ICM Chapter 50

‘What if it’s not just a dream?’

Three hallucinations and three broken jewels.

She clearly remembered seeing the first jewel she discovered in the imperial palace, though she never managed to find it again. That distinctly large and vivid bluish-purple one. And after experiencing the second and third hallucinations, she confirmed that the pendant’s jewels had broken. Could this merely be coincidence?

At first, she thought she was going insane. She even suspected she might be unknowingly addicted to some drug. That’s why she thoroughly searched through her family’s genealogy.

‘Perhaps it’s an entirely different kind of problem.’

What if the jewel possessed some power? What if what she experienced wasn’t a dream or hallucination?

[Someone might have something they want to tell you.]

Iben’s voice rang in her ears like tinnitus.

“Lady Igraine?”

Her face, pale white, had completely frozen and wasn’t responding. Drushia lowered her hand holding the necklace and called to her again.

“Ashika?”

Her mind was following her instincts faster than ever before. Her heart sank coldly with the realization that she could no longer ignore this.

She barely composed her expression and reached out to Drushia. Half lost in thought, half frozen stiff.

“The necklace, give it back to me.”

Drushia couldn’t insist further and handed the necklace to Ashika. With a clinking sound, the necklace poured onto her white hand. Ashika quickly withdrew her hand and hid the necklace inside the rolled-up blanket.

As he watched Ashika turning away silently, a thought flashed through Drushia’s mind.

‘That jewel, I’ve seen it somewhere before.’

But the faint memory was pushed aside, captivated by the retreating figure of the woman who had wrapped herself completely in the sheet.

****

For Drushia, Ashika was a difficult woman. Yet she always remained nailed to a corner of his heart, constantly concerning him.

As far as he knew, Ashika had never caused any scandal. She’d only had one fiancé in the past two years, and even that was a relationship in name only. She’d had no men in her life—hadn’t he confirmed that himself?

He understood why Ashika’s life had to be that way. After all, she had to fully accept responsibility for her family at the mere age of eight.

Drushia and Ashika’s lives weren’t so different. The past fourteen years living without breathing room as the only direct descendants and heirs of their respective ducal families.

A relationship where they growled at each other yet ultimately couldn’t hate one another—rather, they had no choice but to keep each other in their hearts like a sore finger.

The tension that had been precariously maintained finally broke. It wasn’t unpleasant; rather, it brought an expectation close to euphoria.

Hadn’t she, a woman with no experience in love or men, willingly fallen into his arms? That’s why he was extremely curious about how Ashika would react after daybreak.

‘I thought she’d be shy or flustered.’

She showed none of the reactions he had predicted. With a casual face, she merely stated her requirements: “I’m hungry,” “Give me clothes.”

‘I was wrong about her. I didn’t know she was this brazen.’

With that thought, he looked at Ashika’s face across the table.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Aren’t you hungry? Or did you eat while I was unconscious, Duke?”

“Of course not. Do I look so shameless that I would eat alone in that situation?”

“No. That couldn’t be.”

Her resolute answer made Drushia feel embarrassed instead.

‘Didn’t she dislike me?’

Her attitude—friendly yet not intimidated—gave him a strange feeling.

Drushia was also very hungry. Yet watching Ashika eating heartily made him feel full even without eating.

A small piece of meat entered her red lips, which chewed slowly before taking a sip of wine. The red wine moistened her lips, and then she put a well-roasted vegetable stalk in her mouth and chewed again.

‘She eats so prettily.’

Clang, gurgle.

The sound of the pewter pitcher hitting the wine glass startled Drushia back to his senses. With no servants attending, he had nearly spilled the wine.

For some time now, Drushia had put down his fork and was just downing wine. Belatedly realizing he was half dazed, he cleared his throat.

After the meal, Ashika neatly finished the sweet pudding prepared for dessert.

‘Ah, now I feel alive.’

Ashika rolled her eyes, checking if her mind was functioning properly. Being too clear-headed, the actions she had mistaken were now clearly organized.

‘I’m definitely in my right mind now.’

Now it was time to clean up the situation.

‘He’s going to drill holes in my face with his stare.’

She wanted to get rid of that burning gaze fixed on her as soon as possible. Making a grave decision, she took a drink of water to moisten her burning throat.

“You might even be pregnant, Lady Igraine.”

“Pfft, cough!”

Ashika covered her mouth with a napkin and coughed violently.

She was about to say it was just a mistake and that they should quietly go their separate ways. But Drushia had thrown down the gauntlet right to her face.

“How can you… say such a thing, cough, so directly?”

“Isn’t it a natural assumption when something happens between a man and a woman?”

Drushia hadn’t been careful about that issue. He hadn’t even thought he should be.

Rather, he had felt an indescribable pleasure at the thought of filling her with his own. An emotion he hadn’t known drove him, and even now, he didn’t regret it.

