CH 64

It was true that she decided to marry Damon because of Edward’s safety. Since she learned the truth about the struggles to protect him so far, she couldn’t escape living alone. Still, that wasn’t the only reason.

She accepted it because she knew it was a fate she couldn’t escape anyway. In the first place, he wanted a bride only in name, and he knew he would let her go if she just satisfied the place.

“I thought so.”

“….”

She felt an incomprehensible sense of intimidation as he spoke casually. It felt as if the submerged air was slowly approaching her neck. Elysia couldn’t even swallow the saliva in the suffocating atmosphere.

“Isn’t it?”

He was so beautiful it felt as though she was going to go blind, but Elysia couldn’t figure out why she was so scared. Her fingertips trembled as she placed them on the table. It was an instinctive fear.

Perhaps she had already been bitten by those sharp fangs. Maybe she was slowly dying of poison spreading all over her body so much that she couldn’t even feel it herself.

“Looks like I guessed right.”

Even with that, she couldn’t answer. She wondered how he got to know this since she thought it was a deal between her and the Countess… How the hell did Damon find it by chance? Only a few in the County knew the truth about Edward’s illness.

Even Count Julius didn’t know.

“… If that made Your Grace feel uncomfortable—”

Elysia hurriedly bowed her head and apologized to him. Her life was so fragile that she couldn’t shake Damon’s heart. Such weakness as the life of a fly.

She couldn’t go against him.

“You don’t have to apologize to me. That’s not something the wife would apologize for.”

“Forgive me.”

Didn’t they each want something in this marriage? In fact, she didn’t know why she had to apologize. In the first place, it was a marriage that wouldn’t hurt her. They just wanted each other out of necessity, nothing more and nothing less.

“Now, I will protect him.”

“N, no… You don’t have to.”

Elysia’s face turned pale, hearing that he would protect Edward. Who would believe Damon’s words that he would protect them? It was no different from saying that he was holding Edward’s life now. She thought she was the only one who had her life in his hands, but it wasn’t.

Elysia, as well as Edward, was captured by him. He was deliberately sent to the Logan Empire to avoid his eyes but to no avail.

“Doesn’t the wife love your brother very much?”

“No… I…”

What answers should she give him so she could get out of his watch? Elysia just bit her lip. Even if she said no, she couldn’t. Not knowing how he would act, she had to be careful with her answers.

“He doesn’t have to go to the Logan Empire on purpose to rest.”

To be honest, she thought he wasn’t interested in her at all. At least, she thought he wouldn’t reach out to Edward unless she ran away. However, that was her mistake. Damon already had everything in his hands.

“Don’t worry, he’ll get the best doctors, and I’ll make sure he gets back to his original condition.”

“….”

She was scared. While she was trembling in fear, she couldn’t say anything to save Edward. His illness would not be cured as long as the County survived. All Elysia could do was stop him from taking the medicine anymore.

In addition, it was not a disease that could be cured in the first place. The Countess was a meticulous person. Angelina wanted Rowena, the same bloodline, to succeed the County. In fact, there were rumors that Rowena might be the Count’s child.

“It’s nothing for me to save brother.”

It was a threat in another sense. H would give her what she wanted, and she would give him something else. Still, it was an irresistible temptation. Elysia couldn’t help it, even though she knew from the start that it was a trap that was impossible to refuse.

“I’ll… look forward to your cooperation.”

There were no other options, because it was designed not to have that.

* * *

After the meal time, she didn’t know how it passed, Elysia took Damon’s hand and came up to the room. It was because he gave a plausible excuse that she might fall again.

“I don’t think we need to change the stairs.”

“Yes?”

“The opportunity to hold your hand intimately will disappear.”

Elysia was embarrassed when Damon acted like this. It was because she didn’t know if he really meant those sincere words or if he was trying to test her.

“I think we can sleep together today.”

“When we start construction, the first thing I will do is build the Grand Duchess’ room.”

It sounded like she didn’t like him saying that they could sleep together today. Even though the first night was unavoidable, it seemed uncomfortable to keep sleeping together.

