WHCTA 17

Chapter: 17

Before their marriage, I had boldly proposed to him without hesitation. But aside from Delos, I had almost no experience interacting with men my own age.

“He seems incredibly stoic.”

On top of that, every time he frowned, he gave off such an intimidating aura that it made approaching him even harder.

Tick. Tock.

As I lay on the bed lost in thought, the room was so quiet that the ticking of the clock sounded unusually loud.

Before long, the image of Roman from earlier that day came to mind.

More specifically, the mountain of documents he had been carrying in his arms.

Is he really that busy?

He had apparently spent the entire day working at the Imperial Palace, yet even after coming home, he couldn’t sleep because he still had so much unfinished work. Somehow, I couldn’t stop worrying about him.

How much time had passed like that?

After blinking into the darkness for a while, I finally sat up.

Wrapping a thin shawl around my shoulders, I stepped out of my room and headed toward his study.

When I reached my destination, I noticed a faint light leaking through the gap beneath the door.

“Um…”

But now that I was actually standing in front of the study, I found myself hesitating to open the door.

I had come to see the man on the other side, but thinking about it now, he probably wouldn’t be very happy to see me.

I stood there for quite some time, raising and lowering my hand indecisively.

Then—

Creak.

“What is it?”

The door suddenly swung open.

No… standing there wasn’t a wall.

It was the Duke, leaning against the doorway, looking down at me with sharp, intimidating eyes.

“Ah… I’m sorry. You still hadn’t come back to the room, so I came to check on you.”

“Didn’t the butler tell you? I’m fairly certain I said not to worry about me and to go to bed first.”

“He did.”

At my answer, one of his eyebrows lifted slightly.

His gaze silently demanded, Then why are you here?

I was left speechless.

Because, truthfully, I didn’t even know why I had come to see him myself.

“I just… realized we hadn’t really seen each other properly today. And I couldn’t sleep…”

As I rambled through excuse after excuse, I couldn’t help thinking that I really shouldn’t have come.

It wasn’t as though we were the kind of couple who would miss each other after not seeing one another for a single day.

I immediately turned around, intending to return to my room.

“Sorry for disturbing you while you’re busy. I’ll just go back—”

“Is it a habit?”

“Huh?”

If he hadn’t suddenly stopped me with that question, I would have left.

Seeing my puzzled expression, he frowned faintly before asking,

“I mean apologizing for everything without thinking.”

I opened my mouth, unable to come up with an answer.

After a brief sigh, he spoke in his usual blunt tone.

“You’ve done nothing wrong, so stop apologizing all the time.”

“Ah…”

Only after hearing those words did I realize I had been apologizing to him out of habit.

It was such a natural thing for me that I’d never even questioned it.

An indescribable feeling suddenly washed over me.

Not only because someone had told me not to apologize so casually…

But because those words had come from the man standing before me.

For some reason, the palms of my hands tingled.

Without realizing it, I clenched my fists tightly.

“Anyway… I’ll head back now.”

Trying to hide my flustered emotions, I hurriedly attempted to leave.

“Come in.”

The Duke straightened up from the wall and looked at me.

“Don’t expect me to entertain you. I’m not good at amusing people.”

His words carried the same rough, matter-of-fact tone as always.

I paused.

What should I do?

But seeing him standing aside, waiting for me to enter, made me feel strangely compelled to hurry inside.

In the end, I stepped into his study.

“You can go back to your room whenever you want.”

With that as his final remark, he returned to his desk and lowered his eyes to the stack of documents once more.

Scratch. Scratch.

The only sound filling the silent study was the scratching of his pen across the paper.

Then why did he tell me to come in?

Watching him continue working as though my presence didn’t matter in the slightest, my eyes wandered around awkwardly.

After standing there for a moment, I eventually walked over and sat on the sofa.

From where I sat, all I had to do was turn my head slightly to see his desk.

Naturally, my gaze drifted toward him.

Unexpectedly, I found myself with the chance to observe the Duke up close.

The first thing that caught my attention was his muscular forearm moving busily across the desk.

Beneath the sleeves he had casually rolled up, old scars covered his skin, silent proof of the fierce life he had lived.

When my gaze moved higher, I saw his expressionless face as he silently reviewed the documents.

So this is the so-called blood-soaked murderer…

Contrary to his terrifying nickname, the Duke himself was remarkably handsome.

The only thing that made him appear frightening was the perpetually stern expression on his face and those piercing eyes.

Leaning farther back into the sofa, I continued watching him.

Then I noticed something.

Yesterday I was too exhausted to realize it…

Now that we were sharing the same room again, I felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.

It had been the same yesterday.

Despite having to sleep in the same room as a man I’d only just met, I had fallen asleep almost immediately without a shred of caution.

He still felt awkward.

And, honestly, a little frightening.

Yet somehow…

Being with him made me feel at ease.

Perhaps because of that, the words slipped out before I could stop myself.

“Evan.”

I had called him by his name.

His hand immediately froze.

Then he slowly turned his head toward me.

“…Can I call you that?”

Meeting his piercing gaze that was sharp enough to make the hairs on my body stand on end, I hurriedly added the rest of my sentence.

Come to think of it, I’d always addressed him as “Excuse me” or “Your Grace.”

Likewise, he had always called me “Lady.”

As we looked at one another, waiting for his answer, he was the first to avert his eyes.

“Do as you please.”

He resumed flipping through the documents.

For some reason, his hands seemed to move even faster than before.

His silent body language made it clear he had no intention of continuing the conversation.

So I decided to say the one thing I still wanted to tell him.

“Thank you. I kept making unreasonable requests, but you granted every one of them.”

I offered him my sincere gratitude.

Hidden within those words was also my thanks to the other him—the one who had died trying to save me that night.

“Don’t thank me.”

His deep voice broke the silence.

His tone became even colder as he continued,

“It was merely a marriage I was ordered by the Imperial Family to enter. The man who told you not to expect the duties of a husband isn’t someone deserving of your gratitude.”

He was drawing a line between us.

A very clear one.

From the day we first met until now.

As though shortening the distance between us, even by a single step, would lead to disaster.

“I understand…”

Having nothing left to say after his firm response, I absentmindedly fiddled with the shawl draped over my shoulders and leaned back into the sofa.

Soon, the only sound left in the study was the turning of pages.

It should have been an awkward atmosphere.

But strangely enough, I didn’t feel uncomfortable.

After all, he’d been exactly the same from the very beginning.

Even now.

I was alone in a room with a man who wasn’t family, yet instead of feeling nervous…

I was becoming sleepy.

When had I started seeing him as someone I could feel safe beside?

Ah… I should go back to my room…

But contrary to my intentions, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

Bright sunlight pierced my eyes.

Frowning, I slowly sat up in bed.

…Huh? A bed?

My mind snapped awake.

I sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly looked around.

The unfamiliar bedroom came into view.

Sunlight poured brilliantly through the curtains, bright enough to sting my eyes.