Chapter 19
He glared at me as if he could see right through me. His eyes seemed hotter and redder than the sun that had just risen.
“I haven’t been recognized as the Duchess by them yet, Your Grace.”
Perhaps my words displeased him, as Stefan’s voice was tinged with irritation.
“The position of Duchess is not something you obtain by seeking permission from the servants.”
“Then, Your Grace, would you help me?”
“What exactly do you want me to help with?”
“With consummating the marriage tonight, which was missed due to my mistake.”
I gazed at Stefan with a longing look, but he leaned back deeply into his chair, distancing himself from me.
At that moment, Leopold’s accusations of Stefan being homosexual flashed through my mind, and I clenched the fabric of my dress tightly.
‘That doesn’t matter at all. I just need to get pregnant…’
Stefan seemed determined to ignore my words as he turned back to his newspaper and took a sip of coffee. But I wasn’t someone who would give up so easily.
“If we don’t follow the proper procedure, I may not be treated as the Duchess, Your Grace.”
“The wedding itself was the proper procedure.”
“The Dowager would be furious if she knew.”
“Even my mother has no right to interfere in the private life of her son and his wife.”
I almost laughed out loud.
I nearly asked him if he was truly unaware of his mother’s true nature, and why he had obeyed her orders to fulfill his marital duties in our previous life.
“The Dowager desires an heir, Your Grace.”
“A child isn’t conceived overnight.”
It seemed that ordinary words wouldn’t persuade him.
At that moment, the butler approached with a tray for me. Since it was a simple meal, he must have brought it himself.
This was my chance to shake Stefan.
“Your Grace, is it because of Finn Brighton?”
“How do you know him?”
“I heard he was your lover…”
Clatter, crash, clang.
The butler, in his shock, made a noisy commotion as he placed the tray on the table, his hands trembling.
“I-I apologize, my Lady.”
“Apologize to His Grace.”
“What?”
“And keep his secret.”
“Ah… yes… I-I’m sorry, Your Grace.”
As the butler bowed his head and apologized, Stefan looked at him in disbelief.
“Thomas, why are you apologizing to me?”
“Well… I…”
“Surely you don’t believe what she said, do you?”
“N-no…”
“The Duchess was joking.”
“Y-yes, that must be it.”
The butler’s gaze was full of affection as he looked at Stefan. Although he knew his master’s preferences were unusual, he seemed to desperately hope it wasn’t true.
Apparently, Stefan sensed the butler’s thoughts and emphasized his denial.
“It’s not true. Trust me, Thomas.”
“Yes, I trust you, Your Grace.”
Even as he said this, the butler’s lingering doubt was clear in his eyes, which only served to fuel Stefan’s anger.
After dismissing the butler with a harsh gesture, Stefan turned to me with a blank expression.
“Where on earth did you hear such nonsense?”
“I overheard people whispering at the reception.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Unfortunately, I heard it quite clearly, which is why I know his name so well.”
Stefan, who had been silently staring at me, bit his lip. It seemed he had made a significant decision.
“Let’s meet in the bedroom tonight.”
It seemed he had finally realized it would be best to silence me quickly. The problem was that I had also refined my tricks in the meantime.
“Your Grace, that alone won’t be enough anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“Three times a month.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking for three nights together every month, Your Grace.”
“What did you say?”
Stefan’s perfectly groomed eyebrows twitched, as if he found my demand outrageous. This was a sign that he was immensely angry. After all, he was someone who rarely showed his emotions.
“I cannot accept such an unreasonable demand.”
“It’s only three nights, Your Grace.”
“It’s not about the number of times, is it?”
“Then what is it about?”
“What’s the point of a relationship that lacks sincerity?”
Just as Stefan was about to stand up abruptly, Leopold and Remington entered the dining room. Once again, their timing was impeccable.
“I heard you spent last night with Finn Brighton. Was that really necessary?”
As I rose from my seat to follow Stefan and asked, he turned his back on me deliberately, greeting my brothers with a friendly smile.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Thanks to your consideration, I slept soundly, Your Grace.”
