Barcas's pupils dilated greatly, and the silvery-gray spots scattered over his blue iris shook. However, the traces of the agitation were only fleeting.
In an Instant, Barcas returned with an icy expression and stared at me with bright blue eyes. Soon after, a dry voice with a laugh split the silence.
"Do you know what that means now?"
"Do you know who the idiot is?"
I made an arrogant face in the tension that was tingling in my throat. I never, never. I didn't want to be seen as begging.
"It means I'm going to sleep with you."
"..."
"Why? Should I be more straightforward?"
When I raised my chin and gave him a defiant look, the sneer that had been on the man's mouth faded.
He loosened his arms and slowly approached me.
"You want to sleep with me?"
The heavy bass that hit the top of my head sent shivers down my spine.
I forced a stiffness on the nape of her neck that was about to flinch. Barcas, who had been looking down at me without moving, grabbed my chin and pressed his thumb down my lower lip.
"That's why you came here to look like this?"
I felt the sticky dye smearing on the corners of my mouth. I blushed and slammed his hand away. A faint sarcasm appeared on Barcas's face.
"What are you going to do while being afraid of this much contact?"
"That's always because you touch me suddenly...!"
I, who had been retorting with a puzzled face, kept my mouth shut. You shouldn't be swept away by this man.
"Why are you talking so much? I said I would!"
The corners of Barcas's mouth twisted subtly.
"If you say yes, do I have to follow it?"
The sharper reaction than expected sent a fever down the nape of my neck.
I swallowed my contempt and glared at him with a fierce gaze.
"Yes."
"..."
"You must do what I ask you to do."
His cool eyes narrowed. It was a ridiculous reaction rather than displeasure.
I strengthened my stiff legs and stood up from my seat. Then I walked up to his nose and raised my head provocatively.
"You are now the head of the Sheerkan family, and you are obliged to leave an heir. This is what a married man should do."
"I don't know when you became so responsible."
A bitter sarcasm crossed the corner of his mouth.
"So you mean, you're going to sacrifice your body for me and my family, right?"
I looked up at him with a stiff face.
I thought he might show him rejection, but I didn't expect him to be so openly sarcastic. After getting married, I was a woman who was embarrassing to him. Maybe he hates sleeping with me that much.
I swallowed my contempt and coldly responded.
"How much longer do you think you can maintain a formal relationship like now? They'll soon find out that we're not a proper couple, and I'll be even more of a laughing stock than I am now. If you don't have a successor for a long time, your vassals won't be silent either."
I, who was spitting out a rapid-fire cannon, let out a sharp smile.
"Or do you want that?"
Barcas's beautiful jawline has noticeably hardened.
I continued mockingly, ignoring the warning in his eyes.
"If I hold on like this for a few years, people from all directions will try to dissolve my marriage and raise a new Grand Duchess. Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor will allow me to divorce you as if he can't win. Did you interfere with my sister's marriage with the intention of remarrying Alya at that time..."
"Do it as much as you can."
His sharp voice scratched my forehead fiercely. The man leaned closer towards me and spat out threateningly
"There is a limit to how much I can listen to."
I knew I was stepping into a line I shouldn't cross. However, I could not back down.
I raised my voice as I stuck my awl into his face.
"If not, do as I ask! You don't have free will anyway, do you? You're just a puppet acting on duty."
"Aren't you the Empress's puppet?"
Barcas got sneeringly.
I felt the blood running down my face.
Barcas, who was staring down at me as I was tired of flying, added coldly.
"I don't know what she encouraged, but I won't be your stallion."
Then he straightened up his hunched body and picked up the coat he had taken off.
"Let Her Highness use this room today."
I looked at him with bewildered eyes as he walked toward the door.
A chill hit me from the top of my head, as if I had been hit by cold water.
I, trembling with contempt, chased after him with a limp the next moment.
When I pulled the hem of his clothes that wrapped around his wide back, I felt my large body, tightly woven with strong muscles, stiffen.
I pushed his body with all my might. However, his iron-clad body did not budge. In a fit of rage, I pushed him hard once more, and Barcas grabbed my shoulder.
I groaned at the strong grip. Hearing this, the man withdrew his hand. I didn't miss the gap and rushed into his heart like a lump of iron. Finally, the body, as solid as a wall, leaned backwards.
I knocked him down and straddled him on the stomach. The rough breathing from that brief scuffle scratched my throat like sandpaper.
I, my heart fluttering as I exhaled hot breath, glared at him with eyes like fireballs.
"You must not disobey me."
The man's beautiful face was faintly distorted. I spat blood on his face.
"You said you would do everything I asked you to do. You said you would do everything you could."
The hand that was trying to pull me away froze in the air.
I squeezed the hem of his shirt and pulled it hard.
The trembling that shook my body became more and more intense. I tried my best not to beg for it, but my voice gradually mixed with crying.
I stiffened my trembling jaw and shouted like a clenched.
"Keep what you said!"
At the end of that controversial sound, a storm-like silence fell.
I couldn't bear to look him in the eye, so I lowered my forehead with a slow up and down chest.
Sweat droplets flowing down my temples stayed in the corners of my eyes for a moment and then fell onto his shirt.
I stared blankly at it, and a hard finger touched the tip of my chin. Soon after, my head was lifted, and his face, with an inexplicable expression, entered my dizzying vision. Before I could grasp the meaning of it, my shoulders were pushed back.
"...I understand."
Barcas, who stood upright, let out a muffled voice. I looked at him with trembling eyes. I could see the tightly swollen throat wriggling up and down. He opened his mouth for the first time in a long time and added to his answer.
"I will do what Your Highness wants."
Even though I managed to get the answer I wanted, my trembling only intensified. I wrapped my twitching fingers around my forearm. At that moment, the tightly condensed voice pierced my ears again.
"But not today."
I raised my head and glared.
Barcas continued somewhat impatiently.
"Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that you vomited blood and collapsed? After your health has fully recovered..."
"My body is fine."
I shouted harshly.
"I'm going to do it with you at the time I set. And that's today, right now."
I felt his whole body tighten. Do you feel resentment towards my behavior of being like a tyrant?
It didn't matter, though. If I step back from here, I will never be able to make the same decision as today again.
When this mad impulse had subsided, I would be locked within my own walls again.
So it had to be this moment when I took out all the remaining handful of courage.
"You can't refuse."
Something sparkled in his eyes. Anger or disillusionment? Do you know? It was okay.
This... This... It's not like love. It's not passion, it's not desire. It's just a struggle to survive. So you don't have to feel miserable.
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