Chapter 280
So unless it was something he obtained himself from start to finish, it meant nothing to him, no matter how trivial it might seem in others’ eyes.
And finally, when he returned to the estate and was greeted by the woman, eyes wide like a startled rabbit, the thrill was indescribable.
“Huh…?”
“Did you really hold back from asking just because you thought I couldn’t get something like this?”
Seeing her surprised face, he felt a bit smug, like a young boy. The very thing he was able to get his hands on, she had simply endured not having, just because it was ‘out of season’.
“Where on earth did you get this…?”
“It doesn’t matter where I got it.”
“……”
“Here. If you need more, just say so.”
The woman just stared intently at the tray of fruit, as if at a loss for words. Izar, who had gone to such lengths to bring them, started getting a little anxious and asked again.
“What is it? Can’t eat it right now? Or do you want something else?”
“…Duke.”
Watching his expression, she shyly lifted both her hands. Her small hands were swollen and looked numb.
“My hands are so swollen and hurt so much… could you feed me?”
“……”
He never imagined such a petite woman could leave him speechless. His heart ached even more than it had before their first night together.
Still, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity when she finally showed a moment of vulnerability. Before she could change her mind, he pulled her to sit on his lap and let her lean her head against him.
She flinched over and over, obviously startled, but Izar pretended not to notice.
‘Even if she says she doesn’t like it, it’s too late now.’
After all, she was the one who’d asked to be fed.
Most of all, she looked so lovely as she chewed, munching away like a little squirrel. He became so entranced by the sight, he kept feeding her without thinking of her pace, until she finally covered her mouth and mumbled,
“Duke, I-I can’t eat that fast… Please, just a little slower.”
“…Ah.”
He realized he’d made a clumsy mistake in front of her. Embarrassed, he quickly looked away from her light green eyes.
“I guess you only learn these things by trying them.”
“……”
She said nothing in reply, but even the cynical Izar could sense there was no hint of ridicule in her clear eyes.
After that, his hand slowed as he brought fruit to her lips, and occasionally, her moist tongue softly licked his fingers.
The ticklish sensation sent a shiver through the hairs on his neck and made his heart ache.
When she lifted her mouth from his hand and looked up at him, his mind went blank.
“Duke.”
“…What.”
“Thank you.”
She let her head gently rest against his chest. And for the first time, instead of her usual reluctant tone, she whispered in a voice sweet and warm,
“I’m really happy…”
The soft feel of her hair in that moment told him this was real. The warmth of her body in his arms filled his heart.
For the first time in his life, it was a night when stars sang in the darkness.
***
The reputation of the ‘Illegitimate Duchess’ in the duchy was always at rock bottom. The fact that she was carrying a precious heir had at least somewhat dampened the resentment, but to many, she still looked like a beast who had borne a human child.
“Damn. That shepherd girl finally snagged the real lady’s seat.”
The knights who had once been punished for making snide comments about her looks were especially blatant in their resentment.
They’d mocked her for being ugly before, but now that she was eating well and living comfortably, she’d suddenly grown beautiful, which only made them more uncomfortable.
It was as if she was publicly proving them wrong.
So when they were bored, they entertained themselves by slandering the ‘Illegitimate Duchess’ as a legendary seductress.
“What kind of bedroom tricks did she learn, to get pregnant from just one time? Ridiculous.”
“Not just that, doesn’t her belly look like it’s getting big way too fast?”
“Hmph. Maybe she was begging him to take her every night, before this.”
At this, Charles, who had been listening quietly, snorted.
“You think the lord would even spare a glance for a woman like that?”
“Sir Károli, are you implying…?”
Charles hesitated for a moment. But words, once spoken, can’t be taken back. Besides, he too wanted to speak ill of her.
After all, he remembered how that woman’s craving for a measly fruit had made his master swallow his pride and personally go to the marquis’s estate, which was absurd.
“…Who knows? Who’s to say what she was up to while the lord was busy elsewhere.”
Charles’s baseless speculation made the knights’ cold eyes flash like wild beasts.
Could it be that woman got herself pregnant by another man behind their lord’s back?
To live in such luxury, and on top of that, to send the knights of the house scurrying after worthless fruit?
But what could have ended as just petty gossip among the men soon reached Electra’s ears.
“Oh my, this is going to be fun.”
Her lips curled upward, certain of victory.
Ever since Izar had scolded her over that woman, Electra’s long-restrained resentment was ready to explode at any time.
“There’s no way the next Duke of Arcturus could be born from a cheating wench.”
The truth didn’t matter. What mattered was provoking Izar into a rage like his father before him, and making sure he cast out that wretched woman.
And so, while the two main parties remained unaware, malice continued to grow, swelling like a snake that had just swallowed its prey.
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