How Can You Pay Back The Kindness I Raised With Obsession?

What kind of courage did she have? After their lips separated, she couldn’t make eye contact with the Grand Duke. While she was wandering around the cabin pretending to be busy, he sat down at the table and asked in a dissatisfied tone.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Ha, something to do…”

 

“Is that to-do more important than a lover returning from a deadly accident?”

 

“Oh, no… That’s not it…”

 

She glanced up from the floor and saw the Grand Duke resting his chin on his face, looking at her and smiling.

 

“I need to water this before it dries out and dies…”

 

She quickly averted her gaze and used the bunch of wildflowers in her hand as an excuse.

 

“Give me some Hazel before I die?”

 

‘Oh my god, this guy. Was he originally this fox?’

 

She pretended not to hear and hurriedly found a vase and put a bouquet of flowers in it. It already looked good, but she was pretending to keep trying to shape it and went to the front of the table to put the vase.

 

“Tsk…”

 

The Grand Duke lightly touched his lips with the back of his hand and squinted his eyes as if in pain.

 

“Luca said there was a witch who lived in the Black Forest. He said that if you give her flowers, she won’t eat you. But I was eaten, right?”

 

He said her kiss was rough.

 

“…”

 

‘I can’t refute it.’

 

“Is the stew ready yet?”

 

She muttered to herself and ran away to the kitchen again.

 

“Tell me if it’s not enough.”

 

“Stew? Or a kiss?”

 

As she placed the bowl of stew in front of him, the Grand Duke teased her mischievously again.

 

“It’s about stew, of course.”

 

She glanced at the man who was grumbling and asked why the kiss inseam was mint.

 

“…Did you like it that much?”

 

“Yes, it was by far the best award I’ve ever received after returning from a victory.”

 

She sat down across from him and whispered softly as she looked at his face, which seemed to have lost all traces of fatigue from the battlefield.

 

“Let’s eat the stew first. A kiss is for dessert… I will give it to you then.”

 

The Grand Duke stopped lifting his spoon and looked at her with puzzled eyes.

 

“You secretly turned into a fox while I wasn’t seeing you.”

 

Who could say that?

 

“But how did you know when to cook the stew?”

 

As soon as the Grand Duke saw her, he started talking about stew.

 

“I could hear this delicious smell even outside.”

 

She then asked him questions like how he got to the cabin and why he was alone.

 

“On the way to the Grand Duke’s residence…”

 

It turns out that to get to the Grand Duke’s residence from the north, you have to pass through a village near her cabin.

 

“I happened to be staying here today. I was planning to wait since I’d see you at the mansion in two days anyway, but the moment I saw this forest outside the inn window, I couldn’t resist.”

 

The playful look in his eyes was serious.

 

“You are within sight. If you go just a little bit, you can even touch it.”

 

The Grand Duke extended his hand towards her. When she placed her hand on his hand, he pulled it and kissed the back of her hand.

 

“I have overcome Daniel’s nagging, so give me a reward.”

 

Five soft kisses, five rough kisses. The Grand Duke added another strange comment and, as he had wished on the battlefield, began to eat the stew while facing her. As he looked at that, the bridge of his nose became cold.

 

“I really missed this taste.”

 

It wasn’t until she saw the man smiling happily like a child in front of her that she realized it. 

The war was really over.

 

‘Five soft kisses, five rough kisses?’

 

But how far did a kiss start and end? She sat on the Grand Duke’s lap, locked her lips with him, and wondered about useless things. In fact, excuses like desserts and awards have probably already worn off. No, their lips would be worn out by this point. The lips that had been glued together fell apart. Only then did she take a deep breath. The Grand Duke, who had exceptional physical strength, was also breathing heavily. He cupped her cheeks with both hands and lowered his head, so she thought he was going to touch her lips again, but he wasn’t. His moist lips rested on her cheek and slowly moved down to the nape of her neck, grazing her skin.

 

‘It tickles.’

 

The moment her body started to tremble, her blurry vision became clear, and only then did she see her surroundings. Before they knew it, the candles had gone out and the cabin was dark, with only the faint moonlight.

 

“It’s late…”

 

“I guess I should go to bed, right?”

 

A low whisper tickled the back of her neck. She pushed the Grand Duke away and nodded her head.

 

“Then let’s go.”

 

“…Are you telling me to go?”

 

He pointed at himself with his finger and had surprised eyes.

 

“You don’t plan on going back to the mansion like this, do you? They said you would come with the knights and army in two days. The Duke is also coming as a guest.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

 

“Are you telling me to go at this late hour? It’s scary at night.”

