A Sorrowful Scream Echoing Through the Mansion
Late in the evening, Ok-hui walked quietly along the mansion's corridors. Though darkness blanketed every corner of the estate, the dim wall sconces lit here and there cast her long shadow against the stone. The shadow wavered uneasily, as if mirroring the deep anxiety weighing on her heart.
The laundry basket in her hands was filled with Baek Kang-ho's neatly folded clothes. Yet, far heavier than the physical weight of the basket was the burden on Ok-hui's mind. She was on her way to arrange his garments in his dressing room, but her steps grew increasingly sluggish. Her heavy heart was plagued by a relentless worry over what might have happened to Su-ryeon after she had gone to the dining hall to have dinner with Baek Kang-ho.
To reach Baek Kang-ho's dressing room, there was one place she absolutely had to pass. It was the Punishment Room.
As Ok-hui drew closer to the Punishment Room, a horrific sound began to leak through the heavy doors. With every step, the noise grew sharper, ringing with agonizing clarity in her ears. The whistling crack of a whip tearing through the air, followed by the desperate shriek of a woman in torment...
Ok-hui squeezed her eyes shut at the dreadful sound, holding her breath as she tried to hurry past. But hearing the woman's agonized screams, she recognized the voice instantly. It was Cheon Su-ryeon. And she could easily guess why Su-ryeon was being subjected to such brutal punishment at this late hour.
In the end... Baek Kang-ho found out that Su-ryeon gave the Recovery Herb to Ha-jin...
The moment that realization crossed her mind, Ok-hui felt a cold dread seep into her chest. Su-ryeon's throat-shredding screams made the sheer agony she was enduring feel painfully real, tearing at Ok-hui's heart. Yet, powerless to do anything to help, Ok-hui could only pray desperately that the torture would end quickly. A silent, sorrowful prayer echoing from the depths of her soul was her only solace.
Inside the Punishment Room, Baek Kang-ho raised his arm, drawing the tightly gripped whip backward in a sharp, lethal arc. He looked like a viper coiling its body, waiting for the perfect, fatal moment to strike its prey.
In the next instant, he brought the whip down with all his might, mercilessly clawing across Su-ryeon's pale, beautiful back. The pain was incomparable to the lashes she had received on her calves. It went far beyond the mere tearing of flesh; her insides twisted, her organs shuddered, and a maddening agony erupted from deep within her. It felt as though her body was being ripped apart, the torment boring straight into her bones. The sheer intensity of the pain crushed her nervous system, flooding her senses with a suffocating, overwhelming shock that threatened to stop her heart.
CRACK—!
"Aaaagh—! Ahh! Forty-four—! Please... strike me... harder, M-Master..."
Yet, Su-ryeon endured the horrific agony of the whip with her fragile body. Her slender back was already shredded, the flesh so battered and swollen from the relentless assault that the blood barely had room to flow.
CRACK—!
"Kyaaah—! Ahh! Forty-five—! Please... harder... Master..."
Every time the whip struck and her body convulsed, the agony went far deeper than a surface laceration. With a pain that felt as if her internal organs were being pulverized, Su-ryeon's frame shuddered. She bit her lip until it bled, exhaling shallow, ragged breaths through the torment. Her entire body had long since surpassed its limits, and the sheer, unadulterated torture had left her without even a single tear to shed.
This pain was not mere punishment. It was a systematic cruelty designed to strip away her very identity, a brutal reminder of her new reality as a sex slave on this first day of her subjugation. Yet, the long, agonizing ordeal was finally drawing to a close. The final moment was at hand.
CRACK—!
"Aaaagh—! Ah! Fifty—! Th-thank you... M-Master..."
When the final lash tore through the air and struck her back, the impact felt as if it would steal the very last breath from her lungs. Her strength entirely spent, Su-ryeon hung limply from the punishment rack, her battered body draped pathetically against the wood. Drenched in agony, she looked as though her spirit had been utterly broken. The air in the room hung heavy with the heat of her suffering, and her breathing was faint, shallow, and thready. With no strength left to scream, she quietly accepted the end of the torment.
Meanwhile, Baek Kang-ho lowered the whip, his chest heaving as he took deep, ragged breaths, his excitement still running high. Gazing at her bound to the rack like a sculptor admiring a finished masterpiece, his face twisted into a mask of sadistic satisfaction and cruel arousal. His eyes gleamed with an insatiable obsession and a dark sense of accomplishment.
"Cheon Su-ryeon! Well? Do you feel some remorse for what you did now?"
Su-ryeon did not believe for a single second that she had done anything wrong. Even if she were put in the exact same situation again, she would not hesitate to give the Recovery Herb to Ha-jin. Steeling her resolve, she took a quiet, trembling breath. But to survive this moment and escape further immediate torture, she had no choice but to play the part of a penitent slave.
"Yes, Master. I have reflected deeply on my actions."
Detecting the lack of genuine sincerity in her voice, Baek Kang-ho knitted his brows in brief displeasure. Soon, however, his scowl melted into a sinister, mocking grin as he delivered his next cruel words.
"Your voice doesn't sound very remorseful, but no matter. You still have two days of punishment left. I'll make sure you learn true penitence by the time we're through."
"...Ah..."
