Chapter 6 (Part 11) 

“……Mmm.”  

Therese blinked, savoring the lingering sensation of her first kiss. When she lifted her head, she saw the Duke’s face, flushed as red as pomegranate seeds.  

Was he as embarrassed as I was?  

For some reason, she found him adorable and wanted to look at him a little longer.  

Therese, who had been staring at him intently, moved her damp lips.  

“……Your Grace?”  

“No, it would be better if you close your eyes.”  

“……Pardon?”  

The Duke covered Therese’s eyes with his large hand. When she flinched and squirmed, he grabbed her waist, holding her in place.  

“You’re so beautiful that I don’t want anyone else to see you.”  

At his praise, spoken between his rough breaths, Therese shivered.  

She didn’t dare imagine the desire hidden in the Duke’s suppressed voice.  

His calloused hand, which covered her eyes, was too hot, and the Duke’s gaze on her body felt disturbingly persistent.  

And then, Jeremy Richard’s thick and firm manhood pressed against her stomach under her dress, making it ache. Therese felt so overwhelmed by his blatant desire that she wanted to cry.  

“……Hah.”  

The Duke let out a short sigh and devoured her lips roughly. As he explored her moist lips, it felt as though he was stealing all of her breath.  

‘I’m scared.’  

Instinctively, Therese reached out and grabbed the Duke’s shoulder.  

If she didn’t, she felt like she would drown in the downpour of his emotions.  

* * *  

The magic of the crape myrtle flower rain soon broke.  

“Your Grace, Duke Richard!”  

“Your Grace! Where are you? His Majesty the Emperor is looking for you!”  

At the distant sound of a servant shouting loudly, the two, who had been clinging to each other, quickly separated.  

As they crossed the garden, Therese didn’t say a word.  

To be more precise, she couldn’t.  

‘If the servant hadn’t interrupted us then…’  

The thought of what might have happened made her head spin.  

It was impossible to guess what the Duke, who held her hand tightly, was thinking.  

‘It’s time to return to reality.’  

She tried several times to suppress her fluttering heart, but the lingering scent of the crape myrtle made it hard to completely erase her emotions.  

Before entering the ballroom, Therese went to the powder room to fix her makeup.  

She applied rouge over her slightly swollen lips, but the face in the mirror looked unfamiliar.  

It was as if she had returned to her younger self, back when she had a pure, unrequited love for the Duke. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.  

‘Get a grip.’  

After taking several deep breaths, she finally managed to return to the ballroom.  

However, as soon as she stood next to Duke Richard, her heart started racing again. Her body felt like it was floating, and her flushed cheeks felt like they were about to burst.  

‘……How pathetic.’  

He looked completely unaffected.  

Crossing his long legs and calmly receiving the greetings of the nobles, Duke Richard was as composed as ever.  

It was hard to believe he was the same man who had just tried to devour her alive.  

‘What am I doing, getting all worked up by myself?’  

Therese pressed her hand against her chest to calm her heart, but a servant approached and delivered the Emperor’s message.  

“His Majesty the Emperor has requested the presence of Duchess Richard.”  

Why did the Emperor have to summon me now?  

And she had no desire to see the Emperor’s face, either.  

‘But I can’t disobey the Emperor’s command.’  

Letting out a long sigh, she stood, and the Duke helped her up by holding her hand.  

“Bring what I entrusted to you earlier.”  

What the servant brought was similar to the Duke’s cloak but slightly shorter in length—a red cloak.  

When had he prepared this?  

And why was he dressing me in it when the rule indoors was to remove outerwear?  

As Therese looked puzzled, the Duke fastened the cloak securely at the front with an onyx brooch.  

It was as if he didn’t want anyone to see her exposed shoulders and neck.  

“……Why?”  

“I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold if you stayed like this.”  

At the Duke’s low whisper and his touch, Therese felt her chest tighten.  

It was since the day of the poisoning attempt.  

Duke Richard had been excessively concerned about her health.  

She couldn’t even go out without being examined by a physician every morning.  

The Duke was undoubtedly acting strangely, and Therese didn’t know how to deal with him.  

“I’m fine.”  

Still holding the front of the cloak tightly, the Duke lowered his head and gazed deeply into her eyes.  

“I’ll be here, so you have nothing to worry about.”  

When she nodded, her gaze accidentally fell on the Duke’s lips, and she quickly turned away from him.  

