Chapter 66

As she felt her body turn, she heard a 'thud' as the door closed behind her. Only then did Frida realize that she had been kissing Daniel with the door wide open. The guards must have seen them; this was a disaster. With such an embarrassing scene exposed, the dignity of the duchess and duke would be ruined. More seriously, this wasn't the first time they had been caught in such a situation. Recently, Daniel had been showing up unexpectedly, without warning, and kissing her regardless of who might see, at any time and place. She had tried to push him away, intending to warn him to stop, but instead, her hand was caught by him. He slipped his fingers between hers, interlocking them, and pushed her against the door. Her hand, waist, and finally her back touched the door. Daniel kissed her lips without hesitation, exploring her mouth and pressing closer. She couldn't think of anything else. Despite having a lot to say, nothing came to mind. When their lips parted, he moved to her earlobe, then her neck, not giving her a chance to speak, making it hard for her to even breathe. Held between the door and Daniel, she felt a strange sensation that overshadowed her fear of falling. For some time now, whenever Daniel touched her or pressed against her, her body would tingle strangely. She couldn't quite describe it, but something kept bubbling up from deep inside her. Sometimes she felt dizzy, and other times her whole body itched as if she had hives, making her want to thrash about. When the heat added to it, she felt as if she would suffocate. A muffled, embarrassing sound rose to the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't open her mouth. If she did, she would surely forget her dignity and make indecent noises. Both her governess and her mother had said that a proper lady should maintain her dignity and accept her husband's advances with a composed and proper posture. But how could she maintain her dignity in this situation? She wished he would stop, but Daniel, oblivious, moved his lips down to her neck and bit the exposed skin between her clothes. "Ah." She finally let out a strange, indescribable moan. Frida twisted her body violently and pushed Daniel's shoulder with one arm. The embarrassment was so intense that it seemed to give her superhuman strength. Surprisingly, Daniel was pushed back by her force. She wasn't sure which was more shocking: that she had forgotten her dignity or that he had been pushed back. Her face was so hot it felt as if it had been scorched by the sun. Frida glared at Daniel, who was breathing heavily, with a resentful look. "D-Daniel! That's not how a noble should behave. You need to maintain your dignity." Her scolding expression was subtly fierce. Daniel, whose lips were wet and shiny, let go of Frida and set her down on the ground. His unsteady breathing sounded fierce even to him. 'I'm going to lose it.' Daniel pressed his forehead against the door, holding Frida in his arms, waiting for the cold wooden door to cool his head. But Frida kept squirming beneath him. "D-Daniel. I feel suffocated." She had resolved to act composed in front of Daniel, but she had momentarily forgotten. "Stay still. If you don't want to see the human side of me, the one without any dignity." Ha, human. Strip away the surface, and there's no difference from an animal. A self-deprecating laugh escaped him, and he grinned foolishly. He didn't worry that his harsh words might surprise his wife. After all, his wife, like Riccardo, who had brought in bad influences, sometimes had a knack for saying harsh things in a cute way. "That's not right. We were taught that when performing marital duties, one must always maintain dignity and treat the other with respect." "Who taught you that?" "The governess of the Harkbon family." Frida whispered it as if it were a great secret. "Besides, it's not even dark yet. It's too early for this." 'Huh... What should I teach her first?' Feeling both frustrated and strangely excited, the corners of his mouth turned up. Daniel gently stroked the cute nape of her neck, which was bouncing beneath his chest. "Frida, listen. We will do more than you imagine. That's what married couples do." If Dominic heard this, he might snort and say, "What do you know about marriage?" But Dominic was the one who knew nothing. After Daniel's marriage was decided, Riccardo stuck to his side, lecturing him for days about the affairs of married couples. The advice wasn't entirely useless, but he was naturally good at practical matters, so he learned a lot on his own. At least, he knew they would do more than just kiss. His patience was almost at its breaking point. But even if he was in a hurry, he needed to recover. He pulled Frida's arm and kissed her hand. "Wait. Once I'm better, I'll make sure to fulfill the 'duties of a wife' that you keep talking about." Trapped between Daniel and the door, Frida lifted her head through the narrow gap. She had been trying to say this for a while. But Daniel left early in the morning, and the guards at the stairs kept saying she couldn't go out no matter how much she pleaded. She was desperate to seize an opportunity. "I'm better now, Daniel. Look. I don't have a fever anymore. I'm fine now." Feeling that making a sad face wasn't enough, Frida started stomping her small feet. She grabbed Daniel's hand and placed it on her forehead, flashing her eyes. "What do you think? No fever, right? I'm definitely better. I'm sure of it." A few days ago, she had greeted the emperor and his entourage very elegantly by the side of Daniel, flawlessly, as the Harkbon family governess had taught her. But that was it. Since then, she had been confined to this room, unable to step outside. Muriel, who had become busier, only visited once a day. The Countess of Boyld, who came to see her every morning, complained about being harassed by the emperor's mistress and said she had started feeling morning sickness. Everyone was busy, but she was just idling around. This was unacceptable. As the Duchess of Rihard, she couldn't show such an irresponsible and lazy attitude. "The Countess of Butain complains every day about why she came to such a remote place. It's too hard for Matilda to handle alone. Daniel, let me go out. Okay?" A deep, enigmatic smile spread across Daniel's lips. Did he agree with her? Frida tilted her head and looked up at him. Daniel, who had been staring at her, slowly opened his lips as if in deep thought. "I still don't believe it." "It's true. I'm really better. I've been eating so much. Muriel even said I've gained weight." His lips seemed to curl up slightly. "Then I need to check. To see if you're really better." "Check?" "Yes." Daniel, who was already very close, closed the distance even more and wrapped his arms around Frida's waist and neck. "I'm going to give you a very long kiss now." "What? Again?" Daniel, watching her wide eyes, gently stroked her neck with his thumb. "If you're really better, you should be able to handle a kiss, right?" "W-Well, yeah..." She tried to maintain a dignified and proper posture, but every place he touched felt as if it had been scorched by the sun, and her strength drained from her body. He couldn't tell if Daniel's eyes were originally red or if they had turned red because of her. "But Daniel, we've kissed a lot. Is there really a need to check with a kiss?" "Well..." He smiled slyly, lowered his lips, and grabbed the sash around her waist. "How about we do something else?"