Hearing his words, a crushing despair washed over Su-ryeon. Her body turned ice-cold, her heart hammered against her ribs, and a suffocating tightness seized her chest. Realizing that two more days of this agonizing torture awaited her, she felt as though her body and mind would shatter. The sheer weight of his absolute control and the demand for her total submission left her utterly powerless.
At that moment, Baek Kang-ho stepped up to the punishment rack and began unlocking the shackles binding her wrists and ankles. Realizing that today's torture was finally over, Su-ryeon pushed aside her dread of tomorrow and let out a faint sigh of relief. The instant the cuffs fell away, the agonizing pain from her wounds made her sway violently, nearly collapsing to the floor. But she suddenly remembered Baek Kang-ho's warning: 'Do not collapse when your punishment is over.' Spurred by that memory, she desperately clung to the wooden pillar of the rack, straining every muscle to remain upright. As her chest pressed against the cold wood, a chilling sensation washed over her, freezing her very soul. In that icy embrace, she felt more profoundly isolated than ever before.
Watching Su-ryeon desperately cling to the pillar, fighting with everything she had to keep from falling, Baek Kang-ho felt a twisted thrill of pleasure. Her desperate struggle to endure the pain only fueled his depraved desires. The intoxicating rush of absolute dominance surged through his veins, carving a dark, sinister smile onto his face.
"Cheon Su-ryeon! Get dressed and return to your room! And report back to the Punishment Room tomorrow at four in the afternoon!"
Baek Kang-ho's cold, merciless command pierced Su-ryeon's heart like an icy blade. The realization that she was trapped in a living hell, destined to be bound to that horrific rack again tomorrow, filled her with absolute despair. With every agonizing step she took down from the platform, the searing pain radiating from her back and calves flared so intensely she had to gasp for air. Yet, pitifully, she gritted her teeth and bore the excruciating torment, forcing herself to step down.
Finally stepping off the platform, her body trembling uncontrollably, Su-ryeon forced her pain-contorted face into an expression of submission and offered her master a mandatory, agonizingly reluctant expression of gratitude.
"Thank you, Master."
Hearing her submissive thanks, Baek Kang-ho's lips curled into a smirk. Though his expression remained cold, a deep, twisted satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.
"Good. Let us look forward to another delightful session tomorrow, then!"
At his chilling words, a fresh wave of agony flared from her wounds, and Su-ryeon knit her brows, struggling to suppress a groan. Swallowing her whimpers, she bowed her head in a final, submissive gesture before dragging her trembling, unstable body toward the exit. Step by agonizing step, she limped on her shredded legs toward the heavy door of the Punishment Room. Her battered, pathetic figure was a sight of pure misery, and Baek Kang-ho watched her leave with a wicked grin, his dark excitement mounting with every step she took.
After a grueling, agonizing walk, Su-ryeon finally reached the door of her room. The searing pain radiating from her back and calves grew more intense by the second, threatening to crush her, but she paused before the door, desperately trying to compose herself. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she forced a smile onto her face to mask the agony, and pushed the door open. Though the smile was stiff and unnatural, she held onto it as she stepped inside.
Just as she had expected, Eun-hye and Lee Ha-jin immediately rushed toward her, their faces pale with worry. Eun-hye's sightless eyes were wide with anxiety, while Ha-jin approached with her lips tightly pursed, her concern palpable.
"Su-ryeon! What took you so long? Did something happen after dinner?"
Eun-hye asked, her voice laced with urgency as she rushed forward and took Su-ryeon's hands in her own. Even though she knew the truth would soon be revealed, Su-ryeon did her absolute best to maintain her forced smile to reassure her friend.
"No, nothing happened. I was just talking with Duke Baek Kang-ho after dinner, which is why I'm late."
Eun-hye could sense that Su-ryeon was hiding something. A subtle, nagging anxiety settled in her chest, but she couldn't find the words to voice her suspicion. Just then, Ha-jin stepped forward, her face bright and free from the agony she had suffered earlier. Her voice was thick with a mixture of deep gratitude and profound guilt.
"Hello, Sister Su-ryeon. I'm so sorry I couldn't greet you properly earlier. My name is Lee Ha-jin."
"It's nice to meet you, Ha-jin."
"Sister Eun-hye told me everything. You gave up your own Recovery Herb for me while I was unconscious, didn't you? Thanks to you, I'm completely healed. But... if Duke Baek Kang-ho finds out..."
As Ha-jin's voice trailed off, her lips trembling as she hung her head, Su-ryeon offered her a warm, reassuring smile.
"I am so glad to see you well. I was terribly worried about you this afternoon. And please, don't worry about me."
Yet, Su-ryeon's voice trembled ever so slightly, and even her smile was a fragile mask held together by sheer willpower. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and though she tried to hide her shaking hands, her body was rapidly failing to withstand the agonizing pain.
Noticing Su-ryeon's subtle tremors and the cold sweat on her brow, a terrible suspicion seized Eun-hye. She quietly stepped behind her. The moment her eyes fell upon Su-ryeon's back and calves, mapped with brutal, merciless whip lashes, Eun-hye's heart hammered in a mixture of shock and profound grief. Staring at the raw, agonizing welts, a wave of bitter resentment surged within her, and her face contorted in silent anguish.