Chapter 1.10

Underneath the nightgown as white as her skin, there was a fatal cleavage that could captivate him, half-exposed. The nightgown’s length was short enough to reveal her knees, giving him plenty of room for imagination.

‘What is she thinking? Does she see me as nothing more than insignificant dust?’

Of course, she wouldn’t even think of spending the first night together. Yet, appearing before him in that blatant and provocative nightgown was an action only possible if she didn’t consider him a man at all.

“This is the worst….”

And the second worst was the situation right in front of him. As long as Lisael was around, he was saying farewell to the convenience of having bath attendants for life. For the first time ever, Miguel clumsily gathered towels, a robe, and his favorite lavender bath additive from the shelves.

Having never done it before, Miguel skillfully dissolved the bath additive in warm bathwater and finally immersed himself in the tub. The tub, filled with the body of a robust man, spilled a considerable amount of water, and the cherub, whose face was covered, began to work harder to fill it up.

‘Yes, come to think of it, it’s better not to have attendants from now on.’

Someone attending to Lisael’s bath was utterly undesirable for Miguel. Whether the attendant was male or female didn’t matter. The fact that someone else could easily enter the unknown realm of Lisael’s n*ked body, which he could never see, was profoundly displeasing to him.

If later on, Lisael, as the Young Countess, got used to her life and wanted to have attendants for her bath… if she really desired it, as her husband, he could personally help her with that.

He swore it wasn’t for his own selfish desires. Offering a helping hand in difficult times was the least he could do as a legally bound husband.

After completing his first-ever bath without attendants, he returned to the bedroom to find Lisael nowhere in sight.

…Could she have run away in the night?

Recalling Lisael’s previous words about preferring to run away at night rather than become his wife, Miguel felt his heart tighten and cold sweat trickle down. His eyes darted around nervously, searching everywhere.

“Ah….”

Despite having no reason to play hide and seek, Miguel sighed and slowly ran his hand over his chest, realizing she was sleeping soundly on the sofa.

But why on the sofa? Sofas are for sitting, not lying down. Having never even considered lying on a sofa for a single moment in his life, Miguel stroked his well-defined chin, seriously pondering this situation.

‘Perhaps she fell asleep unknowingly due to exhaustion.’

Whatever the reason, he couldn’t leave Lisael on this uncomfortable and hard sofa any longer. To him, the most noble person, Lisael, deserved to rest only on the finest, plush bed.

Just as Miguel was about to slide his long arms between her back and bare legs to move her to the bed, he hesitated to touch her without permission, but it was better than having her precious and delicate back ache the next day.

“……?”

As Miguel securely held Lisael to move her, he was startled by what he saw. More precisely, it was the white slip she was wearing that surprised him.

When had she changed into such attire, with a thin, see-through fabric like dragonfly wings revealing her belly completely? 

And as Miguel’s blue eyes, wandering in confusion, settled on a certain part of Lisael’s upper body, they began to tremble like an earthquake.

Crash-!

Overwhelmed by a mix of confusion, surprise, and indescribable emotions that weren’t entirely unpleasant, Miguel tried to distance himself from Lisael but ended up falling to the floor spectacularly.

“Uhmm….”

Finally awakened by the commotion, Lisael rubbed her eyes and groaned.

“What is it…?”

Contrary to her delicate and small body, Lisael spat out a rather gruff voice, sneering at Miguel, who had fallen.

“…….”

Not knowing how to respond, Miguel opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, instinctively pointing a trembling finger at Lisael’s slip. There was no better way to express his bewilderment than that simple gesture.

“Huh?”

‘Why is he acting like that again…’

To Lisael, Miguel’s actions had no impact. She regarded his urgent pointing from the floor as insignificant and casually shifted her gaze to her own dress, which he was indicating.

‘What… what is this unfinished-looking outfit…!’

Having no knowledge of see-through materials, Lisael was at a loss, embarrassed by the indecent nightgown she was wearing. Without even the presence of mind to scream, she hastily covered her translucent body with a large goose feather cushion nearby.

“What… what are you looking at!”

Lisael couldn’t help but be flustered by Miguel’s appearance after seeing her attire. His chest, half-visible through the gown, was captivating enough to hold her gaze. The partially revealed chest made the viewer even more restless.

Of course, Lisael quickly succeeded in fixing her eyes on Miguel’s distasteful face, avoiding being captivated by his body.

“Where did you get such clothes to wear!”

“I just wore what was left on the bed!”

Ah, that must be it.

Lisael would never voluntarily wear that fatal slip, not even if she were to die and come back to life. It was only something that would benefit Miguel.

Surely, the villa’s servants had demonstrated their tactless and outstanding sense. Unaware that the newlywed couple of the Dante family had been maturing in animosity for 7 years. Moreover, there wasn’t even a nightgown prepared for Miguel.

While Lisael hastily grabbed a red shawl draped over the sofa and awkwardly wrapped it around herself, Miguel broached the subject that bothered him more than her attire—her sleeping arrangements.

“Why were you sleeping uncomfortably on the sofa?”

‘Uncomfortable? This sofa is softer than my bed.’

Momentarily at a loss for words due to Miguel’s fundamentally different perspective, Lisael paused before responding.

“You sleep in the bed.”

This statement was a proposal based on the overarching premise that they could never share a bed. Only then did Miguel realize why Lisael had deliberately chosen the uncomfortable sofa as her sleeping place.

Of course, they were both tired, but they had just moved past the point where they would reflexively grit their teeth and growl at each other whenever they met. However, it was crucial not to misunderstand that there was any progress between them. Though she didn’t show it, Lisael still found the reality of sharing space with Miguel awkward and unappealing.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa, so you go to the bed.”

As Miguel glanced at the sofa, which would likely leave his calves sticking out if he lay down, he replied, and Lisael lay back on the sofa as if daring him to try anything.

“You don’t have to be gentlemanly with me. How can a young master who can’t even bathe alone lie down in this harsh sleeping place?”

How could she provoke him like that, not missing a beat while thoroughly getting under his skin? Lisael had an exceptional talent for consistently undermining Miguel’s resolve to maintain a gentle and kind demeanor.

In his heart, he wanted to scoop her up as she gestured dismissively with her back turned, like shooing away a bird, and throw her onto the bed. But the powerful shield of the see-through slip prevented him from approaching.

Did she think only her upper body needed covering? 

It seemed the owner of the long, straight legs, revealing white skin in a seductive posture, was entirely unaware.

“…….”

After a moment of contemplation, Miguel finally surrendered and turned off the lights. Alone in the spacious bed, large enough for three people, he hugged the pillow beside him for no reason.

Though he usually slept alone in such a large bed, this night, the unfamiliar feeling of loneliness deeply penetrated his core. He had expected their first night as newlyweds to be the worst compared to other couples, but this exceeded even his imagination.

To leave Lisael sleeping on the sofa while he took the bed alone. 

Should I have a sofa matching my height brought in from the next day? 

Such unnecessary thoughts kept him awake.

Had Lisael fallen asleep? 

Faint sounds of her breathing seemed to cross the foot of the bed.

‘For the next week….’

It was not a honeymoon but a newlywed ordeal. In this Grand Town, where no one welcomed them, how would he endure a week? A deep sigh lifted and sank Miguel’s thick chest.