21. A Husband Like the Sky

Ivan, who was heading to the drawing room following the butler, suddenly clutched his stomach and twisted his legs.

“W-where’s the restroom?”

“Pardon?”

“Hurry up and tell me!”

“It’s at the far end of the hall, to the left corner.”

At the butler’s words, Ivan hastily turned the corner.

As soon as he disappeared from the butler’s sight, he stopped pretending and looked around.

This was all to secretly find Katya without the butler noticing.

That’s why he had deliberately waited in front of the Duke’s residence, and after seeing Duke Smirnov leave, he entered.

Though he couldn’t kidnap Katya outright due to the eyes of the servants, he thought he could threaten her with her secret again and make her willingly follow him.

‘If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve just taken her on the wedding day.’

Ivan wanted to conquer Katya, who wouldn’t give him a glance, even if it meant doing so by force.

If he had boasted to the world that he had spent the night with her, Katya wouldn’t have been able to show her face outside and wouldn’t have dared to think of escaping.

He blamed himself for not being more thorough.

Ivan was the only one unaware of how utterly nonsensical his thoughts were from start to finish.

***

While Ivan was rummaging through the Duke’s residence, relying on his not-so-helpful childhood memories, Katya and Nikolai were together in the study.

As the two strolled around the study, Laika lay sprawled on the marble floor, wagging her tail lightly.

Katya’s eyes caught sight of the title of the book she had found most interesting to read.

Recently, as the Duke brought in new books, the one that had been on the bottom shelf in alphabetical order had been moved to the top shelf of the adjacent bookcase.

“Ah, there it is! Just a moment, Your Grace. I’ll fetch it right away.”

Katya climbed to the top of the ladder leaning against the bookcase and reached for the shelf where the book was.

However, the bookcase was so tall that her hand couldn’t quite reach.

“Got it!”

As she stood on tiptoe and grabbed the book, she lost her balance while lowering her arm and began to tumble backward.

Thinking she’d at least break an arm, she braced herself for the fall, but a familiar scent wafted near.

It was Nikolai.

He caught the falling Katya in a princess carry and softly moved his lips.

“You need to be careful.”

At his low voice, barely audible, her face flushed as she nodded silently.

Being in Nikolai’s arms reminded her of the night they had shared the bed.

His claim that he had taken her chastity also came to mind.

Had she really teased him to the point of drooling on his chest? If it were true, it was downright perverse.

Nikolai gently set the pensive Katya down on the floor.

“Your Grace, here it is. This is the book I mentioned. Ah!”

As she tried to take out the book she was holding tightly, she accidentally cut her hand on the edge of the cover.

“Are you alright?”

Seeing blood drip from her hand, Nikolai, his face pale, grabbed her hand.

Before Katya could even say she was fine, he poured water from a nearby bottle over her hand to clean the wound.

Then, without hesitation, he tore the hem of his chemise under his coat and wrapped it tightly around her injured finger.

He wound it so meticulously that the tip of her finger swelled up like a frog’s foot.

“Your Grace, this seems a bit excessive for such a minor cut.”

But Nikolai, having already lost his composure, didn’t hear her.

“Which publisher is this? How could they make the cover edges so carelessly?”

“Your Grace…”

“I thought it would be safe inside, but how could such dangerous things exist even at home?”

“Your Grace!”

When Katya called out loudly, Nikolai, who had been worrying endlessly while holding her small hand, finally looked up.

“What is it? Does it hurt a lot?”

“No, it’s not that. I just need to step out for a moment.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“You can’t go out like this.”

“Why not?”

Following her gaze, Nikolai looked down.

Because he had torn his chemise, his abs were fully exposed.

“I’ll fetch another chemise from Father’s room. Please wait here for a moment.”

As she turned to leave, Nikolai gently grabbed her hand from behind.

“Why?”

“You’ll come back quickly, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Come back as soon as you can.”

“Why?”

Curiosity sparkled in Katya’s green eyes.

Though she was skilled with swords and guns, she knew nothing about love. Nikolai found her endearing and leaned in suddenly.

The distance between them closed until their noses nearly touched.

“Do you really not know?”

“I’m asking because I don’t.”

“Because I want to see you.”

“Oh…”

“I used to avoid looking at you, fearing it might burden you, but now that we’ve met, I don’t want to be apart even for a moment.”

Katya still wasn’t used to this man who kept confessing unexpectedly.

