her jaw, forcing her mouth open. At the same moment the holster on his hip fell open and the loaded pistol pressed between her lips.

“Were you there when my father died?”

“No… no.”

“You were trying to kill me too?”

“I wasn’t planning to kill you. But I’ve changed my mind.”

Leon laughed.

“That sounds honest.”

“At that time I didn’t lie except about my name.”

Would she even realize she had told him the truth right until the end?

“You want to believe that, but I had nothing to do with your father’s death.”

“Then who does? Don’t try to blame some poor woman.”

He was naming other people’s names.

“Please… don’t… ah…”

She had given him enough to scare her. By the time she was willing to name names, Leon pressed the gun barrel harder against her tongue.

“Jonathan Riddle.”

Naming her adoptive father, Leon’s finger tightened on the trigger.

“Patrick Pullman.”

Only then did he holster the gun and pull out his notebook from his jacket pocket. Seeing him write the names down so seriously, he clearly still didn’t know Patrick had been killed.

She hoped he would never learn. She would be in his hands by then.

Leon stopped and stared at her, demanding more names. Grace deliberately hiccuped and looked away.

“Even my mother… that’s three.”

There was one more, still alive. But Grace was not like Fred.

“You were a co-conspirator even when you stayed silent.”

Leon’s resentful gaze only deepened her guilt.

“I was just a child back then. Now we are enemies.”

Grace steadied her shaking body.

This was war. War required sacrifices. They had killed countless of our people and never felt sorry. Why should I feel sorry?

“What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry?”

“Sorry?”

Leon sneered.

“I don’t need that. You never expected a tearful, heartfelt reunion, did you?”

His fingers dug into her neck again, forcing her to stand. He pulled her close.

“I was planning to snap your neck the moment I saw Daisy again. But now that I know Daisy is you… I don’t want you to die so nicely.”

“K…”

“I just want to watch you suffer. For a very long time.”

Leon suddenly released her, tossing her onto the table. Grace staggered and caught herself on the edge.

He didn’t want to kill her nicely. Leon’s chilling words were no surprise. From the moment she was captured, her fate was already sealed. Dying cleanly was a luxury she didn’t deserve.

“No matter how you torture me… please just let me go from here.”

While Grace caught her breath, Leon pulled a chair up in front of her and sat down. On the desk beside him lay a file—Campbell’s morning report.

“Hmph…”

The furious man from moments ago had vanished. Leon flipped through the pages with unnerving calm, muttering to himself.

“The physical examination remains.”

He slammed the file shut and ordered, “Strip.”

Leon was the master of torture who destroyed both body and soul. He knew exactly how to humiliate proud Grace, so he didn’t undress her himself—he let her do it.

Grace stood tall, refusing to show shame, and began to undress. When she removed her cardigan, Leon crossed his arms and smiled faintly. His gaze fixed on her chest, on the sharp points pressing against the thin fabric beneath.

“Ah!”

The riding crop in his hand flicked out, its tip piercing one nipple.

“This is only the physical examination. What did you expect? Or did you think stripping in front of an enemy would arouse you? Either way, it’s disgusting.”

‘This is because you were too rough with me yesterday and it swelled up.’

She couldn’t say that. Leon knew exactly what he was doing—driving her to the brink of shame.

Grace clenched her teeth and endured. She refused to give the monster any satisfaction.

As expected. The moment she stayed silent, the merciless crop retreated.

“Continue.”

Leon returned to his calm tone. While Grace removed each garment, he simply propped his chin on the hand holding the riding crop and watched without expression.

Even when she removed her bra and her breasts were exposed, he didn’t rush her. He waited until she had removed her stockings and bloomers, standing completely naked, yet he showed no reaction.

“The rebel whore. The rumors were loud, so I expected something special… but you’re nothing special.”

Was that sincere? There was no lust or emotion in the man’s eyes as he looked at her body. If only that were true.

He wasn’t stripping her to cover her like yesterday. He was only trying to inflict shame. That was why he watched her like a piece of meat. Grace tried desperately to believe it.

If that was his intention, Leon had succeeded perfectly.

Her swollen breasts trembled visibly. He would see it. Grace crossed her legs to hide her private parts and covered her chest with her arms, but she couldn’t hide the marks of last night.

They had clearly been made by his filthy “transaction.”

Now a perfect, noble man sat in front of her. And a woman whose naked body bore clear signs of passion lay before him like an animal. The two of them.

But the man who had never been human last night now wore a perfectly buttoned officer’s uniform and stared at her with cold, animal eyes.

The shame of the disgusting transaction belonged to her alone.

She bit her trembling lip to hold back the surge of emotion as a mocking silence fell.

“Up.”

Leon pointed at the iron table with a nod. Grace climbed onto it. He stood and approached, the tip of the crop lightly touching her shoulder, ordering her to lie down.

The table was ice-cold. When Grace unconsciously curled her limbs, Leon caught them and locked one ankle in the leg shackle. Then the other.

“You suit this.”

The black ceiling above reflected no blood.

Leon looked down at her from the observer’s seat, filled with distant curiosity, a trace of interest, and overwhelming distance.

Stretched out on the cold metal table, arms and legs spread, Grace finally felt the full weight of her situation.

A mouse on the dissection table.

In the eyes gazing down at her powerless little creature, a faint cruelty finally began to shine.

Leon neatly folded his jacket sleeve and lifted the hem as he approached. Grace’s eyes trembled.

The man coming toward her looked less like a soldier in a white shirt and more like a mad scientist in a white coat, scalpel and forceps in hand, ready to turn her into nothing more than meat.

He stopped. His cold gaze lingered on the box of expensive stockings beside the table.

A moment later the box was cleared away and replaced by a file with Grace’s name on it. The sound of pages turning followed by footsteps retreating.

While Leon leisurely prepared the “physical examination,” Grace’s body began to shake uncontrollably. She knew it was useless, yet she tried to curl her limbs tighter. The shackles dug painfully into her soft flesh.

Creak.

The heavy iron sounded like something being dragged out. Her heart stopped.

‘Surely not….’

The sound of pliers coming from the drawer must be her imagination. Knowing exactly what tools were in this torture chamber was itself torture.

