ESBE 06

Chapter 6

For a long while, I could do nothing but stare at Aiden’s back in silence.

Gulp.

I swallowed again.

I wanted to touch his back just once.

One night is okay, so why not two?

If Aiden was willing, I wanted to experience the ecstasy of that night once more.

But what if I woke him up now and asked whether he was interested?

Aiden might think I was incredibly strange.

Although we had mutually agreed to what happened and ended things without any problems, that night hadn’t happened because we were in love with each other. It had happened because we had both been drunk.

If that night had meant something to Aiden, wouldn’t he have sent me a marriage proposal, considering the customs of this world?

But Aiden hadn’t done that.

And now, he was sleeping soundly.

In other words, I wasn’t even a woman in his eyes, so lying beside me didn’t stir any feelings in him whatsoever.

The conclusion was obvious.

I was the only one who had gotten worked up.

Was I always this kind of woman…?

Feeling ashamed of myself, I quickly turned my back to Aiden and closed my eyes.

I should just sleep. We still have such a long way to go…

The setting where a man and woman had to share a bed because there were no rooms available due to a party!

The unexpected situation they had encountered from the very first day was something the Emperor had deliberately arranged to help Aiden, who had turned dark after having his engagement broken off.

A man and woman traveling together who had to share a room because there weren’t enough accommodations?

It was an extremely common setup in love stories told through bardic songs.

It was such a childish and embarrassingly cheesy trope.

But now that it had become his own situation, Aiden found himself rather pleased with the arrangement.

There was just one problem.

If Theodora refused to share a bed with him even under an imperial command, it would be troublesome.

Especially if she realized what he was really thinking, he was sure she would dislike it even more.

“Hmm. Is His Majesty testing whether we are truly loyal to the imperial authority?”

Aiden deliberately crossed his arms, making sure Theodora could see.

“We have no choice.”

He even shook his head as though he were reluctant.

“I will follow the imperial command and use the room provided. Please have someone bring us clothes to change into.”

Then he looked at Theodora, pretending to have no feelings for her whatsoever.

Seeing Aiden’s indifferent attitude toward her, Theodora soon nodded as well.

During dinner, Aiden deliberately remained even more silent while discreetly observing her.

In the bedroom, he lay down first, pretending to be tired, with his back turned toward Theodora.

But he had merely pretended to fall asleep quickly.

All of his attention was focused on Theodora.

He could feel her gaze fixed firmly on his back.

I wonder what Lady Hedesson is thinking right now.

Aiden’s heart pounded.

He worried whether Theodora would realize that he was desperately pretending to remain calm.

Or perhaps she might do something unexpected, such as leave the room because she couldn’t sleep in the same room as a man.

After a long while, Theodora, who had been tossing and turning repeatedly, finally became quiet.

Soon, the only sound he could faintly hear was her soft breathing.

Careful not to make any noise, Aiden slowly turned over.

He had intended to lie flat on his back and look up at the ceiling more comfortably.

But as soon as he settled into position, he changed his mind.

He lay diagonally toward Theodora, propping his head up with one arm.

Theodora was asleep with her back turned toward Aiden.

Her long hair shimmered and curled in the bluish moonlight streaming through the window.

Aiden cautiously reached out as if he wanted to touch her hair, but then withdrew his hand.

If she had been awake, perhaps it would have been different.

But no matter how close they were, even if it was nothing more than a single strand of hair, he couldn’t touch her without permission.

She’s beautiful.

And so Aiden simply gazed at the back of the woman he loved.

Theodora had always been unusually distant from other people and cold toward them.

The memory of her small, rounded shoulders fitting within his arms after their coming-of-age party was still vivid.

So were her blue eyes, breaking apart in ecstasy, and the pale nape of her neck stained red by Aiden’s mark.

He also remembered quietly waiting for an entire year, looking forward to the day when he could love her again.

He had naturally assumed they would marry.

Then came the day when he received the notice of their broken engagement.

Thinking about that day brought back the wound of his recent heartbreak.

Aiden suddenly felt a surge of anger.

She had toyed with him and then discarded him as though he were nothing.

Run away? Who said you could?

Aiden’s lips twisted coldly.

My revenge has already begun, Theodora Luen Hedesson.

He had firmly resolved to carry out a meticulous revenge.

You won’t be able to run away, and you won’t be able to marry whoever you want.

He would take away her freedom.

For the rest of her life.

Aiden’s eyes gleamed with cruel obsession.

You’d better obediently become the Duchess of Wolverlake. I’ll make you love me so much that you won’t be able to go anywhere.

It was then that Theodora shifted in her sleep and turned onto her back.

Since the bed wasn’t particularly wide, her body slipped neatly into Aiden’s arms.

The moment the tip of her right shoulder lightly touched Aiden’s broad chest—

“……!”

Aiden’s startled heart pounded violently.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

No way! Was she waiting for me to turn over?

An adult man and woman who knew everything there was to know about each other were lying in the same bed.

And, as society would have it, he was Aiden van Wolverlake, the Grand Duke reputed to be the most attractive man in the Empire.

