Chapter 23

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 23

Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Wife of the Monster Duke

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Ilrin didn't bother lowering her gaze.

It was fine even if she couldn't see where he was.

"Is your body feeling a bit better?"

It was that same low, gentle voice as always.

Ilrin nodded slightly.

"Everyone's been taking such good care of me, so yes."

She raised her hand.

Aden, whom she expected to take it as always, stayed still.

Ilrin thought he was hesitating.

"...My hands are still cold."

Ah, he'd been out.

Ilrin glanced out the window.

"Even so."

Aden, silent for a moment, placed his hand over hers.

It was shockingly cold, even knowing what to expect.

Ilrin rubbed the back of his hand, just as he often did for her.

The Winter Duke claimed he didn't feel the cold, but his body still got chilled, it seemed.

She could clearly feel him flinch each time she massaged between his fingers.

Ilrin kept rubbing until his hand felt a little warmer, then slid her touch up to his wrist.

The soft flesh inside his arm brushed against her hand.

Aden stopped her with his other hand.

"Aden?"

The hand holding her back was hot.

"...It tickles."

He caught his breath a little before saying that.

Ilrin laughed.

Aden, sitting on the bed, was still dressed for outdoors.

His cloak should have thawed in the warm manor corridors by now.

Ilrin removed his cloak and set it aside.

In that moment, she felt heat.

Aden let out a short breath and spoke.

"...Wait a moment."

Was he still short of breath? Ilrin tilted her head.

"I want to hear your story first."

She'd been curious about it all day.

As he spoke, he seemed to be steadying his breathing.

"What kind?"

A very brief silence passed.

"What secret is Ilrin curious about?"

Asking if there was a secret she shouldn't know meant, ultimately, that he had one he was curious about himself.

That was the conclusion he'd reached after thinking all day.

For someone with secrets of his own, it was terribly stifling.

Ilrin stared straight at him.

This was the first time since arriving at the manor that she'd looked at him without averting her eyes.

"If I can ask,"

"Yes."

The answer came quick, as if he'd been waiting.

Ilrin placed the hand she was holding on his thigh.

In her soft voice, she voiced the question she'd held since before the succession ceremony.

"Does looking into your eyes really make your body stiffen?"

Ilrin felt him jolt along the path of her hand on his thigh.

Was it something she shouldn't have asked?

"..."

This time, the silence was long.

Short, but it felt endless.

After a while, Aden's voice came from close by.

His hot hands cupped her face on both sides.

"...Would this be an answer?"

Their noses touched.

Since her eyes were open, they were probably looking right at each other.

Aden stayed still, their breaths mingling.

A distance close enough to feel they were facing each other.

Ilrin thought his breath felt hot.

"If so... could you show me your face?"

If there was even a little light, she felt she could see his face.

Ilrin sensed his hands tense.

He didn't point out that two questions in one night was already a lot.

"Of course."

The answer came lighter than expected.

But his words weren't finished.

Ilrin felt hot breath against her ear.

"But you must promise me something."

"What?"

His voice was sweet.

Sweet and low, like a devil offering the key to forbidden knowledge.

"If you see my face, you can never leave this castle again, Ilrin."

He whispered it while holding her close.

As if, no matter her answer, he wouldn't let go.

Ilrin felt his deep body heat pressing in.

The hands touching her were hot with a strange fervor.

If she'd wanted to run, she wouldn't have asked to see his face.

Ilrin closed her eyes slightly.

She'd vaguely realized it before, but now she was certain.

I like this Winter Lands.

Of course, it was full of cold, strangeness, and frightening things.

But she liked the people of Crimson Delroz who cared for her willingly.

And you, who absolutely refuse to let me go.

Ilrin raised her hand and stroked his shoulder.

It was still cold from the outdoor chill.

But as her hand moved up to trace his neck, it felt hot, just like his hands touching her body.

Growing bolder, she let her fingers brush his lips.

Aden was always the one fidgeting with her lips using his hands or something else.

But tonight was different.

Ilrin caressed his soft lips.

They were slightly parted, as if he wanted to say something.

"..."

Reaching further, her fingers traced what felt like the shape of his face.

Her long-held curiosity about what he looked like eased just a little.

Long lashes brushed over her closed eyes.

"Are you curious about my face?"

Denying it would be a lie.

Ilrin's hand paused.

At the Arlen manor, she'd always been hanging by a thread.

Like clinging to a cliff's edge with one hand, enduring whatever poured down from above.

Unable to see ahead, and looking down only showed the abyss.

This felt like a dream to Ilrin.

Someone waiting when she woke, someone to spend the night with.

"You only get one chance, Ilrin."

Aden whispered in a deep, clear voice.

"If you want to run, run now."

"I'm not running."

Ilrin answered.

His body was now all heat, no chill left.