Dignity, face, and manners. These three words, tightly packed in her mind, scattered and disappeared in an instant at the terribly seductive smile of her husband. *** On a field not far from the duchy castle, the beaters ran into the forest, making loud noises. Whiz. Thud! Heinrich's arrow pierced the head of a deer that had been startled by the beaters' noise. Clap, clap. The emperor lightly clapped his hands. "Impressive, Heinrich. That's the fifth hit in a row." Of course. I was thinking of that bastard Daniel and shot the deer. Bastard. Disloyal bastard! Leaving me to deal with the emperor while he stays inside the castle? This son of a bitch. I'll kill him! The arrow, filled with anger, drew a large parabola and hit the body of a pheasant that no one had seen. A fierce, murderous aura radiated from him, as if he would pierce anything that got in his way. This time, Leopold's arrow flew into the forest. It didn't seem like he was aiming at anything. There was no movement in the direction of the emperor's arrow. The emperor had been aimlessly shooting arrows into the forest since morning. 'If he's not interested in hunting, why did he come out?' Heinrich, with a stern look that would have made the Chamberlain call him disloyal and disrespectful, glanced at the emperor. In fact, it wasn't just today. The emperor had been like this since he arrived at the duchy castle. "Such a barbaric and backward place is a first for me!" When the notorious mistress openly complained, he remained indifferent. The emperor, who had handed his bow and arrows to a servant, stared at the sky, which was a beautiful blue, and folded his arms. At such times, he looked like a man who had lost his soul... Seeing that the emperor had no interest in hunting, Heinrich also threw his bow to a servant standing behind him. "If my brother gets better soon, you'll have less trouble." At least he had some sense, which was a relief. Heinrich, hiding his true feelings, clenched his teeth and smoothed out the wrinkles around his eyes. "Ha. It's a bother, Your Majesty. I'm honored to have the opportunity to serve you." The words he spouted, though insincere, made him shudder. He wanted to put his hand inside his clothes and scratch vigorously. The emperor, who had been looking at the dense forest, suddenly turned to Heinrich. After a long pause, an unexpected statement came from the emperor's lips. "...She also seemed to be in poor health." Her? Heinrich, who had been frowning, soon understood what the emperor meant. "Ah, you mean the Duchess of Rihard. Yes, she was ill for almost ten days before Your Majesty arrived." "Ten days?" For the first time today, emotion could be seen in the blue eyes that peeked through the emperor's golden hair. The emperor seemed overly surprised to hear that someone else's wife was ill. "Yes. She was unconscious for quite a while. The people of the duchy castle were very worried, thinking that something really bad might happen this time." "This time?" As the emperor repeated the words like a parrot, dark clouds gathered behind him. "They say she often falls ill. Your Majesty knows what the daughters of the Harkbon family are like, don't you? It would be more surprising if she were fine." Heinrich called a servant who was standing a distance away. "You there. Bring the emperor's horse." The knights who were following the emperor finally noticed the darkening sky and began to move busily. "We should return to the castle, Your Majesty. It looks like a heavy rain is coming soon." When Heinrich turned his head, he saw the emperor with a slightly unfamiliar face. Leopold Bolshatak II. A man with the perfect bloodline of Rihard and Baiachen. A man who was placed on the throne by the two families, which had been dormant for three hundred years. According to rumors, Empress Margaret truly aimed for the position of empress. Why she made her son the emperor instead of her husband, I can guess, but I'm not sure. Anyway, as befitting the emperor, who inherited the ruthless and cold-blooded nature of the Baiachen family, he didn't get his hands dirty. He sat comfortably in Schendal Castle and made Daniel do all the dirty and terrifying work. People say that the empress was behind the vicious acts of sending spies and assassins to eliminate potential rival families across the empire, but... If you have a little intuition, you can see things. To Heinrich, all the arrows were aimed at his mother and Daniel, while the one who retreated and enjoyed this situation in a despicable way was this man. Emperor Leopold Bolshatak II. The eyes of the emperor, who had no blood or tears, were directionless and wavered, like an approaching capricious storm.