“Even if I don’t want to let you go, I’ll have to, right?”

Nikolai raised his eyebrows playfully and slowly released her hand.

“Please stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like your eyes are about to drip honey.”

“Do my eyes look like that when I see you?”

“Oh my, they’re doing it again!”

“It’s hard to hide feelings of love. So you’ll have to endure it.”

“You must’ve had a lot of experience in love, huh? You’re quite the expert.”

Katya grumbled, feeling annoyed for no reason.

“I told you, you were the one who took my chastity—”

Nikolai’s words were cut off as Katya covered his mouth.

“Chastity is chastity, and love is love. Why bring that up now?”

“To me, they’re the same. The one I gave my heart to and my body to, you’re the first.”

“Why do you keep saying it like I took advantage of you? I didn’t receive anything!”

“Right. It’s always the one who’s wronged that remembers.”

Nikolai laughed, tapping her cheek with his finger as she protested vehemently.

“Hurry back. Don’t get distracted on the way.”

“What am I, a child running an errand? I’ve been an adult for years!”

“I mean, don’t pay attention to anything but me.”

Katya escaped the grasp of the possessive man and stepped into the corridor.

As she headed toward her father’s wardrobe, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a corner.

“How have you been, Katya?”

“You! How are you here?!”

Ivan had been searching for Katya when he accidentally saw her holding hands with another man in the half-open study.

Grinding his teeth, he had waited for her to come out.

“You’re impressive. Already moved on to another man?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Let me go!”

But Ivan only tightened his grip on her wrist.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

“Grrr!”

Sensing trouble, Laika rushed over, baring her teeth and lunging at Ivan.

When Ivan raised his leg to kick Laika, Katya’s eyes flared, and she kicked his shin.

“Argh!”

Despite the pain, Ivan stubbornly refused to let her go.

“Touch Laika again, and I’ll kill you!”

“How dare you treat your husband, who is as high as the heavens, like this over some mutt?”

“Who’s my husband? And what’s this about the heavens?”

“Don’t you know? A husband is the sky, and a wife is the earth. Wives must respect and obey their husbands!”

“Do you need a beating to come to your senses?”

“Does that man know you’re damaged goods, having lived with another man? Only I was willing to take you—urk!”

Before Ivan could finish, his feet left the ground.

Nikolai, who had come out after Laika didn’t return, had seen the scene and grabbed Ivan by the neck, lifting him with one hand.

“I wish I were strong and muscular like you.”

“What?”

“If I were strong, no one would dare look down on me.”

Seeing Ivan treat Katya so poorly, Nikolai finally understood why she had once said something like that, despite being a noble lady raised with care and dignity.

It was this trash of a man who had made Katya feel that way.

“Y-Your Grace? Ugh—!”

Realizing too late who had grabbed him, Ivan flailed his legs in the air.

From a distance, he hadn’t noticed due to his jealousy, but up close, he recognized the Grand Duke.

“Surely you’re not planning to send me some poisoned black tea to kill me? The Petrovsky family is a founding noble—”

“So you’re the one who said those things to Tia.”

Nikolai could have easily twisted Ivan’s neck and ended his life right then and there, but he didn’t.

He had thought of a better alternative.

Nikolai carried Ivan over to the window and laid his waist across the windowsill.

Ivan’s head and upper body dangled precariously outside, as if he could fall at any moment.

To make matters worse, his legs inside the room couldn’t touch the floor, leaving him entirely at Nikolai’s mercy.

If Nikolai let go of his grip on Ivan’s collar, his body would plummet straight out the window.

Hanging upside down, blood rushed to Ivan’s head, turning his face a purplish hue.

“Do you think I’d kill someone with mere black tea?”

“P-Please spare me, Your Grace!”

“Wrong. If I want someone dead, I kill them with my own hands. It’s much more entertaining that way.”

“Please…!”

“Do you know why I’m called the Bloody Grand Duke? It’s because I always see blood. Seeing blood is the only way to truly feel like I’ve ended someone’s life.”

Feeling the murderous intent in Nikolai’s gaze, Ivan’s knees trembled even though he was dangling in midair.

“A husband is the sky, and a wife is the earth, huh? Then I suppose all noble men like you, so high and mighty, should be sent straight to the sky.”

With those words, the Grand Duke let go of his grip on Ivan.

“Ahhhhhhhh—!”