The hand holding hers moved from her hand to her shoulder.

The wide sleeve followed his touch upward.

The fabric caught on his thumb slid up, baring her slender shoulder without resistance.

Ilrin accepted the weight as he tilted her back.

Something soft touched her back and the back of her head.

It was a pillow against the back of her head.

"Ah."

The bed tilted slightly to the left, and the heat drew closer.

Ilrin knew he'd stopped right in front of her.

He was above me.

A faint, muffled breath touched her neck.

He rubbed his nose against her bridge, then lightly kissed her upper lip.

In that instant, a very faint light illuminated the surroundings.

Ilrin's eyes were slightly closed, but in the darkness, even that tiny light was bright.

Her long lashes trembled and lifted.

Aden's kiss was long.

As if wanting to keep it secret to the end, the time he devoted to exploring her tenderly stretched on.

From her slender arm, he gripped the hands she held to her chest.

Then he pulled back slightly.

"..."

His black hair glimmered in the faint lamplight.

Ilrin touched the bridge of his nose, which had been against hers moments before.

His lips, exhaling hot breath, caught the lamplight.

The deep blue eyes gazing at her were serene.

Ilrin wondered what expression he always wore at night.

"Den."

Ilrin whispered softly.

Aden let out a short burst of breath.

"So you already knew."

He could guess as much, since she hadn't been as surprised as expected.

Ilrin hadn't avoided his gaze since he entered.

"But I still have a lot of questions."

Ilrin whispered softly.

"Questions for tonight end here."

Aden kissed her eyelids.

He noticed the subtle change in Ilrin's expression, just a little different from before the kiss.

"—Saying that, are you the one running away?"

"Yes."

Her answer was quite firm.

Aden finally let out a small laugh.

He raised the white flag.

He scooped her up and sat her on his lap.

"Understood."

It was his knee, where she'd sat once before.

Not as bright as the chandelier light, but being held by him in this lamplight felt new.

Seeing his full form revealed the stark difference in their builds.

When he'd come as Knight Commander, he'd been in thick armor, hard to gauge, but now it was different.

His arms, honed by sword and battle, wrapped around her.

Ilrin looked down at the hands that always heated her, now with fresh wonder on her face.

"What are you curious about?"

He whispered in her ear.

For someone willingly accepting interrogation, his posture was improper.

Ilrin, her face flushed, turned to look at him.

Now that eye contact was fine, she wanted to ask while seeing his face.

"Not showing your expression is cheating."

Before starting the interrogation, Ilrin protested.

"Ah."

Aden pulled her close as if only then realizing.

Ilrin flinched at the touch against her body.

Aden obligingly tilted his face toward hers.

He was the one to be grilled, yet Ilrin was the one blushing.

"Tell me."

This hardly felt like an interrogation.

Ilrin asked anyway, feigning anger.

"Why did you lie?"

It was the obvious question.

Aden laughed.

Ilrin thought of how he'd always nuzzled her ear and elsewhere with that laugh.

He was someone who laughed with a clearer expression than she'd imagined.

It made the rumors of madness, bloodthirst, or preferring sword over words seem unfounded.

"If I said I wanted to look at you too, would you believe me?"

Ilrin tilted her head slightly.

Aden met her eyes as he spoke.

"Do you remember the day we first met?"

She couldn't forget.

Meeting him as Duke Aden de Biplten was memorable, but the day she first arrived in the Winter Lands was unforgettable.

"That day, you were so startled by the calls for me."

Because she thought eye contact was forbidden.

Ilrin laughed.

"The knights of Crimson Delroz know Aden's face, don't they?"

Otherwise, they wouldn't call for him on the battlefield.

"Of course."

It was the right answer, as expected.

Thinking back, he'd been on the battlefield as Knight Commander then.

'Your Grace!' That call wasn't for the Duke of Biplten somewhere else—it was for him.

Ilrin remembered dashing from the carriage and throwing herself at him.

And how she'd startled at the calls and lowered her gaze.

"...You didn't lie all this time just because of that, did you?"

Because I was scared?

No way? Really?

As the silence dragged, Ilrin pulled her face slightly away and looked at him.

Instead of answering, Aden kissed her cheek.

The arms holding her turned from a warm embrace into tight shackles.

She couldn't escape.

"Aden, the answer—"

Her urging for an answer was swallowed by his lips.

Ilrin's words cut off.

Aden turned her to face him properly.

But that was all.

Ilrin swallowed as his presence loomed even closer.

Her face flushed from his body against hers; she couldn't meet Aden's eyes and bowed her head.

"I'm ready for interrogation,"

His words were compliant, but his actions weren't.

He pulled her tight and tilted his head to follow her lowered one.

As if trying to meet her gaze.

Ilrin ducked her even hotter face completely.

Then she flinched, noticing what pressed against her body.