“Damn it…”

The bad feeling was confirmed. The pliers in Leon’s approaching hand gleamed coldly.

She reflexively closed her fingers to hide them, but he laughed.

“You acted like you had no fear. You’re no different from any other human.”

Yes, sadly, that was true.

Grace was still a human who felt pain. She had undergone training to endure, but it only taught her how to survive without revealing important information—it did not numb the pain of having her fingernails torn out.

Perhaps her teeth would be pulled next.

The sharp tip of the pliers traced her lips. Grace bit down hard.

The cold metal soon left her lips. Leon gently cradled her head and bowed. From a distance of less than one centimeter he met her eyes while slowly tracing the curves of her naked body with the pliers.

“You and I have a rather wretched connection. Or should I say the Blanchard revolutionary army has a wretched connection?”

“H…”

“You sent a whore to kill my father and now you’ve sent me the daughter of that whore.”

This was mocking her father’s death and mocking him. Leon could not endure it.

Grace could not endure mockery of her respected mother either.

“If my mother is a whore, then your father was just a pathetic soldier killed by a whore’s hand.”

Arrogant woman. She had no idea what her own situation was.

Leon’s lips twisted. Soon this woman would beg for mercy like the others.

“Ah, what a tearful love. Your mother in hell will be very proud of you. A daughter who failed her mission and ended up as a whore in my torture chamber.”

Thud.

The pliers that had been circling her body dropped between her spread legs. The table rattled. Grace trembled. She didn’t need to see it—she knew the blade was aimed at her sex.

“Miss Riddle, thank you. I’m so happy you were captured by me. Thanks to you I can properly enjoy revenge. I can finally meet my father in heaven.”

He kissed her cold lips solemnly, then stood.

“Do you know what your parents did to my father?”

“……”

“If you don’t, I’ll tell you.”

This time the riding crop tip swept across her body instead. Every time the leather triangle struck her with its sharp edges, Grace grew paler and paler.

“Pull out all her fingernails…”

Now she understood why they had tied her to the table. What were they going to do to her like this?

‘Richard Winston’s autopsy.’

They would tie the rebels up like corpses on a table and read her father’s autopsy report aloud, pointing out each body part. After reading it all, they would demonstrate the findings on the prisoner’s body itself, stopping only right before the fatal strike—or sometimes never stopping, that was Leon’s infamous method.

One of the reasons Leon Winston earned the nickname “Camden’s Vampire” among both military and revolutionaries.

‘He wants to do that to me. I don’t want to die.’

Everyone who survived that torture eventually went mad. Grace trembled like a leaf. She had been more afraid right now than when he had tried to rape her yesterday.

“And the left testicle… wait, you don’t even have a scrotum. This is new. Hmm… what to do.”

His voice sounded almost delighted.

“Ahh!”

Leon pushed the crop tip between her legs. The flat leather cut through the labia and rubbed her clit mercilessly.

The moment their eyes met in slow, cruel joy, Grace saw her chance.

‘Come at me instead.’

“Ah, please, stop… h…”

She twisted her body deliberately, making lewd sounds. Her breasts swayed wildly. Leon’s gaze began to change.

Yes, come at me.

“Ahh, is this revenge? At least your father didn’t get raped like I did yesterday.”

“Rape? That was a transaction. Ah, this is rape.”

Leon finally lost control.

He quickly unbuckled his belt and pulled out his blood-hardened cock. The moment the throbbing organ sprang free, the place it was thrust into was Grace’s mouth.

“Ugh, hhh…”

Her body was yanked upward. Her head hanging over the table edge twisted back and her throat opened wide as the merciless cock forced its way in.

“Uh…”

The heavy table groaned with every brutal thrust.

“Hah…”

Leon moaned in ecstasy and stroked the throbbing column. Each time the thick shaft plunged deep, the bulge it left behind was visible even to Grace as it sank back out.

His eyes held no trace of humanity, only a faint glow. Last night’s lewd joy burned brightly. Grace looked into that animal gaze and cried tears of relief.

It was pitiful that she enjoyed being violated. But even to avoid such humiliation and death, a human would do anything.

“Do you know what a whore’s definition is?”

A woman who sells her body for money.

If selling her body to save her life made her a whore, then yes—I’ll be a living whore rather than a dead saint.

“K…”

Leon pulled out his saliva-slick cock as Grace twisted and gasped.

“Hah, the physical examination is over. Continue.”

After that, the cruel physical examination turned into shameless sexual torture. Grace endured his wandering hands with light resistance and lewd whimpers to keep his desire from fading.

“Ahh, it hurts… stop…”

“This is the mark you left on me yesterday. Even I think you’re a beast.”

Leon still played the mad scientist. The good thing was he was a lustful pervert, not a madman. He touched Grace’s body wherever he wanted, called it “examination,” and recorded the humiliating observations like a lab report.

“Hmph… does it feel like kneading marshmallow? What do you think?”

Leon asked while kneading her breasts like dough, his cruel smile visible. Recording the sensation of a breast was horrifying even for someone who would later be read by military officials.

“……”

But Grace stayed silent. If she begged him to stop, he would write even more shameful things in the report.

“The feeling of being stuck to my hand, the sucking sensation…”

He tugged her nipple long and hard, making a loud smack.

“H…”

“Excellent. The once-flat-chested girl grew quite lewd. I like it.”

It was horrifying. The gentle boy from childhood had become such a cruel man.

His hand left her breast and slid down to her flat belly, then slipped deep between her wet folds.

“Ugh, hah, stop, ahh!”

“Do you feel good? I know you like it, but let my fingers go.”

Pop.

The moment his fingers withdrew…

“Ah!”

Clang. The iron chains on her ankles slammed against the table.

“Hah, hah…”

Leon spread her pussy with his fingers as she reached her peak. The wet pink flesh quivered. He revealed the red bead of her clit.

The blood-swollen clit pulsed like a heart. Below it, the swollen entrance from last night quivered lewdly as its inner walls filled with obscene fluid.

The shameless meat that had bitten him yesterday had done this to him. The memory made Leon’s mind hazy again.

“Miss Riddle, you seem experienced.”

