Seo Yunhan returned to his room alone.
The heavy door closed behind him with a soft click.
He stood motionless for a moment, then slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.
Baek Muhyeok.
The name still felt like a blade twisting in his chest.
The arrogant Flower General who had mocked him for years… was his Aran. The woman who had slept in his arms, eaten from his hand, and looked at him with those trusting eyes.
And yet she had rejected him. For the first time, she had turned away and hidden her face in another man’s chest.
A dark, twisted image suddenly flashed through his mind.
A large, ornate golden cage. Aran sitting inside it, unable to escape, looking up at him with helpless eyes as he gently fed her delicious ribs from his own hand.
He shook his head violently, as if trying to throw the vision away.
“No…”
Baek Muhyeok was a free soul who had shaken the world. Caging her like that wouldn’t make her happy.
But then… how do I keep her by my side?
He couldn’t let someone like Jinho have her. Never.
If I tame her so thoroughly that she can’t live without me… then she will stay by my side willingly.
Yes. That was it.
He would take care of everything without her realizing it. He would make her body and heart get used to his touch, little by little, until she craved it on her own.
“…She is mine.”
He muttered to himself, his voice low and unsteady. His hands fidgeted anxiously, fingers twisting together as if he couldn’t calm down.
He sat back down on the bed, staring at the wall in the dark.
How do I make her tame to me?
How…?
The question kept circling in his mind.
He closed his eyes and began to recall the past three months. One by one. Carefully.
When had she stopped resisting breakfast on his lap? At first she had glared at him, clearly displeased. But after he told her to sit on his lap and let him feed her, she never fought it again.
The carpets. He had told the servants to lay them out so she could move freely around the residence. He had said, “This is your road.” And from that day on, she had used them without fail.
The hip movement while crawling. He had once casually mentioned that rolling her hips would reduce strain on her lower back. She had given him a murderous look… but from that day forward, she had never once crawled without doing it.
The bench at sunset. The exact time. The way she always leaned toward him first for a kiss.
The left thigh as a pillow when she slept.
Every small instruction, no matter how trivial or arbitrary, had been followed. Without exception. Without real complaint.
Like rules she could not break.
Seo Yunhan opened his eyes.
She follows what I say.
The thought settled quietly in his chest.
He had been doing it without even realizing.
A slow, dangerous smile touched his lips for the first time that night.
If he continued this way… if he gave her instructions little by little, gently, naturally…
She would eventually become completely his.
Without even knowing it.
And yet…
The realization hit him like cold water.
Baek Muhyeok.
The proud, untamable Flower General.
The man who had never bowed to anyone.
How could someone like that follow every word so obediently?
The curse.
The Saintess’s curse.
It didn’t just change her body. It made her obey. It made her crave her owner’s touch. It made her want to submit.
And it made him want to conquer her.
The darker thoughts came rushing back.
If the curse is the reason she follows me so easily… then I can use it.
He was fighting it. Fighting the deep, dark desire inside him — the urge to lock her up, to keep her where no one else could touch her, to make her his completely.