Lewd System: Every Scream and Moan is EXP-Chapter 221: The only option for her

Elira’s black gloves dropped to the floor. With every piece of fabric that fell, her hesitation climbed higher.

She looked at Jax. He was staring directly into her eyes, watching her like one would watch a performance. But there was no amusement in his gaze. No excitement. No anticipation. Nothing.

She hissed under her breath, but before she could stall any further, Jax spoke.

"Are you hesitating now? Where is all that boldness from the ball?"

Her jaw tightened. "No. I just—"

"If you’re going to do it, then do it." His tone was completely flat. "Don’t waste my time with dramatic pauses."

She looked at him again. Those cold, emotionless eyes staring back at her without a flicker of desire.

The realization hit her like ice water poured down her spine. ’He doesn’t care. He doesn’t see me as a woman, as a student he is treating me like a whore.’

Her fingers found the straps of her black gown. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

’This is the price. Just pay it and walk away free.’

She pulled. The gown slid down her body, pooling at her feet. Her pale skin glowed under the dim light, protected now only by her panties and bra.

She hesitated again. Her hands refused to move further. The thought of removing those final barriers paralyzed her completely.

Jax’s patience snapped.

"I can’t take it anymore." His voice carried genuine anger. "Your stupid personality and your stupid brain are testing every last nerve I have."

He leaned back in his chair.

"So let’s do this differently. If you aren’t completely stripped under my countdown of five, I will cancel this trade entirely. And you can rot in the consequences of your own scheming."

Without warning, he began.

"One."

Elira cursed him internally. She knew exactly how twisted this man was. She had heard Seris and Astrid talking about his exploits back at the academy.

She had actually laughed back then, when Seris was telling Astrid those ridiculous stories about him. It had been entertainment. Comedy. Someone else’s problem.

Now she was the victim.

She looked at his face. Expressionless. And this time, he had closed his eyes too. As if he couldn’t even be bothered to watch.

Elira thought this must be his way of hunting women. Making them strip themselves bare while he sat there like a king on his throne, eyes shut, savoring the power of the moment.

"Two."

The seriousness of her situation crashed through her hesitation. Her hands moved behind her back, fingers fumbling with the clasp.

The bra strap unhooked.

The fabric fell away from her chest, exposing her tight, pert breasts. Firm and flawlessly proportioned, they stood bare in the light, vulnerable in their naked perfection.

"Three."

Both her hands dove inside her panties immediately.

"Four."

She slid them down in one desperate motion. Her smooth, tight pussy was revealed. Neatly trimmed. Glistening faintly with unwanted anticipation, a sight that could drive any race wild with desire.

She stood there completely naked. Trembling. Waiting for whatever came next.

"Five."

But as the final number left his lips, something flew through the air.

Fabric landed on her shoulders. Heavy. Warm. Jax’s coat draped over her exposed body, covering every inch of skin she had just revealed.

She froze.

Jax stood up from his chair.

"You failed."

Elira blinked in utter confusion. "What?"

"I said you failed." His voice held no amusement. "Yet again."

Her mind couldn’t process what was happening.

"Do you remember what I told you at the ball?"

Silence.

"I told you to think." His eyes bore into hers without mercy. "To go back and reconsider everything that led you to this point. To trace the thread of your misery back to its origin and figure out whose hands were holding it."

He took a step toward her.

"And most importantly, I told you to show me someone different when you appeared before me next. Someone who had figured out everything from where they failed and what next crazy things they need to pull up"

Another step.

"So tell me, Elira. In the one hour I gave you, what did you figure out? What grand revelation struck your brilliant mind during that time?"

She couldn’t answer.

Because there was nothing to answer with. She hadn’t thought about any of it. Not for a single second.

The entire hour had been spent preparing herself mentally to endure what she believed was coming. Steeling her body. Numbing her heart. Building walls thick enough to survive the night.

Everything she prepared was to deal with the humiliation.

Jax read every bit of it on her face.

"Nothing." He said it quietly. Almost sadly. "You figured out absolutely nothing."

He walked toward the window and closed it, shutting out the cold night air. Then he turned back to her.

"Let me ask you something."

She clutched his coat tighter around her body.

"Why do you hate the arrangement with Leon?"

The question seemed absurd given everything that had just happened. But his tone demanded an answer. It wasn’t a request.

"Because it was forced on me." Her voice came out hoarse. Broken. "I had no say. My future was decided by my father without my consent. My body was promised to someone I despise."

"Good."

Jax nodded slowly.

"Now describe to me exactly what happened in this room five seconds ago."

The connection formed in her mind like a crack spreading through glass. Slow at first. Barely visible. Then all at once, shattering everything she thought she understood about herself.

"Your father looked at you and saw a political asset," Jax continued, his voice measured and deliberate.

"He weighed your worth against the Duchess’s power and decided that your body was an acceptable price for securing his throne."

He paused to let the words settle.

"Tonight, you looked at yourself and reached the exact same conclusion."

Her breath caught in her throat.

"You walked into my bedroom. Assessed your situation. Calculated the cost of my silence. And decided that your body was the most efficient payment available."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Tell me, Elira. What exactly is the difference between you and your father?"

"That’s not—"

"He traded your body to Leon for political survival. You traded your body to me for personal survival."

Jax’s voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. Every word already carried the weight of a verdict. "The product is the same. The logic is the same. The only variable that changed is the customer."

The room fell deathly silent.

"And that’s not even the part that disappoints me."

She looked up at him.

"The part that disappoints me is that you had options." His voice hardened like steel cooling in water. "Real options. From the very beginning."

He held up one finger.

"When your father first proposed the arrangement, you could have refused. Openly. Loudly. Made your opposition known to the council, to the citizens, to every single person who would listen. Screamed it from the rooftops if you had to."

A second finger joined the first.

"When that failed, you could have challenged Leon directly. Demanded a formal duel for your own hand. Your kingdom’s politics runs on votes and public approval, doesn’t it? Imagine a princess standing before her people, declaring that she would fight for her own future rather than be handed away like property. The citizens would have rallied behind you."

A third finger.

"And even if that too failed. Even if you lost that duel. Even if Leon crushed you in front of everyone." His voice dropped to something raw and honest. "You would have shown your people exactly how far a woman can go for her own will. For her own freedom. For her own fire."

His hand curled into a fist.

"Trust me, Elira. If I were standing where you stand, I would have chosen death in that fight. Against Leon. Against your father. Against anyone who dared to cage me. Because dying on your feet with your pride intact is a thousand times better than surviving on your knees, watching yourself become everything you swore you would never be."

He lowered his hand.

"But instead, what did you do?"

She already knew the answer. She had known it before he even asked.

"You hid." Jax said it anyway. "Behind schemes. Behind manipulation. Behind me."

His voice carried a weight that pressed down on her chest like a boulder being slowly lowered onto her ribcage.

"You found a fool willing to take the punches that were meant for you. Used him as a shield. Planned to sit in the shadows while someone else fought the war that was supposed to forge you into something stronger. Something worthy of the crown you claim to deserve."

His eyes dropped to her body, still wrapped tightly in his coat. Hiding. Even now.

"And when that plan started crumbling tonight, you reached for the only other weapon you believed you had."

A pause that lasted an eternity.

"Your skin between those two legs."