CH 13.2

Lila drank today’s health potion and stared at the empty bottle.

She wondered what kind of potion the alchemist was making. The wound on her forehead quickly disappeared.

“This is really interesting…”

Lila muttered as she checked her forehead in the mirror.

“I wonder if this kind of alchemy could be used to develop cosmetics? But it doesn’t seem like it.”

Lila said to herself, unaware that the potion she had consumed was worth the price of a mansion.

If she had known that the potion was the result of several unsuccessful attempts to gather rare and scarce herbs, she would not have been so nonchalant.

Click.

The door opened and Lucas walked in, a bouquet of flowers at his side, dressed comfortably.

“Duke.”

“Wife.”

Blushing as soon as she entered, Lila tilted her head slightly and glanced up at him.

She’d been awake for only a moment when she’d fallen into the ravine and passed out. Though she couldn’t open her eyes, she could hear Lucas’s voice calling out to her desperately.

She hadn’t been able to look him in the face since.

Her cheeks were burning and her heart was pounding like it was going to jump out of her mouth.

After placing the flowers in the vase on the bedside table, Lucas casually kissed Lila on the forehead.

Then he brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face to check the wound.

“I don’t think a few more potions will leave a scar.”

“Yeah… Oh, and did Michael make it back to the academy okay?”

“Who are you worrying about now…”

Her mauve eyelashes fluttered at the sound of his affectionate tone. Lucas smiled darkly at her flushed cheeks.

Lucas straddled the bed with her, leaned back against the headboard, and trailed his fingers down her arm then threading them through her hair.

After tracing the corners of her mouth in a satisfied smile, Lucas spoke.

“When my wife is well enough, we shall return to the North.”

“I think I’m fine now.”

“You never know. And you need to be taken care of after an accident.”

“That’s true, but… I’ve been a bit of a bother lately.”

Lucas’s eyes lit up at Lila’s comment.

“I know that from what I’ve heard from Vincent, but… are you still getting invitations?”

“This is really bothering me. Are you sure I’ve only been seen by the Imperial Knights? Are knights supposed to have a big mouth?”

Lila said in a pout. Lucas clicked his tongue in agreement because he was just as annoyed.

The reason for their anger was a rumor that had been circulating lately, and the source of the rumor was the Imperial Knights.

Lila’s face had already been stripped of all makeup when she was swept down the ravine that day, and though Lucas had covered it up, the Imperial Knights who came close enough had seen her bare face.

They returned and relayed the news to their comrades, who in turn told their families.

The rumor spread like wildfire, piquing people’s curiosity. In particular, the ladies and young men who were in the tent that day began sending Lila invitations disguised as letters of sympathy.

It’s not like they’re stupid, after all, they all know she’s injured, but it’s also not like they can’t decline the invitations.

Lila’s ambiguous position as a member of the Duke of Montefeltra’s family, and her lack of a formal marriage, was a hindrance.

Lila’s ambiguous position as a member of the Duke of Montefeltra’s family, but not officially married, was a problem. Charlotte, in her excitement, just didn’t realize it.

Lila had a strange feeling. It was both exhilarating and terrifying to finally be able to show her true face.

It’s not easy to show your face in front of others after hiding it for so long.

The original route was also one of her concerns.

Of course, being by Lucas’s side was already a departure from the original route, but emotionally, she felt uneasy.

“Maybe we should get married sooner rather than later.”

After a moment’s pause, Lucas spoke up. He was bothered by Theobald’s strange demeanor.

He didn’t like the look in his eyes, as if he knew something about Lila.

“But winter comes quickly in the north, and it’s too soon to prepare for it in the fall…”

In the north, the harvest is already underway and preparations for winter are quick. Lila thought, calculating the date.

Lucas pressed a pecking kiss to the back of her hand.

“What does the season matter, there’s an annex that used to be a ballroom, we could renovate it and have a wedding there, it’s quite spacious.”

Lila blushed at his words and actions. Her blush was adorable. Lucas leaned his face closer, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.

“Do you want me to build you a greenhouse so you can watch the snow fall for all to see, or do you want me to make you a warding against the snow and wind with a magic stone? If you promise me eternity under a blanket of pure white snow, I can’t think of anything I’d rather have.”

The soft touch of his lips was hot. Fluttering lashes caught his gaze.

Those eyes wouldn’t open, and he remembered the days of his exhaustion. He searched for evidence like a madman, as if she hadn’t lived.

If she didn’t wake up, he would find everyone involved, dismember them, and slaughter them…

And then he would follow her, or so he thought.

For that moment, he forgot about Michael. It was only Lila who occupied his mind.

He sucked in the soft flesh and brought it to his mouth, biting down hard. He wanted to take all of her sobs into his belly.

His hands clasped together and he gripped her waist tightly with his other hand.

The small grip on his shoulders was pleasurable. The raspy sound was erotic. Lucas parted his lips for a moment, then stifled a sigh.

He wanted to lust after her, wantonly, greedily, but he couldn’t, so it was a waste.

“Please make me feel better.”

Lila was well aware of his habit of being impatient with her when they were alone, especially when he was engaged in lewd behavior like this.

She couldn’t stand it.

Did he usually treat her with respect and tease her, or only use half-words in situations like this?

‘Isn’t this one of those fantasies women have?’

A.K.A. day and night1can also be used to describe a situation that has two contrasting aspects, such as a person’s behavior or a situation that changes drastically depending on the time of day.

Polite and gentle by day, but a wolf by night!

Lila chuckled and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his and then pulling away, whispering.

“I’m fine now, but…”

“…”

Lila whispered back to Lucas, who was glaring at her provocation.

“Do you hate me for talking back to you?”

She’d talked back to him in jest before, but never like this. She flirted with him as if the embarrassed blush on her cheeks was a lie.

His lips parted, and he answered in a low voice.

“No.”

He rolled his eyes and nuzzled the nape of her neck, then down to her firm breasts.

Then he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“On the contrary, it turns me on.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he sucked hard on her earlobe, eliciting a moan from Lila’s mouth.

Lucas’s grip on her waist tightened, and he rolled his tongue around it.

Knock knock.

“My lady, you have a visitor!”

The two of them, just warming up, clicked their tongues at the same time. Lila pressed the back of her hand to her heated cheeks.

An irritated Lucas answered for her.

“Tell them to wait!”

It was the man’s fault for barging in, so he’d have to wait.

“…Duke, I, uh, I don’t think it’s…”

Jessie stammered, unable to continue. Lila sighed at her embarrassment.

“Lu, give me a minute. I’m going to have to let Jessie in.”

Lucas’s brow furrowed at her insistence that he let her into the room for a moment, rather than leave her standing in the doorway.

Softly, the sound of teeth grinding was murderous. Lila averted her eyes.

“Jessie, come in.”

At her nod of approval, Jessie cautiously stepped in, only to stammer when he met Lucas’s intense gaze.

“I know it’s unexpected, but the butler told me to ask you because he’s a hard man to turn down.”