CH 8.1

The red sun was already setting when Lila and Michael returned to the ducal residence after a day spent in Kate’s dressing room.

Vincent greeted them and took them straight to the dining room.

“The former Duchess has requested to dine in private in her room, and the Duke has requested an early bedtime.”

Lila and Vincent were not yet officially married, but it was as good as finalized, so they decided to call Anna the former Duchess.

Lila was surprised by Vincent’s demeanor, but even more surprised by Lucas’s behavior.

“He’s off to bed already?”

She asked as they walked into the dining room.

“Yes, he is. The Duke asked me to tell you that Jessie Lou Collins will be attending to you starting tomorrow.”

“Oh!”

Lila clapped her hands in delight. As Lila sat in the chair Vincent pulled out for her, Michael said.

“My uncle is like this sometimes.”

Lila replied as she grabbed a glass of water.

“Is that so? You’re not sick, are you?”

Michael said in a nonchalant tone as he cut into some bread to satisfy his hunger.

“Just periodically. Once before the start of summer and once before the start of winter? It’s always around then that I seem to get sick.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Looking at the food coming out, Lila pushed her questions away. Because she was also terribly hungry.

When they finished eating and returned to the Duchess’s room, they washed up first. Lila helped Michael wash, then rubbed his legs and arms.

Michael had fallen asleep because he was very tired. After carefully covering him with a thin quilt, Lila returned to the bathroom and filled the tub with water.

She was eager to add bath salts and soak them in the water.

Adding the round bath bombs and filling the tub with water, Lila was wearing only a bathrobe. Humming, she stepped into the tub.

The pink water was beautiful. She toyed with a cherry blossom petal floating in the middle, lifting it up with her hand.

After washing up, Lila pulled out the nightgown she’d bought from Kate’s dress shop. The ruffled white nightgown was made of a soft material that made her feel good just by putting it on.

When she’d been staying at the barony, she used to sleep with a dress as a nightgown, with underwear worn underneath.

Feeling languid, Lila was about to slip into bed when a strong scent stopped her in her tracks.

“What is it?”

The scent was too intense and enticing to ignore, and she found herself spinning on her heels.

Realizing it was a scent wafting through the closed door, she quietly opened it.

Lila stepped out into the hallway, which was illuminated by lanterns made out of agate.

‘What is that scent?’

It was too thick and heavy to be a natural floral scent. It was a sticky, damp scent that seemed to melt into the air, adding weight to the air.

Unable to resist the lure of the scent as it drifted over her body, Lila followed it.

And when she realized it was coming from Lucas’s room, not far from hers, her first reaction was one of wonder.

‘How?’

Pausing in front of the Duchess’s room, Lila was conflicted.

Her desire to smell the mesmerizing scent up close clashed sharply with her reasoning that she shouldn’t enter the Duke’s chambers at this late hour.

Cloudy-eyed and lost in thought, Lila blinked rapidly to clear her mind and tore her gaze away from the door.

‘Why would I even think about it?’

She should have gone back to her room. They weren’t really married, and entering his room at this hour without permission was tantamount to breaking in.

‘I must have been really tired today.’

Wiping her forehead, Lila turned away. As she hurried to leave, she heard a noise behind her.

The slightest noise, followed by heavy breathing, and then the scent of dampness washed over her.

A thin veil of water covered her entire body, insulating her from the air.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sudden change of airflow. With a ragged gasp, a heated hand grabbed her shoulder.

“Hmp.”

She turned, her soft body against a hard body. She could hear her heart beat against her chest.

Her toes curled when she felt a hard nose at the nape of her neck. The irresistible scent of his hot breath seemed to absorb into her body.

“Haa… my lady?”

Lucas’s hoarse, raspy voice was so hot that Lila shivered.

It was unfamiliar, this hot body, this low voice.

Trapped in his strong arms, Lila squirmed to get out, but her small movements only made him tighten his grip on her as if she were in danger.