‘Why is he acting like a knight protecting me?’  

Even as she walked toward the Emperor’s platform, Therese could feel the Duke’s gaze piercing into her back.  

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor.”  

When Therese stepped forward and bowed, all eyes turned to her.  

As she raised her head, she met the Emperor’s disapproving gaze.  

“It’s disappointing to be greeted like that.”  

“……?”  

“It feels like you’re treating me like a stranger.”  

At those words, the eyes of the onlookers watching the two grew even more curious.  

Felipe Morciani enjoyed entertainment but was cold toward women.  

That was why the Emperor was still unmarried.  

Occasionally, he would spend a night with a woman, but none lasted more than two days before being sent away.  

Many nobles had presented their daughters as candidates for Empress, but the Emperor had rejected them all.  

At Therese’s puzzled expression, the Emperor shrugged lightly.  

“We’re not meeting for the first time, are we?”  

While his words weren’t wrong, it was excessive for him to act so familiar.  

After all, the only time they had spent together was browsing the bazaars.  

Still, she couldn’t point that out here, so she simply bowed her head.  

“Thank you for your kindness.”  

She had thought she could return to the Richard family’s seat after paying her respects, but the Emperor spoke again.  

“Come sit beside me.”  

He gestured to the seat reserved for the Empress.  

Shocked by the outrageous suggestion, Therese immediately shook her head.  

“I-I couldn’t possibly.”  

If she obeyed him, it would undoubtedly create the biggest scandal in the Caspian Empire.  

She could already picture the headlines in the newspapers.  

‘Duchess Richard revealed as the Emperor’s secret lover!’  

‘Surely, he’s not doing this on purpose?’  

As Therese speculated about the Emperor’s intentions, her brow furrowed deeply.  

Whether intentional or not, the consequences would fall entirely on her, Baron Demori, and the Richard family.  

“Duchess Richard, do you think I’m merely asking you?”  

When dissatisfaction flickered in the Emperor’s eyes, Therese quickly bowed her head.  

“Then I shall sit here.”  

Not wanting to aggravate the Emperor further, Therese quickly sat in the guest seat next to him.  

‘This feels like sitting on a bed of thorns.’  

The gazes of many women, who looked at her with envy, and the stares of noblemen trying to guess the Emperor’s intentions, all pierced her.  

‘It’s not something to be envious of.’  

Receiving the Emperor’s attention was like a double-edged sword. If handled well, it could bring wealth and power, but one had to constantly be on guard, unsure when the sword might strike.  

This was because the Emperor had a particularly strong obsession with things or people he had claimed as his own.  

‘How could I give away something that’s been tainted by my touch?’  

There were chilling rumors that the Emperor had broken the legs of a dancer he cherished and cut off the hands of a musician he favored.  

It was impossible to know if all the terrifying rumors were true, but Felipe Morciani was someone one should never let their guard down around.  

Noticing Therese’s tension, the Emperor narrowed his eyes and whispered.  

“Duchess, am I making you uncomfortable?”  

“Ah, not at all, Your Majesty.”  

In truth, just sitting next to the Emperor made her entire body tense, her hair stand on end, and her mind go blank.  

But she couldn’t possibly admit that.  

As her nerves got the better of her, Therese reached out to fidget with the brooch securing her cloak.  

‘……Ah.’  

Out of the countless people filling the ballroom, only one person caught her eye.  

‘……Jeremy Richard.’  

Beneath golden hair as radiant as the decorations of the Emperor’s palace, obsidian-like dark eyes were fixed solely on Therese.  

As if to keep the promise he made earlier, Duke Richard sat completely still.  

Staring only at her.  

His broad shoulders, his arms resting firmly, and his clenched fists seemed to speak to her.  

‘I’m here.’  

Seeing the Duke’s steadfast presence, Therese’s anxiety gradually subsided. Straightening her back, she was able to sit upright.  

Meanwhile, Felipe was desperate to capture Therese’s attention. Just as during the bazaar, she paid him no mind at all.  

‘Do you know how many women here would kill for just a glance from me?’  

Yet the Duchess ignored him and only looked at Duke Richard. And that wasn’t all—the Duke was glaring at him with daggers in his eyes.  

‘Look at him, bristling with thorns like that.’  

Felipe’s mood had been foul from the start, thanks to the Duke’s ridiculous attempts to guard what was his.  

There was undoubtedly a problem in this marriage.