## An Unexpected Request
"Kaian. I want to be obsessed over."
How many times had he felt dizzy, as if he'd been struck on the head by Claudel's unexpected words?
Third time? Fourth?
Kaian wasn't sure, but he was certain it wasn't just once.
"Obsessed over... You want to get hurt?"
"Yes."
The problem was so random that even Kaian's sharp mind couldn't figure out the context.
"...Obsessed over? How?"
However, Claudel had only said one word—'obsessed'—and the red desire that had been hidden between the folds of his brain began seeping out of his stimulated mind.
Thinking of Claudel, who was delicate and fragile, many things he hadn't even tried in their short time together fought against each other as obsessions.
*No. That's not it.*
Kaian, who had finally managed to hold onto his senses, asked Claudel,
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Claudel clearly looked upset about something.
"Try to explain it properly."
"That is..."
Until now, there were no maids in the capital mansion to wait on the mistress.
The Duke of Temnes had had such difficulty with virgins hiding in his bedroom at night even on his estate that there was no reason to hire a maid for the capital mansion.
While the head of the family went off to war, the person who kept the vacant position was Baron Colon, a capable man who also served as the castle's butler.
He was a man who seemed to have been born with the rules of the Temnes family embedded in him, and he devoted his body and soul to the glory of the house.
On the one hand, he was quite rational and frugal, and even the way he managed and cherished the family's assets was an expression of his endless loyalty.
Baron Colon had no employees in the capital for the Duke of Temnes, except for a butler whom he personally taught, a cook from Rowen, and two servants who would wait on Kaian.
Only in Rowen was there a need to fill the mistress's side with the best, but there was no need for the capital.
Wasn't there a very convenient 'salon' system?
The marriage had been like roasting beans in a lightning storm, and the decision to attend a royal event had also been sudden.
If he'd had enough time, the meticulous butler would not have handled things this way, but no matter how thorough Baron Colon was, it was natural that he wouldn't have thought the head of the house would abandon the maid and seamstress in the hunting field and bring his wife to the mansion as if abducting her.
Anyway, in the absence of Hannah and Madame Marcel, the people serving Claudel were maids who'd been hired temporarily on the recommendation of Madame Cronach of Salon Arvo, who were all quite spirited.
Unfortunately, because their careers were short and there was no one in the duchy to supervise the maids properly, they lacked proper training.
*'She's very pretty, but I think it's for ornamental purposes only.'*
*'The Duke deserves to have high standards.'*
Claudel had called them in.
*'Wait a moment. What do you mean by what you just said?'*
As she questioned them, the maids, who became the focus of her attention, immediately got down on their knees and begged her.
*'Sorry, Duchess.'*
*'Please forgive us. Please have mercy.'*
*'I'm asking what you meant.'*
It was true that Claudel lacked experience in the social world, and that she had many worries about living in a terminal marriage with an unfamiliar husband due to a sudden union. But she wasn't stupid.
She'd received as much education as Irena had, learning what she needed to learn as a duke's young lady, and the reason she could scold the maids at times like this was because she'd learned from Kaian that presence was important.
The maids, who seemed meek and quiet, were frightened by her questioning and started crying without saying much more.
*'There's a book we read when we're bored.'*
*'It's a book about a love story between a handsome nobleman and a young lady.'*
It was a story that somehow felt familiar.
*'If you look there, you'll see the traces of colorful lips.'*
*'There's a story about him persistently marking her all night... No.'*
The problem was that the maids, who excused themselves by saying, *'It's not because you don't have any,'* glanced at Claudel's clean, white shoulders and neck.
"What about low-quality books?"
At Kaian's words, Claudel shut her mouth.
This was a book that Hannah had chosen as her favorite and that both she and Irena had read.
There was no way he knew about women's little pleasures.
Even though it was unfair, Claudel couldn't bring shame to the elegant Princess of Vermont and her older sister, who was called the Jewel of the North, so Claudel clenched her fists and made her own statement.
"Anyway, I was embarrassed."
"What are you embarrassed about?"
As Claudel undid her belt, her gown fell, exposing her slender shoulders.
The white skin with only the shoulder straps of her undergarment looked as pale, elastic, and smooth as warm fresh cheese that had just been taken out of brine.
"You've never done anything like that before."
"Like what?"
"Leaving lip marks."
Kaian frowned.
"Why would I do that?"
"It says it a lot in books."
"That book is wrong."
"Hannah asked that question too."
What had the servant who'd given her soul to Temnes asked?
"Hannah?"
"Is it true that my relationship with the Duke is harmonious?"
Kaian touched his forehead and sighed. He decided that when he returned to the territory, he would summon his wife's loyalists and make them renew their oath of loyalty.
"Yes? Kaian."
"No. Don't even dream of that."
"Why?"
He felt something bubbling inside him. However, he persevered and began to explain to Claudel.
