Chapter 14
“Understood.”
Cayden bowed his head and made his way toward the banquet hall.
Not long after he entered, Hyuga stepped out.
He looked around the corridor as if searching for Harvich.
Lincia knew that though he disliked her, his loyalty toward Harvich was genuine.
“It would be best not to marry.
I will guarantee your life, so please leave the duchy before the vows are sealed.”
Lincia looked at Hyuga with uneasy eyes.
He seemed unsettled by Harvich, who stood as if leaning against her, his gaze wavering constantly.
“Please guide us to the bedchamber.”
At Lincia’s words, Hyuga lowered his head and led her to a room in the outer palace.
“You may stay here during the banquet period.”
With that, Hyuga turned to take Harvich away.
Lincia stopped him.
He tilted his head, as if asking whether she still had business.
“When we were in the outer castle… you said we had to share the same room.
Isn’t this the duke’s chamber?”
“Ah, thank you.
I nearly forgot.”
Hyuga gave a short bow and laid Harvich down on the bed.
Lincia stared at Harvich as he lay there.
She couldn’t bring herself to change his ceremonial clothes.
But leaving him as he was looked far too uncomfortable, so with trembling hands she unfastened his top buttons.
Each time her fingers brushed the gap in his clothes, her face flushed red.
She removed even the ornamental brooches and placed them neatly on the table.
Letting out a short sigh, Lincia rose from her seat.
She walked to the mirror and sat down before it, loosening the flowers and ornaments from her hair.
Slowly, she untied the strings of her dress.
Though the design accommodated her pregnancy and did not cling to her body, it was hardly a comfortable outfit for sleep.
Soon, she was left in her undergarments.
Embarrassment prickled at being in nothing but underwear in the same room as Harvich, but he was too drunk to even notice holding her hand, let alone care about her half-dressed state.
Besides, Harvich was the kind of man who would pay no mind to her bare body.
On her toes, Lincia moved carefully.
With no sound of shifting or stirring, she became certain Harvich was asleep.
…I’ll need a change of clothes.
Though she knew she now had a personal maid, Lincia still preferred to act on her own.
And she didn’t want to wake Harvich by calling someone in just to help her change.
She opened the wardrobe with care, avoiding any noise.
Since this was the chamber she was meant to share with Harvich, there should be at least some women’s clothing.
Thankfully, many neat dresses hung inside, among them pieces suitable for sleepwear.
This outer palace had once been where Harvich stayed to keep distance from her.
She couldn’t be sure if this was the same room he had used then, but her heart wouldn’t stop racing regardless.
…Whose dresses are these?
Pushing aside her unease, Lincia changed into a simple indoor dress and turned toward the sofa.
She planned to sleep there tonight.
She didn’t want to invite any misunderstanding from Harvich.
He was a man who would feel nothing but displeasure waking up beside her.
Just as Lincia moved to lie down on the sofa, a strong hand pulled her back.
Startled, she called out her husband’s name for the first time in a long while.
Her heart thundered as she tried to pull away.
Harvich was drunk now… he might regret holding her in the morning.
But his firm arm did not release her.
“…You’re awake?
I’ll sleep on the sofa, so… don’t worry.”
“Sleep here.”
His words were too clear to belong to a drunk man.
Flustered, Lincia tried to turn her head, but Harvich’s hold was unyielding.
Though his grip was strong enough to keep her immobile, he applied no pressure to her stomach.
His arm encircled just below her chest, and Lincia bit her lip hard, tense with unease.
“Are you all right?
You drank too much.”
“I’m fine.”
That was what he said, but the breath against her nape was unbearably hot.
Lincia opened her mouth to speak again, only to close it when she heard a heart pounding loudly from somewhere.
What if Harvich could hear the beating of her heart?
“…You’ll regret this in the morning.”
“Am I a burden to you?”
How could Lincia ever consider Harvich a burden?
No, that was impossible.
Even though he believed she had betrayed him and hurt her because of it, Lincia could neither hate nor resent him.
“I don’t believe you chose to lie with another man out of love for him.”
“…I don’t love you.”
“Then let’s leave it at that.
It would only trouble us both otherwise.”
But Lincia did love him.
The closeness of his body, the warmth of his skin, made her heart swell painfully.
Surely her trembling body and surging emotions were being conveyed to him.
“…Sleep.”
“…All right.”
She only hoped that when Harvich woke in the morning, he would remember none of this.
Because this racing of her heart could only be an unwanted burden to him.
Early in the morning, Harvich was already in the office of the outer palace.
“What were you thinking?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your behavior last night.
The duke would never truly be drunk.”
Hyuga found Harvich’s conduct extremely strange.
Leaning on the duchess, holding her hand—such things were clearly out of character.
“…Did you not say you would use this banquet to unmask her lover?
And yet you share a room with her?”
Pressed by Hyuga, Harvich turned his head aside.
“…I was too drunk.”
The excuse sounded pitiful.
“Don’t lie.
I’ve served you too many years to be fooled.”
This morning Hyuga was unusually persistent.
Harvich knew his actions had been strange.
Had he not avoided giving Lincia the slightest opening all this time?
And yet last night, he had impulsively taken her hand.
Perhaps it was the scene, so unlike a duke’s household, that stirred memories of his academy days.
Harvich cut off his thoughts of Lincia before they could go further.
“Enough.
I only wanted to see who would approach her first when I let my guard down.”
“…And who did?”
“It was Cayden.
Didn’t he fetch you at her request?”
Harvich recalled Cayden.
The oldest among his vassals, the man had lost a daughter during the war in Cassius before Harvich was even born, and thus opposed independence.
“No, he only came because he thought your condition was unusual.”
“That is suspicious indeed.
My wife asked him to bring you, and yet—”