“Haa… Look, Duke. Of course, we crossed a line, but a child doesn’t just happen from that one time.”

Ashika had already quickly calculated the matter.

“One time? After all my hard work, it’s troubling if you count it as just once.”

“Of course it wasn’t just once. Counting the times, it was all day… No, it’s not important how many times you and I did it!”

Ashika raised her voice, clutching the napkin she was holding.

Unlike Ashika whose face was burning red, the corners of Drushia’s mouth were raised high. Seeing his broadly smiling face, she suddenly came to her senses. Ashika took a deep breath and quickly composed her expression.

‘This man is playing with me.’

The way he kept catching her off guard made her think he wouldn’t be easy to handle.

‘Don’t get drawn in. I shouldn’t get drawn in by that man.’

Drushia found Ashika’s increasingly diverse expressions interesting. He enjoyed just watching her eat, and he enjoyed conversing with her like this.

‘Was it not because I disliked tormenting that woman, but rather the opposite?’

It was quite a belated realization. He had never imagined feeling this way about Ashika, yet here he was, already enchanted.

“Duke, let me quickly and simply get to the point.”

When the word “Duke” came from Ashika’s mouth, Drushia’s brows furrowed.

“Let’s settle our debts as having struck each other once.”

“What?”

“That’s right. I admit that I started it. But today’s incident was clearly initiated by you. So we’ve fairly committed… one offense each.”

Ashika elegantly extended her hand, pointing at him and then at herself.

The meaning was, ‘I pounced first, but next, you pounced.’

Drushia’s expression hardened coldly.

“You seduced me not once but twice. And now you think you can resolve it with just a few words?”

“It was never my intention from the beginning. What happened that night was a mistake I made while drunk.”

“On just half a bottle of wine? Surely you’re not going to lie and say you didn’t recognize who I was?”

“Yes, that’s right. There was also the shock I received during the day, and I wasn’t in my right mind that night.”

“Ha! Really? You didn’t know who I was?”

Drushia leaned over the table, glaring at Ashika.

A drunken mistake of one night. So it wouldn’t have mattered if it wasn’t him? At that thought, an unpleasantly strong emotion surged that made him shudder.

“You’re saying you didn’t know who the man was who undressed you, kissed you, and spread your legs? Who thrust himself into you while you cried out in pleasure? You didn’t know who I was? Really?”

“S-stop it!”

Ashika’s face turned bright red. The explicit description made memories of rolling around in bed come flooding back, making it impossible for her to meet his gaze.

“You clearly knew who I was.”

He couldn’t forget her sweet voice whispering “Rushia” throughout. The voice that kept calling his name endlessly, even while gasping for breath, immersed in pleasure.

“It’s troublesome if you seduce me boldly and then try to run away as if nothing happened. If you were looking for a one-night playmate, you chose the wrong person. I have no intention of being unilaterally manipulated by Igraine.”

Ashika bit her lip tightly, composing herself.

“I don’t understand why you’re angry. I’m trying to resolve this as quickly as possible to avoid complications.”

It was something that happened between healthy adult men and women. The tension between them had instantly transformed into desire for each other. Thinking about it that way, the current situation was not incomprehensible.

So what was important now was not to question the reasons but to escape this awkward situation as quickly as possible.

“Who asked you to resolve it?”

“What?”

If the truth were to be known, it would create a major scandal publicly. So she thought Drushia would also want to handle it quietly. But he had no intention of cooperating.

“So, what do you think about maintaining this relationship for the time being?”

“You’re insane!”

Ashika blurted out before covering her mouth. She was surprised by her own casual attitude.

Drushia’s eyes widened. His face showed disbelief at a response that deviated so far from his expectations.

“That’s quite an extreme way of putting it.”

Drushia, who had been sitting comfortably, shifted his body and leaned forward. He looked extremely offended.

“Let’s be honest. I’m only twenty-six. At this age, I hold the title of Duke. I’m unmarried, handsome, wealthy, and you already know about my bedroom skills. Is it really insane to date such a man?”

“You’ve got quite the shameless mouth. Usually, people find it difficult to list their own virtues like that, if only out of embarrassment.”

“It’s also not easy to call a man like me insane when he asks to date him.”

Of course, Drushia was certainly in a position to speak that way. He was indeed someone who should overflow with confidence.

“Instead of making an immediate decision, why don’t we see how things go? It’s rare to find bedroom partners who match so well. Or have you found someone else new already?”

His mouth was smiling, but his eyes turned cold in an instant. Ashika covered her reddening face with the back of her hand, feeling astounded.

“What are you saying? There’s no such thing. There wasn’t before, and it’s the same now.”

“Oh ho, so from before until now, it’s only been me?”

Drushia stretched his lips into a satisfied expression.