If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties - Chapter 26
Episode 26. The Awkward Secret meeting (3).
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“No!”
Dooha groaned and grabbed his arm.
“Don’t do anything that you’ll regret, just wear them.”
“It’s irritating.”
“If I’m telling you to wear it, then you’re going to wear it!”
Dooha grabbed his arms and pushed him onto the bed.
After being placed on the bed, Leonhart immediately became quiet. He was lying in a stiff, straight position—like a log.
After making sure that he was staring at only the ceiling, Dooha went to the corner and quickly changed into her pajamas.
She silently walked to the other side of the bed and laid down beside the duke.
“Goodnight.”
Dooha closed her eyes with a short greeting.
Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, but Leonhart’s body gave off a stronger heat than usual.
She tried to cling to the edge of the bed as if she was trying to escape from the Duke’s heat.
But during an unexpected moment, an unexpected movement hit her.
“…What are you doing now?”
Dooha looked up at him; she couldn’t believe this situation. She was trapped in her husband’s arms.
“Cold.”
Leonhart pressed the tip of his chin against the top of her head, holding her tight and not showing any signs of letting go.
“…I am hot.”
“I am cold.”
Dooha struggled with all her might, but the Duke seemed unwilling to let her go.
Why were drunk people so strong?
“Go away! Evil, for real!”
“It’s cold.”
“Whether you freeze to death from the cold or not, it’s not my business!”
Dooha tried hard to get out of his arms, but the more she did, the more the Duke’s arm around her body tightened.
Thanks to this, the firm curves of his body were clearly felt.
“Let go of me…”
It was then that Dooha, whose face was hot, tried to escape by even biting her husband’s arm.
The Duke muttered as he buried his face in the nape of her neck.
“Sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, let go of me. What are you doing-”
“I’m sorry that I made you hear that.”
‘What are you so sorry for?
Do you have in mind what Sir Nate said?’
She remembered the vulgar remarks and everything that had happened at the old man’s mansion.
In fact, it had been a long time since she had heard those words directly with her own ears, but it was true that she felt bad after thinking about it.
It wasn’t something that the Duke should apologize for, but it didn’t feel so bad to receive an apology.
“It’s okay, so let me go…”
The moment Dooha tried to push him away for the last time, Leonhart hugged her tightly and whispered quietly, as if he would miss her.
“…I’m sorry, Mother.”
Somehow, she felt like she had heard something she shouldn’t have heard.
Dooha slowly turned her head.
His head, which had been attached to her as if it would never fall off from the nape of her neck, fell helplessly.
Hearing his peaceful breathing, he seemed to already be asleep.
The man’s forehead, with a face as beautiful as an angel’s, was wrinkled, as though it contained all the worries of this world on it.
Dooha looked at his forehead without saying a word and carefully stretched out her finger.
“…It’s a waste of your face.”
Rough but long, beautiful fingers caressed his forehead.
As if they were wishing to ease his worries.
Overnight.
Leonhart opened his eyes, moaning with a headache, feeling as though he had been hit in the temple.
He widened his eyes and sat up on the bed.
He certainly remembered going to the village bar with his wife yesterday, but he had no memory of returning to the castle.
What the hell was this?
It was hard to bring him to reality; he was in a state of confusion.
She stood by the bed in a light one-piece outfit.
“Are you up?”
“…You.”
“Drink this.”
Dooha held out a glass of yellow liquid to the Duke.
“It’s an herbal tea made with honey.”
Her almond-shaped eyes curved like a crescent moon.
“If you don’t want to suffer all day because of a hangover, you should drink it.”
“…Hangover?”
“You seem to be weaker than you look. I think it would be better for you to refrain from drinking in the future.”
She couldn’t believe that he was this weak at drinking. Even if you drank a bottle of wine, you should still be in good shape, but it wasn’t the case with this man…
Leonhart frowned.
‘How the heck did I drink last night??’
“What happened last night…?”
“You don’t remember what happened last night?”
She covered her mouth, feeling sorry at the Duke’s reaction.
“Oh my God, you don’t remember doing something like that?”
“What do you mean?”
Dooha replied with a mischievous smile to his question. He was shaking anxiously.
“You held me all night and wouldn’t let me go.”
“…What?”
Leonhart blinked slowly, in shock.
“…I did that?”
“Oh, it seems that you really don’t remember.”
Dooha drooped her chin and tilted her head with a natural expression.
She looked at the Duke, who had disbelieving eyes, and smiled brightly.
“Thanks to you, I was really embarrassed yesterday. I didn’t know you were that kind of person.”
“No way…”
“Do you know how hard it was for me to push myself, especially when I said I didn’t like it?”
“…What?”
Dooha watched the bewildered Duke freeze on the bed before opening her mouth again.
“Really.”
She wrapped her own arms around her.
