Episode 111. Just Hold My Hand and Sleep
She was quite shocked and couldn't speak for a while.
'...What does this mean?'
He can't be the successor.
It was truly unexpected. Doana had been so arrogant, believing only this.
Cold sweat ran down Doana's spine.
'You fucking punk. Why are you telling me that now?'
Since he hadn't said anything until now, she naturally assumed that her child would be the successor to the Count's family.
"Why... didn't you tell me until now?"
"Do I have to tell you everything? Don't you even have basic common sense?"
Eric frowned, as if he found Doana's words absurd.
"There's a limit to being uneducated. How can I tell you every single piece of common sense?"
He shook his head from side to side as if he was fed up and continued speaking.
"Doana. I'm talking about you. Sometimes you seem so stupid that I doubt your intelligence. At first, I just laughed it off, but now it's gone beyond that. Seriously."
Doana, who knew nothing, once seemed cute. Back then, he thought that was part of her charm.
But Doana had gone beyond being foolish.
While Doana wasn't inherently intelligent, she was ignorant of the world of novels. She'd never even read a romance novel.
It was only natural that Eric saw her as stupid.
Doana squeezed her eyes shut. She instinctively sensed that her crisis was approaching faster than she'd thought.
'So, that old fox was so relaxed because of this?'
Doana thought of Tercia, Eric's mother. Feeling completely fooled, her stomach churned.
"So, I did it for the child. Do you understand now?"
Anyone could see that Eric's words were an excuse.
They were a mass of contradictions. If he wanted to raise a child as his successor, it didn't have to be Rose.
It would have been easier to register his child as his current wife, Beliana's.
He'd done it simply because he wanted Rose by his side. There were so many ways to escape.
Doana felt like her world was crumbling.
The tower she'd built so painstakingly couldn't crumble so easily. They say there's a hole to rise from even if the sky falls, so there must be a solution. Doana's eyes darted anxiously, and a thought flashed through her mind. Her eyes, dead and frozen, quickly gleamed.
"Your father was also an illegitimate child. So why can't my child be the heir?"
Cedric wasn't exactly a proud family. He was an illegitimate child.
"Your child is different from my father's."
"What difference?"
"At the time, my grandfather and his wife had no children."
Eric explained that this was possible because his grandfather's wife willingly registered Cedric as her son.
“But... It’s not you, is it?”
“What’s wrong? I’m the only one pregnant with your child!”
Right now, the only person who could be the successor was her child.
Eric raised an eyebrow at Doana’s words.
“I don’t know if Beliana will register your child. And, I don’t mind Beliana if it’s for the sake of having an heir.”
If possible, he wanted Rose.
But Eric didn’t hesitate to say in front of Doana that he would impregnate another woman.
‘...That son of a bitch.’
Doana felt once again through her conversation with Eric.
If she stayed still like this, she would be abandoned in no time.
‘If the department store succeeds, I won’t have to be treated like this.’
Doana clenched her fists and trembled.
She was confident enough in what Rose was doing.
Business wasn’t easy, and she was deeply mistaken.
Rose and the Grand Duke said goodbye to Count Serviat and his wife and left.
The carriage returning to the Artaeum estate was filled with Rose, the Grand Duke, and Julius.
Inside, Rose was no different than usual. She wasn't cold, and she treated him with the same kindness as before.
But why did he feel so uneasy?
'Damn it, because of that guy Julius.'
'The biggest mistake a man makes is thinking his woman is satisfied.'
The Grand Duke kept thinking about Julius's words.
That guy was the biggest cause of his current anxiety. The Grand Duke glared at Julius with sharp eyes.
Julius avoided the Grand Duke's gaze and whistled, feigning ignorance.
"Princess, did you enjoy your tour of the capital?"
Rose assumed Julius was sightseeing while the Grand Duke was with her. Julius shook his head, fussing.
"No. I played with Diana."
"Oh, you were with the Princess. "
"Yes. We're not really close. We played hide-and-seek for the first time in a while and reminisced about our childhoods."
Julius answered with a bright smile. Rose, intrigued by his words, asked back,
"Hide-and-seek? The Princess plays that game too."
Although she'd only seen Diana a few times, she exuded an unrivaled aura.
Judging by Diana's outward appearance, she seemed never engage in such a game, but it was truly surprising.
'Diana has a side to her.'
He covered his mouth with one hand and chuckled.
It wasn't the hide-and-seek Rose was thinking.
Diana had been avoiding Julius, and Julius had been doggedly tracking her down.
It was a game of hide-and-seek, but it was clearly a chase.
As they made small talk, they arrived at the Artaeum mansion.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum got out of the carriage first and extended his hand to Rose.
"Be careful getting out."
Because she was wearing a flowing dress, an escort was essential for her exit.
