TGDHC Chapter 150

Chapter 150 – Contract Extension (1) 

As expected—

The training grounds, lit brightly with torches, echoed with what sounded almost like screams.

“Th-there! Lady Annette is…!”

Leon spotted me from a distance and shouted urgently.

All the knights who were swinging their swords stopped and turned toward me at once.

“Commander! Lady Annette is here!”

“Lady Annette! Please save us!”

Soaked in sweat from head to toe, the knights reacted dramatically the moment they saw me.

“Annette?”

Loic, who had been sparring with Johas, widened his eyes.

“Break!”

He strode quickly toward me. Behind him, Johas called out weakly to the knights, who collapsed all over the place with thumps.

Just how hard had Loic pushed these strong knights for them to look like this?

“What brings you here at this hour?”

Loic himself was drenched in sweat.

His black hair was a mess above his face, which brightened with both surprise and happiness.

“What brings me here? I came to find my husband.”

“Ah…”

Loic wiped beneath his jaw with the back of his hand and smiled, embarrassed.

“Don’t ‘ah’ me. It’s way too late.”

“I was just about to go in.”

Sweat shone along his neck under the lights, dripping down toward the faintly visible skin beneath his shirt.

His entire body—face, neck, and chest—was flushed red.

‘He definitely has a fever.’

I stepped closer to check, but Loic quickly jerked his head back.

“What’s wrong?”

“I….”

Loic bit his lower lip in embarrassment.

“I’m sweating too much. Please don’t come closer.”

“It’s fine.”

“I—I am not fine.”

“Come here.”

I gave him a firm look, and he finally returned his head to where it had been.

“Lower your head.”

“I’m dirty right now…”

Even while hesitating, Loic eventually leaned forward slightly.

When I stood on my toes and pressed my hand to his forehead, I immediately felt the heat radiating from him.

“Are you sure Hosen said you were fine?”

“Yes. He said there was nothing wrong.”

Earlier that evening, the doctor had examined Loic and declared he was completely healthy.

But with a forehead this hot? I wasn’t convinced.

‘Sometimes even the personal physician feels unreliable…’

“Should I call Enolius?”

“I am really fine.”

Loic gently took my wrist, lowering my hand from his forehead, then called out:

“Whitley.”

The butler quickly stepped forward and handed Loic a handkerchief.

“There is no need to worry. I’m just cooling off a bit from the heat.”

He said this while carefully wiping my sweat-dampened hand with the handkerchief.

“This is what you call cooling off?”

I raised an eyebrow.

The knights lay sprawled everywhere, looking half-dead.

“Just look at them—there’s steam coming out of their heads.”

“This isn’t that kind of heat…”

Loic muttered something I couldn’t quite catch.

“Anyway, let the knights go. If you keep this up, they’ll all come down with fevers.”

“Dismissed.”

Loic immediately shouted toward the knights.

“D-dismissed!”

Before their lord could change his mind, the knights scrambled to escape the training grounds.

When I looked back, even Whitley had disappeared.

He was tactfully giving the Grand Duke and Duchess some privacy.

“Shall we go in too?”

“C-could you wait just a moment?”

Loic licked his dry lips nervously.

“I’ll wash my face quickly.”

I nodded.

“All right. Take your time.”

Loic sat me down on a nearby bench, then dashed into the inner area of the grounds where the water basin was.

And then…

Not even a minute passed before he returned, dripping water from head to toe.

His hair and white shirt were completely soaked.

“…Did you wash your face, or did you pour the whole basin on yourself?”

His wet shirt clung tightly to his body, showing off every line of his chest.

Loic approached shyly, holding a towel.

“I was worried Annette might wait.”

“Come here.”

I stood quickly and pulled him to sit on the bench.

“Dry yourself a little before we go in. You’ll catch a cold.”

Loic sat awkwardly, fidgeting with the towel while looking up at me.

“Why aren’t you drying?”

“…Could Annette… dry me? Like last time?”

His long lashes blinked innocently.

This shameless Grand Duke.

He definitely knew I was weak to that puppy-in-the-rain look of his.

In the end, I took the towel and began drying his hair.

Last time he had at least pretended to be shy.

This time, he simply sat there, enjoying it, letting me handle his hair.

As his hair slowly dried under my hands—

Loic leaned sideways and rested his head against my waist.

“…!”

He did it so naturally I couldn’t even scold him.

I stiffened, my hands moving slowly.

Under his leaning cheek, a hot warmth pressed gently against my stomach.

“You still feel hot… Should I call Enolius now?”

“No.”

Loic lifted my hand and pressed my palm against his cheek.

My cool fingers warmed quickly against his heated skin.

“If Annette cools me like this, I’ll be fine.”

Loic slowly raised his head and looked up at me.

“Today too…”

His black eyes shimmered faintly gold under the torchlight.

My throat tightened without reason.

“Did you come because you missed me?”

The truth was—I came to rescue the knights he’d been overworking.

But…

‘I did miss Loic.’

I had rushed here the moment Whitley hinted at where he was.

“…What if I say yes?”

My answer came out more bashfully than I’d intended.

Loic’s cheeks reddened, and he returned his face to my waist, nuzzling gently.

“Hearing Annette say she missed me… makes me so happy.”

His straightforward reaction set my whole face on fire.

Feeling flustered, I quickly changed the subject.

“A-ah, I received a letter from Countess Selvanis.”

“I see. What did it say?”

“Oh, just various things.”

As I tousled his now-dry hair, I rambled through the letter’s contents.

“She said Arsen is very beautiful in spring. And that there’s a huge forest near the Selvanis estate…”

What was the name again?

“The Everne Forest?”

“Ah, yes.”

“…There’s also a Blenheim family villa near Everne Forest.”

“Really?”

“It’s especially beautiful in spring when all the flowers bloom…”

Loic’s fingers played with the hem of my skirt.

“Annette would like it.”

His voice sounded a little sad.

Because next spring…

‘…my one-year contract would be over.’

Ever since returning from the temple, I had been thinking nonstop.

—‘…Are you afraid of leaving Blenheim?’

—‘It will probably be the greatest fear of my life.’

Loic didn’t want me to leave.

If I wished, I could stay in Blenheim indefinitely.

‘Would it be okay… to keep living as the Grand Duchess?’

This question had been circling my mind for days.

And every time I asked myself, my heart leaned clearly in one direction.

I liked the North.

I liked the solid grey castle walls.

I liked the cloudy weather others called gloomy but I found calming.

I liked the warm, straightforward people of Blenheim—

The knights who argued over who would guard me,

the servants who were secretly full of laughter,

the hardworking administrators,

and even the chatty maids.

Most of all, I liked Loic—the kindest man in the world.

But I also feared—

What if this happiness was clouding my judgment?

What if I regret my choice later?

What if I was being arrogant, thinking I could handle any consequences?

But as I gently stroked the hair of the large man leaning against me…

Somehow, everything felt like it would be okay.

“Hey, Loic.”

I spoke impulsively.

“I thought about it… and one year feels too short.”

Loic’s head jerked up instantly.

His eyes trembled with barely hidden hope.

“…What do you mean?”

His hands gripping my skirt tightened.