🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 48~
Daphne blinked and looked around the room.
Now that she had regained her senses after the shocking situation, she realized she was inside his bedroom—sitting on his bed, no less.
She didn’t know why she was here.
No… actually, she did know. She understood it as well.
She just hadn’t fully accepted the situation yet.
She had only ever slept with someone after Jacquette came into her life.
And now she had to sleep beside someone else—a grown man, at that.
Her head understood, but her heart kept screaming that it wasn’t ready.
“Still, I have to. It’s part of the contract.”
Muttering to herself, Daphne tried to steady her nerves and distract herself by looking around the room.
Theophanes’ bedroom was extremely tidy.
No—it was barren.
In other words, it didn’t feel like a room someone actually lived in.
They say a bedroom reflects a person’s personality.
“Does he just sleep and leave? This place feels so lifeless…”
But that wasn’t her concern. This might simply be his preference.
Bored, she continued looking around while waiting for him to return, but there was nothing more to see.
She had told the children earlier, but the day had been just as long for her.
As she sat quietly in the still room, exhaustion suddenly washed over her.
When humans grow sleepy, they follow their instincts.
Daphne slowly climbed onto the bed and lay down haphazardly.
She blinked a few times before drowsiness overtook her, and her true feelings slipped out.
“When are you coming…?”
Just as she curled up and closed her eyes—
“Were you waiting for me that desperately, my lady?”
At Theophanes’ voice from behind, Daphne’s eyes flew open.
Her hazy mind snapped awake instantly.
“Y-You’re back?”
She quickly sat up and turned her head.
“Yes. I came as fast as I could, but it took a little longer than expected.”
The moment she saw him, Daphne froze.
She couldn’t even hear what he was saying.
Theophanes was wearing a black robe.
That itself wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the robe couldn’t quite contain his solid, broad chest, leaving it gaping open.
That chest is outrageous.
The thought surfaced immediately, and Daphne smacked her own forehead.
“My lady, wait.”
Seeing her suddenly hit herself, Theophanes grabbed her arm with a serious expression.
As he leaned closer, bending slightly, her view extended even lower than before.
She could even see droplets of water trailing down from his still-damp hair.
Daphne chose to squeeze her eyes shut.
“It would be better if you stepped away first.”
“Pardon?”
At her words, Theophanes blinked, wondering if he had misheard.
“Yes. About ten steps back would be ideal.”
Daphne not only shut her eyes but turned her head away, even extending a hand as if to signal him not to come closer.
Thinking it best to follow her request for now, Theophanes released her arm and obediently stepped back.
When his retreating footsteps stopped, Daphne cautiously opened her eyes.
“Why are you half-naked?”
She stammered, flustered.
At her reaction, Theophanes lowered his gaze to examine himself.
Unlike usual, he was wearing trousers. True, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he did have a robe on.
Normally, he might have worn only the robe.
“I even put on trousers since you were coming, my lady. I wouldn’t say I’m half-naked.”
“But…! Through the robe—!”
Daphne quickly turned her head again and pointed at the gap in his robe.
His firm upper body was clearly visible through the opening.
No matter how tightly it was tied, it inevitably loosened with movement.
After glancing down at himself, Theophanes grinned.
“Is it not to your taste?”
Daphne opened her eyes and glared at him indignantly before lowering her gaze again.
“‘Taste’… doesn’t seem like the right word for this situation.”
“I’m joking.”
He figured that if he teased her any further, she might declare she wouldn’t sleep beside him and leave altogether. So he turned away and retied his robe tightly.
“Come to think of it… I’ve never heard what your ideal type is, my lady.”
“I don’t have one.”
“Not even a single trait?”
“No. I’ve never thought about it, and I’ve never really met anyone to compare. Ah—well, I suppose I have one now.”
“And who would that be?”
“The Crown Prince?”
Theophanes hadn’t expected Helio to be mentioned, and his expression shifted subtly.
He turned sharply and stared at her.
Unaware of his expression, Daphne shuffled closer to him.
“The Crown Prince?”
His tone suggested he didn’t understand.
Daphne lifted her head—and finally saw his face.
Now might be her chance to tease him.
“At first, I thought he was prickly, but he’s actually gentle with children. And his looks are fairly decent.”
She said it calmly, and Theophanes seemed to fall into thought.
Calling Helio’s appearance merely “decent” was an understatement. He had already made countless young ladies cry with that face.
But Daphne’s standards had risen considerably.
Unconsciously, she was comparing him to Theophanes, which had shifted her perception of what counted as handsome.
Neither Daphne nor Theophanes realized this.
Feeling oddly irritated, he suddenly leaned his face closer to hers.
“And me, my lady?”
“Yes?”
“Am I not included in that comparison?”
“Hmm, Theo…”
For some reason, waiting for her answer felt more nerve-wracking than when the gate had appeared earlier.
“I suppose… you’re a bit too old.”
Theophanes looked as if he had just been struck on the head.
At his stunned expression, Daphne struggled to suppress her laughter.
“If you were an ordinary human, your age might have been an issue—that’s what I meant.”
She said casually, turning her head.
So this was why he liked teasing her. It was amusing when he reacted.
“Theo?”
It might have been the most transparent expression she had ever seen on his face.
Her words had fluttered like a butterfly and stung like a bee.
He parted his lips slightly, then stopped.
Soon, he regained his composure and spoke with a relaxed tone.
“Young men are nothing but brats. A man must have age to him—”
As he continued without taking a breath, Daphne instinctively knew she shouldn’t laugh here.
“I know.”
So she quickly agreed.
“You’re lying, my lady.”
“I’m not.”
She widened her eyes and stared at him earnestly. After holding her gaze for a moment, Theophanes quietly looked away.
It was the first time she had seen that side of him.
He looked unexpectedly cute.
Almost like the man she had once seen in her dreams.
“I’ll prove my sincerity by drying your hair.”
“You’ve grown quite bold.”
“And who do you think I learned that from?”
At her reply, Theophanes smiled and handed her a towel.
Then he lowered himself to sit on the floor so she could reach his hair more easily.
“Isn’t long hair inconvenient?”
“Not particularly.”
With gentle hands, Daphne patted his damp hair dry with the towel.
“How do you take care of it?”
“The same as anyone else, I suppose.”
In a softer atmosphere than before, the two chatted about trivial things.
They looked no different from an ordinary married couple.
