Suspicious Banquet 3
A man and a woman danced in perfect time with the music.
Moving in sync with her steps, the man's hand slid deep around her waist, eventually finding its way to caress her lower abdomen.
The hand, gently stroking her lower belly, crept upward bit by bit. It passed her stomach, brushed against her solar plexus, and soon slipped beneath her breasts.
The woman flinched, clearly startled.
Yet the song played on, and the dance did not stop. Unable to shake off his touch, she forced herself to maintain her beautiful, flowing movements.
To an onlooker, they might have seemed like a beautiful pair of lovers.
Or perhaps they would mistake them for a passionate young couple swept up in the heat of the ballroom.
If only she weren't my lover.
The man's hand was hidden from view, obscured by Elenoar's breast.
But I could tell just by looking at her flustered face, her slightly tense shoulders, and the way her chest heaved every now and then.
That man was fondling Elenoar's body exactly as he pleased.
In an instant, the spinning pair vanished behind a pillar.
I couldn't bear to watch any longer.
I had to storm into the banquet hall right now and pull her away.
"Sir Max?"
I heard Herman calling me from behind, but I ignored him.
My only thought was to rescue Elenoar, who was trapped in that man's grasp and being toyed with.
At that moment, the two of them, still dancing to the rhythm, reemerged from behind the pillar.
Even from a distance, I could see Elenoar's face was slightly flushed.
She was gripping the man's wrist, seemingly trying her best to stave off his wandering hand.
"..."
Just then, Elenoar turned her head, and our eyes met.
Forcing a faint smile, she looked at me and slowly nodded.
The distance was too great for me to hear her voice.
No, she wasn't trying to speak to me in the first place.
Yet, from that single look, I knew exactly what she wanted to say.
I nodded back, my heart heavy.
Suppressing the urge to rush out there this very second, I grit my teeth and turned back inside.
"Sir Herman. This is my first time here, but must I remain in this room? It feels like a waste to visit such a magnificent mansion and leave without even getting a proper look at the interior."
I asked Herman, feigning nonchalance.
He let out a hearty laugh and shook his head.
"Of course not! Why would you have to do that? It seems Sir Max is still unfamiliar with the ways of this place since it's your first day. Though, by contrast, your lady seems to be enjoying the banquet quite thoroughly."
I saw Herman's gaze drift toward the banquet hall over my shoulder.
I grit my teeth inwardly and refused to turn around.
I knew that if I caught sight of Elenoar being humiliated again, I wouldn't be able to control myself.
"Hmm. Normally, it would be my turn after Sir Abel, but it pains my heart to leave a newcomer like Sir Max all alone on his first day. Just a moment..."
Herman walked over to an attendant who was serving the knights gathered in the waiting room and whispered something.
Their conversation dragged on for a bit, but soon the attendant nodded and handed something over. Herman took it and walked back to me.
"Here, Sir Max. Follow me. Since we have permission, there's no harm in looking around together. Opportunities like this don't come often. I've seen foolish first-time knights go home empty-handed, only to kick themselves in regret later."
"Understood."
Whatever his intentions, it was clear I could finally leave this room.
I could tag along with Herman for a bit and use the opportunity to search the mansion.
Even with Herman right beside me, I could use my clairvoyance to peer through the walls...
"Well then, let's go."
Herman took the lead, opening the door Abel had entered earlier and stepping out into the hallway.
Through the crack of the closing door, the faint melody of the banquet hall's song drifted over.
Elenoar's face flickered in my mind, but now was the time to steel my resolve.
"Sir Herman. Is this the mansion tour you promised?"
"Haha. Sir Max. A tour of the mansion... Well, in a way, yes."
Herman hummed a tune as he strolled down the corridor.
"Ah, I almost forgot. I grabbed one for you from the attendant earlier. Here, take it."
"What is this?"
What he handed me was a red cord.
It was an ordinary red leash with a small clasp at the end, meant to be hooked onto something.
Herman grinned as he watched me take the cord.
"Hmm. Let me demonstrate first. Sir Max! Do you see that maid over there?"
After walking for a while, he pointed to a maid walking toward us from the far end of the hallway.
She wore an outfit similar to the maid uniform Lucrezia had first put on.
With her wavy purple hair and voluptuous figure, she was a stunning woman who would make anyone turn their head.
Strangely, she wore a choker whose color clashed completely with the black-and-white maid uniform.
Even from afar, the color of the choker was strikingly vivid.
"That bitch is a maid brought here by the Kalt family. Do you see that red collar?"