There was no way nothing would happen!

Filled with anticipation, Aiden quietly observed Theodora’s condition.

If she had deliberately moved into his arms, he intended to pretend he couldn’t resist and kiss and embrace her.

He would love her with all his heart and show her just how much of a man he could be.

Until she fainted from being unable to withstand his prowess.

There was no way she wouldn’t fall for him.

Then he imagined the surprise he would reveal the next morning.

“My lady was quite charming.”

His plan was to pretend, just as before, that nothing had happened and ask her to keep the fact that they had spent the night together a secret.

Exactly as Theodora had done.

Perhaps it would be satisfying to let her know how I felt that night before carrying out my next scheme.

Just imagining it made him feel as though the wound of his heartbreak had healed in an instant.

But Aiden soon rejected the thought and steeled himself.

I’m not such an easy man to deal with. I’m beginning my revenge now!

Whether he was excited by the thought of revenge or by the thought of doing this and that with the woman he had set his heart on, Aiden couldn’t tell.

Either way, his heart began pounding even harder.

Even though he hadn’t been drinking, his face grew hot just as it had on the night of their coming-of-age party.

Calm down.

Aiden desperately pretended to remain composed as he looked at Theodora, who he thought was waiting for him.

“……”

But reality was utterly disappointing.

No matter how closely he looked, Theodora appeared to be sound asleep.

In other words, not only was his revenge impossible at the moment, but the things he had briefly hoped might happen weren’t going to happen either.

“……”

Disappointment and regret washed over him.

Just the fact that nothing was happening made him feel as though he had been rejected all over again.

Aiden quietly smacked his lips and stared at Theodora.

Her long eyelashes, peacefully resting against her cheeks, looked beautiful.

Her eyebrows, gracefully curved like crescent moons, were elegant as well, while her rounded forehead and perfectly shaped nose were lovely.

His gaze drifted slightly lower.

Theodora’s red lips looked tempting.

It was the very same face he had held passionately in his arms that drunken night, gazing at it with both his eyes and his heart until dawn.

Haah.

Aiden swallowed the sigh that escaped him out of longing.

At the same time, the growing presence of his own masculinity seemed to provoke him, urging him to forcibly relive the sensations of that night.

The Emperor had already sanctioned this night.

Furthermore, if he used his own power as a weapon, he could deal with the aftermath however he pleased.

But Aiden lightly bit his lip and suppressed the impulse.

If that had been what I wanted, I would have sent an official order with the force of law from the beginning. I wouldn’t have gone about it this way.

Aiden reminded himself of his true purpose.

What he wanted wasn’t to forcibly hold Theodora captive.

He wanted her to love him so much that she would willingly be unable to leave.

But what if he ignored her wishes completely and simply did whatever he wanted?

The proud Lady Hedesson would despise him for the rest of her life.

Her gaze would become even colder than the one she had given her rivals at the academy.

Then…

Since she hadn’t consented, he obviously had to endure.

Aiden convinced himself of that.

Damn it.

At the same time, he realized that sharing a bed with Theodora wasn’t entirely pleasant for him after all.

The Emperor’s arrangement, which he had liked only moments ago, was turning out to be very different from what he had expected.

He had thought he would be happy about the Emperor’s meddling.

Instead, he felt like a monk who had just begun a life of asceticism.

There was no hell worse than this.

How am I supposed to sleep like this?

Aiden decided that he would send a separate messenger to the Emperor and have this torturous arrangement abolished.

I’ll handle everything myself.

Just then, Theodora shifted once more and turned onto her side.

Toward Aiden.

Her nose brushed against the nape of his neck.

Her warm, quiet breath gently tickled his skin.

The soft, sweet scent of Theodora reached the tip of his nose.

His heart immediately began running wild like a beast.

Even his masculinity seemed to grow angry at his patience.

“!”

Aiden’s body stiffened like stone.

He lowered his eyes slightly and checked Theodora’s condition.

She was still sleeping completely unaware of the world.

“……”

Aiden bit down firmly on his lower lip.

It hurt enough to sting, but that wasn’t important right now.

No matter what his instincts said, he had to endure.

Hoo… endure. Even a starving beast waits when it hunts.

He scolded himself and quietly regulated his breathing.

A sharp sting suddenly brought him back to his senses.

He could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

His lip had split.

Aiden was simply relieved that, at least this way, he could regain some of his reason.

And he realized that it would be difficult to fall asleep like this.

After watching Theodora for a long time, Aiden murmured so quietly that only he could hear himself.

“This is absolutely not because I like it.”

Then he raised his hand and very lightly encircled her shoulder.

However, he couldn’t bring himself to actually touch her soft skin, so his hand merely hovered around her as though embracing her.

He said it wasn’t because he liked it, but even that alone made him feel happy.

He wanted to tighten his grip and pull her firmly against him by the waist.

But if he did that without her permission, Theodora might hate him instead of falling for him.

Damn it.

Aiden deliberately denied his feelings and instead thought about the revenge he planned to carry out.

This is a warning that you are in the palm of my hand, my lady—and that you will have no freedom of your own.