Chapter 102
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Chapter 102
"When are you leaving for Contana?"
"We'll depart in five days. We'll use a gate to get there, and take a carriage back slowly on the return journey."
"So how long are you planning to be gone?"
"Roughly a month."
The king rose from his seat and fixed his gaze upon the face of his dear friend, whom he would not see again for another month.
Though his eyes still gleamed with clarity, the king's face had begun to grow gaunt with each passing day, and it was heartbreaking to witness.
"I'll need to survive until then."
The king spoke with a smile.
Lucas Black regarded him with a serious expression.
"Of course you must. Come greet me when I return. I'll bring you a gift."
How many in the world could dare speak to a king in such a manner?
Yet this good-natured young king had never once grown angry with Lucas Black.
Instead, he merely laughed and tapped his shoulder lightly.
"Your loyalty to the crown seems rather lacking."
"My loyalty is far too steadfast and formidable to dare display so carelessly, so please have no concerns."
"Your tongue alone conveys a loyalty most impressive."
"That's rather crude language for a king."
"The charm lies in making even crude words sound refined—something you clearly lack."
Ludwig, who had been laughing, suddenly broke into a cough.
Lucas Black, watching him, sighed and steadied the king.
"Please, delegate the tedious matters to the princess or Cain Black. Don't overexert yourself. Take leisurely walks, enjoy the things you wish to enjoy. You must reduce your stress. That's precisely what your loyal servants are here for."
"Enough of your prattle. Go now."
After heaping on words that were part concern, part admonishment, and part nagging, Lucas Black bowed respectfully to the king.
Grace Oellin, standing beside Lucas Black, exchanged farewells with Ludwig, Fresia, Cain Black, and Vivian, who had come to see them off.
The Royal Palace had been meticulously cleaned, as if the raucous banquet that had filled the night had never occurred.
Seated in the carriage, Grace Oellin glanced back at the receding Royal Palace.
She could see the pointed spire-like roof.
It was the very topmost floor where she and Lucas Black had conducted their secret ceremony of vows.
Though the two had publicly declared their union as husband and wife, there remained one final procedure.
Contana.
They had to go there and receive the witness oath from the last family she had yet to meet.
The final member of the Seven Great Families.
Having roughly discerned the family crest that guarded that place, she could hazard a guess as to what animal it might be.
But... could a person truly transform into that animal?
Though she found it unbelievable, transforming into snakes, horses, and eagles seemed equally implausible, so she decided to dismiss her doubts.
Clatter.
As the carriage swayed slightly, the hands of the two sitting side by side brushed together gently.
Grace Oellin deliberately fixed her gaze out the window to avoid acknowledging it, but such pretense was lost on Lucas Black.
Their two hands, which had gradually overlapped, became intertwined as one.
Fingers long and large enough to envelop her entire hand gently caressed the inside of Grace's wrist.
Grace, who had flinched at the touch, found herself surrendering to the heat rising through her body from nothing more than his fingertips grazing her inner wrist.
"Your... fingers, please..."
"Finally, you're looking at me."
When Grace glanced at Lucas, he grasped her fingers with a mischievous expression and lifted them deliberately.
The sound of his lips meeting hers echoed through the narrow, sealed carriage.
He nibbled at her reddening fingers without hesitation, then pressed his lips deeply into the hollow of his palm.
When Grace tried to pull her hand away at the ticklish sensation, Lucas followed her movement.
"Why do you keep avoiding my gaze, my dear?"
At his brazen words, Grace's eyes narrowed.
"Are you still sulking?"
"...I'm not sulking."
"You certainly seem to be sulking."
He spoke as if deliberately teasing her.
Grace responded with exasperation.
"It appears Your Excellency has difficulty feeling shame."
"I've never done anything shameful."
He answered with composure and laughed.
'That infuriating man...'
Even as Grace muttered under her breath, she remained cautious.
She had nearly called her husband and duke by a rather unflattering name.
"You may not have done anything shameful, but you could certainly feel embarrassed."
"Of course I could feel embarrassed, but with you, I wish to be as honest as possible about everything."
Truly, he had a silver tongue.
His words flowed like a clear stream.
Grace recalled what had happened this morning.
Perhaps because she had been so exhausted the previous day, she had slept deeply without dreams in the comfortable warmth of their bed.
But when she opened her eyes, she found herself held firmly in someone's embrace, unable to move.
Of course, it was Lucas's embrace.
Yes, until that moment she had been bewildered, but it was manageable.
She had even watched Lucas sleeping defenseless in the morning light.
