Can't Come Back - Chapter 50

TW: DEPICTION OF RAPE

A soldier later woke up Dean and informed him of the current scenario.

“Your Grace, we have all the prisoners gathered. Should we go ahead?”

“Hmm… yes, let’s go.”

‘What’s with their haste? It barely seems like an hour has passed.’

Dean yawned loudly and stood up. He followed the soldier into the village center. The inmates were shackled and kneeling there. Dean examined the scene and inquired of his subordinate.

“So, how many are there all in total?”

“About 20.”

“Only 20? That’s less than I expected. Is that the entire population of this village?”

“It’s a small village, and most men were killed during our empire’s occupation process.”

According to the subordinate, most of the inmates were women and children. Dean took his time looking at the detainees’ faces.

‘Is there any attractive women?’

Dean then observed a woman. She was approximately twenty years old and had a lovely face.

‘Oh, that’s nice.’

The day before, Dean had forced himself onto a beautiful prisoner. He pressed himself on a woman who rejected and fought him. He felt not only pleasure but also a feeling of conquering when he finally exhausted her and gratified his lust. He smirked as he remembered yesterday.

‘It was so fantastic yesterday. Should I have another good time today?’

Dean directed his finger toward her.

“I’ll accompany the brunette over there. Bring her in.”

“Understood.”

One of the soldiers compelled her to stand. The woman was dragged in front of Dean, her eyes shaking in dread. Her entire body was quivering.

“Hmm, that’s a nice figure.”

Dean assessed her, scrutinizing her from head to toe. She appeared to be a better choice than the woman from the day before. He drew out his knife, satisfied.

Swish-

With his knife, Dean ripped her garments. Her skin was showing. Dean was immediately aroused.

“You complete the remaining duties. I’ll be around the corner.”

“Yes, your grace.”

Everyone anticipated what Dean would do with the female prisoner. The woman being led away by Dean by her hair was no exception.

“Pl, please…spare me…”

She begged Dean to help her. It was obvious what would happen next. She’d be mercilessly abused and dumped.

“Just follow quietly, and I promise I won’t kill you!”

Dean pushed her into a corner where no one could see her. He pinned her down and tore the remainder of her clothes off.

“Please…”

Her body couldn’t stop shaking. Her horrified expression, on the other hand, served to excite Dean even more. He grasped the woman’s chest firmly.

“Heh, heh, you’ve got big breasts.”

“Aaaah!”

Whether it was because he squeezed so hard or not, the woman was in excruciating pain and yelled in agony.

“You should appreciate it when I touch you! Why are you yelling? Just wait, I’ll make you feel so amazing shortly.”

As he unzipped his pants, Dean laughed disgustingly. His erection was soon revealed. He parted her legs wide open and positioned himself against the woman’s private area.

“No, don’t do it!”

The imprisoned woman struggled to put a stop to his actions.

“You wench, stay still!”

She despised being violated in this manner so much that she wished to die. She used all of her strength to shake Dean off. A woman, on the other hand, could not overcome a man’s strength. In this situation, she couldn’t give up. She summoned all of her might and called out to Dean.

Swipe-

“What the hell…”

Her fingernails scratched Dean’s face. Dean appeared perplexed at first, then raised his hand and slapped the woman on the cheek.

“You wench!”

Slap-

“Aah!”

“Shut up and be quiet. Before I murder you.”

The woman shook. Dean was dead serious. He appeared ready to stab her with the knife he used to shred her garments if she protested any longer.

Dean rubbed the woman’s shoulder and parted her legs once more. He pushed himself into her exposed private region.

“Why won’t it go in!”

The woman’s insides were excessively tight because they were not adequately lubricated. It would not fit properly. In anguish, the woman yelled.

“Aaah!”

She was in excruciating discomfort. She wished the man before her would die right then and there. It was so unpleasant that she had to put up with it even though she had done nothing wrong. She couldn’t stand it any longer and tightly closed her eyes.

‘…Huh?’

But it was peculiar. Dean’s movement, which had been violently pushing in, had ceased. She gradually opened her eyes.

“Ah, ugh!”

Dean’s face was contorted in pain as he pressed down on her.

“This… is… crazy…”

His mouth was full of profanity. However, Dean was unable to continue speaking.

Thud-

His body sagged and collapsed to the side. Dean had a huge knife stuck in his back. He ceased breathing.

