CH 9.2

After letting Michael go, Lucas was lost in thought for a moment.

The contract was out of the way, but his wife’s thoughts were more important. What does she think of him?

Is she thinking of him as much as he thinks of her?

Just thinking about Lila made his heart race. At the same time, he remembered her sweet and rich scent. It was a scent that seemed to hover around Lucas even now, and it made his throat tighten.

Her intoxicating scent made him thirsty for more. He could only flounder and be sucked in, as if caught in a deadly trap he could not escape.

“Hmm…”

Licking his lips with his tongue, Lucas leaned his upper body loosely against the couch.

He was still a little tired from staying up late last night to prepare for today.

Lucas propped his legs up on the couch and laid back for a long stretch.

He muttered to himself, thinking about his nephew who had just visited.

“Not even a chance…”

Lucas was jolted awake by the bold statement that he wanted to make her his wife. He realized he’d been a little soft on him, and he wondered if there was a man out there looking for her.

Of course, even if she wore makeup that ruined her face, he figured her attractiveness wouldn’t be easily concealed.

“Hmm… is that why you’ve been wearing such makeup?”

He couldn’t figure out what secret she was hiding, but somehow he knew one thing.

“If they saw my wife’s bare face… They wouldn’t leave her alone, whether they were a man or a woman.”

The outward lookism of the Vassium Empire is something he knows all too well. If they knew Lila’s true appearance, every male nobleman would have their eyes on her.

“That’s a bit…”

It felt very dirty.

Lucas, who had vowed never to fall in love, felt his heart race at the unfamiliarity of his feelings.

It wasn’t a bad feeling.

Tapping his index finger against his chest, Lucas stood up and slowly made his way to the closet to find something to impress her.

“I’ll have to dress in your favorite style.”

He was fully aware of Lila eyeing him. Even down to the way her eyes lit up with curiosity about which styles she liked best.

Lucas’s steps were light as he headed for the dressing room. He hummed to himself as he thought of her eyes lighting up in surprise.

***

Lila let out a pleasant sigh. A faint scent hovered around her, enveloping her, cozy and sweet.

“Mmm…”

Wrapping her arms around something hard and warm, Lila adjusted her position.

She wanted nothing more than to sleep like this.

“Would you to sleep some more, wife?”

Lila’s eyes fluttered open at the low voice.

“…?”

As she opened her eyes, she saw first a book with a brown cover, then the back of a large hand wrapped around it, and then long fingers.

Slowly moving her eyelids as she tried to make sense of the situation, she squinted at the sudden flood of sunlight.

Lucas noticed her stirring and put the book away. He raised a hand to shade the top of her eyes.

Lila squinted up at him, stretching the corners of her eyes.

“Duke?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Lila jerked upward as soon as she realized that the warm thing she was cutting into was his thigh.

But then she bumped her forehead against his palm and was forced back down.

Lila could only stare at the ridiculousness of the situation. No matter how strong he was, she didn’t know how his palm could have pushed her off without her body feeling it.

“Pfft…”

Lucas couldn’t help but laugh. It was ridiculous that she’d bumped into him and then fallen on her own.

On the other hand, it showed how fragile she was. Though the fact that he was stronger than most men played a part in that.

Like Michael’s ability to work magic, each imperial bloodline is born with a special ability.

It’s like a consolation prize from Lupus, who inherited uncontrollable estrus 1a recurring period of sexual receptivity and fertility in many female mammals; heat .

Imperial-blooded males begin to come into heat at around 15 years of age. Like the wolf god Lupus.

At that age, when instinct is stronger than reason, they are unable to come to their senses without a potion provided by the imperial family.

Similarly, imperial men had their own peculiar abilities. Though most of them were unknown to the nobility.

Lucas’s was strength. He could build a house from the forks and knives he broke as a child.

It made him even more despised by his mother. She would often speak ill of him to his face. But after seeing his strength, she never spoke again.

He had then learned that sometimes the eyes can speak louder than the mouth.