“…Duke?”

Lucas couldn’t help but lift his head at her inquisitive tone. His brow creased, not wanting to part from the nape of her neck, where the sweet, aromatic scent was at its thickest.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

He hugged her tightly, her whole body pressed against him. Staring into the crook of his neck, Lila barely answered.

“…I’m not avoiding you.”

He grabbed her chin, easily breaking down her efforts to look away because it would be awkward to make eye contact.

“Look at this… you still can’t look me in the eye.”

Lila felt dizzy from the mesmerizing scent that filled her nostrils, and she couldn’t understand why it was coming from him.

The scent was too strong to be simply perfume.

It made her feel like she was lying in the middle of a forest after a rain, in a patch of grass filled with flowers she didn’t recognize.

The scent clinging to her damp skin was so sweet to smell that he wanted to taste it.

Unable to resist the strong hands that grabbed her slender waist and pulled her closer, Lila placed her hands on his shoulders.

Dragged helplessly along with him, Lila gave her legs a boost before they entered the Duke’s private chambers.

At the slightest hint of defiance that he couldn’t affect, Lucas stopped walking and looked down at her.

Lila’s pursed her lips, unable to form words, and Lucas lowered his head.

His forehead was a ball of fire, and his breath was thick from the tip of his nose.

He stared at her through glassy eyes and spoke pleadingly.

“Please help me.”

“How can I…?”

The tone of his voice was so different from his usual gruffness and coldness that goosebumps broke out all over her body. It wasn’t an unpleasant goosebump, but a strange sensation she couldn’t put into words.

“Just stay with me…”

His voice was so sensual, a little soft, and a little commanding, that Lila couldn’t answer right away.

Rolling her eyes uncontrollably at the slow movement of his hands on her back, Lila cautiously lifted her head to meet his gaze.

And instantly regretted it.

Mint-colored eyes, so intense that it looks like they could eat her, stared straight back at her.

“Ah…”

At that moment, her mind went blank. Lucas whispered seductively, his lips parting as she was captivated by those heated eyes.

“Just a little while, just a little while.”

His voice was husky, and Lila nodded slowly. Heat rose in Lila’s face as she watched Lucas silently raise the tip of his lips to show that he was pleased with her approval.

Chuckling at her flushed face, Lucas gently pulled her into his space.

Leaving the massive wooden door behind them, which closed with only the slightest of noises, Lucas led Lila to his bedroom.

As they walked, holding each other, Lucas kept nuzzling his nose against the nape of her neck.

Despite the potion he had taken to reduce his fever, the heat was unbearable.

If this was bad enough with the potion, what would it be like without it. He wondered at this regularly scheduled time of day.

What if the potion didn’t work in the first place? What a foolish thing to do.

In that case, he wouldn’t have to obey the Emperor for the potion, and he wouldn’t have to live under their thumb.

Normally, he would have spent the night filled with such thoughts, but today was different.

He hadn’t felt well since the day before and wondered if it was getting to that point. In the evening, it became clear that it wasn’t.

Locked in his room alone, Lucas couldn’t stop thinking about Lila.

Her smile, her scent, her voice, her body, her secrets, nothing but her. He fought the heat that threatened to boil through his body.

Just the thought of her scent made his mouth water and saliva trickle down his chin.

He doesn’t know how many times he caught himself almost running toward her room with his eyes wide open.

Suddenly, the scent began to intensify. It came to him as if it were traveling.

He couldn’t stand it anymore.

He wanted to meet the real thing, even if it was just an illusion, to bury his nose in the nape of her neck and breathe deeply.

With trembling hands, he pushed open the door and didn’t think twice about the sight of her backside.

Lucas reached out and grabbed her, feeling the scents of two halves collide with each other in a welcoming way.

And now, lying on his bed, he pulled her into his arms. He could have done nothing but keep his nose buried in the nape of her neck, but he wanted more.