Chapter 26: Did You Want To?
Hertian’s face turned unusually serious.
“You want to hold me?”
His slightly flushed cheeks peeked out under the damp black hair, giving him a look that made my mind jump to the wrong conclusion.
Does he really mean to have a passionate first night together?
An odd thought flashed through my mind.
And as if confirming my suspicion, the way he looked at me felt completely genuine.
My eyes darted around, and I slowly pulled the blanket up to my chin. Staring at those masculine muscles up close made me seriously question whether this man was really asexual or not. I swallowed hard and said,
“Even if we just sleep in the same bed, there won’t be rumors about our first night being a failure. We don’t need to, you know… actually do anything…”
But I couldn’t even finish the sentence. His gaze roamed my body under the blanket.
You said you were asexual!
You said you weren’t interested in women, so what are you thinking right now?!
“If this is about the heir plan you told His Majesty, then that was all a lie…”
My face was so stiff, I could barely get the words out.
“You’re trembling,” he said.
“…What?”
Hertian, who had been silently staring down at me, finally opened his mouth.
“If you keep shivering through the night, your condition will worsen. The count told me that you used to get very sick during winter and couldn’t even go outside. Since the North is cold all year round, sleeping like this will only make it worse.”
He explained calmly.
“So you didn’t mean… the first night?” I asked, stunned.
“Did you want to?”
“Wh– what?!”
“If you wish, I can try.”
“No, no!!”
My face flamed red.
It was all just a misunderstanding on my part.
Hertian chuckled slightly at my flustered reaction, covering his mouth when he saw my expression.
“My body temperature is high. I thought it might warm you up a little if I held you.”
“Oh… I see.”
I was mortified.
I knew Hertian wouldn’t say something like that—and yet I let my imagination run wild.
Instead, he closed his robe tightly and looked away awkwardly, like I had done something wrong.
“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. I’m not some lustful woman, so don’t worry.”
He gave me a sidelong glance with a slight pout, like a sulky black puppy.
“Even if you were?”
“….”
“Come on. Let’s cuddle and sleep tonight. Let’s see what happens in the morning!”
I threw off the blanket and opened my arms wide.
It was the only way to prove I wasn’t some pervert.
“I’ll trust you,” he said.
“You have to trust me completely. We’re partners, aren’t we?”
Only then did he come closer.
“But is your body temperature really that high?”
“Would you like to check?”
I caught a glimpse of his well-defined muscles through the robe. I gulped unconsciously. Just when I hesitated to respond—worried I might seem like a pervert—he took my hand and placed it on his abdomen.
I flinched at the solid warmth I felt through my palm.
“How is it?”
“…It’s warm.”
A soft sigh escaped my lips.
The heat was so strong, it felt like my frozen hands from the cold wind all day were instantly thawed. Looking closer, there was even a faint steam rising from his body. His temperature was abnormally high.
“You must have caught a cold. The study was freezing earlier—were you in there all that time wearing just that thin robe? No wonder you’re sick!”
I started nagging him, growing serious. The silk robe he wore was so thin, it might as well have been nothing.
“You have to dress warmer. Even with the fireplace lit, the night air is freezing… You’ll end up with facial paralysis tomorrow morning!”
Hertian must’ve forgotten how harsh Northern life was after years on the battlefield. To be walking around like that!
I tightly tucked the blanket around him so he wouldn’t feel cold.
“I’ve never had a cold in my life.”
“Your body’s burning up!”
“My body temperature is naturally high.”
“It’s too hot.”
“It only feels hotter because your temperature is lower than average.”
Somehow, he had started calling me “wife” instead of “lady,” and he adjusted the blanket that had slipped onto his side, placing it back over me.
“In that case…”
I had the sudden urge to dive into his arms. I knew I could sleep comfortably in that warmth.
But just as I was about to do it, my Confucian upbringing screamed no. This was a contract marriage—how could I cuddle with him like a real couple? But then again, nothing’s going to happen, right? We’re just sharing warmth… Is that too selfish?
All sorts of thoughts passed through my head in a split second.
As if reading my mind, Hertian said,
“It’s only for your health.”
And that settled it.
I didn’t have the luxury to refuse the human furnace.
“Well then… I’ll be counting on you.”
I leapt into his wide arms like I’d been waiting for the cue.
He held me effortlessly and flopped onto the bed. Once we pulled the thick blanket over ourselves, the temperature began to rise instantly.
So warm.
My body relaxed. My hands instinctively nestled into his warmth. Every time they brushed a new spot, he flinched a little—probably from how cold they were.
Feeling guilty, I pulled them back and rested my head gently against his chest. My face, chilled from the cold air all day, finally began to thaw. But then I heard something strange.
“Hertian is definitely sick.”
The sound came from his chest.
Thump-thump-thump.
His heart pounded like it was about to burst. Just like his body temperature, it was far from normal.
“Oh my god.”
