Opportunity arrived unexpectedly. Juliet had completely lost his strength due to the persistent fever and exhaustion that had been dragging on for days. He was so worn out that he didn’t want to do anything. All he did was sleep, skipping meals except when he had to get up to relieve himself. The sweet scent felt several times stronger each time he drifted in and out of consciousness, and now it was making his whole body tingle.
Something’s wrong.
Even in his sleep-addled state, he could tell. He was sure he had a serious illness.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have such a high fever that he couldn’t even move his body, and he wouldn’t be so unbearably sleepy.
“Ugh, uh…”
A small sound escaped his lips. He realized afterward that his body was shaking. Ah, not again. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know what was happening. Dominic’s actions never stopped just because Juliet was asleep. They continued.
Dominic kissed Juliet deeply on the lips and ejaculated inside him. A repetition of mechanical acts. Juliet felt nothing anymore.
Ah, not again.
He vaguely recalled. The sweet scent felt intense. The scent intensified whenever Dominic ejaculated, but he hardly noticed anymore. Juliet closed his eyes and moved his hips slightly. As he shifted, the length still buried inside him stirred, discharging the last of its seed. Dominic let out a low laugh at the instinctive action in Juliet’s semi-conscious state.
Juliet, waiting for him to finish, barely clung to his slipping consciousness and opened his mouth.
“Dominic.”
A hoarse, cracked voice came out. He felt a pang of self-pity at the pitiful sound, but he couldn’t muster the strength to think beyond that. His head, along with his entire body, felt as heavy as a sponge soaked in water.
“I… I don’t feel well…”
Juliet said, his voice strained as he forced the words out. It was true. Even before his body had deteriorated to this point, he had barely eaten anything but watery soup and water. The only thing he’d consumed to his heart’s content was Dominic’s semen. A disgusting fact, but true.
Even if a chance came, he wouldn’t be able to escape properly in this state.
Juliet forced himself to continue.
“A doctor… or at least, some medicine…”
He only managed to say the words briefly before a fit of dry coughing overtook him. Coughing weakly and spitting out air, he soon gasped for breath, his chest rising and falling in short, shallow breaths. Juliet forced himself to breathe as steadily as possible, waiting for Dominic’s reaction.
Dominic watched him silently. Just as the eerie silence was starting to feel frightening, Dominic finally spoke.
“Let’s get out of here.”
What?
Even as he heard it, he couldn’t believe it. Dominic letting him go? He’d already resigned himself to the fact that such a thing would never happen.
He’d thought he would never leave this hellhole unless he killed Dominic and buried him in secret. Juliet’s eyes widened in disbelief at the unexpected words, though all he could manage was a weak, barely perceptible blink.
“You’re going to let me out…? Me? Really?”
He tried to raise his voice in desperation, but it was just an illusion. In reality, it was nothing more than a hoarse, breathy rasp. Dominic stared down at Juliet, whose face contorted as if his throat were tearing apart.
“Yes, for a little while.”
Juliet was overwhelmed with emotion and at a loss for words. Finally, he was getting out. Finally, he was getting out. Finally, finally, finally…!
That was the end of his memory.
With that fleeting elation, Juliet passed out again.
****
The ceiling he saw when he opened his eyes was completely unfamiliar. Juliet, who had lost consciousness, blinked a few times as his vision remained blurry, and soon realized that something was wrong with his body.
There was a definite change in his surroundings.
Had something happened while he was asleep…?
But it was a stretch to think that way. He didn’t feel any better now. His head was still spinning, and his body felt so heavy that he couldn’t move.
Juliet moved his head and looked around. It wasn’t the dark, filthy space he was used to. It wasn’t the place where Dominic had imprisoned him and raped him endlessly.
Bright sunlight streamed in through a window that spanned a large part of the wall. The walls, adorned with high-end wallpaper, were covered with colorful oil paintings in various sizes. The bed he lay on smelled clean. And the most shocking thing was that he wasn’t naked.
He was stunned to see himself dressed in silk pajamas. He looked again and again, but the scene didn’t change. It was such a cozy, luxurious bedroom.
“Aah…!”
Juliet, belatedly startled as he tried to get out of bed, slipped and fell. He screamed instinctively. Fortunately, the soft carpet cushioned the impact, but the pain in his broken ankle was excruciating.
“Ugh…”
There was no doubt — he couldn’t use his ankle. His untreated ankle, left neglected, had stiffened in place, and even the slightest bump sent searing pain through him, forcing a scream from his throat.
Haa, haa.
He lay sprawled on the floor, groaning, waiting for the pain to subside. Walking was out of the question, but crawling was still possible. Juliet gasped for air and began to crawl across the floor.
It was clear that Dominic had brought him here. He had to ask for help before that man returned. Quickly, quickly…
Haa, haa.
His breaths came in shallow pants, and his vision swam from the exertion, but the door was still so far away. Juliet halted with a stricken expression when he realized he had only managed to move a few inches.
Why… is this happening…?
It wasn’t just his ankle that was useless. Why did his whole body feel so weak? He couldn’t summon any strength, as if his muscles had melted away. Why? What for?
My… body…
Juliet directed his trembling gaze to his lower body. A swath of fabric draped over his long legs, which lay sprawled and useless. Realizing that the pajamas he was wearing were a single piece, he turned his eyes to his hands.
His hands trembled, lacking any strength. Confusion clouded his mind as he stared at them. That was when he heard someone running in the hallway.
Juliet shrank in fear at the approaching sound of footsteps. But his body still wouldn’t move as he wanted it to. The door swung open, and he screamed in terror, but the people who entered weren’t Dominic.
Unfamiliar faces. The servants he had never seen before rushed to Juliet, lifting him from the floor and laying him back on the bed.
What is going on?
After the servants left, Juliet lay alone in bed, staring up at the ceiling with a bewildered expression.
Those people are probably servants.
…Dominic’s.
He couldn’t grasp anything about the situation unfolding before him, but the servants left without a word, closing the door behind them. As if they had been ordered to remain silent, they didn’t even ask if he was okay.
But the confusion and questions soon dissipated under a wave of sudden dizziness. Juliet’s eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted back into unconsciousness.
Like flickering.
He lay in bed, caught in a loop of waking and slipping back into a haze. When he finally regained his senses again, the sun had set, and dusk had fallen.
“Ugh…”
Juliet groaned as he tried to turn over. Despite having slept all day, his body was still in terrible condition. Mustering every bit of strength he had, he barely managed to sit up. Even that small action left him breathless.
Haa, haa.
As he heaved for air, a familiar sound reached his ears.
…Footsteps.
The only sound he’d heard during his imprisonment — those footsteps.
It’s Dominic Miller’s.
Juliet’s entire body tensed as he recognized the sound. The footsteps drew nearer, echoing down the hallway. They were heading straight toward Juliet’s room.
Juliet didn’t know what to do. In a panic, he pulled the blanket up to his neck, hiding beneath it as he trembled. He was paralyzed with fear, unable to move.
All he could do was hope that Dominic would pass by.
Please, don’t come in.
But that hope was in vain. The door clicked open, and a desperate breath escaped Juliet’s lips. Soon, the chillingly precise sound of polished shoe heels echoed through the room.
Juliet could do nothing but shiver and watch as Dominic drew closer.