“I want to have you.”
I felt his body stiffen.
"Now."
“...Here?"
I noticed that his neck was moving with tension, so I smoothed it out with my hand.
“Why not?”
We were newlyweds.
On the day we arrived in the capital after a long carriage journey, the couple briefly shared their secret joy and were busy with various schedules, so naturally, they were unable to spend the night for some time.
Moreover, I felt like I was causing trouble in someone else's house, so I didn't want to be hugged by Kaian in the royal castle.
Kaian made a groaning sound, wondering what I was thinking.
When I sensed that he was in trouble, my mind slowly returned to reality.
‘It’s a royal event. What on earth were I talking about?'
The sound of flowing water broke the embarrassingly quiet silence.
“Let’s prepare the carriage.”
"Yes?"
“Let’s go to the capital mansion.”
“Now?”
I asked back and Kaian looked at me with a dumbfounded look on my face.
“Isn’t it you who first said the word ‘now’?”
"Ah. Yes, I was.”
I felt a cold sensation on my back. It was a sensation I felt when being bitten by Kaian, a predator I often felt.
I reflexively removed my hand from the body I was holding.
“I’m just saying that.”
“The Duchess’ words and actions are too light-hearted. You will need education.”
As I struggled and tried to get off my legs where I was sitting, Kaian put his strength into his hands and held me tightly.
“I can’t believe I have to tell you one by one. What a lady with a lot of hands-on her hands.”
"No wait for a second."
Before I could resist, Kaian wrapped me around in his cloak as I had come.
“Hunting rabbits is also fun in its own way.”
He left the hunting ground with a satisfied heart.
The capital residence of the Duke of Temnes.
The mansion had been engulfed in chaos since early morning.
The head of the family, who rarely sets foot in the capital, was able to attend the King's Birthday event for the first time. The capital mansion was fully prepared to host the Duke and Duchess for the first time since a new mistress joined a prestigious family.
But strangely enough, on the day the carriage arrived, an errand boy came down from the castle and snatched the owner and his wife away.
'It doesn't make sense. How much did I expect?'
The maids who were upset because they couldn't see the famously handsome Duke of Temnes appeared one after another.
'I bet money on whether Vermont or Temnes would win.'
There were many servants who would bet on the enemy family's battle of wits.
To the disappointment of many, several of those who had been looking for jobs at the Temnes ducal residence through Salon Arvo quit their jobs after hearing the news that the Duke would return to his estate after spending a long time in the royal castle.
However, the mood at the mansion took a turn when the Duke's carriage suddenly showed up last night.
“As we live, days like this come.”
"I know, right. Isn’t the Duke much more handsome than rumored?”
The maids squeaked and stamped their feet.
“I will take the meal.”
“I’ll run the bath water.”
“Where is that? Decided by drawing lots.”
As the maids were making a fuss, one of the servants who saw them chewed his leaf tobacco and said gruffly.
“What do you do if he's handsome? He came in with Madam in his arms.”
The maids who came to work at the mansion came to work with the half-impure expectation that they would be called to the master's bedroom, but the head of the house came rolling up the hostess like a bundle and carrying her.
‘Welcome to the mansion...'
'Shh.'
Even though it was early morning, Kaian motioned to the employees who lined up at the entrance to politely greet them to be quiet.
'Try not to wake her up.'
Until then, they had no idea that the long package the Duke was carrying was the Vermont woman of whom there were many rumors, so they were shocked.
They opened their eyes wide and craned their neck to look at the hostess, who was both involuntarily and curiously dying, but unfortunately, they could only see a handful of mysterious red hair flowing covetously outside of a wrapped cloak.
That's the Vermont red hair they've only heard about!
Vermont, who was not active in the capital's social circles, was glorified as a bit of a unicorn.
A huge castle that cannot be defeated by the cold north wind and snow.
The Grand Duke of the North, with red hair and golden eyes, burning like a torch alone in the cold, pale frozen ground.
Although the Duke of Vermont had enemies in the Kingdom of Oberon, there were many who thought of him as a King or a Grand Duke.
In any case, as the Princess had married into Rowen over the years, the public sentiment in the capital was closer to Temnes, but curiosity about Vermont was even more intense.
“Is it possible for a person’s body to have that color? It’s really amazing.”
“Even if you dye your hair, it won’t turn that red.”
“If we look good to him, he might take us to Rowen.”