Though she hadn't noticed it before, she had gently touched the small scar beneath his jaw, and carefully caressed those lips that were always trying to tease her.
His stubborn eyes, his dark brows, the high bridge of his nose that cast deep shadows.
"How... could you possibly be so handsome?"
After gazing at his beautiful face for a long time, she had inadvertently spoken her admiration aloud.
Though his deeply carved features still bore a somewhat rough and harsh impression, it was as if they had been deliberately sculpted to create a perfect statue.
In that moment.
The corner of Lucas's firmly closed mouth twitched slightly.
'Oh no, is he waking up now?'
Grace quickly lowered her hand and squeezed her eyes shut, feigning sleep.
She feared it would be embarrassing if he discovered she'd woken first and spent time gazing at and touching his face.
She remained perfectly still with her eyes clamped shut, waiting for him to wake.
But after several minutes passed, he remained in that same state.
'Hmm...? Had he not actually woken up?'
Grace cautiously cracked open her eyelids to observe him.
Just as she'd seen moments before, his face was utterly serene, without the slightest movement.
Not a single eyelash twitched, and his breathing remained steady.
As she entertained the reasonable suspicion that his lips had merely moved reflexively in sleep, she detected an unexpected change from an unforeseen place.
She sensed a subtle shift beneath her.
"...."
Grace went rigid, then slowly lowered her gaze.
After a moment's hesitation, she shifted one of her legs that had been resting atop his, and felt the firm thigh muscle beneath tense and contract.
Grace immediately shoved against his chest and pulled away.
"If—if you're awake, you should show it!"
At her cry, one of his eyelids, which had been peacefully closed, slowly lifted open.
Watching Lucas smile without a shred of guilt, Grace silently cursed a word she hadn't used in ages.
'Scoundrel...!'
* * *
That had been this morning's incident.
Even after washing her face, touring the Royal Palace, and having a modest breakfast, she remained somewhat sullen.
As she passed through the Corridor, or whenever her reflection caught in a passing window, he would murmur something.
'Really, how is he so devastatingly handsome?'
'....'
Grace had to quicken her pace beside him, her face burning crimson.
'Why did I say such a thing!'
That man was already lost in his own delusions, and now that she'd spoken such words directly, those delusions would undoubtedly reach their peak.
Lucas appeared delighted, but Grace was mortified.
Worse still, she'd discovered his wakefulness through a physical response—making her morning embarrassment doubly acute.
'At least he's handsome. Receiving his wife's affection from the very morning.'
Yet the man himself seemed utterly unbothered.
"Grace, look at me."
Grace reluctantly lifted her eyes, having been avoiding his gaze.
He leaned toward her, and unable to restrain himself, pressed his lips once more against her cheek and forehead.
"What are you thinking about that keeps flushing your face like that?"
"You're going to keep teasing me, aren't you?"
"I apologize, but it's difficult to resist."
Lucas admitted it honestly.
"I... see. Do as you wish, then."
"I understand. Then perhaps you could explain why your face has been flushing since earlier? I simply wish to know why my wife keeps turning red."
"You're not asking because you genuinely don't know, are you?"
He shrugged with an innocent expression.
Yet his eyes gleamed with mischief far too brightly to believe such an act.
"If you don't know, that's fine. I won't tell you."
"Ah! Could it be because of 'that' this morning?"
That.
That....
That...!
At the mere mention of 'that,' Grace's face flushed crimson once more.
The moment I closed my eyes—or rather, even without closing them—that very 'thing' wavered before my vision.
'No, I can't! I mustn't think of it again!'
She quickly shook her head and promptly covered Lucas's lips with her hand.
"Don't say it, please. Oh, don't say anything at all!"
"What do you mean—"
"I wasn't trying to look at it on purpose, and goodness, why does it keep getting bigger? I had no idea it would do that so suddenly and without warning."
As Grace stamped her feet in protest, Lucas's eyes widened before curving into crescents as he laughed.
Though her hands muffled the sound, he seemed to be laughing quite heartily.
Once his laughter subsided, he placed his hand over hers that covered his mouth and pressed kisses against her palms.
Then, as the carriage jolted, he swiftly drew her into his embrace and spoke.
"I was merely wondering if you'd recalled telling me I was handsome. But it seems my lady was thinking of something else entirely?"
A gasp escaped her.
Grace hastily covered her own mouth.
Now she realized the one whose words had betrayed her wasn't Lucas—it was herself.
"Now that I think about it...."
He whispered against her ear, holding her tightly.
"It seems the lustful one here is someone else."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------