“Andella, are you okay?!”

“O… Older brother!”

Andella, the prisoner woman, sobbed in the arms of the guy who murdered Dean. He was her brother. He held his sister and checked on her. He was relieved she was unharmed, even though he was a little late.

“Let’s run away.”

He took his sister’s hand and went to the back of the village. The man cast a peek at Dean’s body.

‘If I had been discovered earlier when I made an unintentional noise, I might have been dead by now.’

The rustling sound Dean heard while napping was caused by his accidentally moving while lying in wait. Despite the war situation, Dean dismissed the sound.

Furthermore, he attempted to rape a prisoner in this barren location without a single military to protect him. He could be said to have brought this on himself.

That’s how Duke Dean Hildayden had died.

* * *

“What? What exactly did you say?”

“I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the Duchess.”

Berlia received the shocking news that she couldn’t believe. The news was Dean’s death, who had gone to war not long before. It was something she had not anticipated. She was taken aback and sank into her seat.

“Are you okay?”

Berlia was supported by the soldier who brought the news. He assumed that was a natural reaction because she had recently lost her husband. Furthermore, the soldier knew the rumor that the Duchess had miscarried. She had recently lost her child, and now her husband had died. It must have seemed as if the sky was descending. He felt terrible for her.

“I’m sorry; I don’t know what to say except that I hope you’re not hurt and that you relax.”

He couldn’t tell Berlia what had happened to Dean. He couldn’t claim that her spouse was ambushed while raping a female prisoner. He departed the mansion with nothing but words of comfort.

‘What exactly is this…’

Berlia’s mind was blank. Despite the difficulties he had caused her, she felt anxious when she learned he had died. She had been planning a divorce to leave him, but it was not like dying. She couldn’t be joyful over the death of someone she knew.

‘I wasn’t expecting this…’

It was an unexpected turn of events. It was unnecessary to plan for divorce. There was even a sense of emptiness.

‘So, what happens now?’

She became a widow after her spouse died unexpectedly. Would her surname then be Hildayden or Kinderton? She was perplexed. Berlia was desperate to see Cain at this point.

Cain returned to the mansion when dusk approached. Berlia went to Cain as soon as she heard he had returned.

Knock, knock, knock-

“Cain, it’s me.”

Cain let her enter the room by opening the door. However, Berlia did not appear to be in excellent health.

“What’s the matter, Berlia? You don’t appear to be in good health. Has your condition deteriorated?”

Berlia shook her head and replied to his worried question.

“No, I’m perfectly fine. I’m almost completely recovered now.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“… My husband, he was killed in the war.”

The room fell silent at the end of her sentence. Her unexpected statements took Cain aback.

“… What?! Do you mean my brother?”

“I, too, was taken aback. I never imagined that my husband would die in the war…”

Even though he had never been kind to Cain, he had taken away the lady Cain loved. Despite this, Cain was overcome by an unexplainable sadness.

“…I see.”

However, the fact that his brother, with whom he had grown up, had died triggered a range of feelings that could not be expressed in words.

Dean’s body arrived at the Hilldayden estate a few days later. Berlia and Cain witnessed his body firsthand. Dean had passed away.

“I offer my condolences.”

“…Thank you.”

The servant who carried Dean’s body lowered his head in sorrow. Berlia and Cain responded with a slight bow.

“…And I’ve been asked to convey a decree from His Majesty the Emperor.”

The imperial city servant unrolled a massive piece of parchment he had brought and began reading its contents.

“From now on, Cain Hilldayden is known as Duke Hildayden.”

With Dean’s death, Cain was destined to become Duke Hildayden. Berlia had anticipated this. This, however, did not imply that Berlia would marry Cain. In the empire, there was no such thing as levirate marriage.

Furthermore, with Cain now burdened with Duke Hildayden’s duties, departing for another country became impossible.

‘If I can’t leave, do I have to keep meeting Cain in secret, away from everyone’s gaze, like I have been doing?’

There was no other option. Berlia, who still held the title of Hildayden despite her husband Dean’s death, was allowed to stay at the estate.

Berlia’s thoughts were interrupted by the surprising comments of the servant.

“Also, to fulfill his duty as a noble with a title, he is commanded to participate in the war at the national border.”

Cain had been summoned to the battlefield by the Emperor. Berlia had the impression that the sky was collapsing.