"If I hit you hard, you'll get a bruise. The spot where you're hit will hurt."
When Claudel nodded as if she was listening, Kaian felt strangely more frustrated.
"It's caused by burst blood vessels. Even if you're struck, there will be bruises."
"Yes."
"That's what you're talking about. It's the same thing that happens when you're hit."
However, Claudel, who listened to Kaian's straightforward explanation, was unconvinced.
"How is this different from asking you to hit me now?"
"The book says it's marks of colorful flower petals and tooth marks from persistent biting."
*Biting.* Kaian was aghast.
*Because the crocodile's bite wasn't enough?*
If he bit Claudel hard enough to leave tooth marks, it would take more than ten days for her body to heal enough to remove all traces.
No, absolutely not. Kaian spoke even more coldly.
"It must have been written by a man obsessed with making money."
"Isn't it in the book because it feels good?"
"That's nonsense. It's going to hurt terribly."
Kaian pledged to find all the novels that had planted false information in Claudel, prohibit their sale, designate them as banned books, and burn them.
Moreover, the long-awaited leisure time that he'd been holding onto and wanting to savor was dwindling due to her inexplicable argument. He'd been looking forward to this moment so much.
Unaware of her husband's thoughts, Claudel began begging him to try it.
"Then just try it once and see if it's good or not. Please?"
She didn't seem aware of it, but at some point during their journey together from Rowen, when she wanted something, she didn't ask him for permission—she pleaded with him.
Kaian knew very well that Claudel found him intimidating, so he was sensitive to such seemingly insignificant changes in attitude.
*Can I?* Instead of carefully lowering her gaze and asking, she clung to him by holding onto the hem of his clothes or his arm, saying *Please* or *I want to try.*
He thought she acted that way because she was more comfortable with him than she used to be.
There was a time when he'd been wracking his brain, thinking that he didn't know how on earth a couple could become closer, so he was glad to see her warmer attitude.
*You're asking me for something like this?*
Of course, it would feel good, but if he did what he wanted, Claudel might get hurt. While Kaian was unable to decide, Claudel clung to him in earnest.
"I won't make a sound even if it hurts."
What should he do with his wife, who pressed her beautiful, flower-like lips together and urged him to commit sensual acts, her displeasure filling her dazzlingly pretty face?
*Father, why didn't you teach me the duties of a head of household and tell me how to conduct myself toward my wife?*
Kaian felt resentful of his ancestor, the Duke of Temnes, who'd passed away long ago. No matter how much he thought about it, the training he'd received for successors seemed a bit lacking for practical use.
Kaian sighed and grasped Claudel's arm. Her thin wrist was barely a handful in his grip, so he held it loosely.
He slowly brought his lips to the delicate skin on the inside of her arm.
Although he'd kissed her countless times, he'd never thought of marking Claudel's body like that.
He hesitated and opened his mouth.
Suddenly, his wife's eyes met his, and she was looking at him with bright eyes as if expecting something.
As soon as Kaian's eyes met hers, he found this situation absurd.
"No. I can't do it."
"Why? Why can't you?"
*Why?* After repeating the question as if it echoed inside him, Kaian realized.
He hated to hurt Claudel.
To him, Claudel had been a sick woman from the beginning. He'd saved her and injured her—she was also the woman he'd hurt.
He didn't want to do something that felt like harm to such a person, so no matter how much Claudel tried to push him, his body wouldn't move, as stiff as stone.
"Then do you want me to bite you?"
"..."
The young wife, still shy, was provocative when her curiosity overcame her reserve.
This was the only place in the world where he could see Claudel like this.
Kaian took Claudel, who was sitting on a chair, to the bed and laid her down.
Her eyes were still shining brightly as if she expected him to give her something to satisfy her curiosity.
"You're still fearless."
"You only just realized I have no fear? Hurry, come on. Try it now."
But what made it entertaining to be with Claudel was that she always challenged him like this, and whenever Kaian made a move, she retreated.
Kaian lowered his voice a level.
"I suppose you've always been dissatisfied?"
"Yes?"
Claudel was startled just by the lowering of his voice.
"Right. I was a man who couldn't satisfy even my wife."
"No, that's not it."
"My wife has no shame in asking for this and that."
The amber-colored eyes moved left and right, avoiding his gaze.
"Ah, all right. If you don't want to, don't do it."
"I never said I didn't want to."
Claudel's slender neck was filled with her scent.
Kaian kissed her ear and the nape of her neck before capturing her lips.
As she wished.
He let himself go a little more and hungrily explored her moist, delectable mouth, alternating between upper and lower lips.
That alone made Claudel tense, her body stiffening as she didn't know what to do.
"Ha. Wait a moment. Stop this."
Kaian looked down, trapping Claudel under his arms.
"You know we haven't even started yet, right?"
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