Chapter 23

As her pale mound was exposed to the air, Kaiden slid his fingers from below upward, carefully caressing her intimate place. Then, he pressed the hardened peak between his fingers.

Each time his palm moved over her already sensitive cl*toris, a thrilling sensation shot up the woman’s spine.

Astrid wrapped her arms around his neck. As the man’s rough breathing echoed in her ear, her waist arched on its own.

Already, Kaiden’s front was swollen as if it might burst. If Astrid only allowed, he would indulge in her as much as he wished. Just like that day.

“As, I want to be inside you.”

“Kaiden, we…”

The man’s eyes, longing for her, deepened. While Astrid was still in confusion, Kaiden pressed his lips to her white nape. He traced her straight collarbone with his tongue and then slid his lips down, beginning to s*ck on her chest.

Astrid twisted her body without realizing it. Everywhere his tongue and hot breath touched, she felt flushed and unable to think straight. She bit her lips, worried she might cry out.

Then, Kaiden pressed his lips to hers again. He kneaded her white flesh with both hands, rubbing himself slowly against her thigh.

“No, we can’t.”

That night, it had happened because of the influence of the drug, but tonight, she was perfectly sober.

She must not fall deeper into a complicated relationship with Kaiden. Especially not on the very day Sophia visited to warn her—if she slept with him now, she might have to leave the mansion even before the contract period was up.

Astrid pushed him away with all her strength. It was a feeble resistance, but Kaiden stopped abruptly. Her voice, mixed with tears, spilled out toward the man whose self-control was slipping.

“We can’t do this.”

“Haa.”

Kaiden let out a sigh, almost like a groan, and collapsed over her. He grabbed her br*ast with his large hand, then released all the strength in his body. In that moment, Astrid slipped out of his arms.

His golden eyes still watched Astrid, but she hurriedly pulled up her clothes and tied the ribbon. As she let her tangled hair down, her long blonde locks covered the back where his traces remained.

“I want to sleep with you.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Astrid quickly stepped outside the door. In her haste, she did not notice that the Dowager Duchess’s personal maid was hiding in the hallway.

* * *

“Could you… repeat what you just said?”

At the Dowager Duchess’s words, the maid could not easily open her mouth. The atmosphere in the room was so cold that her shoulders trembled. But the Dowager Duchess stared at her, demanding an answer.

“Miss Selinger came out of the study with her clothes disheveled, and a little later, His Grace the Duke also…”

“That’s enough… Stop talking.”

“Yes.”

The maid’s hands, bowed low, were stiff. The Dowager Duchess handed her a gold coin, and the maid, having completed her task as a spy, quickly took the money and disappeared.

“Brielle Selinger.”

Regaining her composure, the Dowager Duchess repeated the name of that impudent woman.

When she first heard about Brielle, she found it absurd, but after her son died, she felt a shred of sympathy for the woman left alone.

But to think this was the result of her mercy.

Not only had Brielle ensnared her eldest son, but now she had extended her reach to the second as well. This is what happens when you bring a woman of no background into the mansion!

When the Dowager Duchess slammed her fist on the table, the teacup fell to the floor.

Clatter. At the sharp sound slicing through the air, the head maid waiting behind quickly cleaned up the shards.

Grinding her teeth, the Dowager Duchess asked impulsively,

“What could Brielle possibly have over the Princess?”

“She is beautiful, but…”

At that almost soliloquy, the head maid didn’t know how to respond. Powerful upper-class men are always drawn to young and pretty women, so she praised Brielle’s appearance.

Blonde hair is not uncommon in the kingdom, but green eyes are rare. Did the noble Duke fall for her vivid, clear green eyes?

But that didn’t seem to be the answer, as the Dowager Duchess’s gaze grew even sharper. As if she wanted to scratch out the pretty face that had bewitched her son, she gripped the letter opener on the table.

“That can’t be the only reason.”

The Princess, though not a classic beauty like Brielle Selinger, was attractive with her red hair. Her gentle smile and royal dignity could easily stir a man’s desire to possess.

So, does Brielle Selinger have something special?

Suddenly, she remembered when Brielle, with her shallow knowledge, made her seem ignorant for using arsenic soap and wallpaper.

How could a fallen noble, with nothing to her name, dare to treat the Dowager Duchess that way?

Perhaps it was Brielle’s audacious attitude and tone that provoked Kaiden. After all, it was probably the first time the Duke’s second son had encountered a woman who dared to challenge him so boldly.

“I must write to Her Majesty the Queen again.”

“I will prepare everything right away.”

At any rate, Brielle Selinger must be removed from Kaiden’s sight as soon as possible. Before the two grew even closer and Kaiden ruined his marriage to the Princess, she had to make a decision.

With a sheet of letter paper before her, the Dowager Duchess’s eyes gleamed sharply.

* * *

Perhaps the Princess had given a separate warning, as the Queen’s reply came quickly. The invitation stated that both the Dowager Duchess and Brielle Selinger, who had recently suffered great grief, were to attend the tea party.

Since their goals aligned, the Queen would act swiftly as well.

This time, the Dowager Duchess planned to dress Brielle up properly and present her before everyone. After all, a product has to look appealing for the nobles to go mad to get it.

She was about to call her usual dressmaker when the butler arrived to inform her that the head of the Mason Merchant Guild had come to the mansion.

“The head of the guild, in person?”

“Yes, he came alone, without any staff.”

The Mason Merchant Guild had recently expanded enough to open a branch in Duddingston’s department store.

It was odd that the guild master himself visited the mansion just two weeks after Kaiden had a private conversation with him.

“Who is receiving the guild master?”

“He is having tea with Miss Selinger. It seems His Grace ordered some goods for the lady.”

The Dowager Duchess frowned at those words.

Even before Brielle arrived, the mansion had provided her with the bare minimum of clothes and cosmetics. Yet Kaiden had placed a separate order for her with the guild.

She never imagined her usually indifferent son would put so much care into Brielle.

Surely they hadn’t already become that close? 

The Dowager Duchess shook her head, recalling the maid’s report from the previous night.

She really had to act quickly.

The Dowager Duchess jumped to her feet.

She would have to see with her own eyes just what that leech of a woman had purchased.

* * *

Catching her breath, Astrid faced Declan with a gentle expression.

At last, a smile appeared on his lips as well. Even though a maid stood by, watching them like a guard, Declan felt grateful for even this much.

Astrid had survived a horrific accident. Her body and heart must still be weary, yet she blinked her pretty eyes. His hand kept twitching, wanting to touch her cheek.

Declan pressed down on his own wrist and spoke.

“I’m just glad to see your face, even like this.”

“Declan, I’m all right. More importantly, how is the West? The damage must be severe.”

Declan let out a low sigh. If not for the maid standing at a distance, Astrid would have asked more about the West, but the maid’s gaze was too sharp.

Declan, watching Astrid eye the maid, lowered his head.