As someone muttered in an ecstatic voice, the servant who had been dissatisfied earlier intervened.
“I wonder if it’s even possible. Wake up from your dream.”
“Who said anything? I’m curious about what kind of person he is.”
"That's right. I’m sure you think the same way.”
“What am I doing!”
Another guy came up and hit the servant on the back of the head, who was offended by the maids' words.
"What?"
“I won, so give me the money.”
The guy laughing was the guy who had bet on reconciliation between Vermont and Temnes. The servant who had bet money on a knife fight with Vermont threw her money bag, feeling the bitter taste of leaf tobacco.
Regardless of whether there was a commotion outside the bedroom, the inside of the bedroom, which was blocked by a thick and heavy wooden door, was a peaceful world for the two of them.
“Claudel.”
"Yes."
Kaian stroked the back of Claudel, who was lying on top of him.
"Are not you hungry?"
"I feel sleepy. I want to sleep more.”
I smiled brightly as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it over me.
“The beds and blankets here are the same as those used at Rowen Castle.”
“I’ll be using exactly what my mother chose.”
“For some reason, I was able to sleep well.”
I didn't feel rested even when I slept in the royal castle, but when I first visited the Temnes Mansion in the capital, the air seemed different. It was familiar and comfortable.
“Wake up. I’ll get you dressed.”
I lazily sat down like a doll and dozed off as Kaian buttoned my pajamas.
As the meal arrived, I felt an appetite so strong that it made my stomach clench. As soon as I smelled the food, I was instantly hungry.
'It's like this again.'
Now, I was so worried about my stomach condition that I couldn't come to my senses just by looking at food.
'Could this also be an aftereffect? Or maybe I contracted some other disease.'
I swear I have never gasped for food like this in my life.
Lately, I thought it was strange that my condition was dependent on whether I ate or not.
'I guess I'll have to ask the doctor when I get to Rowen.'
Herzol was a disease that was eating away at my body from the inside.
Because of the disease that damaged the windpipe, if one could not eat properly and was short of breath and low on energy, the body would quickly deteriorate.
When health issues come to the fore, everything else becomes insignificant.
'Half a year ago, I didn't mind dying, but I wonder if I've become obsessed with living like this.'
Because of this man who is working hard to cut the meat pie into bite-size pieces.
Kaian must have felt the staring eyes on him, so he dragged the bowl of soup forward.
"Here. You like this.”
Kaian fed me some of the creamy vegetable soup. The chef at the capital mansion was also from Rowen, so I was glad to taste the food I was now accustomed to.
I ate with my own hands for a while in the capital. But today I wanted to take what he gave me. Kaian seemed pleased as I obediently did as he did.
After clearing my plate and eating dessert, I apologized to Kaian.
"Sorry. I can’t believe you came back from the hunting ground like this.”
I now know that Kaian made a lot of preparations in many ways when visiting Holderlay Round. However, he impulsively walked away from something he had put his mind to.
“It’s okay, don’t worry. No one has anything to say about that.”
At that time, in the hunting field, Valquiterre, who had discovered that the Duke's carriage had suddenly disappeared overnight, was running wild, asking, 'Is the King's name funny?', but Claudel had no way of knowing that.
“I took you there because your leg hurts. It will get better if you rest. I’ll call the doctor later this afternoon.”
"Thank you."
I was filled with happiness.
Kaian was accepting me.
He listened and accommodated what I wanted and what I asked for.
So I kept begging for more to be done.
Because I want to make sure that he really cares about me.
I secretly brought up a story I had not wanted to ask because I thought he would not be pleased.
“Princess Bianque wanted to marry you?”
“It was before her parents died that Her Majesty the Queen asked about marriage to Bianque.”
It was a sudden question, but Kaian didn't seem surprised.
“I clearly refused at that time.”
"Why?"
“Because we are family.”
In the Kingdom of Oberon, marriage between cousins was not impossible. Rather, it belonged to a fairly frequent axis. It was not that easy to match the status of families, so it was an easy marriage for brothers and sisters to have their own children.
“I considered Valquiterre like my brother. I didn’t hang out with Bianque that much, but I felt like I was her close relative, so I was reluctant.”
“I see.”
“Bianque is not doing this because she cares about me. She’s throwing a tantrum because she doesn’t have a suitable partner in the kingdom.”
“I think she should meet a good person, the Princess.”
