Chapter 9.2

“Haa . . .”

Anne, who got up and checked her own reflection in the mirror, bit her lip. She was full of scars, as if she had been bitten by a beast.

“Is he really the Grand Duke?”

The impression spoke for itself. Evidence that it was hard to believe that he was of a noble descent was entrenched like her scars, arousing suspicions.

What on earth was this man thinking? There was no such abnormal relationship in the sex education that she had been taught as a noble lady. It was just stroking and overlapping each other’s bodies, not biting or inflicting pain.

Tears welled up in her eyes with sorrow. Although she was prepared from the start, the Grand Duke was, as rumored, a terrible person. At least it was certain that this kind of love affair was not normal.

“Wake up. Did you think the Grand Duke would treat you like a man in love?”

Anne groaned as she rubbed her cheeks with her hand. Anyway, she didn’t come here with the intention of becoming an ordinary wife, so she had to think more thoroughly and rationally.

As she was trying to organize her complicated head, she heard a knock on the door outside and the voice of the chief handmaiden.

“Your Grace, this is Cournee.”

She didn’t want anyone to enter the chestnut flower-scented room with traces of them tangling all night, but she was not in a condition to sort it out on her own. There was the dirty bed linen, and she had to ventilate the air in the room that was soaked in heat.

Anne grabbed the robe that was close to her, put it on, and then tied the waistband. As soon as she allowed them to come in, the door opened and the chief handmaid and three women entered. Among them, Anne’s body stiffened when she saw the woman at the back.

Marie, the Grand Duke’s lover, was coming in. After reading Anne’s gaze, Mrs. Walde politely opened her mouth.

“We have been ordered to help Madam bathe. And in the future, your dedicated attendant will be Miss . . . Marie.”

The chief handmaid, who quietly continued her speech, dragged her words out for a moment in the middle. Normally, she would have noticed a strange air current, but the content was so sudden that Anne did not notice at all.

“Marie had previously served as a maid in this castle. She knows a lot, and she will be happy to help you without any inconvenience.”

Maid . .. She knew only that Marie was a commoner, but did not know that she had been an employee. No matter where she came from, it was equally uncomfortable.

“But . . .”

“The master has commanded so.”

It was illogical. What kind of mistress was there to serve as a bathing attendant for the real wife? It was an unconventional sense to get the lover to attend to the wife.

Does he want us to get along?

Even for it to be called the Grand Duke’s arrangement, it was too much since they were in an uncomfortable relationship with each other.

Soon after, she heard a maid pouring the water in the bathroom, and the other began to change the bed linens with experience. Meanwhile, Marie, who came closer to Anne, bent her knees slightly and bowed her head.

“From now on, I will serve Madam with all my heart.”

Anne looked at Marie who had spoken cautiously for a moment. This situation must have been dissatisfying, but she had no expression. Her body gesture showed that she had accepted it and she had a calm demeanor with her hands held together. Without a word, Anne replaced her answer with a nod of her head.

As she was guided by the maid to the bathroom, a fragrant bathing agent was placed in the bathtub filled with hot water. She honestly didn’t have the strength to move her body, but she wanted to quickly wash her body full of the man’s body fluids.

“Ack . . .”

As soon as she immersed her whole body in the warm water, she exclaimed in pain. There was no place where she did not feel bad as the bitter pain that had been gone for a while came back.

The maid, who had been rubbing the foam ball against her white arms, carefully wiped away the traces of the night from her body. She was trying to avoid irritation as much as possible, and there was nothing disturbing in the touch.

Anne, who was resting her weary body, suddenly questioned the doubts that came to her.

“Did His Grace have any plans outside yesterday?”

“His Grace was in the castle all day yesterday.”

“Has he never been out at all?

“Yes. He stayed in the castle all day.”

The innocent eyes, like a country woman, did not appear to tell a lie.

He must be the man I saw that night . . .

She’d think it was ridiculous, but she was strangely surprised that she still had that feeling.

After the bath, Anne returned to her room in a light chemise dress, and in the meantime, Marie held a small ointment in her hand.

“I will apply the medicine.”

She was reluctant to show herself to the mistress, but she had to. Anne took a seat on the clean bed and gently rolled up her skirt. A bruised mark was revealed above her knee, along with the curves of her leg.

The sound of her breathing in a small breath leaked out of Marie’s lips. Looking at her astonished face, it seemed that the Grand Duke wasn’t too harsh with her.

She didn’t say anything else, but she was instantly hurt by those eyes.