As Rose shyly tried to grab the Grand Duke's hand, Julius snatched it away.
"Sorry, Young Lady. I need to go to the bathroom. I'll get out first."
He winked at Rose and stepped out of the carriage.
The Grand Duke frowned and shook his hand away when Julius, not Rose, grabbed his.
However, the two figures were hidden by Julius's back, so even Rose couldn't see them.
'Ah...'
I tried to grab it first...
Rose's hand, floating in the air, fell limply.
It was natural to yield to him since he said he needed to use the bathroom, but for some reason, she felt bad.
'Was I such a narrow-minded woman?'
It hadn't mattered before, but the Grand Duke's girlfriend was clearly hers.
Rose had no intention of sharing the Grand Duke with another woman. Of course, that didn't mean she shouldn't escort Julius out of the carriage.
She just wanted to hold the Grand Duke's hand before Julius.
Rose looked out of the carriage with a drooping face.
"Let's go."
The Grand Duke of Artaeum was extending his hand to her with a smile.
'Yes. He's my man anyway. Let's not be so narrow-minded.'
Rose gently took the Grand Duke's hand and descended the carriage steps.
"Grand Duke, by the way, what were you talking about with my father earlier?"
The Grand Duke flinched at Daemon's warning not to touch a single hair. He omitted that and simply relayed this one line:
"I said I'd be taking good care of you."
"Ah..."
She felt a strange sense of embarrassment. It was the first time she'd told her parents about her relationship so soon after they'd started dating.
"I didn't know we'd be talking about not only dating, but also an unplanned marriage."
Of course, they were dating with marriage in mind, but relationships were never about what would happen until they entered the wedding hall.
Furthermore, revealing everything so soon felt burdensome.
"...You really told them everything without me even giving me a chance to stop you."
Rose stared blankly at the Grand Duke.
She liked him. But she wasn't sure enough to promise marriage.
If the Grand Duke found out Rose's true feelings, he'd be shocked and likely suffer for days.
"Since when did the Grand Duke start liking me?"
Judging by his nonchalant way of saying they'd marry, he seemed quite confident in himself.
"I... Can I rest easy?"
Could I really trust the Grand Duke?
Having tasted the bitterness of life in her previous relationship, shr felt increasingly small.
Shd confidently won the Grand Duke, but on the other hand, she was afraid.
Wouldn't this person change someday?
Could there really be someone who would love only me, unchangingly, for the rest of my life?
Isn't a love that only focuses on each other just an illusion from a fairy tale?
'... I don't know if I can love completely like before.'
The amount of love and the amount of hurt were proportional. That's why she was afraid to give him boundless affection.
Rose, unable to calm her complex and tangled emotions, looked at the Grand Duke.
He touched Rose's hand and carefully kissed her cheek.
“Ah...”
Rose’s cheeks instantly flushed. She blushed in embarrassment and glanced at the Grand Duke.
“I don’t know. For now, I’ll just follow my heart.”
Her boyfriend was such a handsome man. He was gentle during the day, and beastly at night.
'...He’s totally my style.'
And there’s a saying: Love, as if you’ve never been hurt.
With such a perfect man, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pretend to be fooled and love him.
Rose decided to shake off her complicated thoughts.
She decided to focus on the happiness of the moment, to steel herself.
She was worthy of being loved and of loving.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum leaned in toward Rose. He whispered, tickling her ear.
“Come to my room again today.”
She felt a strange warmth from their hands. Rose was momentarily lost in thought.
“Sleeping together means being intense, right?”
It had been a hectic day.
The conference was a success, and she felt good, but the tension had eased, and fatigue was creeping in.
'...I just want to rest today.'
Rose couldn't answer readily, mulling over it. Although she was tired, being held in the Grand Duke's arms felt incredibly good.
"I know you're tired. Let's just sleep, holding hands."
He coaxed her with subtle words. He seemed to instinctively know what she was worrying about.
His blue eyes stared at her pleadingly. His quivering lips and flushed face were incredibly alluring.
'Isn't it cheating to sleep, holding hands with a face like this?'
To openly seduce her, and then sleep, holding hands?
His face was utterly unreliable. And her heart was pounding so fast that Rose felt it next to her.
The sight of the Grand Duke, his entire being yearning for her, made her smile for no reason.
'Suddenly, I don't even seem tired.'
It was strange. Just a moment ago, she hadn't thought about it, but the sight of the Grand Duke changed her mind.
Rose shook her head at the Grand Duke's statement that they only sleep while holding hands.
She tugged at the Grand Duke Artaeum's collar. The Grand Duke leaned forward. Rose met his eyes and smiled.
"I want to do other things too. All night."
Rose's provocative voice echoed softly.
Had Rose's words been quite provocative?
The Grand Duke lost his composure and lifted Rose into his arms. There was no reason not to fall for such seduction.
