How to Hold a Wolf’s Leash - Chapter 0: Prologue

A dark night with not even the moon in sight.

A maid, finishing up her work late into the night, walked down the corridor to turn off the lights illuminating the mansion.

The lamps, made of precious magic stones, were extremely expensive. Yet, there were over 300 of them shining brightly throughout the Velokina Marquisate, a testament to the current marquis’s wealth, power, and prestige.

Our lord is, of course, someone who fully deserves such things.

As she extinguished each lamp one by one, the maid felt a deep sense of pride.

Russell Velokina—their master and the owner of this grand estate. The maid thought of him with an almost reverent admiration.

Hair darker than the night itself and eyes of a striking golden hue. His features were so flawless, as if they had been meticulously sculpted by the gods themselves, that just looking at him sent shivers down one’s spine.

The noble ladies of high society vied for even the briefest moment of his attention. Even the proud imperial princess, known for her arrogance, was left flustered and desperate in his presence.

Despite being the center of everyone’s admiration, he maintained an air of cool indifference, a trait that only fueled their obsession further. Women longed to bring him to his knees, if only once.

Rumor had it that at a recent banquet, a lady had shamelessly lifted her dress in an attempt to seduce him.

The maid scoffed.

As if the marquis would so much as blink at something like that.

Compared to such foolish women, she believed her position was far more fortunate.

She was privileged to see him every morning and evening. There were times when their gazes even met. And just recently, they had even exchanged words!

Of course, it had merely been him giving her a brief order. But to the maid, that counted as a conversation, and she took great pride in it.

One by one, the lights dimmed, allowing the darkness to wrap around the elegant corridors of the mansion.

With not even the moonlight to guide her, the maid found the corridor unsettlingly eerie. Eager to finish her task and return to her quarters, she quickened her pace.

Then—

“Uh… hnn…”

A small whimper broke the silence.

The maid halted abruptly, turning her head toward the source of the sound.

It came from the direction of the marquis’s chambers.

“Hnn… ah… ah, mmh!”

It didn’t take long for her to recognize the nature of those sounds. She had often heard them coming from the adjacent rooms.

The same noises that echoed whenever that scoundrel Max and the kitchen maid, Carrie, snuck off together.

The maid swallowed hard.

Come to think of it… the marquis did bring someone in.

What was her name again?

Ah, right—Anecia.

She was a girl with pristine silver hair and rose-colored eyes.

Despite being just a mere maid like the rest of them, her face alone made her seem like a noble lady. That was why the other maid remembered her so distinctly.

She swallowed hard once again.

Ever since that girl arrived, the marquis’s demeanor had noticeably changed…

Even as these thoughts ran through her mind, the sounds continued.

“Mm… ngh! W-wait, slower… ah, ahk.”

The maid clenched her teeth.

I should just pretend I didn’t hear anything.

The marquis was an indifferent yet merciless man. If a lowly maid dared to gossip about his private affairs, there was no telling what fate might await her.

She liked working at this estate. The pay was steady, and moments like this gave her a small but undeniable sense of superiority…

And so, she chose to protect the life she had here.

Covering her ears, the maid quickly turned off the remaining lamps and hurried back to her quarters.

Yet, even as she fled, the sounds of pleasure continued to echo through the night.

* * *

“Aneisha. You must run away from him. You have to. That’s the only way you’ll survive.”

She had heard those words before.
Unfortunately, Aneisha had failed to heed that warning. And now, she was helplessly trembling beneath him.

Each time something dark and violent tore through her insides, flowers bloomed before her eyes—red, so terribly red…

“Ah, no more… please…”

Her mind went blank. Drowning in the waves of pleasure, Aneisha desperately clung to his forearm and whispered a plea. His arm, which gripped her hips, was slick with sweat.

Droplets of water fell from his hair, trailing down her delicate cheek like tears.

Yet, he never stopped.

Creaaak.

The massive bed shifted with a groan. Pushing her down with overwhelming force, he growled into her ear.

“I’m not satisfied yet.”

“…”

She hated herself for being unable to resist him. As Aneisha squeezed her eyes shut, she felt the wet glide of his tongue along her nape.

Because she had failed to escape back then, she was now nothing more than prey caught in the jaws of a beast.

Episode 1

CRASH!

A loud noise rang out as the objects on the shelf tumbled down. The flower pots Aneisha had cherished were already shattered beyond repair, crushed beneath the rough hands of the men.

Not only the pots but the flowers, too, had met their end. The beautiful blooms that once lured in passersby now lay in tatters, trampled underfoot.

Aneisha could only stand there, staring blankly as the home she had built over five years was destroyed.

“Oh no, please! Stop this, my lords!”
“Why are you doing this?!”