Grace bit her lip at his mockery.

It had been less than a day since her first time. Leon reminded her of every filthy thing she had endured in that short time while pulling out his black fountain pen.

“So, who was your first man?”

“……”

“Answer honestly.”

Instead of answering, he whipped her clit with the crop tip.

“Hahh! Leon… Winston…!”

Grace faced the smile that promised low satisfaction and couldn’t hold back her rage.

“You bastard named after a dog.”

Leon frowned and twisted his lips.

“A rebel whore who would happily fuck a dog. Disgusting.”

He wrote “enjoyment of copulation with dogs” in the report, then looked down at her trembling body and smiled.

“Miss Riddle, shall I fetch a military dog? I’ll pick one you like.”

“As long as it’s not the dog in front of my eyes.”

“Oh? What to do?”

Leon inserted his fingers into her pussy with a slight sigh.

“Ahh!”

He stirred once and withdrew, the fingers now dripping with slick fluid.

“You look quite eager. But the only dog I have in these parts is the one between your legs.”

The pliers disappeared. The ankle shackle was unlocked. Grace was pulled across the table and forced to stand, her legs still bent and spread. The moment her buttocks rested on the edge, Leon’s massive cock slammed into her entrance.

“Ahh!”

The thick shaft pierced her in one thrust and Grace arched her back in agony.

“Hahh! Too deep!”

“You weren’t even halfway in and you’re already complaining.”

Her wounds from yesterday were still fresh and he was taking her.

When she tried to pull away, a large hand crushed her hips. The tug-of-war between the woman bracing herself against the table edge and the man who had to bury himself to the hilt ended with his pelvis slamming against hers.

“Ahh, stop! It hurts!”

Clang. Thud. Rattling.

The table and chains rattled loudly with every thrust.

“Ugh…”

Grace was fighting from the very beginning. Eventually her pussy was forced open and his lower abdomen pressed against hers.

She instinctively pushed him away. Leon kissed her trembling fingertips, then unlocked the shackle on her wrist and fastened it around her ankle.

Clank. The heavy table began to sway. Beneath the black ceiling, the man’s elegant face shook roughly and blurred.

“Ah, hah… gently…”

“You’re not in a position to command me.”

Leon grabbed the soft flesh inside her thighs, pulled tight so her knees almost touched her chest. Every time the delicate skin slapped, sensations he couldn’t name surged to her scalp.

“Ah, ahh…”

“You’ve already gotten used to my body. Your reaction is faster than yesterday.”

She wanted to resist, but she couldn’t. Her entire body responded happily to his rhythm, laid out bare before her eyes.

The cock buried inside her withdrew long. The inner flesh clinging to the shaft jerked as it left. The sight of his meat being bitten by the beast’s was vivid.

The dark skin already glistening with her juices. The throbbing clit anticipating the strong pressure when his pelvis slammed home.

She could no longer deny that she was in heat too.

‘This is better than torture. This is better than torture.’

Grace repeated the words and closed her eyes.

“Hah…”

Leon looked down at the tearful woman with closed eyelids, then exhaled.

Daisy. Sally. Grace.

Which name to call her? He didn’t know, but he knew exactly what she was.

‘You….’

Leon repeated the same words quietly and stroked the body only he could touch.

Her body showed clear signs of disciplined, slim training. Leon ran his smooth palm over her visible muscles and gripped the flesh that swayed gently with his rhythm.

The pale flesh overflowed between his fingers and beyond his palm. When he squeezed, it squished softly yet still exerted enormous force against his hand.

The moist, slippery skin that clung to his palm was pleasant. A softness he had never felt before.

The flesh poking between his fingers had changed from the pure pink of her first time to a deep, ripe red. It was quite pleasurable to turn a virgin into a lewd woman.

Before she even took off her clothes, Leon rolled the stiff nipple and asked, “Is this because I’m too fast and it doesn’t look good?”

“Ahh…”

She grimaced in pain. Grace’s naked body beneath him was lewd. She was forcing herself to look like a whore, but she knew she was the pathetic one.

“Ah, sorry. I should have cleaned it properly so no trace would show when Jimmy sees it.”

Her eyes widened. This woman glared at him whenever he mentioned her fiancé. The whore was her. The whore was the one who had ordered her.

“You thought I was funny? There’s no man easier to seduce than you. You fell for my charm twice, you idiot.”

The Blanchard Revolutionary Army’s leadership had clearly sent her after rational calculation. They believed she could get his heart once, then easily a second time.

And she had succeeded too easily.

But it had all been his mistake.

“I never tried to seduce you. You got horny on your own. Thanks to you I had to take that filthy order. Did you think I wouldn’t notice you were trying to get fired?”

While she kept speaking, a short sigh escaped Leon’s twisted lips. Even his own dismissal had been played by this woman’s tricks.

“You’re obviously wrong. You got horny and followed me like a dog. Why are you blaming me?”

Yes, it was my fault from the beginning.

The first time and every time afterward, the girl who had caught his attention was her, not the woman who had no intention of approaching him. No matter where it happened—Abington Beach or here—Leon had been the one chasing her.

Yes, like a dog.

Shamefully.

“Will you only do it once and stop?”

Leon stopped thrusting and asked. This is a trap. His instinct screamed it. Grace stayed silent.

“Yesterday was a transaction and today is rape so far, but what about a fair fight? Honestly.”

Hands and feet bound, cock impaled through the center, and a fair fight?

“The one who goes first loses. If I lose I won’t let you go. But if you lose…”

His fingertip drew a trembling clit on her pussy.

“You’ll have to be ready.”

Leon loosened the black tie he had been wearing so neatly. Grace hadn’t even answered yet.

Let me go. Let me go. Let me go.

The same words repeated in her mind.

“If you’ll let me go forever, I’ll gladly—”

Leon stopped removing his shirt and narrowed his eyes.

“Negotiation? You still don’t understand your situation.”

“If you think you’ll lose, you can refuse.”

Grace challenged him. Leon picked up the riding crop and nodded.

“Fine, I’ll do as you wish.”

Grace closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. It was a fight she had nothing to lose. She had never planned for this to end in one round anyway.