She was quite shocked and couldn't speak for a while.
'...What does this mean?'
He can't be the successor.
It was truly unexpected. Doana had been so arrogant, believing only this.
Cold sweat ran down Doana's spine.
'You fucking punk. Why are you telling me that now?'
Since he hadn't said anything until now, she naturally assumed that her child would be the successor to the Count's family.
"Why... didn't you tell me until now?"
"Do I have to tell you everything? Don't you even have basic common sense?"
Eric frowned, as if he found Doana's words absurd.
"There's a limit to being uneducated. How can I tell you every single piece of common sense?"
He shook his head from side to side as if he was fed up and continued speaking.
"Doana. I'm talking about you. Sometimes you seem so stupid that I doubt your intelligence. At first, I just laughed it off, but now it's gone beyond that. Seriously."
Doana, who knew nothing, once seemed cute. Back then, he thought that was part of her charm.
But Doana had gone beyond being foolish.
While Doana wasn't inherently intelligent, she was ignorant of the world of novels. She'd never even read a romance novel.
It was only natural that Eric saw her as stupid.
Doana squeezed her eyes shut. She instinctively sensed that her crisis was approaching faster than she'd thought.
'So, that old fox was so relaxed because of this?'
Doana thought of Tercia, Eric's mother. Feeling completely fooled, her stomach churned.
"So, I did it for the child. Do you understand now?"
Anyone could see that Eric's words were an excuse.
They were a mass of contradictions. If he wanted to raise a child as his successor, it didn't have to be Rose.
It would have been easier to register his child as his current wife, Beliana's.
He'd done it simply because he wanted Rose by his side. There were so many ways to escape.
Doana felt like her world was crumbling.
The tower she'd built so painstakingly couldn't crumble so easily. They say there's a hole to rise from even if the sky falls, so there must be a solution. Doana's eyes darted anxiously, and a thought flashed through her mind. Her eyes, dead and frozen, quickly gleamed.
"Your father was also an illegitimate child. So why can't my child be the heir?"
Cedric wasn't exactly a proud family. He was an illegitimate child.
"Your child is different from my father's."
"What difference?"
"At the time, my grandfather and his wife had no children."
Eric explained that this was possible because his grandfather's wife willingly registered Cedric as her son.
“But... It’s not you, is it?”
“What’s wrong? I’m the only one pregnant with your child!”
Right now, the only person who could be the successor was her child.
Eric raised an eyebrow at Doana’s words.
“I don’t know if Beliana will register your child. And, I don’t mind Beliana if it’s for the sake of having an heir.”
If possible, he wanted Rose.
But Eric didn’t hesitate to say in front of Doana that he would impregnate another woman.
‘...That son of a bitch.’
Doana felt once again through her conversation with Eric.
If she stayed still like this, she would be abandoned in no time.
‘If the department store succeeds, I won’t have to be treated like this.’
Doana clenched her fists and trembled.
She was confident enough in what Rose was doing.
Business wasn’t easy, and she was deeply mistaken.
***
Rose and the Grand Duke said goodbye to Count Serviat and his wife and left.
The carriage returning to the Artaeum estate was filled with Rose, the Grand Duke, and Julius.
Inside, Rose was no different than usual. She wasn't cold, and she treated him with the same kindness as before.
But why did he feel so uneasy?
'Damn it, because of that guy Julius.'
'The biggest mistake a man makes is thinking his woman is satisfied.'
The Grand Duke kept thinking about Julius's words.
That guy was the biggest cause of his current anxiety. The Grand Duke glared at Julius with sharp eyes.
Julius avoided the Grand Duke's gaze and whistled, feigning ignorance.
"Princess, did you enjoy your tour of the capital?"
Rose assumed Julius was sightseeing while the Grand Duke was with her. Julius shook his head, fussing.
"No. I played with Diana."
"Oh, you were with the Princess. "
"Yes. We're not really close. We played hide-and-seek for the first time in a while and reminisced about our childhoods."
Julius answered with a bright smile. Rose, intrigued by his words, asked back,
"Hide-and-seek? The Princess plays that game too."
Although she'd only seen Diana a few times, she exuded an unrivaled aura.
Judging by Diana's outward appearance, she seemed never engage in such a game, but it was truly surprising.
'Diana has a side to her.'
He covered his mouth with one hand and chuckled.
It wasn't the hide-and-seek Rose was thinking.
Diana had been avoiding Julius, and Julius had been doggedly tracking her down.
It was a game of hide-and-seek, but it was clearly a chase.
As they made small talk, they arrived at the Artaeum mansion.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum got out of the carriage first and extended his hand to Rose.
"Be careful getting out."
Because she was wearing a flowing dress, an escort was essential for her exit.
As Rose shyly tried to grab the Grand Duke's hand, Julius snatched it away.
