I didn’t know what he meant by what was bothering him, but I knew one thing. Flustered, I started to bite my lip again and accidentally bit the tip of his finger instead.
“Ah! I’m sorry.”
The moment the soft tip of my tongue brushed his finger, his face slowly drew closer to mine. Gentle kisses followed first on my forehead, then on the tip of my nose. They were so light they tickled, yet so full of affection that a low, incredulous laugh slipped out of me.
“What are you doing…”
“We start like this.”
His eyes met mine again. Flustered, I squeezed mine shut.
His lips found mine once more. It was an even more desperate, breath‑stealing kiss than before, the sheer intensity of the affection he poured into it leaving my head spinning. When a thin, ragged breath escaped between my lips, his fingers threaded through mine, as if he had no intention of ever letting go.
Late into the night, I cried until I was a complete mess. Until every bit of strength had left my body and the skin at the corners of my eyes was sore and raw.
* * *
It feels like someone beat me all over.
The next morning, or rather, by the time it was practically lunchtime, I still couldn’t get out of bed. I just… thought to myself. As expected, Duke Kalinos is absolutely not normal. It was our wedding night, sure, but to keep me going all night, no, until dawn like that… Still, it was hard to call him a man who only cared about his own pleasure. If anything, he was like a well-trained robot.
Judging by that exquisite technique, there’s no way he’s a lifelong single… Did he have another woman before me? My eyes flew open, sharp with suspicion.
Right then, Duke Kalinos set a simple meal down on the nightstand and spoke. “You’re awake, Giselle. I brought this because I didn’t think you’d be able to make it to the dining room today.”
“You brought it yourself?”
“Yes. I selected things that would be good for you.”
“You’re very… clever, aren’t you?” I said it, my voice half-laced with resentment. Resentment that I couldn’t get up because of him.
He let out a low laugh at that. “I’m sorry.” Then he perched on the edge of the bed and looked down at me, brushing my bangs aside. “I just couldn’t hold back.”
In that moment, I could feel the subtle heat in his eyes. The mood turned charged again. From that warm, smoldering look, it seemed like he was ready to go again this morning.
No way. I quietly deflected. “I told you, let’s just stick to a goodnight kiss.”
Duke Kalinos met my gaze and went still for a moment, then pulled me into a tight embrace. With his face buried against me, he murmured softly, “I don’t want to go to work today.”
“…What?”
“I’m going on strike.”
People said late-blooming romance was frightening. The duke, who’d always been more by‑the‑book than the rulebook itself, had suddenly fallen in love and was now declaring a strike…
Right, he’s a lifelong single, isn’t he?
I saw the look in Duke Kalinos’s eyes and was shocked. Those slightly dazed, excited eyes were fixed on me like he was going to devour me.
He’s insane.
I quickly crossed my arms in an X and said, “I have to have tea with Madam Yuliana today!”
* * *
I might have escaped to tea time with Yuliana, but… This place feels pretty daunting too. Besides, on the way to the tearoom, I ran into servants and maids who glanced at me and whispered in these tiny voices as if I were cute.
“I heard she cried. How adorable…”
“It’s like the empire’s hero has this unexpected, soft side.”
I had no idea which b*stard started that rumor, but my dark, humiliating moment, me bawling my eyes out because I thought Duke Kalinos was dead, seemed to have been permanently etched into history.
Well, there were a lot of people who went all the way to the grave with us that day, so I guess there were plenty of spectators for the whole scene. But the most suspicious one was Coocoo, who had suddenly vanished without a trace. That damn dragon’s probably having the time of its life spreading my story everywhere, isn’t it?!
I pressed a hand to my forehead and let out a long sigh. When I opened the door to the tearoom, I saw Yuliana.
“You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“Kind of, yeah,” I said, because with all the servants chattering about my most embarrassing moment, I figured Yuliana must have heard too. But the answer that came back was completely unexpected.
“Don’t be too mortified. Because I did the same thing.”
My eyes flew wide at her words.
She folded her arms across her chest as if she completely understood and said, “Want to hear it?”
At that, I pricked up my ears. Then Yuliana leaned toward me and began to murmur, like she was telling an old fairy tale.
“So, here’s how it goes. It was a very long time ago. About twenty years back from now…”
* * *
It happened back when Yuliana was still a very young duchess, and Neslan a young duke. At that time, the Kalinos Mansion had a small rose garden. Young Yuliana, for all her cool composure, was actually quite naive. She was naive enough that she believed Garno, with his mischievous streak, when he told her, “I heard your husband’s lying over there in the rose garden under a curse!”