Before the match, Leon offered her his lips like two boxers shaking hands. When the polite kiss ended, her body began to move.

The next goal of a living whore was a free whore.

She squeezed and released the inner flesh in time with his rhythm. This time she kept her eyes open and read his expression.

“Uh…”

Grace quickly learned the technique. When his cock withdrew, she squeezed her inner walls tight, pulling the sensitive tip roughly.

“Hah, the trick of playing with the lower lip is different from yesterday.”

She even did what he had never thought she would do out of spite. His voice dripped mockery.

“Yes, that’s how it’s done. Well done. You learned how to suck with your mouth, just like I taught you yesterday. Impressive skill.”

Hot skin met hot skin. Leon pulled her tight against him and continued his rough rhythm. The cock scraped the inside of her pussy as it pulled out.

She might really be good. Leon’s rhythm grew irregular right before he came, as if her efforts were working. Her body had slipped out of his control.

Even his lips weren’t in control anymore. He greedily swallowed her lips and thrust his tongue deep into her wet hole.

“You feel really good. You’re doing wonderfully.”

Speak as much as you want. You’re the one winning this match.

Excited by the thought of freedom, she began to sway her hips even more. His long fingers slid between their bodies and pressed against her clit.

“Ahh, stop! This is cheating!”

“You should have set the rules beforehand.”

Her hands were still bound, so she couldn’t remove the hand rubbing her clit. Trying to lift her hips to escape only made it worse, since she was pinned beneath him.

It was an incredibly cruel touch. Her already swollen clit throbbed painfully from repeated friction.

“H, it won’t do….”

She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms, and bit her lip to hold back the rising climax, but it was useless.

Every time he pressed harder, the thick shaft slammed into her, sending sparks across her vision. He had already mapped her body and struck only one spot relentlessly.

Thud.

“Hahh!”

Leon pressed her down and struck her lower abdomen again and again.

“H, stop it…”

For him, a pleasure-filled defeat. For her, a miserable victory.

His cock had long since left her control. He had no patience left to tease her. He pulled back his erection, but the inner walls still contracted on their own.

“No. Ahh, no…”

“It’s not like it can stop. Just go.”

“Hah! No, hahh!”

The moment the thick shaft rubbed the walls and slammed home, the pleasure rising to her throat couldn’t be held back. Grace’s whole body shook on the sweat-soaked table as she came helplessly.

A pleasure-filled defeat and a miserable victory… what had she really gained?

All she had won was a miserable victory.

“You came already? You lost too easily.”

“H…”

“Did you want me to go so deep? I couldn’t say ‘fuck me until your pussy hurts’ as a lady. Ah, I was careless.”

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Leon licked them up without missing a drop.

“You could at least have pretended to try and win. That would have preserved some dignity.”

His lips left her ear. The cock pulled out of her trembling pussy, leaving thick white fluid on the swollen abdomen.

“Hah…”

Leon’s furrowed brow relaxed. But the heat in his eyes never died.

After that it was the same as last night’s bed. He kept thrusting, thrusting, thrusting without end.

“Ahh, no more…”

“Go. Fuck you as much as you want.”

After that Leon proposed several more rounds. She resisted out of necessity and lost miserably several times. She no longer had the strength to say “stop.”

His eyes became cold as he looked down at the exhausted woman. They were the opposite of the heat still burning in his lower body.

“You thought you could control me however you wanted. Even if you can’t control your own body.”

Her turquoise eyes regained focus. When she met his icy sky-blue gaze, her own eyes trembled.

He had seen everything.

Leon had known from the beginning that she had secretly seduced him to escape torture.

“The price for your arrogant scheme must be paid.”

She had already paid it. She answered with only her eyes and turned her head.

“Do you know how many people have died at the hands of your mother? If I line them up, it will stretch from the estate gate all the way here. In other words, the line of people who wanted to do this to you is that long.”

Throw me to those bastards. Let me go from here and dump me in the Western Command or a prison full of them. Please let me go from here.

The landscape in front of her changed several times. The black ceiling. The sweat-slick table. Ropes and shackles. A collar around the wall.

“Hah… lie down again.”

The table rocked with every hard thrust. Grace stared at the hand pinning her wrist.

The watch’s hand had passed evening. Leon’s wife was probably thinking her son was too busy with the rebel issue to come home for dinner.

‘Is that wrong?’

The table had been cold once; it had been hot for a long time. Leon pushed her along the metal surface slick with semen and her own fluids, thrusting again and again.

Her legs hung limply at the edge and swayed. Every time they did, the loose iron chain from the ankle shackle scraped the floor like a snake.

Clink. Clank. Clank.

The dry metallic sounds and the wet flesh sounds didn’t match at all. Grace stared blankly at the hand pinning her wrist through the discord.

Body and mind were both destroyed.

The shackles had been unlocked long ago, but Grace couldn’t move. She simply lay on the table breathing, the exact position Leon had left her in after coming.

Her dull eyes were fixed on the empty bathroom door. The man standing in front of the mirror above the sink was fixing his tie.

A moment later he left the bathroom, smelling of soap. The man who had hung his jacket on the chair narrowed his eyes.

Her legs still trembled, white liquid running down them and dripping onto the black floor. She wanted to curl them, but her thighs had no strength.

Thud. Thud.

Approaching footsteps. Grace forced her eyes open and met his gaze.

The man in a neatly buttoned uniform looked down at her with unreadable eyes, as if she had done it all herself.

He had definitely reported it to the command. She would be escorted somewhere soon. Then she would be rescued. She just had to endure a few more days.

Just as she had been repeating in her mind while he showered.

“Meals are three times a day. If you want something specific, tell the duty soldier. Cleaning is originally your job, so do it. Dirty laundry goes to the duty soldier when he gets his meal.”

Grace’s eyes trembled.

Why was he telling her these things? Why was he giving her rules for someone only locked up for a day or two?

She stared at him, but Leon only recited the “torture room rules” in a strictly professional tone.

“Newspapers and training happen twice a day unless something special happens. I’ll conduct them myself.”

“T-training?”

She barely squeezed out the words. He smirked.

