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Benedict pulled a belt from his waist with a stern face.
Then he said to Elena, who was staring at him in amazement.
“You must never cross this limit.
Do you understand?”
“Ah...”
Only then did Elena realize Benedict's intentions.
She muttered, staring at the long belt placed in the middle of the large bed.
“Draw a line?
You're not even a child...”
She mumbled quietly, but Benedict, with his keen senses, heard the complaint clearly.
But he was the one who felt wronged.
“Of course, I'm not a child, so it's not like that-!”
Benedict could not continue, and fell silent.
He could barely swallow the words he was about to say, that they would lie in the same bed, and that she, who loved him so much, might have malicious intentions towards him and take advantage of him.
'She's obviously following me.'
Finally, he lay down on the edge of the bed, where the belt traced a line, pulling the covers up to his neck.
He stayed awake until Elena climbed onto the bed.
“Don't you draw the line right in the middle?
You'll be the loser, Archduke.”
In contrast to his tense demeanor, Elena's voice was calmer than usual.
“My side is very wide.” (Because she is thinner and smaller than him)
She laughed as she crawled under the covers onto the other half of the bed.
As Benedict hunched his shoulders tightly into the space, trying not to cross the line, little Elena looked completely at ease.
But Benedict, indifferent, warned her sternly.
“Don't even think about crossing the line.”
“Yes, yes, good night.”
With a passing answer, the lamp beside the bed went out, and complete darkness descended.
The room fell silent.
Amidst the regular rhythm of breathing and the continuous ticking of the clock, the only irregular sound was…
Badump, badump, badump.
Benedict was dying from the beating of his heart that he could not control.
'Damn.'
He raised his hand to his forehead, and muttered a curse under his breath.
He felt his hair, still wet with the cold water he had poured on it earlier, tense.
“Do you want to shower first?”
Were you clearly seducing me?
Just thinking about Elena staring at him from the sudsy bathtub was dangerous.
Before a bad feeling could overtake him, he rushed out of the room, pulled a bucket of water from the hotel garden pump, and doused his head with cold water.
'She is truly a cunning and deceitful woman.'
Benedict held the top of his steaming head.
Lately, Elena has been trying to seduce him every chance she gets.
Maybe she was trying to get him to break the contract first.
“This is completely unacceptable.”
He stared at her angrily.
Women, in the end, are distracted and treacherous creatures, nothing but weakness.
His father, the Emperor, had an affair with his commoner mother, which led to a violent political backlash from the empress's authority, and ultimately led to his desertion.
‘Moreover, a woman with no morals.’
She loved me, and yet she was stuck over and over again with that bastard Eden!
He remembered their sweet laughter outside the carriage all the way to Grace Kingdom, and the sight of them clinging to each other like lovers when the carriage door opened.
عبس في حيرةٍ من أمره.
What about all those obscene books!
The moment he saw titles like ⟨Seduction of a Friend's Wife⟩ and ⟨Forbidden Love in a Carriage⟩, the idea occurred to him that they should not be left alone in the carriage.
So, he ended up abandoning his horse and jumping into the wagon.
He turned his back to Elena and lay down.
‘Wouldn’t all nobles be good for her?’
Suddenly, deep down, an uneasy feeling washed over him.
Benedict held out his hand nervously, making sure once again that the leather belt that had been drawn as a dividing line between him and Elena was still in place.
'As expected, with a woman like this, once the contract is up…'
The moment he examined the belt with that thought, Elena placed her hand on his.
“...!”
Benedict took a deep breath as a shiver ran down his spine.
This woman has finally crossed the line.
He turned his head to Elena, ready to explode in anger.
"What do you do …!"
“Ah...”
“….”
Elena was asleep, oblivious to the world.
Benedict froze, swallowing with difficulty.
Then he frowned severely and tried to slap her hand.
'I am waiting.
If I slap her, she'll wake up, and I'll be in more danger.
'I've always sought after my body.'
Benedict groaned, his face frowning.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
After dozens of minutes, he finally made up his mind.
