CH 55

“…Where did he go?”

However, Damon was nowhere to be seen in the room. Elysia glanced for possible places for him though he was nowhere to be found. That was probably why he didn’t answer even when she called him like that…

It was strange that such a bright place was not visible from the outside at all. It looked so clean and warm that it was hard to believe that this was Damon’s room. The interiors were all bright colors, and the furniture was all in excellent condition.

“…It doesn’t fit him.”

Yes. This room didn’t suit Damon Raphael at all. Elysia was embarrassed by the room decorated with cute and warm feelings.

Damon was sleeping in a place like this?

“Nonsense…”

Especially when she thought of him lying on that cozy blanket, she shook her head. It could be a prejudice, but such a bright color and a cozy blanket really did not match him. Elysia’s brow frowned at the rose petals scattered on the bed.

Seeing the way they sprinkled petals as a new bride, she realized once again why she had come here.

“….”

The Countess made up the situation for Elysia to wear clothes that weren’t even clothes when she met Damon. The Grand Duchy was the same. She was dressed in pajamas like dragonfly wings, which seemed to tear with the slightest touch.

Wherever she went, it didn’t change the way she was used, so she was upset.

“Wife…?”

At the call, Elysia turned her back.

There, she could see he had just finished taking a bath and he was wearing a robe as water was dripping down his head.

“Grand Duke.”

Even though he looked great with his perfectly upright hair, Damon with his wet, dripping hair, was irresistible. In particular, Elysia’s face reddened at the water droplets rolling through the loose robe. He was truly an incredibly seductive man. She didn’t know what to do with his flowing decadent sexiness.

“You are already here.”

“….”

All she did was bite her lip and stare at the floor. It was even more dangerous when the man was already hard to refuse, even if he stood still and just came out of the shower. Was a wet man so dangerous?

She never understood the reactions that a wet man was sexy. But now that she saw him, she seemed to understand that it was so dangerous.

“Wife?”

“….”

‘…Please, don’t come.’

When he, who exuded pheromones all over his body, tried to come closer, Elysia trembled.

It looked like she was about to lose her sanity. The wet water made him look even more beautiful. His dark hair was wet and black, and the water dripping down his handsome features was something her eyes couldn’t take off.

It was truly the epitome of mystery.

“Are you sick?”

“Ah…”

Elysia let out a moan as he grabbed her face and forcibly lifted her head.

Damon, who came closer, was even more perfect. When his handsome face came close to her nose, she couldn’t escape even if she tried to escape. His dark sky-blue eyes were completely enveloping her.

Her mouth opened on her own as she felt increasingly hazy.

“It seems contradicting.”

“….”

Elysia didn’t know what she was talking about now. Already possessed by him, she was insane.

“Wife.”

“…Yes.”

Even in the midst of her dazedness, she hurriedly answered the voice calling for her. Oh, indeed, Damon was a dangerous being.

What kind of killer could be so sexy and handsome…

“I like this kind of reaction, but I’m sure the wife will regret it.”

“…Yes?”

Elysia had not yet regained her mind enough to understand all of the long words. It felt as if there was a fog in her head.

“Go back now.”

As he told her to go back, she was able to come to her senses in a flash. What had just happened, she didn’t have a proper understanding in her head. The moment Damon touched his hand, her mind went hazy as if drunk on drugs.

“You must have been very tired.”

It wasn’t because she was tired. No matter how tired she was, her head was not as dim as a mist. Obviously, he was doing something.

“No, it’s not because I’m tired…”

“You look tired.”

Although she tried to say it wasn’t because she was tired, she couldn’t because Damon interrupted her first. Elysia was adamant, and she had no other answer to his voice.

“Go to sleep.”

“That…”

As he asked her to go to sleep, Elysia was worried about how to say this. Of course, Damon wouldn’t ask for a relationship, but she didn’t know for her. It was because the Damon in front of her didn’t seem like the one she knew.