Relieved by Leopold’s kind reply, Stefan quickly tried to make his exit.
“Then the three of you enjoy a nice meal together. I have urgent business to attend to, so I must leave.”
“I’ll bid you farewell before we return to Courtney.”
“There’s no need to trouble yourself. Have a safe trip back. Viscount Burke, Master Burke.”
“…Thank you for your consideration, Your Grace.”
Not wanting to miss this perfect opportunity, I interjected between Stefan and Leopold, who were exchanging polite farewells.
“Your Grace, you still haven’t answered my question.”
Stefan turned to look at me with an indifferent expression.
“…Very well, let’s do that.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ll do as you’ve asked, so please, have your breakfast.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
After confirming the satisfied look on my face, Stefan vanished like the wind.
“Is there a problem between you two?”
“A problem? None at all… Everything is proceeding as planned, so don’t worry.”
“As if I could be at ease.”
“Make sure to carry out what I asked thoroughly, understood?”
“Don’t worry, Duchess.”
With Leopold’s playful response, the atmosphere lightened.
Although the location was different, it felt as comfortable and relaxed as when we had breakfast together in the dining room at the viscount’s manor.
It was the last meal the three Burke siblings would share together, and it lasted a long time.
Thanks to Susan and Stella sleeping in late after the reception that went on until late at night, we were able to enjoy this peaceful morning. It was also a sign that the story Mother had let slip to the Marchioness of Cota had reached Rita.
‘Mother, is there a story between you two that I don’t know? I’ll find that ill-fated connection and break it for you. Rest in peace.’
***
She was truly an unpredictable woman.
From before dawn, she moved briskly around the duke’s estate as if she had lived there for a long time.
But today was only Rachel’s third day at the estate. Her confident steps must have been purely a result of her own delusions, just like the night before the wedding.
‘I’ll find out soon enough.’
While Rachel was out of the bedroom, Stefan headed to the small storage room next to the couple’s bedroom to resolve the questions that had plagued him the night before.
To maintain the proper temperature, the cellar always contained ten bottles of wine. As Stefan checked to make sure all the wine was in its place, he discovered that one bottle had been partially consumed.
“Just one bottle? And it’s still half full…”
Since one glass had been spilled on his shirt, this meant Rachel had only had one glass. On top of that, she had chosen the wine with the lowest alcohol content. It was baffling.
“Then why did she use drinking as an excuse to avoid the wedding night?”
Last night, Rachel had certainly seemed like a woman who was looking forward to the wedding night. Hadn’t she even gently whispered his name as she rose from the bed, following his lead?
As Stefan recalled that moment, a flash of insight crossed his mind.
“Could she have suspected that I would refuse the wedding night?”
Even though theirs was a political marriage, most men wouldn’t refuse the wedding night. There is a sense of duty to embrace one’s wife and a desire to secure the legitimacy of the union.
Of course, that was a far cry from Stefan’s own stance, as he didn’t trust women.
“So what could Rachel have been thinking?”
Failing to consummate the marriage on the wedding night would leave a greater stigma on the woman than on the man. If Rachel had noticed her husband’s reluctance, she should have clung desperately to the opportunity. The fact that she chose to refuse first didn’t make sense.
“What kind of person is Rachel?”
Finn had said that Rachel was an innocent country girl who had never left Courtney, and that she was unaware she was being sold off to the Edmonds family in exchange for an enormous promissory note.
But Rachel, who never let him have the last word, seemed far from innocent. Yet, it was hard to simply dismiss her as a greedy viscount’s daughter who coveted the position of duchess, as there was something excessively modest about her.
“Where did she even hear such rumors…?”
Long ago, when a boy named Bell, who looked just like Finn, wouldn’t leave Stefan’s side, rumors had spread that the Duke of Edmonds had a male lover.
But those rumors didn’t last long. As soon as they reached Rita’s ears, she tracked down the source and silenced it.
So to hear such a rumor at the reception—it was utterly absurd.
“But the most suspicious thing was her reaction.”