“Neslan! Neslan!” Without even getting her shoes on properly, her face burning red, she tore through the rose garden, pushing aside bushes in a panic, until she finally found her husband lying there. With her expression on the verge of crumpling, she hurried closer to him and, voice trembling, muttered, “They said you’re going to die!”
“…”
“Who said you could die! Why are you dying!”
The moment the words left her mouth, Neslan’s eyes flew open, and he stared up at her in bewilderment.
“Huh? I’m dying?”
Flustered, Yuliana looked down at him and stammered, “Be-Because y-you were cu-cursed by the roses, so you’re going to die…”
“That’s news to me.”
“Fa-Father-in-law said so…”
“He’s a playful man. He must have been teasing you again.”
Only then did Yuliana, looking utterly at a loss, drop down into the grass with a soft thud. “They said you were going to die. Do you know how worried I was?”
“I’m not going to die. I promised I’d be your slave, remember?”
“Ah, right…”
Neslan’s mild, lamb‑like features relaxed into a teasing smile. “What kind of slave dies and leaves his master behind?”
“…Why not? People can die.” It was a small, sulky protest, as if she felt betrayed for having been fooled.
Neslan pulled Yuliana into a tight embrace and murmured in a low voice, “Then let me put it another way. Yuliana, how could I possibly die and leave you behind?”
“T-Then…”
Yuliana’s face went scarlet in an instant. It was the face of a girl in love, something you’d never see on the Yuliana of today.
Watching the two of them, the gardeners who had been pruning branches in the rose garden and who, thanks to the ducal couple’s sudden appearance, hadn’t been able to slip away in time, looked at one another and snickered.
The moment Yuliana heard them murmuring fondly to each other, “Aren’t the two of them just too adorable?” her face flushed an even deeper red…
Whether that was fortunate for her or unfortunate, who could say. But the story of the rose garden became a romantic little anecdote about the young duke and duchess. Every so often, it would make the rounds among the servants.
Yuliana would turn bright red every time she heard the rumor, but Neslan was delighted by it. Of course, as the years went by, the gardeners retired, and neither Neslan nor Yuliana ever brought up that story again… In the end, it became an old tale, remembered only by the few who still remembered it at all.
* * *
…My father-in-law is such a romantic. Maybe all those romantic lines the duke tosses out on instinct are genetic. I nodded inwardly.
Yuliana lifted her teacup and said gracefully, “Looks like even romantic styles get passed down.”
At that, she and I both covered our mouths and giggled. It was because there was just something ridiculously cute about the idea of ‘romantic styles getting passed down.’
Come to think of it, Yulian’s gotten a lot more relaxed. In the past, she used to glare daggers at me, and I was secretly scared stiff. Of course, it’s not like I was ever that scared of Yuliana. That’s not my style.
Just then, Yuliana crossed her legs and looked at me. “Ah, that reminds me.”
“Yes?”
“There was something important I needed to tell you.”
My expression tightened. When Yuliana said it like that, it always meant something serious was up.
I furrowed my brow, focusing, and Yuliana announced to me, “His Majesty says he’s arranged an event in honor of the hero for tomorrow.”
“Ah, I heard about that. But an event for a hero feels a bit much…” I could practically feel the faint heat blooming in both my cheeks.
A hero? I’d only moved for the sake of private revenge and my own advancement, and somehow that had ended up saving people…
But Yuliana replied decisively. “If saving countless people doesn’t make you a hero, then what does? If anything, the public praise is overdue.”
Right, looks like Yuliana’s wearing some seriously thick rose-tinted glasses when it came to me.
Half giving up, I let out a deflated little sound. “Ah, yes.”
“Oh, and His Majesty very earnestly asked that this be kept secret.” An awkward look flickered across Yuliana’s face.
I was just starting to wonder what on earth could be so secretive. If it’s something that a particular emperor is doing, it’s got to be suspicious…Feeling oddly on edge, I lifted my cup and took a sip of tea. And then…
“He’s already preparing an empire-wide festival with ‘Duchess Giselle Kalinos’ as the main star.”
“Pffft!”
…I ended up spitting it out in the most unseemly way. But that wasn’t the important part.
“A-A festival with me as the main attraction?”
Cold sweat started trickling down my spine.
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