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

They didn’t even kiss the oath.

“Elysia?”

“….”

Damon seemed to be okay with the light touch to her, but not the deep touch. Elysia did not know how far it was from acting.

…Was he really not the Damon Raphael she knew?

No, it wasn’t. He was beaten by Damon Raphael, whom she made.

“You’ll be tired, so you better go to sleep.”

Go to sleep, there was no sign of lewdness anywhere in those words. However, it wasn’t like she could be reassured. What the Grand Duke wanted was a successor. Even if Damon didn’t want to, he couldn’t avoid his responsibilities as he was the head.

Certainly, she knew he wasn’t the one to fulfill his responsibilities, but… Still, it was something she didn’t know as well.

If there was an easy way, would anyone dare to go back?

“Elysia?”

Unlike Damon, who had already approached the bed, Elysia stood still and did not move. She couldn’t completely reject the man who fascinated everyone just by the sight of him. She didn’t know what would happen if her mind got clouded as before.

“Your Grace. Is what you want a Grand Duchess in name?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Does the work of the Grand Duchess in name include night work?”

In the end, she chose the normal way.

Elysia could not afford to go round and round. The reason he accepted her marriage to Damon was because she was confident he would never hold her.

Nonetheless, now that firm belief had become uncertain.

Damon was acting differently than she expected, which made her more and more confused. She thought she would be able to survive because she knew him better than anyone else. If she acted out of his sight, she would be released soon.

“Come to think of it, you didn’t even want to kiss the oath with me.”

She didn’t want Damon’s kiss, which every woman in the Empire would have wanted. Elysia was different from other women. She was the only one who knew who he was, and she was the one who wouldn’t fall for him.

“What does the wife want?”

“…Yes?”

“What do you want from me?”

She felt weird, because his reaction was not normal.

“I… I don’t want anything from you.”

* * *

To be precise, she didn’t want him to do anything to her—whether that was bad or good. There was only one thing Elysia wanted from him.

Divorce….

It was not about getting divorced after death, but about escaping safely with all her limbs intact.

“And, I felt it was the same for Your Grace as well.”

“….”

“I will fulfill the responsibilities of the official Grand Duchess that Your Grace desires.”

In fact, while saying these words now, she could not stop her heart from beating with fear. Elysia had to clench her fist to hide her trembling fingertips.

“So, I won’t do a job as the wife… Isn’t it?”

She said back and forth, but that was the answer. It was completely unexpected that she would say something like this to Damon. Elysia thought that if she stayed still, the first night would pass quietly.

“Neither do I intend to impose on the wife the responsibilities of a wife.”

“Yes…”

Elysia, relieved by his answer, was relieved and her body relaxed. While she pretended to be okay, she didn’t know how much the trembling was inside her. She was so nervous that her head was dizzy.

“So, that was why you were still standing there?”

She couldn’t say that she wasn’t. She didn’t go to him because she thought she would run away instead. Of course, it was faster for Damon to catch up than for her to run away. What prey wouldn’t be wary of the predator…?

This was, of course, a natural reaction.

“…And, I have a favor to ask you.”

“What do you mean by a favor?”

She didn’t expect him to bring it up first. Even though they shared the same room for the first night because of the eyes of others, naturally, she knew that from then on that she would use a different room.

No, Elysia didn’t care what other people saw and thought if she would be in a different room from the first night.

“My room… I was told that I share the same room as Your Grace, and it might be in this room?”

She begged not to, hoping Chloe and Rachel were mistaken. She wanted him to tell her that her room was separate.

“Yes.”

…However, Damon’s answer shattered her expectations.

“Why… Don’t you have a separate room for me?”

“The wife’s room isn’t finished yet.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to stay in an empty room?”

If he said that it was fine, and she would jump out of this room right away. Even if he told her that he didn’t want a relationship, it didn’t change the fear of sleeping with Damon.

“Elysia, there is no room for you to stay in the Grand Duchy.”