Under the Realm of the Beast - Chapter 1: The Switched Groom (1) (M)

Let me put it this way: I despise Leonard Carnies, the empire’s hero.

You might criticize me, asking how I could possibly hate such a man—a hero who saved the empire from an evil dragon and is handsome enough to be carved from stone.

If that’s what you’re thinking, I’ll tell you this:

I am Valetta Irpman, the sister of Friedrich Irpman, who was killed by Leonard Carnies.

And right now, I’m beneath him, enduring his rage.

* * *

“Ugh.”

The clothes were torn to shreds the moment they entered the room, scattered across the floor.

Valetta pressed against Leonard’s chest with all her might, trying to free herself from his grasp as he loomed over her. But it was impossible for her to overpower Leonard, whose forearms alone were as thick as her thighs.

If anything, her resistance seemed to provoke Leonard even more, as a rough, warning breath escaped through his teeth.

“Ugh….”

Valetta clenched her teeth to stifle a groan as Leonard buried his face into the crook of her neck and lightly nipped at her skin.
He knew her weak spots.
Leonard knew better than she did how and where to touch her to elicit the most sensitive reactions.

But tonight, his priority wasn’t to arouse her. He was desperate—no, starving.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that if he didn’t claim her, right here and now,
she would vanish like a mirage before his eyes.

He wanted to hear her breath quicken, driven by the heat inside her and the act itself.

He wanted to mark her, to make her his.

To inscribe upon her entire being—and her very depths—that she belonged to him, that Valetta was Leonard Carnies’ alone, so that no one in the world would dare lay a hand on her.

He had to make sure everyone knew it.

To ensure no one could ever help Valetta escape from him again.

“Stop… stop… ugh…”

Leonard was faster than Valetta’s attempts to stop him. Her pale neck was quickly painted with red marks.

He relentlessly licked, sucked, and bit her smooth skin. And whenever she tried to resist, he would sink his teeth gently but firmly into her tender flesh, nullifying her protests entirely.

“W-wait a moment…”

As her voice called his name, Leonard’s breathing grew even rougher.

His piercing golden eyes bore down on her.

It wasn’t just a heated gaze—it was sharp, intense, as though it could strip her bare.

It carried a maddened desire that seemed ready to consume her whole at any moment.

Valetta’s blue eyes quivered, trembling with unease. Her instincts screamed at her: danger.

Beyond Leonard’s gaze, she saw nothing but a raw, overwhelming instinct—a primal urge to claim what was his.

Why he was so enraged over a runaway prey, a mere plaything he had only toyed with a few times, was beyond Valetta’s understanding.

But Leonard didn’t care about her understanding.

What drove him to madness was the fact that Valetta had fled from him and avoided his gaze, hiding for an entire month.

The mere thought of it turned his mind white-hot with fury.

And that pent-up frustration exploded uncontrollably the moment he reclaimed her.

“You… weren’t supposed to run away.”

Without waiting for her response, Leonard buried his face into her chest.

“Ah! Stop. Please, stop!”

His tongue traced over the most sensitive spot on her chest while his other hand teased her other breast. Each time he poked, pressed, or lightly bit the tender area, Valetta’s body shivered uncontrollably. It wasn’t purely from pleasure.

Leonard’s actions—licking and sucking her skin—were rougher and more aggressive than usual, driven by an unusual fervor. Instead of carefully gauging her reactions, he was indulging himself entirely, exploring and claiming her as he pleased.

He was restless. It felt as if leaving marks all over her pale skin was the only way to ease his agitation.

“Ahh! Stop—”

Valetta’s words were silenced as Leonard claimed her lips with a forceful kiss. It was rough and unyielding. When she refused to part her lips, he bit down hard on her plump lower lip without hesitation. The sharp pain made her instinctively open her mouth, and his tongue immediately pushed its way inside.

“Mmnh!”

