The Past Life of the Arrogant Archduke - Chapter 23

Beyond the edge of the large mirror she glimpsed, Yulia felt embarrassed by her body—covered in traces of lovemaking, not hidden by the sheet.

Though a splash of holy water would erase them instantly, it felt strange because she’d left them on purpose. She knew how much Raymond liked them.

“Master. Shall we go to bed?”

Raymond whispered at her ear, and Yulia nodded. He immediately swept her into his arms and strode quickly to the bedroom.

Though the well-prepared holy water and oils were visible, placed all around the bathroom by the ever-efficient butler, Raymond chose not to use them. Yulia still seemed uneasy about doing anything outside the bedroom, so he decided to wait.

Even once they arrived at the bed, Raymond couldn’t touch her right away—because Yulia’s stomach let out a loud growl.

Yulia only smiled sheepishly and covered her belly in embarrassment, but Raymond was so startled by the sound that his arousal vanished on the spot.

‘I didn’t even realize my woman was hungry?!’

In his previous life as ‘Made in Korea’, Raymond had apparently carried that soul over intact.

He quickly dressed Yulia in her gown, then flung open the door to the side room. With one heave, he hauled the long dining table laden with food straight into the bedroom.

Yulia stared in stunned silence, her mouth agape. Beneath her dumbfounded disbelief, a tender warmth stirred inside her.

Raymond, with a face like the sky had fallen, had rushed to bring food just because her stomach had growled once.

How could she not love a man who puts her hunger before his own lust?

Truthfully, Yulia was still adjusting to her current reality. She understood that Raymond had been her d***o ‘Ray’ in a past life, and that the Goddess had granted them reincarnation in the same world so they could meet. That much she had come to terms with.

But the gap between Ray the d***o and Raymond the man still existed. She barely knew anything about Raymond as a person.

She knew he loved her, but not who he was. That lack of familiarity made everything feel unreal.

Watching Raymond try to spoon soup into her mouth with a worried look, Yulia found herself chuckling.

‘Cute.’

That towering man, the Sword Master who could carry her with one hand whenever he pleased—looked cute to her now.

Only now did Yulia finally feel like her feet were touching solid ground again, as though she’d been floating all this time.

‘They say there’s no cure for cuteness.’

But if there’s no cure, so what? She was happy like this.

Smiling faintly, Yulia opened her mouth and took the spoon Raymond offered. The warm, savory broth slid down her throat and warmed not just her body, but her heart.

But before long, she was caught in another dilemma. Despite Yulia repeating that she was already full, Raymond kept encouraging her to eat more.

She could almost see a grandmotherly figure from her past life in his nagging.

Only when her belly was fully bloated did Raymond finally seem satisfied. He carried the food-laden table back to the side room.

It was something the servants could’ve done, but Raymond didn’t want their time alone interrupted.

After cleaning up in a flash, Raymond scooped up Yulia, now stuffed and barely able to breathe. Holding her with one arm and resting her against his chest, he used the other to gently stroke her back.

Yulia was too dumbfounded to say anything. Anyone looking in would think he was burping a baby after feeding it.

And then, he even began softly bouncing her as he walked around the room.

‘Shouldn’t I be the one moving to digest this? What is this?’

Just as she was about to ask him to put her down, Yulia stopped herself because she saw the contented curve of Raymond’s lips.

“……”

Human ‘Ray’ was… a little strange. Yulia concluded this with certainty. But she didn’t dislike that strangeness. No, in fact, she liked it. Enough to make her heart tremble.