Duke of the Beast and the Vicarious Bride - Chapter 24

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※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

“You… damn it, it’s inconvenient not knowing your name. Anyway, I understand now. You must have been quite frightened too. But don’t be too scared. I’m your bride, and I haven’t come to harm you. The reason I’m here is…”

Fiona’s words faltered as she was about to reveal why she had come. She was at a loss as to how to explain this situation from the beginning.

“So, the reason I’m here is, well…”

Though she still could not see, Fiona somehow sensed that he was focusing on her words. The responsibility to properly explain to him, who knew nothing, what they must do together weighed heavily upon her.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but you married me today. Do you know what marriage is?”

She had not asked expecting an answer. Just as she did with Rose, Fiona began saying what she needed to say, whether he responded or not. First a mute sister, now a mute husband—she seemed fated to do all the talking.

“Marriage is… when a man and a woman meet and become husband and wife.”

Moreover, actually trying to explain it was no easy task. Finding herself at a loss, Fiona bit her lip in frustration.

“As for what husband and wife are…”

Indeed, what are husband and wife?

In truth, her ideal of marriage was the tender couple she had witnessed as a child at that wedding. Whatever it was, it was far removed from the two people here now. Fiona finally managed to squeeze out an explanation.

“People usually call a man and woman who live together in the same house husband and wife. The man becomes the husband, the woman the wife. So… I have become your wife, and you have become my husband.”

Not knowing what expression the man in the darkness wore as he listened was all the more frustrating. Though he was likely just staring blankly, like Rose.

“It’s not simply living together; it means becoming family. And family is…”

The more she spoke, the more tangled her thoughts became. Then a word slipped out, and Fiona found herself caught.

Family. Family, she said.

‘This man, whose face I don’t even know, is my family.’

Since her mother’s passing, family to Fiona had meant Rose, and Rose was more precious to her than life itself. Yet this man, whom she had been pushed into marrying by the Count’s command, with whom she had never even exchanged a glance, was her family, just like Rose?

As this realisation dawned, Fiona grew deeply unsettled. Perhaps because the marriage itself had been so far from ordinary. She had considered the child she might bear as family, but had never thought of her husband in the same way. Yet something in her heart resisted drawing a clear line and declaring he was not family.

‘No, that’s not the problem right now.’

Fiona decided to set aside the confusion arising in her heart. Solving the immediate problem before her was more important.

“So, simply put, we are married, and because we are married, we must consummate the marriage.”

Having glossed over the definition of family, however, she now faced the obstacle of the consummation itself.

“As for what consummation means… Damn it, how am I supposed to know what that bastard Jayden told you?”

In the end, Fiona lost patience and vented her frustration once more. But no answer was forthcoming.

“You know who Jayden is, right? The blonde bastard.”

At that moment, whether by chance or not, a low growl sounded. As if in agreement. At that sound, Fiona, who had been tense for a moment, soon let out a helpless laugh. Even he, supposedly little more than a beast, seemed to understand perfectly well that Jayden was a bastard.

“Right. I don’t know if that bastard told you all about this.”

Another growl came in response. Whether it signified denial, affirmation, or something else entirely, she could not tell, but at least it was clear he was listening to her words. That alone restored a glimmer of hope.