She couldn’t breathe. His thick tongue invaded her, stealing the space within her mouth, tangling with her retreating tongue, and taking complete control.

Distressed, Valetta pounded her fists against Leonard’s chest in protest. But he was no ordinary man. Leonard was a Dragon Slayer—the commander of the elite expedition unit tasked with hunting down deadly dragons, a group reserved for only the finest knights. With seven successful campaigns under his belt, his body was far beyond that of a normal human.

There was no way the weak resistance of a delicate woman could faze him. If anything, her struggle only seemed to fuel him, making his kiss even more intense and demanding.

When she couldn’t catch her breath, he went as far as to blow air deeply into her lungs, keeping her from pulling away. Finally, when Valetta gave up and surrendered to the kiss, Leonard let out a breath—whether it was a scoff or a satisfied exhale was unclear.

Without pause, he returned to her chest, his lips latching onto her skin with relentless fervor.

“Hnngh…”

A soft moan escaped Valetta’s lips before she could stop herself. Startled by the sound of her own voice, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Leonard, however, effortlessly seized her hand and pinned it in his grip.

The wet, squelching sound of his lips sucking her skin filled the room, making her face flush a deep red. Embarrassed and unsure of what to do, her flustered reaction only served to excite Leonard further.

With no regard for decorum, he hungrily latched onto her dampened chest, biting and sucking greedily as if insatiable. Pride and restraint meant nothing to him now—his sole focus was on possessing Valetta completely.

“Haa…”

Leonard’s unoccupied hand glided along her soft side, caressing her waist with deliberate slowness. Valetta’s body instinctively flinched at his touch, but he paid no mind to her reaction, focused entirely on his actions.

“…Ah… please, stop… just stop…”

Valetta desperately wanted to escape him. The overwhelming sensations Leonard inflicted upon her, along with the unfathomable emotions he seemed to harbor, weighed heavily on her.

To be pinned beneath the body of someone she considered her enemy, reduced to helpless moans—it was a reality she wished was merely a nightmare. But Leonard paid no heed to her pleas, his relentless actions shattering any hope she had of reprieve.

“Ah…”

A rough hand slid behind Valetta, tracing the curve of her arched back. The touch was paradoxical—cool in temperature yet burning in sensation—and it caused her body to instinctively jolt upward.

Before she could react further, Leonard had already positioned himself between her parted legs. The imposing presence of his hardened length, as thick as a child’s forearm, pressed against her thigh. Valetta gasped sharply, swallowing hard at the overwhelming sensation.

“Haa… Le-Leonard…”

When her thighs reflexively tried to close, Leonard responded by sucking on the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh. Her body quivered violently, and she exhaled a shaky breath. The sound of her ragged breathing, coupled with the wetness pooling below, made Leonard smirk, his eyes gleaming darkly.

It was laughable that she had left him, given how easily she reacted to his touch now. Yet, despite the anger simmering within him, his thirst for her burned even stronger—an insatiable desire that threatened to drive him mad.

“You ran from me, only to respond like this at the slightest touch?”

Leonard tore off his cumbersome shirt in one swift motion, discarding it carelessly onto the floor.

“Ah, no… Leonard—mmph!”

Valetta’s words were abruptly cut off as Leonard gripped her hips firmly and buried his face between her thighs without hesitation.

His tongue brushed against her most sensitive spot, and she jolted as if scalded, her body reacting instinctively. Leonard held her firmly in place, preventing her escape, his grip unyielding.

Through gritted teeth, he growled low, his tone carrying a possessive warning.

“Valetta, know this—you’ll never leave this bed again.”

“W-what do you mean—ahh!”

Valetta’s body twisted uncontrollably as Leonard latched onto her now-soaked core, sucking firmly. The heated sensation overwhelmed her, and a trembling breath escaped her lips.

“Haa… Hngh…”

“What do you think I mean?”

