Secret Private Life of the Villainous Grand Duke - Chapter 111

“Did you really intend to kill her…?”

As Hartmut stepped out of the study, one of his henchmen, who had been waiting outside, cautiously asked while handing him a handkerchief.

Hartmut wiped his wet hands with an indifferent expression.

“Of course not. What use is a hostage if they’re dead?”

The value lay in keeping her alive. Whether for exchange as a hostage or to weaken Kneiss in a standoff, as long as she was alive, she would be useful.

Hartmut knew better than anyone in the Empire what people were like.

Death was not something people could easily defy. That’s why, when a person faces imminent death, they are willing to sacrifice far more to save someone who’s still alive.

Be it emotions, wealth, honor, or power. People might even abandon their long-held goals and cast themselves aside. That’s what it meant to be human.

“So…?”

The henchman asked, puzzled. Why go so far as to mentally pressure Lily? She was already captured, so what was the point of pushing her so hard? It didn’t make sense.

“Do you know what the easiest way to control people is?”

Hartmut had his signature cold smile. He couldn’t shake the image of Lily trembling in his mind. Her terrified jade eyes filled him with a sense of conquest.

“Fear. You trap them in fear. Once they’re trapped, they’ll follow the path I lay out for them just to escape it.”

The henchman shivered at the casual cruelty in his words. To those who served Hartmut most closely, he didn’t seem like a human being at all.

Hartmut was a demon. A wicked demon who controlled and manipulated people, mocking them with his emotionless gray eyes.

The handsome demon, cloaked in a fine exterior, relished in slowly breaking people’s spirits. He destroyed all of his playthings.

Sometimes, when heavily intoxicated, Hartmut would say, ‘Kneiss, that madman, isn’t even human. He’s a psychopath who acts kind in front of people, then goes behind their backs and slashes their throats himself.’

Whenever Hartmut’s closest subordinates heard this, they always thought the same thing. If there was any difference between Hartmut and Moritz, it was only one thing.

Hartmut was a bastard on the outside and a bastard on the inside. No, behind the scenes, he was a clever, malicious fox manipulating others.

Meanwhile, Moritz, at least on the outside, was a gentleman. Even if, behind closed doors, he used his allies to kill countless people and climbed higher and higher, only a few knew the full extent of his actions.

In the end, both men were in the same category. What they did was hardly different. If they had been born in each other’s place, things likely wouldn’t have turned out any differently.

The remarkably similar Pax and Kneiss families were fated to have knives pressed against each other’s throats.

Hartmut leisurely waited after his meal. Soon, his henchmen brought him the report he had been expecting.

The report confirmed that the Kneiss family had taken the Ravenas family’s coachman.

Now, all that remained was for Moritz to agree to withdraw his involvement with the Pax family in exchange for Lily’s return. Pax left the dining room and headed to his study.

He thought he might enjoy himself a bit while waiting for Kneiss to make his move.

* * *

Returning to the study where Lily was being held, Hartmut looked down at her as she lay curled up on the floor, writhing in discomfort.

Her throat must be dry, and she had to be hungry, but Lily remained silent, lips tightly pressed together. Hartmut walked to his desk and sat, waiting for Lily to ask for mercy.

“Huk…”

Quite some time had passed since Lily had left the Kneiss estate, and now she desperately needed to use the bathroom.

But, even though it was a basic need, she felt too embarrassed and humiliated to tell Hartmut, so she stayed quiet, struggling internally.

“What?”

Leaning back casually with his legs stretched over the desk, Hartmut asked in his typically indifferent tone.

At her limit, Lily looked up with a tearful face and spoke carefully, her voice as small as an ant.

“Bath, bathroom…”

Ah, he forgot about that.

He hadn’t intended to deprive her of such a basic need. After all, he couldn’t risk her soiling his study. But seeing her look so embarrassed made him want to tease her even more.

He suddenly wanted to make those tear-filled, pretty eyes of hers spill over.

“Such high maintenance. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept you alive.”

Hartmut muttered softly, then lifted her up. Lily shut her eyes tightly, fearing that he might change his mind and kill her after all.

As Hartmut carried Lily out of the study, his henchmen gave a respectful nod, gripping their swords to signal their readiness. This was also purely to intimidate her further.

If anyone dared harm the hostage meant to counter Kneiss, not a single person would leave the estate alive.

Hartmut Pax was known for showing no mercy to those who made mistakes.

After arriving at the bathroom, he set Lily down. He then lifted her thin dress. With her hands bound, she could do nothing but tremble as her fingers fidgeted nervously.

“Wha, what are you, now…?”

“You didn’t expect me to untie you, did you?”

“Bu, but…”

Hartmut fixed his gaze on her, noting that she wore no underwear. Lily squeezed her eyes shut in shame. She bit her lip, enduring the embarrassment as he positioned her body over the toilet.

She simply hoped he would leave.

“Well? You said it was urgent.”

“Could, could you please leave?”

“Why would I? You’d try to escape.”

She hadn’t even thought of escaping. She looked at Hartmut in disbelief. Did he really intend to stay until she was done? Tears began to well up in her stinging eyes.