I nodded.
Before long, the maid stood right in front of us.
She looked at us with a sultry gaze, wetting her lips with her tongue.
"You. Come here."
Herman called out to her as she drew near.
"Ah... Yes."
Taking a deep breath, the maid stepped forward and stopped in front of Herman.
"Now, do you see this?"
"Ah...!"
Herman grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back, exposing her throat, and pointed at the red choker.
In the center of the choker was a metal ring.
"Anyone is free to touch a maid wearing this red choker. These bitches are brought here specifically for those who can't enter the main banquet hall to use as they please, so you don't need to hold back. And with this leash I gave you..."
Herman pulled a leash identical to the one he had given me out of his pocket.
Then, he clipped it onto the ring in the center of her choker.
"Ahhn...! Sir Knight!"
As Herman clipped the leash and tugged, the maid stumbled forward, a ragged gasp escaping her lips.
He slid his hand inside her uniform, pulling out her breast and squeezing it as if to burst it.
"Haaah... Sir Knight..."
Despite having her clothes stripped, her breasts pawed at, and being dragged like a dog by the leash attached to her collar, the maid's face only flushed deeper as her breathing grew heavier.
"Haha. See that, Sir Max? Most of the bitches wearing red chokers are slutty like this, so don't worry and enjoy yourself."
"..."
Suddenly, Lucrezia flashed through my mind.
I racked my brain, trying to recall the outfit she had worn back at Count Timong's castle.
The uniform was similar, but I couldn't remember the exact color of the choker around her neck.
Was it red?
Or was it black?
"What about... the black chokers?"
"Hmm? The black ones?"
Herman replied, pinching and twisting the maid's nipple.
"They're a bit more exclusive than these sluts, but not much different in the end. The lowlifes who can't enter the banquet hall aren't allowed to touch them, but escort knights like you and me, or the noble sons participating in the banquet, can do whatever they want with them."
"...!"
Lucrezia was in danger.
Right now, completely unaware of the rules of this place, she was probably changing her clothes and helping prepare for the banquet.
What if she caught someone's eye?
No man would leave a woman with her stunning looks and body alone.
If those who had the right to claim the black chokers found her...
Of course, she was nothing like the depraved maid standing before me.
She was an Imperial Knight, possessing more than enough strength to overpower anyone who tried to force themselves on her.
Yet, an overwhelming anxiety gripped my chest.
I had to find her and group up as quickly as possible.
Perhaps my urgency showed on my face, because Herman completely misunderstood.
"Haha. Sir Max. Seeing you so restless, you must be itching to get some action. Well, I'm off to have some fun with this bitch, so go ahead and grab a nice one for yourself. Just be careful—these girls don't belong to the mansion. They're owned by the families who brought them, so don't go too rough on them."
With those words, Herman tugged the leash, pulling the maid into an open room, and shut the door behind them.
Hearing the crude groans that soon echoed from behind the door, I quickened my pace.
This bizarre banquet and mansion were nothing but a depraved playground for the nobility.
What had happened to Count Timong's children wasn't the priority right now.
Whether it was Elenoar or Lucrezia, I had to get them out of here immediately, or at least find them and figure out a plan.
I hurried through the corridors.
Every now and then, I saw maids wearing red chokers being dragged into empty rooms by passing men, leashes clipped to their collars.
"Ahhn!"
"Ahhn! More! Fuck me harder!"
"Sir Knight! Please stretch my pussy!"
Those depraved cries filling the hallway grated on my ears.
Occasionally, I spotted maids wearing black chokers.
They were carrying food and linens for the banquet, and most of the men outside the hall merely stared at them without touching.
But not everyone held back.
A few men would clip leashes to their chokers and drag them away even while they were in the middle of their chores.
Click, clack! Click, clack!
Just then, the sound of rhythmic footsteps echoed from around the corner.
The steady, measured tapping against the floor felt strangely familiar.
The pace, the weight behind each step—it perfectly matched someone I knew.
Driven by a sliver of hope, I rushed around the corner.
As I rounded the bend and looked down the long, straight corridor, a familiar silhouette walking toward me caught my eye.
Short blonde hair!
"Lucrezia!"
I called out to her in a rush, but she didn't seem to hear me as she vanished around the far corner.
I sprinted after her.
I thought she would be right there once I rounded the corner.
But when I turned the corner, the corridor was completely empty.
"Haaahn! Ahh!"
"Ah! Haaah!"
"Hngh! Mmph! Ahh!"