Leonard smirked coldly, one corner of his mouth lifting as he swiftly unfastened his belt. His arousal, prominent and veined, was revealed—a size so imposing it seemed almost impossible for Valetta’s small hands to fully grasp it. For someone like her, already overwhelmed by his relentless actions, it was utterly terrifying.

Fear flashed across her face as she instinctively tried to back away. Leonard chuckled softly at her reaction, his grip firm as he seized one of her ankles and pulled her back down effortlessly.

“Leonard! Please, stop! Why are you doing this—”

Valetta’s words snapped the last thread of Leonard’s restraint. She, of all people, needed to understand—needed to know why he was like this.

How could she not realize how close to madness he had been when she disappeared so suddenly, leaving nothing but a void behind? It was unbearable—a torment that stripped him of sleep and appetite, plunging him into a hellish existence.

It wasn’t just the curse that had chained him; it was the fear that he might never see her again. Every moment without her felt like his heart was melting in agony.

His voice, rough with frustration and desperation, rose as he demanded, “Why? Why am I like this, you ask?”

Leonard’s large hands gripped Valetta’s knees firmly, parting her legs wide without a moment’s hesitation. Her most intimate area was fully exposed, glistening with a mixture of his saliva and her own arousal. Overwhelmed by shame, Valetta’s face flushed a deep red. She squirmed and struggled to escape his grasp, but her efforts were futile against his overwhelming strength.

Leonard’s massive frame loomed over her, his broad shoulders and muscular back completely eclipsing her smaller body. His rough breaths brushed against her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. His piercing golden eyes burned with an intensity that was impossible to describe—a swirling storm of emotions. Anger. Fear. Grief. And an insatiable, eternal thirst.

“You’re asking because you don’t know?”

Valetta couldn’t understand Leonard. Their relationship was bound by a contract marriage, nothing more. Was it really worth this level of rage just because a woman he didn’t love had run away?

“Were you so afraid of not being able to break the curse without me?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“Ha!”

At her question, Leonard’s eyes flared with fury, burning with a maddening heat. His gaze was wild, unrestrained.

And then—

“Ahhh!”

Without warning, he thrust himself into her, brutally and without mercy. The sudden intrusion of his immense size sent a searing pain ripping through her, forcing a scream from her lips as if her very flesh were being torn apart.

“You don’t understand a thing.”

Leonard wanted to punish Valetta. At the same time, he wanted to claim her, to make her entirely his. She needed to bear the mark of being his—his possession, his prey, imprinted on her completely.

Without hesitation, he thrust deeper into her, her heated flesh tightly enclosing him. His jaw clenched, the muscles in his face taut with intensity. Leonard didn’t pause to gauge her reaction, nor did he offer her a moment of reprieve. He began to move, each motion unrelenting and forceful.

“Aahhh!”

As their skin rubbed together with each of Leonard’s relentless thrusts, Valetta bit down on her lip to suppress the pain. This wasn’t their first time together, but it was the first without any care, any proper preparation. It felt as agonizing as their very first night.

Tears slid down her cheeks, dripping to her ears as the sharp ache consumed her. Thud. Thud. The sound of their flesh colliding echoed through the large room, each impact resonating like a drumbeat. Beneath the steady rhythm of his movements, quiet sobs escaped her trembling lips.

“…It hurts… sniff… please, let’s stop here…”

Despite her pleas, Leonard’s pace only quickened, his thrusts growing deeper and more forceful. Valetta’s body rocked with each movement, her golden hair spilling messily across the sheets. The relentless intrusion within her made her entire body tremble, shaking her to her core. Her tear-filled eyes wandered to the ceiling as she sobbed quietly.

How did it come to this?

Once, she had loved Leonard.

Once, she had dared to hope for a happy family with him.

Her dream had been to have at least three children and build a life full of warmth and joy. But now, here she was, pinned beneath Leonard Carnies—the man who had murdered her brother—and being used as if she were nothing.