In the Doghouse - Chapter 220
At first, Courtney had intended to hold Richard gently and tenderly, thinking he deserved some softness after being so thoroughly pushed the previous day. Though he had assured her he was fine, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have gone a bit overboard.
But as she came to her senses, she realized she had fallen into familiar patterns again. Instead of the care she had intended, her habitual roughness had taken over.
With a heavy, subdued voice, she asked,
“Did I… go too far?”
“Not at all.”
Richard’s reply was firm, his expression genuinely puzzled by her question. Wasn’t the misunderstanding about him being unwell already resolved?
Given the far more intense things they’d done in the past, her question did seem out of place. She rephrased her inquiry.
“Was it boring, then?”
“Not in the slightest.”
He dismissed her binary thinking without hesitation, yet Courtney still looked dissatisfied, as if something continued to nag at her.
Richard read her thoughts easily. She seemed upset that, in her excitement, things might have veered off course from her intentions. Courtney, possessing a far more controlling nature than she likely realized, constantly sought perfection in their play.
It was a quality that made her an exceptional master. Her pursuit of mastery allowed her to hone her role further each day, ultimately enabling her to train and manage an unruly man like Richard with precision.
Beyond their personal dynamic, this same meticulousness had transformed Courtney Devon into a well-respected Empress, even without substantial family connections to bolster her authority.
However, this tendency wasn’t without its downsides. No moment could ever be entirely perfect. Sometimes, things would go awry, or minor mistakes would happen. But Richard loved every part of her, imperfections included. He hoped she could learn to show herself the same grace.
As he regarded her with a slightly mischievous gaze, Courtney, who had been silently reflecting, noticed and pouted.
“What?”
“It’s just very like you to want to do everything perfectly.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her brow furrowed at the remark, finding it odd and mildly irritating. It wasn’t like Richard, who often behaved like an overgrown puppy, to sound so mature. How dare he speak like he was the adult in the room?
Just as her temper began to flare, Richard did the unexpected—he met her frustration with a calm and straightforward confession.
“It means I love that about you, too.”
Caught off guard by the sudden declaration, Courtney’s face turned red as a beet. Was he trying to deflect her annoyance with sweet talk? She cast him a skeptical sideways glance.
But part of her understood what he meant. She had a bad habit of assigning scores to everything, even their intimate moments as a couple. The idea of doing well was ingrained deep in her psyche.
She wasn’t used to unconditional love. Like Richard, she was still terribly unskilled when it came to navigating such emotions.
Quietly, she burrowed into his arms. Richard, as if soothing a child, gently patted her back. How long did they stay like that? Eventually, without having cleaned themselves or said another word, the two drifted off into a peaceful slumber, lulled by the warm and tranquil summer air.
* * *
The remaining days unfolded much as expected. Cooking their own meals and changing the sheets—things that might have been chores—became joyful simply because they did them together.
As per Courtney’s plan, she also trained Richard in every conceivable spot around the property: the corridors, the backyard, the kitchen, even the stables.
Naturally, she always took care to clean him up afterward, applying ointments and ensuring he was tended to. Of course, more often than not, she was the one to collapse first.
Her earlier worry that Richard might fall ill turned out to be completely baseless. Despite the grueling nature of their activities, Richard seemed to radiate energy, his face glowing more brightly than ever.
By the end of their retreat, the chores—preparing meals, cleaning up evidence of their escapades—fell mostly to him.
When the day came to leave the villa, it was Courtney, not Richard, who looked utterly drained as she climbed into the carriage. Feeling guilty for being the one to exhaust her, Richard anxiously offered his lap.
“Would you like to lie down?”
“Yes, I think I will.”
Without hesitation, Courtney rested her head on his legs. Richard busied himself, pulling the curtains closed and placing a blanket beneath her legs.
Courtney watched his flurry of movements with half-lidded eyes, making no effort to assist. After all, she had suffered enough trying to keep up with his boundless energy—it was only fair.
The carriage began to move, accompanied by the entourage of guards and servants from the palace. The gentle vibrations lulled Courtney into a drowsy haze.
The weather had been cooler of late, but today was unusually warm. Beads of sweat formed on her neck. Noticing this, Richard removed the enchanted bracelet from his own wrist and slipped it onto hers, hoping to cool her down.
Courtney studied his face in silence, noting a small scratch on his cheek that she hadn’t noticed before. Reaching up, she brushed her fingers over it gently.
“You had fun, didn’t you?”
Richard looked down at her, his expression unreadable as his throat tightened with emotion. Unable to speak, he simply nodded. Smiling faintly, Courtney continued.
“Let’s come back again.”
“Yes, definitely…!”
With a soft chuckle, Courtney adjusted herself more comfortably on his lap, allowing herself to relax.
This trip had gone exactly as she’d planned. Their bond had deepened, and Courtney had come away with a slightly altered perspective.
She had always strived for perfection in everything. But despite her rise from poverty to becoming the most noble woman in the empire, Courtney Devon’s life was far from flawless.
Yet, that didn’t mean it wasn’t happy. In fact, at least for now, things were perfect just as they were. With that peaceful thought, Courtney closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
The carriage rolled onward, racing back toward the palace—where two children were already plotting an adorable coup d état. After all, they needed to reclaim their mother from their father and secure possession of the Emperor’s seal.