Then, groans of a completely different caliber than before began to echo down the hallway.
The sounds leaking out were so raw and bizarre that it was hard to even imagine what was happening behind the closed doors.
They were too unhinged to be human cries, yet too sticky and wet to be the howling of beasts.
Given her walking speed, there was no way she could have already reached the end of the corridor and vanished.
I swallowed hard.
Tension made my throat dry.
No, it couldn't be.
There was no way she had entered one of these rooms and was letting out such depraved moans.
Slowly, I channeled my mana.
The mana coursing through my body gathered in my eyes.
Activating my clairvoyance, I began to peer into the nearest room.
"...!"
Inside, there was a familiar face.
A woman with orange hair tied back in a ponytail.
It was Count Timong's daughter.
The cheerful face I remembered was now drowned in a grotesque pleasure, howling like a wild beast.
Drool dripped down onto her chest, which was covered in bite marks, and her blue eyes rolled back, showing mostly whites as they trembled frantically.
Her entire body was coated in thick, white semen, hinting at the ordeal she had endured, and her soft belly bulged outward in rhythmic intervals.
"Haaah! Haaah! Ahh-ggh!"
A mixture of semen and vaginal fluids was spraying from between her thighs.
Her buttocks were already swollen red.
A leash was fastened around her neck, and the man thrusting into her from behind held it tight, pulling back brutally to keep her from collapsing forward.
Every time he yanked the leash, she clutched at her throat, coughing up saliva in a frenzy.
"My God..."
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.
I wondered what kind of monster could ravage Count Timong's daughter so mercilessly, but...
The man relentlessly pounding her from behind shared the exact same hair color.
Moreover, his face was just as familiar as hers.
The Count's son...
The one violating her was her own brother.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
...?
"Ngh! Ngh!"
But...
The man didn't seem sane.
His vacant, hollow eyes weren't even looking at the sister he was violating.
Staring blankly into the empty air, he simply kept thrusting his hips and pulling the leash.
At the very least, this was far from a normal situation.
I memorized the location of their room for now and moved on to search the others.
Seeing the two of them engaging in such an unnatural act, unlike Herman earlier, only fueled my growing dread.
They looked as if they were under the influence of some kind of magic or drug...
"Damn it..."
A curse naturally escaped my lips.
I moved faster, scanning the rooms with my clairvoyance.
I froze.
My feet felt as if they were glued to the floor.
The door looked no different from any other.
But beyond it...
The body of the woman visible through my clairvoyance was terrifyingly familiar.
Her face was buried deep between a man's thighs, obscuring it from view, but her hair looked to be a pale blonde.
Around her neck, just visible past her hidden face, was a red choker. Below it, her voluptuous breasts and their prominent, sensitive nipples looked chillingly identical to Lucrezia's.
Lucrezia...
Was it her?
I couldn't be sure without seeing her face.
But a woman with a body like hers was exceptionally rare.
"Cough! Urgh! Gggh!"
Every time the man sitting above her thrust his hips forward, gagging sounds and muffled groans escaped her lips as her legs thrashed.
The thick shape of his shaft bulged visibly against her throat before sliding back out.
"Mmph! Hngh! Cough, cough!"
The man showed no mercy, thrusting his hips to ravage her throat.
He reached down, grabbing her large, bouncing breasts with both hands and squeezing them ruthlessly with every thrust.
After thoroughly abusing her breasts and throat, the man stood up.
His penis, sliding out of her throat and glistening with saliva, looked utterly grotesque.
That thick, long shaft had been down her throat...
Down the throat of a woman who might be Lucrezia...
If only she would lift her head while he stood up, I could confirm if it was Lucrezia, but she remained slumped on the bed.
Lift your head!
No, no, wait...
Why am I just standing here watching?
The woman before me clearly resembled Lucrezia.
If so, I should just open the door and check. Why am I hesitating outside, doing nothing but watching through the wall?
And worse...
Throb!
With my cock rock-hard inside my trousers...
I was pathetically standing there, watching a woman who might be Lucrezia get violated.
"Ahhhg! Ngh!"
Animalistic cries echoed from inside the room.
Before I knew it, the woman was pinned down, only her legs and buttocks visible as the man pressed his weight into her.
His massive shaft plunged in and out relentlessly, as if trying to tear her apart.
With every thrust, clear fluids sprayed wildly from her stretched opening, soaking the bed and their bodies.
"Ah! Ahhn! Ngh!"
"Kael?"
Just then, a voice calling my name reached my ears.