“You’re the best whore in the world but your skill is terrible. Your commander sent you without teaching you anything, so I have a lot to teach.”

“W-wait…”

She struggled to sit up, but Leon turned his back and walked to the opposite side of the table.

Rip.

The cheap stockings on the chair were torn mercilessly.

“The stockings are mine. Wear them.”

“Winston, wait. Don’t go. Talk to me…”

“I told you. You’re not in a position to command me.”

It was the same as last night. Grace could only watch his retreating back with despairing eyes.

Yesterday and today. He had given her hope and taken it away without hesitation. What had she expected?

“But please…”

Thud. The door closed. Click. The lock engaged.

“Let me go.”

The beast wearing the mask of an elegant nobleman and capable military officer left.

Leaving the woman he had locked up in the annex where he conducted torture and used for sexual pleasure.

The moment the study door burst open, Campbell shot to his feet from the sofa he had been sitting on for hours and saluted.

“You may leave.”

The major strode in and gave Campbell instructions. A new scratch mark ran along the hand holding the yellow file. Campbell glanced away and approached.

“Major.”

“What is it?”

He had been waiting for the major to return. It was an unsettled matter.

In other words, what had happened to Grace Riddle.

He hadn’t reported it to headquarters yet. If he delayed, the higher-ups would be displeased. It was safer to decide today.

“What about Grace Riddle…?”

“Grace Riddle?”

He hesitated, not understanding why the major was narrowing his eyes. The major lit a lighter and tossed it into the fireplace.

“Who is that?”

“……”

“Ah, by the way, Sally Bristol left the estate this morning.”

Campbell nodded quickly. The arrest of Grace Riddle was a secret known only to the personnel at the annex.

“Then I’ll inform the duty soldiers.”

Campbell turned to leave, but the major called him back.

“One more thing. The torture room is to be sealed. Ghosts have started appearing.”

Campbell nodded and left. Leon stared at the ashes in the fireplace and muttered.

“A ghost that reacts to the name Daisy.”

Daisy. Sally. Grace. So many names. What should he call her?

Daisy. The name didn’t suit the bold girl with pale skin and a sharp temper.

Sally. The name didn’t suit her cleverness and boldness either.

Grace.

This name suited her the least of all.

Grace. You are the disaster that crashed into my perfect life.

‘Whatever your name….’

He didn’t know what to call her, but he knew exactly what she was.

‘You are now mine.’

To James Blanchard Jr.,

I have been sending you the maid.

I had a very satisfying time with the whore.

Have you seen Miss Riddle’s naked body? I doubt you have. If you had, you wouldn’t have sent her to me.

I was thrilled to receive such a splendid gift. And you gave me your fiancée. I never knew how highly you valued me. I’ve prepared a private cell for you.

For your pitiful fiancée who still thinks she can have a child even with my seed inside her, I suggest you visit as soon as possible. If it’s too late, I may impregnate her first, so hurry.

Western Command Intelligence Division Domestic Information Section

Major Leon Winston

“Damn…”

The letter was crumpled. Someone placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder as he pressed his forehead.

“Jimmy…”

Among the men trying to comfort him, several elders who had opposed Grace’s escape stood out. Jimmy looked at their dark expressions and gestured for silence. He closed his eyes.

“They sent a dog to catch a dog….”

“The dog they sent got caught.”

His eyes flashed open as he glared at the two elders. They closed their mouths after clearing their throats.

“What should we do about Grace… that poor thing… God, have mercy on the child.”

The woman elder beside him clicked her tongue and crossed herself. The gray-haired man frowned.

“At least we saved her life. She’ll probably live for a while. We should pity Wilkins.”

The man looked at the only empty chair at the table and pulled out a cigarette. Dave, Fred’s father, had been preparing the funeral and was absent.

Jimmy glared at the elder smoking.

Fred was pitiful.

No one knew exactly when he had been discovered right before his escape. Fred had told Nancy about the horrors Winston had done to him before she could ask anything else, then disappeared from Winsford and was found dead in a ditch the next day.

So the answer was probably only known to Grace.

But Jimmy knew. The elders here probably knew intuitively that Grace’s mistake wasn’t her fault.

“Let’s plan the rescue operation.”

His voice, once cold, recovered as he began outlining the plan to rescue Grace.

“I’ve already issued orders to Peter to watch the Winston family and sent a rescue team to Winsford in advance. When we extract her…”

“But there’s a chance Winsford was discovered.”

“No, it doesn’t seem likely. There have been no suspicious movements.”

“Nancy said there were no tailing or surveillance.”

“The rescue team will find a new Winsford…”

Jimmy was still discussing the operation when one elder spoke up.

“Grace knows too much and that worries me.”

Everyone fell silent. Everyone here knew that if Grace spoke, she would be shot. The oldest elder, after exchanging meaningful glances, spoke with difficulty.

“Then… an honorable death…”

Jimmy’s eyes wavered at the suggestion of suicide. A heated debate broke out across the table.

“But the child hasn’t even fulfilled her role yet.”

“Correct. We can’t just discard such a card.”

“But the card is now in military hands. They’ll only learn our position.”

“Once they learn its value, they could use it against us…”

“No. If they learn, they’ll eliminate it.”

There was a long silence after the agreement.

“In any case, it would be right to give Grace a comfortable death.”

The officers who had reached consensus stared at Jimmy. But Jimmy could not answer immediately.

“Jimmy.”

Creak. One of the elders who had opposed Grace’s escape approached and placed a thick hand on his shoulder.

“There are many women. I hope you have no personal attachment.”

“Honestly, back then I was worried about Angela living, but I’ve wanted to oppose this ever since I realized she was mixed with dirty blood and I was betrothed to her.”

One elder who understood his discomfort added, “Now it may sound cruel, but you are our commander. You must put the cause first, not personal feelings.”

“Yes, there’s no one here who hasn’t sacrificed the person they love.”

It wasn’t wrong.

“Think about what your father would have chosen.”

The air in the meeting room grew heavier. Jimmy sighed and finally spoke.

“There’s no way to deliver the order. New infiltration is too dangerous and there’s no guarantee she’ll receive the signal from this side…”

“Peter is here.”