"Sorry, Young Lady. I need to go to the bathroom. I'll get out first."
He winked at Rose and stepped out of the carriage.
The Grand Duke frowned and shook his hand away when Julius, not Rose, grabbed his.
However, the two figures were hidden by Julius's back, so even Rose couldn't see them.
'Ah...'
I tried to grab it first...
Rose's hand, floating in the air, fell limply.
It was natural to yield to him since he said he needed to use the bathroom, but for some reason, she felt bad.
'Was I such a narrow-minded woman?'
It hadn't mattered before, but the Grand Duke's girlfriend was clearly hers.
Rose had no intention of sharing the Grand Duke with another woman. Of course, that didn't mean she shouldn't escort Julius out of the carriage.
She just wanted to hold the Grand Duke's hand before Julius.
Rose looked out of the carriage with a drooping face.
"Let's go."
The Grand Duke of Artaeum was extending his hand to her with a smile.
'Yes. He's my man anyway. Let's not be so narrow-minded.'
Rose gently took the Grand Duke's hand and descended the carriage steps.
"Grand Duke, by the way, what were you talking about with my father earlier?"
The Grand Duke flinched at Daemon's warning not to touch a single hair. He omitted that and simply relayed this one line:
"I said I'd be taking good care of you."
"Ah..."
She felt a strange sense of embarrassment. It was the first time she'd told her parents about her relationship so soon after they'd started dating.
"I didn't know we'd be talking about not only dating, but also an unplanned marriage."
Of course, they were dating with marriage in mind, but relationships were never about what would happen until they entered the wedding hall.
Furthermore, revealing everything so soon felt burdensome.
"...You really told them everything without me even giving me a chance to stop you."
Rose stared blankly at the Grand Duke.
She liked him. But she wasn't sure enough to promise marriage.
If the Grand Duke found out Rose's true feelings, he'd be shocked and likely suffer for days.
"Since when did the Grand Duke start liking me?"
Judging by his nonchalant way of saying they'd marry, he seemed quite confident in himself.
"I... Can I rest easy?"
Could I really trust the Grand Duke?
Having tasted the bitterness of life in her previous relationship, shr felt increasingly small.
Shd confidently won the Grand Duke, but on the other hand, she was afraid.
Wouldn't this person change someday?
Could there really be someone who would love only me, unchangingly, for the rest of my life?
Isn't a love that only focuses on each other just an illusion from a fairy tale?
'... I don't know if I can love completely like before.'
The amount of love and the amount of hurt were proportional. That's why she was afraid to give him boundless affection.
Rose, unable to calm her complex and tangled emotions, looked at the Grand Duke.
He touched Rose's hand and carefully kissed her cheek.
“Ah...”
Rose’s cheeks instantly flushed. She blushed in embarrassment and glanced at the Grand Duke.
“I don’t know. For now, I’ll just follow my heart.”
Her boyfriend was such a handsome man. He was gentle during the day, and beastly at night.
'...He’s totally my style.'
And there’s a saying: Love, as if you’ve never been hurt.
With such a perfect man, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pretend to be fooled and love him.
Rose decided to shake off her complicated thoughts.
She decided to focus on the happiness of the moment, to steel herself.
She was worthy of being loved and of loving.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum leaned in toward Rose. He whispered, tickling her ear.
“Come to my room again today.”
She felt a strange warmth from their hands. Rose was momentarily lost in thought.
“Sleeping together means being intense, right?”
It had been a hectic day.
The conference was a success, and she felt good, but the tension had eased, and fatigue was creeping in.
'...I just want to rest today.'
Rose couldn't answer readily, mulling over it. Although she was tired, being held in the Grand Duke's arms felt incredibly good.
"I know you're tired. Let's just sleep, holding hands."
He coaxed her with subtle words. He seemed to instinctively know what she was worrying about.
His blue eyes stared at her pleadingly. His quivering lips and flushed face were incredibly alluring.
'Isn't it cheating to sleep, holding hands with a face like this?'
To openly seduce her, and then sleep, holding hands?
His face was utterly unreliable. And her heart was pounding so fast that Rose felt it next to her.
The sight of the Grand Duke, his entire being yearning for her, made her smile for no reason.
'Suddenly, I don't even seem tired.'
It was strange. Just a moment ago, she hadn't thought about it, but the sight of the Grand Duke changed her mind.
Rose shook her head at the Grand Duke's statement that they only sleep while holding hands.
She tugged at the Grand Duke Artaeum's collar. The Grand Duke leaned forward. Rose met his eyes and smiled.
"I want to do other things too. All night."
Rose's provocative voice echoed softly.
Had Rose's words been quite provocative?
The Grand Duke lost his composure and lifted Rose into his arms. There was no reason not to fall for such seduction.
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