While Aneisha remained silently frozen, the neighboring merchants rushed in to stop the men from wrecking her flower shop. But instead of backing off, the men glared at them, even throwing punches, continuing their rampage with even greater enthusiasm.

And once there was nothing left intact in the shop, a man stepped forward from the group.

A middle-aged man with a goatee strutted in, arrogance radiating from him. His protruding belly spoke of a life spent gorging on the blood and sweat of the people under his rule.

The merchants clenched their teeth but dared not speak. This man was the owner of the land they did business on.

One word from him, and they would be driven out with nowhere to go.

Satisfied with their silence, the man smirked, his expression dripping with cruelty, before turning to Aneisha.

“Aneisha, didn’t I tell you I didn’t want to treat you roughly like this?”

“…”

“I only wish to cherish you, my future wife. But how can I, when you refuse to cooperate?”

Clicking his tongue as if genuinely regretful, the lord shook his head. Aneisha bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut.

A month ago, she had received an unwelcome marriage proposal from none other than this man, the lord of the land. He wanted her to become his fifth wife.

She had refused multiple times, even when he sent knights to her home to deliver his proposal like an imperial decree. Yet now, he had come to her shop himself.

And he had the audacity to act as though he were being a gentleman for not dragging her away by force.

Opening her eyes, Aneisha rose unsteadily from where she had been sitting and staggered toward the lord.

Even at this moment, her rose-colored eyes shimmered like the finest jewels, making the lord swallow greedily.

“This is between you and me, my lord. Please, leave. I don’t want to cause harm to those around me.”

Her words made his eyes glint with amusement. He tore his gaze away from her to look around.

At the flower shop, it is now a ruined mess.

At the merchants, watching them with uneasy eyes.

“I heard this shop was left to you by the old folks who took you in as an orphan.”

“…!”

“Tsk, tsk. You should have taken better care of it. What a waste, all because of you.”

“My lord!”

“Oh? Now that I think about it, these people aren’t even kneeling before me. How insolent. I should drive them all from my land.”

At his words, the merchants gasped in horror before scrambling to their knees.

Aneisha was the only one still standing. She lifted her head and glared at the lord.

But even under her fierce gaze, he only chuckled, as if indulging a pet cat’s harmless swipes.

“Of course, Aneisha, if you become my wife, I might just let this slide.”

“…”

“Do you need more time to think it over?”

Aneisha bit down hard on her lip again.

* * *

‘Fine, let’s die.’

After hours of agonizing thought, Aneisha finally made her decision. Pushed to an extreme situation, her thoughts had also veered toward the extreme.

There were countless reasons why she couldn’t marry the lord. The nearly thirty-year age gap between them, the rumors of his perverse tendencies—those were mere secondary concerns.

As a noble granted a title, the lord was required to report his marriage to the central authorities. That meant the Imperial Family might discover Aneisha’s existence.

Of course, it was unlikely the palace would personally scrutinize the marriage records of some low-ranking noble. But still—there was always that slight chance.

And for Aneisha, that chance was the greatest danger of all.

‘I should have done this sooner.’

She could no longer burden the elderly couple who had taken her in, believing her to be an orphan. Nor could she bring any more trouble to the kind neighbors who had shown her warmth.

Even if she somehow managed to escape this crisis, as long as she was alive, situations like this would keep happening.

So she had to die.

She should have made this decision long ago—on that night when her world shattered, when she was forced to flee from her home.

With a determined look in her eyes, Aneisha grabbed a rope and left her house. Fortunately, there was a place nearby perfect for dying.

A place known as the Monster’s Forest.

As its name suggested, the forest was rumored to be infested with monsters, and people never dared to set foot inside.

If she hanged herself there, it would be a long time before anyone discovered her body.

Perhaps the monsters would devour her corpse before that even happened.

The thought of vanishing without a trace brought her an odd sense of relief.

“At least inside a monster’s belly, it’d be warm.”

Muttering to herself, Aneisha stepped into the forest without hesitation.

Caw! Caw!

Somewhere, a crow let out an ominous cry.

Even though the sun was still up, the forest was pitch-dark, the dense trees blocking out the light.

Other than that, it was eerily silent. Only the occasional rustle of leaves could be heard.

Yet… it felt like someone was breathing nearby.

A shadowed presence, its restless exhalations unsettling the air around her.

Aneisha hesitated for a moment but quickly continued forward.

She had already chosen to die—what more was there to be afraid of?

If a monster appeared, she would gladly throw herself into its jaws.

“That tree looks perfect.”

Finally, she found a sturdy tree that seemed ideal for hanging a rope. She strode toward it with purposeful steps.

But as she got closer, her pace slowed.

Something was lying beneath the tree.

Collapsed on the ground, struggling for breath.