“Peter can’t get inside the Winston wall…”

“What I mean is, there’s a list Grace compiled of the supplies that come into the torture room. We’ll hide the order inside and send it to Peter’s side.”

“……”

There was no objection. Jimmy nodded without enthusiasm and closed his eyes.

April, the month of storms, was finally over and sunny days continued.

Leon’s sensitive sense of smell told him spring had begun. Lilac scent still drifted into his nose even after entering the garden.

On the path to the greenhouse, Leon stopped in front of the blooming lilacs. His mother, walking beside him with arms crossed, looked at him questioningly. He ignored her and reached for the flowers.

Flutter.

A brown bird perched on a pink branch startled and flew away. When Leon broke the branch, his mother whispered to the guests behind her.

“It’s not elegant enough to give to the Grand Duchess.”

Leon only twisted his lips slightly.

Grand Duchess. This was a gift for her.

Giving May flowers to a woman whose date and season he didn’t know wasn’t bad. He was very curious what expression she would make when she learned the lilacs had bloomed.

Leon walked on, holding the branch. When they reached the neat row of cherry trees lining the path, his mother adjusted the silk handkerchief pinned to his chest and smiled.

“You look nice.”

She was referring to the civilian clothes he was wearing instead of his uniform. His mother, who hated military uniforms, had searched his wardrobe days ago to prepare the outfit for the Grand Duke’s visit.

It had been amusing when he had insisted on wearing his uniform despite her pleading.

In the end he wore the ordinary clothes she had chosen, but his mother seemed satisfied with that alone.

“When you receive a title, you will quit the military.”

Leon couldn’t believe it. A woman with such poor sense had produced a clever son.

The duke needed a military family for his marriage talks. But quit the military? Did he have any thoughts?

“Sealing the torture room was excellent.”

Leon looked at his mother’s satisfied smile. She had no idea he was hiding a woman somewhere under the estate grounds.

“Remember who the real owner of this family is.”

“Yes, Captain. I will remain silent.”

Belmore, the head maid, faithfully followed his instructions.

It had been unavoidable to tell her about the anonymous woman locked in the annex basement. If food started arriving at the sealed torture room and the woman’s clothes appeared in the laundry, rumors would spread in no time.

Elizabeth asked, not knowing anything.

“Then why are soldiers still guarding the annex?”

Elizabeth had assumed the grotesque soldiers would leave the estate together. Yet Leon was still using the annex for his own business. It was unexpected.

“That’s a military matter. You’d better not ask.”

Elizabeth sent a sharp look at her son’s reply.

“It’s my house. It’s my business.”

“My wife’s business is my business.”

That was Leon’s way of telling her not to interfere. Pride stung. Elizabeth lowered her voice, aware there were guests present.

“Perhaps. If you had only made sensible choices, I would have trusted you and entrusted you with the family’s business.”

The only mistake her son had ever made was mentioned. Rumors had circulated that Major Leon Winston had installed a government maid in the estate. From Leon’s lips, Elizabeth heard the words she had longed to hear.

“That woman will never be seen again. Not by me, not by anyone.”

“Try to believe it.”

The added words were vague, but Elizabeth didn’t question further.

“You should have married someone who suited Roselyn’s taste.”

Elizabeth’s gentle words made Roselyn smile softly at the lavish tea table.

“A lady must refuse dessert out of etiquette, but this cake is simply impossible to refuse.”

Elizabeth smiled happily. She loved her refined, gentle yet witty speech.

“I worried the cake was too plain for my taste, but it seems to please you.”

“Plain? I’m actually very happy. I’ve heard your eye is excellent.”

Plain was accurate. Her taste, and this conversation.

Leon watched his mother and the Grand Duchess exchange insincere praise and sipped his tea. Jerome’s voice occasionally joined in.

“The Winsford Herald also covered this matter recently…”

The duke, who had heard the behind-the-scenes story of one of Jerome’s investigative reports, looked eager to leave.

Jerome had been invited by Leon, not his mother. Leon had called him to divert the duke’s attention, which was sure to turn to unpleasant subjects.

But the conversation had flowed toward what the duke wanted.

“Doctor Winston.”

Jerome’s public title as an academic was Doctor.

“Your analysis article in the economic journal last time was quite helpful.”

“Honored, Your Grace. Which article do you mean?”

“The Bria Diamond Mine development.”

Leon smiled behind his teacup. He had deliberately steered the conversation back to the main topic.

The Bria Diamond Mine. Rumors of enormous diamonds being discovered in the overseas mine that had just begun development were widespread.

The government of the bankrupt Bria Republic had announced it would auction the mining rights publicly. The largest competition in history was scheduled.

The duke intended to enter the bidding. Leon had no interest in whether the duke succeeded, but encouraging investment from him was unpleasant.

The Winston family owned a diamond mine, though smaller than Bria’s. Even if the Bria mine was the largest, Leon had no intention of duplicating luxury investments.

He had decided to invest his spare funds in the aviation industry and New Continent real estate that would one day replace shipping. The duke kept proposing joint ventures for the Bria mine.

“The Baron Chapman is also joining. You already know what that means.”

Yes, the royal family was going to swallow the Winston family’s asset whole.

The baron was the king’s uncle. In other words, the baron was only lending his name; the real investor was the Crown.

If the royal family directly participated in the Bria Republic’s public auction, various complications would arise. The restored monarchy was only decades old and still unstable, so the king was sensitive to public opinion.

The king was mobilizing distant relatives to join the overseas investment while the royal family led the charge. The duke and baron were being asked to join.

If the duke was foolish enough to think receiving a title was enough, he would have bowed and joined hands.

But Leon was not foolish.

The royal treasury was in poor condition. The duke’s family had much wealth but also much debt. The Winston family’s assets were far more stable.

‘They plan to invest only Winston family money in the Bria auction and let the Crown and duke divide the profits.’

His mother would probably agree without thinking twice since she only needed a title. But the duke, who had no interest in business discussions with women, hadn’t mentioned the joint venture to her.

“With the most precious diamond from the Bria mine, the engagement ring for Roselyn would be perfect.”

The duke, who had been discussing the investment value of the Bria mine with Jerome, finally revealed his true intention to Leon, who had been silent.