Startled, I backed away to look at him.
“You are sick! You have arrhythmia!”
“A–arrhythmia?”
“It’s a condition where your heart beats irregularly—too fast or too slow.”
There was no way rising body heat like this could be normal.
I could feel his pulse just from laying a hand on his chest.
At this rate, he might die before me.
“When did this start?”
He must’ve known about it already.
He thought for a moment before replying.
“About five years ago.”
That would’ve been right after he inherited the duchy.
He must’ve been pulled into war so suddenly that he didn’t have time to treat it. He was made the head of the family before even coming of age, and the Empress’s political pressure was heavy. He probably had to hide his illness to avoid showing weakness.
Poor guy.
Looking closely, I saw his body was covered in small scars. What’s the point of being a Grand Duke? Even in this massive castle, there wasn’t a single person to care for his wounds. I felt a deep pity for him—not as a duke, but as a person.
“I’ll get you some herbal medicine starting tomorrow. Please take it.”
“…I will.”
He gave me a foolish smile.
From now on, I’d be the one to take care of him.
Later That Night
As the night deepened and dawn neared, the room remained quiet save for the soft sound of breathing.
Hertian watched the woman sleeping with her head resting on his arm. He had looked at her all night and still hadn’t tired of it.
Her gently fluttering lashes beneath her smooth forehead, the small lips that moved like she was tasting sweet macarons in a dream…
He gently poked her face just to be sure—she rubbed her cheek against him in response.
Not a dream. This was real.
Anette was in his arms.
Just that fact alone made his lips curl into a smile of bliss. As always, he replayed their earlier conversation in his head.
Then, remembering what she’d said, he laid a hand on his chest.
“She said it’s arrhythmia…”
Just like Anette had said, his once-calm heart now beat irregularly. It wasn’t like the excitement from reading her letters—it was something else entirely.
Anyone else would suspect something strange, but Anette mistook it for illness.
“I wonder when she’ll figure it out.”
Even that was a delight. Someday, her heart would beat as fast as his.
That day was coming.
Just then, the bedroom door opened quietly.
A maid entered with a basin of water. She caught sight of Hertian’s bare chest by the bed and gasped, bowing deeply.
“M-my apologies, Master. I’ll come back later!”
Anette had been burrowing into his robe all night saying it was warm, and half of it had slipped off. Only then did he realize he was practically naked. He chuckled softly as he covered himself again.
“I’ll head out first. Don’t wake her until she gets up.”
“Yes, sir.”
After finally prying Anette off him, Hertian left the room.
Once the door closed, the maid finally looked up—then nearly collapsed.
A giant cocoon was curled up in the bed.
“M-Madam?!”
It was Anette, who Hertian had wrapped up like a burrito in the blanket so she wouldn’t get cold.
The next morning, the duchy was abuzz.
Servants gossiped excitedly about the young couple who had “spent their wedding night.”
“Apparently the maid walked in at dawn and saw his bare chest!”
“Her eyes were all puffy from crying all night.”
“Well, it’s good they get along. The madam is so pretty, isn’t she? One of the most beautiful women in the capital.”
“What kind of person is she?”
Everyone wanted to know. A new duchess always changed the atmosphere of the castle.
“She seems carefree… just really happy.”
The maid remembered Anette’s bright, innocent smile.
“Like Lady Lili?”
“Yeah, like Lady Lili. Oh, by the way, the master sent her twenty new dresses! My shoulder nearly dislocated carrying them!”
“Twenty?!”
“Well, I bet she’s like Lady Lili—never wears the same thing twice.”
There was no real malice—just typical noble snobbery.
“Still, twenty dresses at once is a bit much. That’s a lot of money.”
“Well, the master can handle it.”
Of course, there was still some resistance to the new madam.
“It’s cold.”
Without Hertian’s warmth, the North felt like a frozen kingdom again. Even walking around the castle left my legs numb from the cold seeping into my dress. Sniffling, I wandered the halls.
“Lili went outside?”
“The butler said he saw her leave earlier.”
I was looking for Lili.
She was a daughter of the Blandiche cadet family—a cousin to the former duke. Her parents died in an accident, and she’d been raised in the castle ever since. The original story didn’t mention her much, so that’s all I knew.
No, there was one more thing—
“She’s not cold, is she?”
Lili didn’t feel the cold. That’s the only explanation for why she’d willingly go outside.
Even from a distance, the blustery wind made it look unbearable.
“Lili… did you have to go outside?”
She must’ve run off because she lost our bet.
“Shall I call the knights to search, my lady?”
“No, she probably didn’t go far.”
Or so I hoped. I walked along the castle’s outer wall, exhaling white puffs. I’d nearly completed a full circle around the grounds when I started to worry that maybe Lili had gone far.
Slap.
A sharp sound like skin smacking skin rang through the air.
In the distance, I saw pink hair fluttering in the wind.
“Lili?”