“The Grand Duchess’s room?”

“Yes, the room next door is empty.”

…Perhaps, he didn’t like her being in the room next door?

“If Your Grace doesn’t like the room next door, I’ll change it to another room.”

In fact, Elysia didn’t like being next door to Damon either. It was her honest feelings that she wanted to get away from him as much as possible.

“No, don’t.”

“Yes. Then, soon…”

“Don’t make a room.”

Elysia raised her head, startled by his incomprehensible remarks. Damon was standing there, narrowing his brow.

“Your Grace…? What does that mean?”

As he told her not to build the Grand Duchess’ room, Elysia recalled what she may have done wrong. Still, no matter how much she looked into her head, she didn’t seem to have done anything particularly wrong.

Why did he suddenly change his mind?

Although she tried to shake off the anxiety that was creeping up, it had already engulfed her whole body. The corner of her lips trembled.

“I don’t think we need to make a separate room.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you did nothing wrong, but is it really necessary to make two rooms?”

Make two rooms?

“Just use one room.”

Occasionally, there were couples who shared several rooms. This was usually done to show off their prestige. However, Elysia had no intention of showing off her prestige, and she had no prestige after all.

Her existence in the Grand Duchy was a stranger. She didn’t have the courage to do things that were out of the blue.

“If we’re a married couple, shouldn’t we share the same room?”

“What? No… Originally, we had to use a different room…”

“The room is not too small, and there seems to be no reason to make another room.”

Of course, the room couldn’t be called small. He used the best room in the Grand Duke’s castle.

“But, it doesn’t make sense to not have the Grand Duchess’ room…”

No matter how they were sharing a room, it was impossible for the Grand Duchess not to have a separate room. Of course, if she was a disrespected Madam, she might not have a room because she worked with maids and heard stories of such cases from time to time.

“If you are telling me not to have a room, I won’t.”

It was rare, but if Damon wanted it, she had to. All of Elysia’s permission to have a room had to be done with his permission.

“….”

“Your Grace?”

After all, it was a lie that she could change everything as she wanted. If she only believed in his words and handled things as she pleased, she would have been in trouble.

“Haa… I don’t mean that.”

Elysia shuddered as Damon grabbed his temple and sighed. She was worried that she might have offended him.

“So, what does that mean?”

Anyway, she was in a position to follow his will, whatever it was. She thought she’d be fine with whatever it was unless he told her to die right now. Elysia had lived well in the attic. Even if she didn’t have a room, it wouldn’t be a big deal for her.

“I’ll be honest. I want to share a room with the wife.”

After he finished speaking, there was still silence in the room.

As soon as Elysia heard Damon’s words, she suspected that her ears had gone wrong. Nonetheless, the situation did not change. Damon was still looking at her, and the uncomfortable silence continued. She heard right… He was telling her now that he wanted to share the same room with her.

“…What does it mean?”

The only thing she had the courage to say was to ask why.

She was confused by Damon’s constant deviation from her expectations. If it was the Damon she knew, he should never have said that. She couldn’t always tell if the man in front of her was really him. He seemed to be Damon, but he wasn’t Damon.

She knew it was nonsense, but she couldn’t explain it other than these words.

“Is the meaning important?”

“It is important.”

There was no reason for Elysia and Damon to share the same bed. The two don’t have a relationship, so it was right to use a different room, especially since they weren’t even a couple. If it was because of the Grand Duchy’s rule, she could pretend to sleep in the same bed once a month.

“Obviously, you told me that you would not see a successor. Please, tell me that I am wrong.”

“No, the wife is right.”

“Then, why do we have to share the same room?”

If she had to act as a couple on purpose, she was willing to follow suit even though she would sleep uncomfortably every day.

“By the way, Elysia, you always said the meaning was important. Your marriage to me was also chosen for a reason.”

The way he spoke was as if he was rebuking her. No, it was more of a pity than a rebuke.

“I will never see a child in you.”

“Then…”

“Not only you, but anyone else.”