Episode 39
“Of course. Honestly, the one who benefits from being close to each other is me. I actually thought you didn’t want to sleep with me because Lord Lloydin didn’t come. So, I was trying to sleep alone.”
I vented my frustration as if I were unjustly treated.
“I’m sorry for being late. I was finishing up organizing the study room that Lady will be using starting from tomorrow.”
“We’ve been misunderstanding each other, haven’t we?”
“It seems so.”
“Then, lie down here now. Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m a bit tired.”
“We’re the ones who had our wedding today. If you’re not tired, it must be a lie.”
As I continued to urge him to get on the bed, he finally lay down beside me.
Since I hadn’t slept with anyone since I was young, it felt inexplicably strange to share a bed with a man.
After Lloydin lay down, the conversation naturally died down.
Soon, a serene silence enveloped us.
“Are you asleep yet?”
“I’m still awake…”
It seemed Lloydin was also unable to sleep.
As soon as I realized he wasn’t sleeping, a moment of internal conflict arose within me.
There was something I wanted to ask him right now, but I hesitated whether to speak up or not.
But the hesitation didn’t last long.
“If I… hold your hand, would that be okay?”
The bed slightly shook for a moment.
Interpreting it as a gesture of rejection, I quickly added.
“Never mind. I think I said something unnecessary. It would be uncomfortable to hold hands while sleeping, wouldn’t it?”
As I was making excuses, I couldn’t continue speaking.
As soon as his large hand enveloped mine, a pleasant warmth spread throughout my body.
“If the lady wishes, I am always available.”
Saying so, I gently squeezed Lloydin’s hand that I held.
It seemed like his determination that he would never let go of my hand even while sleeping.
“Thank you.”
“…Sleep well, my lady.”
“You too, Lord.”
I fell asleep comfortably, holding his hand tightly, and thus, our first night passed like that.
* * *
It was the most innocent first night in the world.
Perhaps among all the couples in the empire, or rather the continent, who have spent their first night together in the same bed without anything happening, we were the first and last.
When I woke up in the morning, the space beside me was empty, and only Lloydin’s scent lingering on the bed and the warmth left in my hand reminded me that Lloydin had been by my side.
I got up, stretched, and then pulled the cord hanging on the wall next to the bed.
“My lady, are you awake? May I come in?”
It was Lia’s voice, seemingly waiting for me to wake up at the door.
“Come in.”
“Yes, I’ll come in.”
After washing up and getting ready with their assistance, I went downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.
“Where’s the Duke?”
“He’s waiting for you to come first.”
“And Ian?”
“Ian is also here.”
“Oh? Let’s go quickly then.”
Upon hearing that both of them were waiting for me, I hastened my steps.
As I entered the dining room, just as Lia had said, Lloydin and Ian were already seated, waiting for me.
“My lady.”
As soon as he saw me, Lloydin got up from his chair and quickly approached me with a warm smile.
“My lord.”
His affectionate gesture of escorting me to the seat made me burst into laughter involuntarily.
“Please, have a seat here.”
“Thank you.”
After he personally pulled out the chair for me to sit, Lloydin returned to his own seat.
“It looks like you woke up early. When I woke up, you weren’t there.”
I wasn’t upset or anything just because Lloydin got up first and left the seat.
I was just curious about what he did early in the morning, so I asked.
“I usually practice swordsmanship in the training ground at dawn. Did I make you uncomfortable by leaving the bedroom without a word? I didn’t want to disturb you as you seemed to be sleeping deeply.”
But it seemed like Lloydin misunderstood my words, as he answered with an apologetic expression.
“That’s not it. I wasn’t uncomfortable at all, so please don’t worry about it. By the way, can I come watch sometime?”
“During sword practice?”
“Yes. But I’m not sure if I can wake up early.”
Considering my previous habits of sleeping deeply due to illness and my generally heavy sleeper nature, it was almost impossible for me to wake up early in the morning.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. But if the lady really wants to see, I’ll wake you up in the morning.”
“Oh, really? Would you do that?”
It was just a casual remark, but for some reason, he seemed pleased.
Moreover, with his promise to wake me up, I eventually made a commitment.
“Then I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Yes. Oh, sorry. We were having our own conversation. Um, Blythe, Ian?”
By the time the conversation with Lloydin ended, I looked at Ian with an apologetic expression and spoke.
Since earlier, Ian had been glaring at me as if I were interrupting his time with his brother.
But his demeanor didn’t scare me at all.
“I called you without permission last time, but can I call you Ian from now on?”
Ignoring Ian’s gaze, I asked for his opinion.
Even though he was eight years younger than me, he was still the son of a duke.
I didn’t want to treat him like a child just because he was younger than me.
But even though I did the same last time, Ian just stared at me without saying a word.
“Ian, you need to answer quickly.”
Lloydin urged Ian next to him.
“…Do as you wish.”
When Ian spat out his words rebelliously, Lloydin frowned and tried to reprimand him as if he were a naughty child.
“Duke, wait a moment.”
I stopped Lloydin before he could say anything further, signaling that I would handle it, with a look.
Even if Lloydin sided with me here, there was nothing good between us.
After sending out all the servants who were standing in the dining room to listen to our conversation, including Lia, as soon as the door closed, I looked at Ian and started the conversation again.
“I’ll never do anything you don’t want. Do you dislike it when I call your name?”
“…”
Whether he thought I stole his brother and was hitting a wall or he just didn’t want to talk to me, Ian kept his mouth shut.
Feeling frustrated, I tried to figure out how to continue the conversation with Ian, thinking twice or thrice about what to say.
“Is it too much for me to want to get along well with my husband’s brother from now on?”
“What does my opinion matter? My brother got married without a word to me, too.”
With a deeply hurt expression, Ian answered, pursing his lips.
“Ian, your brother has already explained that part. He couldn’t help it because you were unconscious.”
“I know, I know! But I can’t accept it! I won’t!”
“Ian!”
With a trembling voice, Ian got up and left in no time.
Lloydin hurriedly called out to Ian, but Ian left the dining room at an incredible speed without looking back.
“Sigh.”
Lloydin sighed deeply, rubbing his head.
“Duke…”
Feeling sorry for unnecessarily upsetting the child, I apologized to Lloydin.
“I’m sorry, my lady.”
But he ended up apologizing to me instead.
“I’m sorry, my lady. Ian is not usually such an impolite child, but he offended you.”
“No, and why are you apologizing? I’m the one who should be sorry. I should have talked to Ian separately after the meal…”
“I’ll make sure Ian’s meal is taken care of separately. So please, let’s have our meal.”
“Yes, please eat, Duke.”
Although we urged each other to eat, we both just toyed with our breakfast and eventually put down our forks without finishing.
“I’ll handle Ian. So please don’t worry about him anymore, my lady.”
After finishing the meal, Lloydin took me to the second-floor room and brought up the topic of what to do about Ian.
I hesitated for a moment before responding.
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Hang on, why is this the wrong chapter? I paid Moondust to read chapter 39
Hey its edited now. Thanks for correcting me. If you read it now you won’t have to worry about moondust