Chapter 66
Her heart dropped with a lurch.
‘…Is that a threat or a confession?’
Given his usual personality, it was surely the former.
But the words alone sounded like “I want to spend my whole life with you.”
‘He’s going to give people the wrong idea.’
Lucy’s heart pounded on its own.
If she wanted to keep playing along with his mood, she should say what he wanted to hear.
But Lucy swallowed and steadied herself.
‘Still, no is no.’
She couldn’t sign without a safety net.
A contract was important. Her life was precious.
Soon, she glanced at Edward and opened her mouth.
“He… heheh.”
“…”
“I may be an ambitious climber, but how could I ever sink my teeth into your precious, pretty back?”
“…Pretty?”
“Yes. It’s very pretty?”
This was less flattery and more fact.
‘The back I saw while washing him was terribly pretty.’
The prettiest back she’d ever seen.
Though Edward was the first man’s bare back she’d ever seen, except for her sisters.
“I couldn’t possibly bleed a back that pretty.”
Edward’s face went strangely stiff.
‘…Did I upset him by saying pretty instead of handsome?’
Lucy watched his mood again.
But Edward’s mind had gone somewhere else.
“Master, you’re so pretty here, and here too.”
“Which is why I want to do this for you.”
The Lucy from his dream, whispering those words.
The way she’d smiled, so wickedly.
And the waist that had straddled him and moved, how thin it had been. And her b*****s, swaying in the moonlight with every motion, how pretty they’d been.
The small pomegranate seeds hanging at their tips, tempting him. How badly he’d wanted to put them in his mouth and swallow.
‘Who’s calling who pretty.’
Edward thought it was Lucy’s body, soft and supple, that was pretty.
‘…No.’
Strictly speaking, that was only his dream. Saying her body was pretty might be a strange thing.
‘Since I don’t know until I’ve actually seen it bare.’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, what Lucy had said earlier came chaining back.
“For example… if you and I were to do something that might lead to a… a child!”
Such insolent words.
‘So.’
She did have it in her heart, after all. The wish to be cherished by him.
He was pleased to know he wasn’t the only one thinking it, that Lucy felt it too.
So that small, cute head of hers had been holding such naughty thoughts.
The clause she insisted on still didn’t sit well with him, but…
Knowing that she wanted him, that she liked his body, the sour mood turned sweet again.
Pretty meant she liked it, after all.
Edward’s heart lightened.
‘…Then shall I give in?’
He still didn’t like the clause, but…
‘It’s all just talk under the assumption of parting.’
If he simply never let a divorce happen, then what did it matter if the clause was in the contract or not?
With that settled, Edward felt even lighter.
At the same time, the strange pressure weighing on the air vanished.
Lucy, relieved, quietly added.
“Erm, this clause is for you too, Your Grace. You haven’t forgotten our contract, have you? Once you become a complete incarnation, you can find your true mate. That’s what I said.”
“…”
“When that person appears, it’s only natural for me to step aside…”
Grind.
Lucy stopped mid-sentence and flinched.
Edward glanced down at the armrest he’d snapped off, then calmly fit it back into place as if he hadn’t broken it at all.
Then he smiled bright, as if nothing had happened.
“A true mate. Right.”
“Right?”
“Though hearing it now, Lucy, it sounds like it applies to you as well.”
“Pardon?”
“It sounds like you’re saying if someone better comes along for you, I should agree to part ways cleanly and step aside. Surely that’s not what you mean by this clause…”
“Yes? How could I?!”
“Right. Where would you ever find a man more perfect than me.”
‘Do you want to be angry or brag?’
Lucy was sweating, but she played along.
“Of course. Where would I ever find another man like you, Your Grace?”
“For the record, even the crown prince is uglier than me.”
“Isn’t that only natural? Our duke is the prettiest in the world!”
“…You like it that much?”
“Don’t even ask. I could live off your face alone for a hundred years.”
“…”
“Anyway, I’d never be the one to ask for this clause!”
Afraid the mood might turn again, Lucy added one last coquettish note.
“Who else would I ever marry but you, Your Grace?”
And she meant it.
‘He’s rich, he’s handsome, and in bed… he’s probably good too.’
She might not know about later, but right now, she couldn’t find a better match than Edward.
Edward was likely the first and last man to sign a contract like this.
At those words, the red eyes watching her wavered.
“…Fine.”
Then Edward pressed his seal onto the contract, added clause and all.
Lucy held the signed contract close and smiled bright.
* * *
A few more days passed.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“We’ll see you again next time!”
The eager dress designers called out with flushed faces and filed out of the reception room in a crowd.
Lucy waved until the last one was gone, then flopped over the sofa like a limp rice cake.
“…E… Exhausted.”
The table was piled high with papers, mountains of fabric samples and dress designs.
Designs for the dresses Lucy would have to wear as duchess.
‘I’d be fine just wearing the dresses already in the castle.’
It had been nice at first, but it felt more and more excessive.
‘Even so, dozens of dresses every single day is a bit…’
She’d quietly hinted it was too much, but Edward’s answer had been simple.
“Just get everything fitted new.”
“Pardon? But…”
“All the duchess’s old dresses are in the Grand Madam’s hands anyway. Get new ones. Buy them all if you like.”
Of course, she didn’t hate being given new clothes…
‘But at this point, it’s tiring.’
More than anything, having to change in and out of dozens of dresses a day was the real problem.
‘And why are there so many wedding dress designs?’
Maybe because among the designs were for the upcoming wedding ceremony. There were far, far too many.
And Thesseron’s wedding dresses came with demanding conditions from the start.
Splendid but modest. Refined but honoring old tradition. Sensual yet innocent. Elegant, yet approachable to the people of the territory.
Just hearing it, it sounded like the demands of a nightmare client. But the designers burned with passion.
“We’ll whip up something truly stunning!”
“Look forward to it, future duchess!”
So they’d shouted, and today they’d swept through again, making Lucy change into dozens of wedding dresses over several hours.
Drained of every drop of energy, Lucy mumbled without thinking.
“I’ll just pick anything…”
“You mustn’t, my lady.”
‘Oh no.’
And at the sound, she realized she wasn’t alone.
It was Rosendal, who had been quietly assisting her all the while.
“There are still more things for you to see.”
Rosendal was looking at Lucy with her usual stern face.
“Erm… could I see them tomorrow instead, Rosendal?”
“You have etiquette lessons tomorrow. And you must not use formal speech with me. The same goes for Tepe and Gorgo.”
“Ah, sorry. I mean… I’ll fix it…”
“You must correct this before the wedding.”
Her words were polite, but cold.
“I do think highly of you for having holy power, my lady.”
“…”
“But the position of duchess requires much more than holy power. Please understand.”
‘Oh dear.’
As Lucy quietly gauged Rosendal’s mood, the maids waiting outside bustled in and began tidying the fabrics and designs.
“W-Well then, please rest. Duchess… no, my lady.”
“…”
And with that painfully awkward farewell, they withdrew stiffly.
Lucy smiled a little bitterly at the sight.
‘It was already awkward.’
Things between the servants and Lucy had grown far more strained than before.
Lucy knew well that at this point, even saying she was really just a hired worker with a contract, and that the document just happened to be a marriage certificate, wouldn’t do any good.
‘Anyway, as Rosendal says, I do have to act the part of duchess.’
She couldn’t say whether it would go well.
And the Grand Madam was still living in the castle, too.
Just as she thought of the Grand Madam, someone came hurrying into the reception room.
The one maid among all she’d met who didn’t seem awkward around Lucy.
“My lady, I asked the kitchen and had some herbal tea brewed for you.”
“Clara?”
