Night of the Abandoned Duchess

Although Olivia was now of age, she had not yet accepted anyone’s proposal.

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Shortly after her debut, she took over the social world, and despite rumors of her beauty that reached the Capital, she refused the marriage proposals.
When Olivia said this to herself, she felt a strange sense of crisis.
And, when she felt such a sense of crisis, she laughed at herself.

Rosalind was obviously the wife, so why couldn’t she calmly pass such a childish provocation?

“Did you not know that the Duke was an adopted child? The two of you are a married couple, so of course, you must have heard about his childhood, right?”

She quietly clasped her hand.
The bold voice made her angry without realizing it, though she tried to catch her breath to keep it from appearing.
She thought she would be pushed back if she showed her resentment.

“Sure.
I know from the Duke.”

It was a lie.

She knew, but she hadn’t heard of it from him directly.

In fact, that was all she had heard from her father.
He was an adopted child.
However, Kyle didn’t tell her anything about her own past.

“I have been with the Duke since the time he was adopted.
The Duke considers me special.
We have a lot of time and precious memories between us.”

“That sounds misleading, Olivia.”

“It’s not misleading, it’s the truth.
He’s the person I’ve wanted for a long time.”

Olivia’s eyes were clearly on Rosalind.

“Aren’t marriages without love difficult to last?”

“You don’t know about marriage because you haven’t done it, so you can’t talk about marriage so easily with just the feeling of love.
It’s not just a meeting of two people.
Not only the family, but also the one born between the two…”

Rosalind couldn’t even utter the word “child,” she flinched.
The child born between him and her… Rather, it felt like her breath was being squeezed by the words she spit out unconsciously.

As she hesitated, her voice pierced softly.

“Do you know how kind and warm the Duke is?”

“I know.”

“Lies.”

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Don’t lie.

Then, as if knowing everything, Olivia chuckled.

Olivia’s smile was so light, yet it seemed like Rosalind was going to go crazy because she was overwhelmed.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Rosalind was locked in her room the whole time.

She pretended not to hear the words that Kyle and Olivia were going to see the capital.
On the excuse that she was not in good shape, she didn’t even go out.
She was just staring at the backs of the two of them through the window, secretly from her room.

“It suits you well…”

Ironically, the two seemed like a well-matched pair.

Olivia subtly teased him, as though to show off her friendship with him and he accepted as if he couldn’t win.
He often cared for Olivia.

She curled up the hem of her robe in confusion.

Has he ever stroked her hair like that…? The only time he touched her was when he was holding her in bed.
He had never once walked down the streets affectionately with her.
Except when people were staring at him, he had always been cold and blunt towards her.

Rosalind thought her head would explode just by the doctor’s words, though seeing this kind of thing really made her stomach churn.

She stared blankly out of the window, not even feeling the passing of time.
She stared at the two of them until they became small dots and disappeared, then went into bed and lay down.

She didn’t do anything, but tears seemed to flow out for no reason.

If they had been an ordinary couple, if she had been an ordinary wife, she would have told him about Olivia.
Rosalind could have slapped Olivia on the face, she could have vented her anger on him, or she could have slapped Olivia on the cheek or scolded her harder…

However, the real reason she couldn’t, was because she was afraid.

It was because she was afraid.

It was obvious that Kyle was closer to Olivia than to her, and it seemed that the side who’d have it worse would be her if he looked at her badly.
The reason she didn’t tell him about Olivia that she didn’t slap Olivia on the spot wasn’t because she was kind enough to put up with it.

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She wasn’t confident.

Confident that her husband would be on her side, not Olivia’s…

She didn’t even know how the day went.
In the evening, she could feel the outside being bustling again.

The maid’s words that the Master had returned flowed through the crevice of the door, and she went down the steps with a dark complexion.
Still, in order not to show it off, the corners of her lips were rolled up, trying to show a bright face.

As she crossed the hallway and entered the parlor, she heard Olivia’s exasperated voice.

“Today was really fun.
Yes?”

A bright smile and voice, Kyle next to her… He opened his mouth to Olivia.

“You must be tired.”

“It’s a little tiring, though it was so much fun after a long time.”