“You hugged me so tight and didn’t let me go, so I had to sleep uncomfortably all night.”
“…What?”
Leonhart’s expression went blank, like a fool’s, at the explanation. It was completely different from what he had imagined.
Dooha, who saw this, covered her mouth and purposely asked in a more innocent tone.
“Then what else are you suggesting could have happened? I bet you didn’t think of anything else, unless?”
“You…”
Only then did Leonhart realize that Dooha was making fun of him.
His handsome face slowly began to contort, and the tips of his ears rose as red as blood.
She took a step back when she saw the Duke clutching the duvet tightly as if it was about to tear apart.
Seeing his reaction, she thought it should have been something like this.
“Then I will go away. I have a lot of work to do as the Duchess.”
“Stay there right now…”
“You have to hurry up and get ready. The head maid has been looking for me for a while.”
Dooha, who was about to turn around and leave, let out a small sigh and turned her head.
“Okay, I’ll give you one piece of advice.”
She looked at Leonhart, who was staring at her to death, through half-folded eyes and smiled.
“Don’t go betting anywhere in the future.”
“What…?”
“It’s difficult for everyone when the Duke tries to take off his pants at any place. You have to keep the family face. Well then.”
“What? Wait, what does that mean?!”
Dooha hurriedly left the room, avoiding the Duke who was likely to catch her at any moment.
Behind the closed door, there were sounds of a pillow popping and slamming.
She remembered the Duke she had seen a while ago.
His hair was like a magpie’s house, his face was blank as if he had lost his face, and his blue eyes were shaking as if there was an earthquake.
How ridiculous it was for the most beautiful man in the world to look the most inconsistent.
“Boom.”
She held back her laughter and moved on.
Somehow, it seemed like she could spend the whole day happily today.
“Madam, what happened to you yesterday?”
Layla stood next to her master and gave her a puzzled look.
Unlike her, who was very nervous, Dooha was sitting at her desk while leisurely scanning the papers.
“Nothing happened.”
“It doesn’t look like ‘nothing happened.’”
Dooha, who continued to fill out the paperwork, raised her head.
“Is there something on my face?”
“You’ve been smiling since earlier.”
“Ah.”
Dooha burst into laughter as she touched her lips with her hand.
“Look! There’s no way someone who hasn’t had a good time can’t keep smiling!”
“Layla, nothing really happened.”
“Did something happen with the Duke?”
Dooha’s eyes widened at her words.
How was she so quick?
“Why do you think so?”
“You left yesterday to go to dinner with the Duke, and you didn’t come back all night! Then, obviously, something must have happened!”
Layla clasped her hands and asked with trembling lips.
“I hope you had a chance to have a relationship with the Duke…”
“Layla, sometimes you seem quick-witted, but sometimes you say such absurdly absurd things.”
Dooha wrinkled her face, not wanting to say something terrible.
“I told you that the relationship between the Duke and I is just out of mutual interest.”
“But, but…”
“It didn’t happen as you thought, so don’t worry.”
Dooha frowned as she signed the papers before lifting her head again, sensing as though something was wrong.
“But, Layla, why are you worried about that?”
Dooha and Leonhart were married, even if they had been forced to marry.
As long as there were no abnormalities in their relationship, eventually, one day, they would have to have that type of relationship for the sake of having heirs.
“It’s a couple’s duty. Eventually, there will come a day when I will have to do something like that. I don’t know why you hate it so much.”
“Yeah, I like Madam more than the Duke.”
Layla spoke to her with a sullen face.
“I wanted Madam to be connected to someone she really liked. It’s unfortunate that she’s obligated to have a relationship with someone she doesn’t like.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But that didn’t happen, and if I were unhappy, would I have been smiling?”
“…I thought you were mad.”
“What? How could you possibly think like that?”
“Well, Madam has never really laughed as though she really enjoyed herself since coming here.”
Dooha was taken aback by her words for a moment.
Did she never do that?
She looked at Layla, who looked at her with worried eyes.
Born to Bashalin and Imperial parents, a girl who was despised by the Empire and treated as a traitor in Bashal.
Although she did not neglect her training in order to be recognized as a warrior of her tribe, she was eventually forced to return to the lands of the empire that had once rejected her.
Just to take care of her master, Dooha.
“….No one will think of me as much as you, in Bashal or here.”
“What?”
“So don’t worry, I’ll never let anyone be down for me.”
She smiled brightly as she looked at Layla, who was crying.
“And by any chance, if I ever get into that type of relationship with the Duke, it won’t be against my will. You know me well, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess so…”
“And the only reason why I laughed was that it was funny.”
“It was funny?”
“Yes. What happened yesterday…”
Dooha chose to expose the Duke’s dark history in order to alleviate the worries of her maid.
Of course, she didn’t need the Duke’s permission.
***