“Your Grace, it’s presumptuous, but the Bria mine development will probably take at least two or three more years.”

Placing Jerome in the room was a brilliant strategy. And his mother had joined Leon’s side this time.

“A beautiful young lady cannot remain unmarried forever. I have already found the engagement ring for Roselyn, so there’s no need to worry, Your Grace. We recently acquired a mine owned by my family…”

While the other Winston family members handled the annoying guest, Leon recalled the woman he had locked in the annex basement.

‘Is she enduring well?’

If she wasn’t, what then? Leon smiled as his gaze drifted to the cake ordered from the café near the estate.

‘Speaking of which….’

Leon quietly raised a finger. The maid hurrying toward the greenhouse approached quickly.

Elizabeth had smiled when Leon handed her the lilac, remembering the boyish side of her son when he had broken the branch. She frowned.

“Deliver every single branch to the annex by six o’clock.”

She also disliked the fact that her son was planning to eat dinner alone in the annex tonight.

“Major, interesting rumors are circulating lately.”

The duke, holding the lilac branch, turned to Leon as the maid left the greenhouse. The topic he chose after giving the maid a meaningful smile was exactly what everyone expected.

“Rumors are rumors. We know how to cover them.”

Leon set his teacup down with a relaxed smile. He was not acting like a man being pursued by gossip.

“I’ve already dispelled the cruel rumors circling about me…”

The duke also knew this rumor was only a transaction. It was just a way for Leon to pressure him, since he disliked Leon’s transactional attitude. In any case, it was good that the scandal had been silenced.

“You may speak freely to your mother.”

Elizabeth hid no proud smile. The woman who had been on needles because of the maid gossip had slipped away naturally, pretending it was deliberate. At times like this, Leon appreciated the cleverness.

“Then…”

Elizabeth, waiting for the right moment to leave, folded her napkin and began.

“As an old person, I should leave this young couple’s time. Ah, speaking of which, I recently bought a new painting at the royal auction and wanted to show it to Your Grace first.”

p>Leaving the duke was only an excuse. The two of them were going to discuss the transactional engagement terms.

“Your Grace.”

After the duke left, Jerome finally showed his true nature to the Grand Duchess.

“Your Grace, how do you value the investment in the Bria Diamond Mine?”

Unlike most men who only looked at a woman’s figure or face when they first met, Jerome always tested the brain first. Not exactly a test, but a debate. The inevitable conclusion was that the woman would become an empty doll in front of everyone.

Jerome thought it was excessively arrogant of him to want to do that to the duke’s daughter, who would one day become the next head of his family. Leon checked his watch.

“I have no interest in diamond mine investments.”

“Ah, I see.”

The mocking tone was clear.

“What I’m interested in is separate. It’s fortunate I had business with you today anyway.”

“With me…?”

The Grand Duchess had clearly come because of the engagement. Jerome was surprised it was not with her fiancé but with him.

“I read your Winsford Herald article yesterday.”

“Ah, honored…”

“You sharply mocked Professor John Chadwick’s rocket engine theory as a ridiculous science-fiction movie script written by someone who didn’t even understand high-school physics.”

“That’s…”

“Since you’re the editor, do you agree with Professor Chadwick’s opinion?”

“……”

“I, on the other hand, saw the writer of that article as a talentless amateur full of inferiority who was mocking the pioneer of science to hide his own lack of intelligence at the high-school physics level.”

“Tate has a physics bachelor’s degree…”

“But the article was written by someone who didn’t understand rocket engineering at all. Didn’t the editor already know the basic rule was to conduct thorough research and write based on understanding? Even the editor allowed the article to pass without checking? I’m disappointed.”

Jerome adjusted his glasses, which had slid down his sweaty nose, and smiled awkwardly.

“Since there were many articles to check…”

He would instruct the reporter to re-interview and issue a correction.

“Publishing a correction and a front-page apology would be best.”

“…Yes, I’ll do that.”

As Jerome’s gaze on the Grand Duchess slowly changed, Leon recalled an incident from a year ago in this same greenhouse.

“What’s your name?”

“Sally Bristol, Doctor.”

The maid who had come to tell the Winston wife she would be late for tea time. That was Sally Bristol’s first impression.

At that time, “Sally,” his mother’s personal maid, was only one of many accessories in the estate, with no special impression.

And Jerome Winston was a cruel man who even tested the heads of such accessories.

Leon didn’t remember what scholarly nonsense Jerome had said that day. He only remembered the maid’s reply, which was cheerful but strangely uncomfortable.

“Wow, I don’t understand what you said, but it was amazing, Doctor. Did you discover it?”

“Ah… you just read it in a book. Reading books is fun, right? Haha. I thought you had discovered it yourself after researching because you said that.”

Leon laughed one year later. He had only now realized the woman had been pretending to be foolish and mocking Jerome.

She had a bold streak even as a mere maid, but he hadn’t cared enough to notice then.

“I wonder if the readers who naively believed the article and cut off funding from the Winston family would still cover the loss.”

“That, I will take responsibility for. By the way, I didn’t know you were interested in that.”

“I have an astronomy degree.”

p>“Ah…”

“So, did you read the article yesterday? According to that reporter, when the rocket leaves Earth’s atmosphere…”

The role had switched.

Leon quietly observed the two of them and smiled.

Today’s tea time had been quite enjoyable. Jerome had been verbally slapped by the woman.

He wanted to watch the rare sight to the end, but there was more important business. Leon checked his watch repeatedly and proposed to Jerome.

“Doctor Winston, how about showing Your Grace your research laboratory?”

He left the prospective fiancée in his brother’s care and left the greenhouse.

While walking the endless cherry-tree path, Leon had done something foolish.

He had been thinking about whether he had met “Sally” as his mother’s maid before.

Reasonably obsessed.

His strange obsession had only ever looked toward that woman. Other women were still just meat, even when naked.

He had thought anyone who fell for a beauty trap was an idiot. He had considered it a stupid mistake to fall for the whore while respecting his father.

Yet he was fucking the daughter of that whore every day like a lust-crazed dog. He had to admit he was no different from an idiot.