“Valquiterre must be rotting. Royal blood is stubborn. Me too.”
Kaian spoke calmly, so I was confident that he didn't have a different mind or anything like that.
“But why did His Majesty order you to marry me?”
I was a little suspicious.
“If you had married the Princess, you would have been able to fight for territory as you wished.”
What remained in my mind was Valquiterre's words, 'The Duke of Temnes gained nothing from this marriage.'
Then, Kaian spoke in a cold voice.
“Even if I explain it, you don’t understand. If you had asked me to marry Bianque, I would have taken the challenge instead of marriage.”
“I’m just saying that.”
“The Duchess’ words and actions are too light-hearted. You will need education.”
As I struggled and tried to get off my legs where I was sitting, Kaian put his strength into his hands and held me tightly.
“I can’t believe I have to tell you one by one. What a lady with a lot of hands-on her hands.”
"No wait for a second."
Before I could resist, Kaian wrapped me around in his cloak as I had come.
“Hunting rabbits is also fun in its own way.”
He left the hunting ground with a satisfied heart.
***
The capital residence of the Duke of Temnes.
The mansion had been engulfed in chaos since early morning.
The head of the family, who rarely sets foot in the capital, was able to attend the King's Birthday event for the first time. The capital mansion was fully prepared to host the Duke and Duchess for the first time since a new mistress joined a prestigious family.
But strangely enough, on the day the carriage arrived, an errand boy came down from the castle and snatched the owner and his wife away.
'It doesn't make sense. How much did I expect?'
The maids who were upset because they couldn't see the famously handsome Duke of Temnes appeared one after another.
'I bet money on whether Vermont or Temnes would win.'
There were many servants who would bet on the enemy family's battle of wits.
To the disappointment of many, several of those who had been looking for jobs at the Temnes ducal residence through Salon Arvo quit their jobs after hearing the news that the Duke would return to his estate after spending a long time in the royal castle.
However, the mood at the mansion took a turn when the Duke's carriage suddenly showed up last night.
“As we live, days like this come.”
"I know, right. Isn’t the Duke much more handsome than rumored?”
The maids squeaked and stamped their feet.
“I will take the meal.”
“I’ll run the bath water.”
“Where is that? Decided by drawing lots.”
As the maids were making a fuss, one of the servants who saw them chewed his leaf tobacco and said gruffly.
“What do you do if he's handsome? He came in with Madam in his arms.”
The maids who came to work at the mansion came to work with the half-impure expectation that they would be called to the master's bedroom, but the head of the house came rolling up the hostess like a bundle and carrying her.
‘Welcome to the mansion...'
'Shh.'
Even though it was early morning, Kaian motioned to the employees who lined up at the entrance to politely greet them to be quiet.
'Try not to wake her up.'
Until then, they had no idea that the long package the Duke was carrying was the Vermont woman of whom there were many rumors, so they were shocked.
They opened their eyes wide and craned their neck to look at the hostess, who was both involuntarily and curiously dying, but unfortunately, they could only see a handful of mysterious red hair flowing covetously outside of a wrapped cloak.
That's the Vermont red hair they've only heard about!
Vermont, who was not active in the capital's social circles, was glorified as a bit of a unicorn.
A huge castle that cannot be defeated by the cold north wind and snow.
The Grand Duke of the North, with red hair and golden eyes, burning like a torch alone in the cold, pale frozen ground.
Although the Duke of Vermont had enemies in the Kingdom of Oberon, there were many who thought of him as a King or a Grand Duke.
In any case, as the Princess had married into Rowen over the years, the public sentiment in the capital was closer to Temnes, but curiosity about Vermont was even more intense.
“Is it possible for a person’s body to have that color? It’s really amazing.”
“Even if you dye your hair, it won’t turn that red.”
“If we look good to him, he might take us to Rowen.”
As someone muttered in an ecstatic voice, the servant who had been dissatisfied earlier intervened.
“I wonder if it’s even possible. Wake up from your dream.”
“Who said anything? I’m curious about what kind of person he is.”
"That's right. I’m sure you think the same way.”
“What am I doing!”
Another guy came up and hit the servant on the back of the head, who was offended by the maids' words.
"What?"
“I won, so give me the money.”
The guy laughing was the guy who had bet on reconciliation between Vermont and Temnes. The servant who had bet money on a knife fight with Vermont threw her money bag, feeling the bitter taste of leaf tobacco.