Although she was only a couple of years younger than Rosalind, Olivia, unlike her, was full of cuteness.

As soon as she made her debut, the words that she took the social world by storm came to mind.
Olivia was attractive not only to men but also to women.
If that didn’t happen yesterday, even she would have been enchanted by that smile.

“It was difficult because I was unfamiliar with the Capital City, but it was all thanks to the Duke.”

‘It’s unfamiliar around here for me.
Could you please show me around?’

All of a sudden, she heard the words she had asked in the past.

It wasn’t that long ago… Barely a year ago, she had just married, and the answer he gave back then and the cold voice, she still remembered vividly.

‘I think it will be difficult because I’m busy with work.’

‘Of course, work is important…! I didn’t mean to be a nuisance.’

She nodded her head several times as if it was natural.
She was worried that she might look bad for him, that she might have caused him a nuisance, so she added, hurriedly.

‘I never meant to beg like a child.
In case you misunderstand me…’

‘The wife is not a woman who means enough to be a bother to me.
So, don’t worry about it.’

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Ah. At the callous reply, she lost her words and bit her mouth.
Then, unable to hide her expression, only the hem of her dress was rolled up tightly.
Rosalind’s face became hot with embarrassment, awkwardness, and disappointment.

Kyle has been so difficult for her from start to finish.
How could he be so easy on that woman…?

It was just surprising.

“I walked around a lot today, and my legs hurt.
I want to take a break for the past few days and see the North.
There is also a large fountain in the north…”

“These days, you must be less busy.”

Rosalind, who had been looking into her past, suddenly opened her mouth.

As the two of them were having a conversation, their eyes fell on Rosalind in an instant. Haha, Rosalind’s awkward laugh echoed through the parlor.

She had taken Olivia on a tour of the Capital, at least, because he wasn’t busy.
A year ago, he was a little busier, and now he was less busy… She wanted to think of it like that.
Otherwise, she felt like she would be too miserable.
It was like a plea.

“Even if I am busy, there are times when I have to make time.”

But, even that last wind was shattered too easily.

“Next time, I would like to go north.
I want to see the northern fountain.”

In answer to Kyle, Olivia raised one corner of her lips.

 

* * *

 

As Kyle finished his bath and entered the room, Rosalind’s eyes flashed and she turned to him.
The closer he moved, the cleaner and cooler the scent became.
He smelled the same the night she first met him.

Soon, he climbed up onto the bed, accustomed to it, and laid his body on top of her.
His lips pressed into the nape of her slender neck, and his tongue slowly rubbed against her skin.
The hairs all over her body stood up as if goosebumps at the unfamiliar and familiar sensations.

As his lips were going down as if she was holding back, Rosalind opened her mouth.

“Duke, I have something to tell you.”

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Kyle slowly removed his lips at the sound of her voice and stared at her with a cool face as if for her to speak.

“What?”

“You said that you are busy with work lately, though I was worried that you might be overdoing it.
How about if I go with Olivia instead of the Duke for a tour of the Northern Capital?”

At that, his eyes narrowed.

Kyle soon opened his mouth as though he was reading her thoughts.

“Are you jealous?”

“I know you treat Olivia like a little sister, but she’s a grown woman.
I thought it might not look good…”

It was a lame excuse.
Actually, jealousy was correct.
She looked jealous, although she denied it.

“…And Olivia is a distant relative, and I’m a much closer wife.
I just wish you had a little more respect for my opinion.”

He chuckled and laughed out loud.
Rosalind’s voice was twisted as if it was really funny or absurd.

“Are you going to give meaning to the place of the wife, who is nothing more than a facade?”

“Fa…cade?”

“Are you sure you want to be my real wife?”

Rosalind rolled up the hem of her thin chemise without a word.

His overt sneer made her ashamed.
She didn’t say anything, only her gaze dropped down.
Reluctantly, she bit her lips, but his sluggish voice landed in her ear.

“Then, you can do what my real wife is supposed to do.”

“…What does your real wife do?”

You know better than anyone.

His voice was low.

“Give birth to my child.”

At that answer, she felt like she was falling down.