He’ll never forget the look in her eyes, a blue glare of contempt.

“What’s happening right now…haha.”

She blushed harder and harder, and even though he tried to sound sympathetic, he couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

“La, don’t laugh!”

Lila shouted, unable to hold it in any longer. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes from embarrassment.

“You can’t just barge into a lady’s room like this, it’s rude to come in when I’m sleeping!”

“Haha, I’m sorry… haha.”

Lucas covered his mouth with the back of his hand, not sure why he was laughing so hard at something that, when you think about it, was nothing.

It was so cute to see her still lying there with her leg out, shivering and angry.

Controlling his strength so he wouldn’t hurt her, Lucas scooped Lila up in one swift motion. He sat her on his lap.

“Is there a need for couples to go out and about?”

“I mean, as I told you last time. We decided to marry on the condition that we are a contract couple from the beginning. Obviously it was the Duke who gave the authority first.”

“Hmm… That’s what happened.”

“I really don’t understand why you’re doing this all of a sudden.”

“I really don’t know, my lady, how insensitive are you to something so obvious?”

Lila’s eyes narrowed and she blushed at his words. Turning her head away from his face, which was now so close, she replied.

“I mean, I don’t see why you changed outright.”

“You don’t need to have a reason for liking something.”

“Like…”

Lila rolled her eyes, her mouth falling open. She pursed her lips, unable to look away from the mint-colored eyes that met hers.

His unwavering gaze made her curl up on her toes, and his thick scent enveloped her.

“Hmm, to be more blunt… I’d like to break the contract.”

“…Yes?”

“I mean, I want us to be a real couple. Not a fake couple, but a couple who got married after dating. Of course, such a couple would not exist in aristocratic society, but still…”

Lucas paused for a moment, then spoke up.

“How about becoming the first real couple?”

Lila could barely contain herself at his insistence on the words, ‘let’s be in a relationship,’ ‘let’s be a real couple.’

Her heart skipped a beat because she could clearly see how he feels.

Really? You really like me?

Why? Why all of a sudden?

I thought you said you won’t fall in love?

Question marks bounced off her mauve hair.

“It’s okay if you take your time answering. Let’s eat a quick meal first, and then we’ll go out.”

Lucas said, finding and pressing the bell.

“I have a dress prepared for you, would you like to wear it?”

Lila got dressed and put on the bonnet. The bonnet perfectly shielded her from the sun, but it also perfectly covered her face.

She was glad she didn’t have to wear ugly makeup.

Lucas had made her a dress for the walk. A simple dress with a skirt that fell just past her ankles and was made of lightweight material for summer.

She wore heels that weren’t too high and spats that she wore over her shoes. Spats are pretty. They also keep the shoes in place and make walking easier.

The dress was cute and pretty with a floral pattern. As she walked out of the dressing room, Lucas, who had been sitting on the couch waiting for her, got up.

He slowly approached her, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

“Well, I knew you’d look good in it.”

Lucas chuckled, finding the sight of Lila in the outfit he picked out much more pleasing than he’d expected.

Lila glanced at her dress, then at what he was wearing.

Lucas wore a floral shirt similar to hers, but with pants that clung to him like riding pants, and long, over-the-knee boots.

His socks, which were pulled up over his boots, were patterned with flowers. He also wore a modest vest, not the kind he usually wears, but the kind a commoner would wear.

Something a wealthy commoner might wear…

Lila’s dress was also more like something a commoner would wear than something a noblewoman would wear.

Lucas said, putting on his brown hunting cap.

“Well, shall we go?”

Lila looked at his outstretched hand as he spoke and shyly took it. Unlike last time, their gloved hands clasped.

The warmth seemed to seep into her chest.

“You have small hands.”

Lila blushed as she looked at Lucas’ face, the corners of his mouth pulled up. Contrary to what she’d said she didn’t understand, her heart beat faster.

Lila, who felt like she was in a real relationship, smiled brightly without realizing it with her pounding heart and a strange satisfaction.