***
Regardless of whether there was a commotion outside the bedroom, the inside of the bedroom, which was blocked by a thick and heavy wooden door, was a peaceful world for the two of them.
“Claudel.”
"Yes."
Kaian stroked the back of Claudel, who was lying on top of him.
"Are not you hungry?"
"I feel sleepy. I want to sleep more.”
I smiled brightly as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it over me.
“The beds and blankets here are the same as those used at Rowen Castle.”
“I’ll be using exactly what my mother chose.”
“For some reason, I was able to sleep well.”
I didn't feel rested even when I slept in the royal castle, but when I first visited the Temnes Mansion in the capital, the air seemed different. It was familiar and comfortable.
“Wake up. I’ll get you dressed.”
I lazily sat down like a doll and dozed off as Kaian buttoned my pajamas.
As the meal arrived, I felt an appetite so strong that it made my stomach clench. As soon as I smelled the food, I was instantly hungry.
'It's like this again.'
Now, I was so worried about my stomach condition that I couldn't come to my senses just by looking at food.
'Could this also be an aftereffect? Or maybe I contracted some other disease.'
I swear I have never gasped for food like this in my life.
Lately, I thought it was strange that my condition was dependent on whether I ate or not.
'I guess I'll have to ask the doctor when I get to Rowen.'
Herzol was a disease that was eating away at my body from the inside.
Because of the disease that damaged the windpipe, if one could not eat properly and was short of breath and low on energy, the body would quickly deteriorate.
When health issues come to the fore, everything else becomes insignificant.
'Half a year ago, I didn't mind dying, but I wonder if I've become obsessed with living like this.'
Because of this man who is working hard to cut the meat pie into bite-size pieces.
Kaian must have felt the staring eyes on him, so he dragged the bowl of soup forward.
"Here. You like this.”
Kaian fed me some of the creamy vegetable soup. The chef at the capital mansion was also from Rowen, so I was glad to taste the food I was now accustomed to.
I ate with my own hands for a while in the capital. But today I wanted to take what he gave me. Kaian seemed pleased as I obediently did as he did.
After clearing my plate and eating dessert, I apologized to Kaian.
"Sorry. I can’t believe you came back from the hunting ground like this.”
I now know that Kaian made a lot of preparations in many ways when visiting Holderlay Round. However, he impulsively walked away from something he had put his mind to.
“It’s okay, don’t worry. No one has anything to say about that.”
At that time, in the hunting field, Valquiterre, who had discovered that the Duke's carriage had suddenly disappeared overnight, was running wild, asking, 'Is the King's name funny?', but Claudel had no way of knowing that.
“I took you there because your leg hurts. It will get better if you rest. I’ll call the doctor later this afternoon.”
"Thank you."
I was filled with happiness.
Kaian was accepting me.
He listened and accommodated what I wanted and what I asked for.
So I kept begging for more to be done.
Because I want to make sure that he really cares about me.
I secretly brought up a story I had not wanted to ask because I thought he would not be pleased.
“Princess Bianque wanted to marry you?”
“It was before her parents died that Her Majesty the Queen asked about marriage to Bianque.”
It was a sudden question, but Kaian didn't seem surprised.
“I clearly refused at that time.”
"Why?"
“Because we are family.”
In the Kingdom of Oberon, marriage between cousins was not impossible. Rather, it belonged to a fairly frequent axis. It was not that easy to match the status of families, so it was an easy marriage for brothers and sisters to have their own children.
“I considered Valquiterre like my brother. I didn’t hang out with Bianque that much, but I felt like I was her close relative, so I was reluctant.”
“I see.”
“Bianque is not doing this because she cares about me. She’s throwing a tantrum because she doesn’t have a suitable partner in the kingdom.”
“I think she should meet a good person, the Princess.”
“Valquiterre must be rotting. Royal blood is stubborn. Me too.”
Kaian spoke calmly, so I was confident that he didn't have a different mind or anything like that.
“But why did His Majesty order you to marry me?”
I was a little suspicious.
“If you had married the Princess, you would have been able to fight for territory as you wished.”
What remained in my mind was Valquiterre's words, 'The Duke of Temnes gained nothing from this marriage.'
Then, Kaian spoke in a cold voice.
“Even if I explain it, you don’t understand. If you had asked me to marry Bianque, I would have taken the challenge instead of marriage.”
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