“No, it was the woman who crossed the line.”
He strengthened his resolve.
Just as he was about to slap her soft hand that was on his, he flinched and stopped.
A moment of realization struck him.
The leather belt, his hand, Elena's hand, and where his hand was...
“….”
He blinked in confusion.
Technically, it was his palm that crossed the line first.
Although he only did that to make sure the belt was still in place.
He placed his other hand on his forehead.
'What if I wake a woman up for no reason and she accuses me of this?'
It would ruin his reputation, after he shouted at Elena not to cross the line.
In the end, Benedict couldn't push Elena's hand away, so he moved with difficulty and lay on his back, facing the ceiling.
One hand remained clumsily on the belt.
“Hmm...”
Elena's body squirmed, sinking into the soft blanket.
With a rustling sound, something strange touched Benedict's cheek.
Elena's hair was long and flowing.
“Hmph!”
Benedict held his breath as the refreshing scent crept into his nose.
With each jolt, the soft hair tickled the back of his neck, leaving him frozen.
Benedict was a soldier by nature.
He fought a dangerous battle, with the enemy's sword up to his throat.
But now, his heart was beating hard like never before.
'Ludwig Karl Otto Conrad Heinrich of Cornwall Friedrich Ferdinand Franz Wilhelm Philipp Edward Henry...'
He was lying on the bed, his limbs bound, chanting the names of previous kings since the founding of the empire.
“...!”
Elena's soft fingers moved along the back of his rough hand, as if mocking his efforts.
'Henry Edward Philipp Wilhelm Franz Ferdinand Friedrich Cornwall Heinrich Conrad Otto Karl Ludwig...'
Now that he had finished memorizing the names of previous kings, he began repeating them backwards, recalling the boring history lessons at the military academy.
'Ludwig...
Ludwig...
Ludwig...'
Benedict muttered the names of his ancestors, faces he had never seen before, all night.
* * * *
the next day.
“Good morning, Your Excellency the Archduchess!
Your complexion has improved!”
Victor greeted me loudly.
“Yes, thanks to you.”
I nodded refreshed.
The hotel furnishings were so good that I slept soundly for the first time in a long time.
“Your Excellency, did you have a good night?
The birds have been singing unusually since this morning.”
Victor, who was squirming next to the Archduke, had a slightly sly expression on his face.
But the Archduke simply frowned, his eyes darkening.
“….”
"...Oh no!
Haven't you ever slept?
It's too hot, after all..."
“Shut up.
My head is pounding.”
"Yes."
Victor's voice, trembling, as if he was about to draw his sword, made him close his mouth and step back slowly.
I called Victor aside and ordered him what to do while I met Count Bonetta.
He nodded with a puzzled but sincere expression in the end, and then disappeared.
After a moment, Young Marquis Spencer announced today's schedule.
“The carriage sent by Count Bonita will arrive soon.
The destination will be his palace.”
At last I climbed into Count Bonetta's carriage, and, with my eyes wide open, I looked around the gilded cabin.
“Oh my God, they say the Count is very rich...
I guess that's true.”
The carriage was really nice, amazingly decorated.
While I was engrossed in inspecting the carriage, the Archduke simply sat, with his arms folded and his eyes tightly closed, as if he were upset about something, all the way to the Count's house.
Marquis Spencer laughed, as if he found me amusing.
“Well, he has a monopoly on selling expensive luxury goods.”
“He's a really good man.”
I nodded, as if to acknowledge his words.
For me, money was the standard by which I judged people.
Young Marquis Spencer frowned and muttered anxiously.
“Well, that's not necessarily true.
When you meet him in person, you find him to be an annoying person.
When he seeks personal gain, he meticulously explores and tests a person's worth.
He's definitely not the type of person who easily does whatever you want.”
"Don't worry."
I said and waved my hand.
To me, it was nothing if it meant money.
I am tired of the injustice of the rich, and I have endured all kinds of humiliation to make money.
Moreover, it was the Count who would soon bring me wealth.
Soon, I realized the painful truth of Spencer's warning.