‘No, I’m not like them.’

At least he wouldn’t risk his life or everything he had on her.

She didn’t know that he feared her as much as she feared him.

He was calm and emotionless in everything, but one word or gesture from her sent him into violent reaction. He had thought he had conquered her, but it seemed he was the one who had been conquered.

So he had to lock her up forever. To prevent her from conquering him.

Tick. Creak. Whir.

“Hah, hah.”

The ventilator hummed as regularly as her breathing.

The room was so dark she couldn’t see her own hands. Even if the light had been on, she couldn’t have seen her hands.

Both arms were tied behind her back, and in addition her wrists were bound to the ceiling with rope. Her waist was bent ninety degrees so her head faced upward.

Grace, balanced between her feet touching the floor and her arms tied to the ceiling, muttered curses.

“Fucking bastard…”

The rope holding her arms had almost no slack. They had tied her in this position so she couldn’t stand up. No matter how she moved, her arms would dislocate.

“Ahh…”

Fucking pervert. They hadn’t forgotten to stuff the rope between her tightly bound legs. They had even tied a thick knot right over her clit.

Every time she twisted, her clit rubbed against the knot. Sharp pleasure made her head snap up, but the pull on her arms forced her to cry out again. The continuous stimulation made her legs weaker and weaker.

Grace slowly regained her senses and replayed what had led her to this.

Newspapers came at two o’clock every afternoon. Training at ten o’clock every night.

Leon had been perfectly on time until today. But today he arrived at one o’clock.

“Strip and wait.”

He had never been able to follow the new rule he had set days ago. The moment he entered he stripped her completely and tied her to the wall in an X shape.

“Who is your owner?”

A question she had heard endlessly, but the worst kind because she answered and still nothing changed.

Grace clenched her teeth. The riding crop in Leon’s hand curved flexibly.

She stared at the fingers pressing the crop tip in fear. The moment he released it, she would feel her body burning.

“Leon Winston…”

When Leon was about to spread his fingers, Grace reluctantly answered.

“Captain… sir.”

“You know? But why does my little mouse not listen to her owner…”

The crop tip swept her nape. Grace lowered her head and trembled.

“Could a revolution led by a minority succeed?”

Today too. Leon began insulting the revolutionary army while starting the newspaper. It was a tactic to shake their spirits and make comrades doubt the cause.

“A revolution that can’t gain the people’s support isn’t a revolution, it’s a rebellion.”

Grace sang her song in her head no matter what he said.

“Even revolutions that gained the people’s support eventually failed.”

The crop tip slid down her back, past her shoulder blade, to her cleavage.

“Because of the corrupt, lawless leaders of the revolutionary government. You learned history in school, so you know.”

Textbooks fabricated by royal pigs.

“H…”

The crop tip poked her nipple.

“You’re receiving such precious teachings but your attitude is poor.”

“Ahh!”

The hard leather scraped her nipple deep into her breast. Grace writhed as unbearable pain and pleasure tore through her body. The heavy weight hanging from her shoulder swung wildly.

As always, Leon’s gaze changed. The newspaper’s purpose changed instantly.

‘Yes, get horny. Erase the newspaper from your mind.’

But today was different. Leon checked his watch, sighed shortly, and continued the newspaper.

“Hah…”

The crop tip finally fell from her chest. While Grace caught her breath, the crop slid down her sweat-slick belly.

“This is all for your comrades. We need to free them from brainwashing as quickly as possible and stop useless sacrifices.”

It meant revealing the location of their base.

“I don’t know.”

The crop tip that had been sweeping her lower belly suddenly struck again.

“Ahh!”

The crop tip that had been lifted fell on her completely exposed pink mucosa. Pain spread like fire across her entire pussy.

A large hand grabbed her hair and forced her bowed head upright.

“Have you forgotten your duty? Who is going to believe a leader who doesn’t know the base location?”

“Hah, I’ve been moving around because of my parents’ mission. How was I supposed to know the base location? Orders always came by phone.”

“Did you even talk to Little Jimmy on the phone?”

“That was an arranged engagement.”

p>‘Did the lie work?’

Leon released her hair and glanced at his watch again. There was probably another appointment.

“Then I’ll make your head bleed more easily and you can search your memories.”

He left her tied like this and still hadn’t returned.

“Damn it… ahh, you bastard.”

Her arms ached. She twisted and cursed again.

“You don’t know when to stop, really…”

When Leon displayed his cruel torturer side, she would have preferred a lust-crazed dog.

“How long…”

Drops of sweat fell from his chin to the floor.

“Until when…”

She didn’t know how much time had passed.

Tick. Creak. Whir.

She was just thinking she should count the ventilator cycles when footsteps approached from outside the door.

They weren’t Leon’s footsteps.

‘Did he lock the door?’

She didn’t remember whether he had locked the door when he left.

The footsteps of a stranger stopped right in front of the door. Grace began to panic.

They were coming in.

The sound of a key turning in the lock. Leon had definitely locked the door and left, but it helped nothing.

Click.

The lock opening was loud.

‘Hah…’

When the soldiers brought meals, they had been carrying the key. The person who owned the key was not only Leon.

‘No.’

Her buttocks faced the door. The moment it opened, her pussy would be exposed.

‘I don’t want this!’

She twisted desperately. The door creaked open. Damn it. The footsteps of the man entering were not Leon’s.

“Get out! Don’t touch me!”

She turned her head to see the man’s face. A large hand covered her eyes.

“Winston?”

Please, it had to be that bastard. She would rather be raped by another man than by him.

But the man tied something silky to her head without answering and blindfolded her.

Grace, naked and trembling in fear, let the man grope her to start. Her hands and feet were bound, so she could do nothing.

The groping was sloppy and dirty. It wasn’t the precise touch of Leon.

“H, no. Stop!”

The stranger’s hands spread her exposed pussy and poked. Fingers searching for her clit dug into the flesh and pressed the soft mucosa. If it had been Leon, he would have found her clit in one go instead of poking random places.

“W-who are you? Stop. The major will know and leave you alone.”

Did the threat work? The hand withdrew.

No, the threat didn’t work. The sound of the belt buckle coming undone from behind was clear.