 

“…shocking.”

 

She laughed out loud.

 

“Should the night streets be afraid of you?”

 

“That’s true, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep if things continue like this…”

 

It was cute to see his swollen lips poking out like a poor puppy. She understood why the Grand Duke kept teasing her. This was quite fun.

 

“Then would you like me to read you a storybook?”

 

When he heard that she was going to read a storybook using sensory transfer magic, as she did every night when he was on the battlefield, the Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed straight and suddenly bent sharply downward.

 

“That’s a good idea.”

 

He grinned. She soon realized the meaning of that smile.

 

‘Uh…’

 

She blinked blankly, listening to the sound of water leaking from the bathroom in the nanny’s room.

 

‘Reading a children’s book…’

 

She was now sitting on the bed in her pajamas. In his hand, he held a storybook just as he had given it to him before going to the bathroom.

 

‘I didn’t mean it like this.’

 

Sweet. The door opened, and the Grand Duke came out of the bathroom.

 

‘…Let’s assume this meaning is correct.’

 

The moment she saw his bare upper body, her mind changed.

 

‘Since when was I a person who was faithful to my primal desires?’

 

The person who entered her bathroom was clearly an aristocratic man, but what came out was an animal. The moment he stepped into the moonlight on her bed, the shadows on his well-trained upper body became even more noticeable.

 

“Hazel.”

 

The Grand Duke came up to the seat next to her and looked down at her. Was it because it was in the moonlight, or did it change while on the battlefield? It felt like her facial lines had become sharper.

 

“Did you lie here every night and read me a story?” he asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She wanted to answer, but her voice didn’t come out. She swallowed dry saliva and nodded.

 

As if she was the only one who was nervous, the Grand Duke lay down calmly and motioned for her to lie down too. She lay down hunched over. Her face became hot, perhaps because of his gaze on her cheek. As she looked at the ceiling of the bed nervously, he reached out his hand to her. She was so nervous that she became embarrassed. The Grand Duke simply opened the storybook in her hand.

 

‘I thought it was an excuse, but did you really ask me to read it?’

 

She started reading the children’s book, feeling like a witch possessed by a lustful devil.

 

“Once upon a time, in a kingdom, there lived a prince who was cursed by a witch and turned into a beast. How to break her curse…”

 

It was a time when she was reading with concentration. A strong arm wrapped around her waist. She had been hugged many times before, but the feeling was different.

 

‘It seems like it’s gotten thicker?’

 

How much did he have to swing the sword to make his already thick forearms even thicker? In a moment of regret, his wet hair tickled the back of her neck. As she took a deep breath, the strong scent of soap poured in. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and let out a long breath. The moment his hot breath poured out, the fur on his entire body stood up.

 

“…your Highness?”

 

“Smell your scent, hear your voice, see your smile, touch you…”

 

Her pajamas were rustling.

 

“Now it finally feels like the war is over and I’m back home.”

 

Her heart was touched and she hugged him. They were quietly embracing each other for a long time and enjoying the peace… 

 

“Um, Your Highness?”

 

“Keep reading.”

 

“Uh… In that castle, hey, there was a beast living there…”

 

She thought the beast was in her bed…? She closed the book as his fingers intertwined with hers. At that moment, the fairy tale became an adult fairy tale. Whether it was a fairy tale or an adult fairy tale, the ending was very, very happy. She was happy…

 

‘Who is knocking on the door this early in the morning?’

 

Because of the cabin’s tight security order, she could feel someone knocking on the door. He kept knocking periodically, probably because he had business, so she barely opened her sleepy eyes and got up…

 

“Your Highness? Please, let me go.”

 

…She tried to raise herself up but failed. It felt like iron vines were wrapped around her body. She had no choice but to lie down on the bed and recite the sensory transfer spell. Soon, the face of the person standing in front of the door was visible through the witch-shaped sculpture attached to the door of the hut. Sir Daniel’s dissatisfied face. Before she could even feel happy, she felt embarrassed.

 

“Sir Daniel, please wait a moment.”

 

Before she could even hear his answer, she cut off the spell and shook the Grand Duke from his sleep.

 

“You Highness.”

 

“Yes…”

 

He didn’t even open his eyes and just groaned.

 

“Sir Daniel came to the cabin.”

 

“Ha…”

 

Only then did the Grand Duke let out a long sigh and opened his eyes.

 

“I’ve been keeping out of the way without disturbing anyone, but that guy is inconsiderate.”

 

He got dressed, mumbling something unintelligible in a dissatisfied tone. Outside the window it was bluish, as if dawn was about to break. It was time to part ways for a while.

 

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