The Past Life of the Arrogant Archduke - Chapter 22

The freshly polished Raymond returned to the bed where Yulia was sleeping. As he lifted the curtain, he saw Yulia fast asleep, hugging Raymond’s pillow tightly.

Even while moving busily here and there, Raymond’s sense had never missed Yulia’s presence. Ever since becoming a Sword Master, Raymond’s perception had expanded to cover the entire area around the Grand Ducal estate.

Rustle.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, he pulled the pillow out from her arms and tossed it beneath the bed. Raymond shot a chilling, icy glare at it.

‘I’ll have to order that burned.’

Anyone else might wonder why he was jealous of a pillow. But Raymond, whose past life had been as a d***o, was dead serious.

It was entirely possible that the bed Yulia lay on, the pillow she hugged while sleeping, and even accessories or clothes she liked could have developed a spirit of their own.

How could he know they hadn’t made a wish to the Goddess like he had?

‘Unacceptable.’

Raymond shrugged off his robe, climbed into bed wearing only sleep pants, gently wrapped Yulia in the sheets, and placed her head on his arm.

Holding her in his arms with just enough firmness not to make her uncomfortable, Raymond began to synchronize his heartbeat with hers.

Since becoming a Sword Master, Raymond could even regulate his own heart.

It was a little strange, though, that he could control his heartbeat yet not his arousal. But Raymond simply accepted it as the Goddess’s will.

As soon as he made contact with Yulia, his lower half had already begun to swell, so Raymond focused all his attention on matching their heartbeats.

Ba-dump, ba-dump.

Snore.

Yulia’s soft snoring, sneaking in between beats, was both adorable and endearing.

Even with holy water and anointing oils used so freely, it was true that the stamina of a Sword Master was hard for an ordinary woman to keep up with.

Raymond, feeling guilty, gently caressed Yulia’s cheek. He tidied her hair and began counting the hairs of her left eyebrow one by one. After finishing that, he moved on to the right. Then the left eyelashes, then the right.

By the time he’d counted them all, Yulia’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

Blink blink.

Slowly blinking, Yulia opened her mouth.

“…Ray?”

“Mm-hmm. Master, did you sleep well?”

Raymond smiled brightly and gave her nose a light tap. Yulia stared at him blankly for a moment, then rubbed her eyes.

“…Am I still half asleep?”

She hugged the sheets and propped herself up, tilting her head as she looked down at Raymond.

“Or am I just smitten? You’re glowing.”

“So you’re falling for me all over again?”

“Yeah.”

Yulia’s cheeks flushed pink as she gave her dazed reply, making Raymond burst into laughter.

All that effort on his appearance had paid off. Apparently, his master was weak to charm.

In that case, he should exploit her weakness thoroughly.

‘I should tell them not to skimp on the appearance budget and allocate it generously.’

This was the moment when the unofficial most handsome man in the North resolved to become its officially most handsome.

In an excellent mood, Raymond hugged Yulia and rolled around on the bed, prompting her to shriek about getting dizzy.

“Ah. I really want to kiss you.”

Because Yulia had firmly declared that morning kisses could only happen after brushing teeth, Raymond, now urgently needing that kiss, picked her up in his arms. As he did, Yulia fumbled with the falling sheets, trying to pull them up.

Raymond strode to the bathroom, humming a tune.

The bathroom they entered was made entirely of white marble, from floor to the large tub. Magical lights adorned with gold lit the space, and rising steam made the place feel almost sacred.

The downside of marble interiors: sound echoed very well.

Smack.

That sound just now was the kiss Raymond stole from Yulia’s lips the moment she finished brushing her teeth.

Sluurp. Haa. Smack.

That sound now was their tongues rubbing and sucking against each other. The not-so-elegant sounds echoed loudly in her ears, turning Yulia’s face bright red.