Rosaline was confused. This man seemed to like her, maybe even love her, so why wasn’t he questioning her suspicious behavior?

Did he just see her as a wife from an arranged marriage and not care enough to get angry? Or, if their relationship was purely political, shouldn’t he be even more inclined to question her? He could feel deceived.

But he showed no such signs. He just looked pleased that Rosaline’s body temperature was returning to normal. Everything about him was overwhelming and puzzling.

“Shall we take a bath?”

“Rosie?”

Both Rosaline, who spoke, and Lucas, who heard her, were surprised. But Rosaline was more surprised. She intended to explain what had just happened. That nothing had happened. But saying that might make her look even more suspicious, as if she were preemptively defending herself.

Kallen Addis was a worthless man who brought no benefit to her life. So Rosaline suddenly felt very tired. She just wanted to lie down on the bed. Since she was raised as a high-ranking noble with strict education, Rosaline had to bathe before getting into bed. That thought had briefly crossed her mind, and the words ‘Shall we take a bath?’ slipped out.

Momentarily flustered, Lucas soon smiled brightly. It wasn’t her imagination that his smile seemed to carry a hint of anticipation and excitement. Lucas often bathed her himself when she lost consciousness or fell asleep after their intimate moments. So this wasn’t their first bath together, but it was the first time she suggested it.

Of course, she had only suggested taking a bath, not necessarily together. But he interpreted it that way. Lucas quickly picked her up and headed to the bathroom. He intended to act before she changed her mind or recovered from her surprise. The capable servants had already prepared the bath and were ready to assist. He lightly shook his head to dismiss them all.

“Lu-Luke.”

“Yes.”

With a nonchalant expression, Lucas kissed various parts of Rosaline’s face. The smacking sounds echoed loudly in the wet bathroom. Watching the clothes fall to the floor one by one, Rosaline thought not of embarrassment but of how incredibly skilled this man was.

They had done it enough to become skilled. But was that all? Sitting in the bathtub, leaning against the wall, Rosaline watched Lucas undress.

Every time she saw him, she thought he was incredibly handsome. Even if he weren’t a grand duke or an archmage, he would have been the center of attention in social circles.

Did he really not have any other women besides her? Rosaline suddenly became curious. Even a man like Kallen had his wife, a pregnant mistress, and another mistress, toying with three women in total. Was Lucas Bryant, who was much more impressive and handsome, really only interested in her?

But the thought didn’t last long. Before she knew it, Lucas, now completely naked, knelt outside the bathtub and began to massage Rosaline’s shoulders. It was different from his usual tender caresses. This was a genuine massage.

“Luke?”

“You did an amazing job today. All the guests left happy.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I’m really proud of you, Rosie.”

She was aware that she had done well. But receiving such praise made her feel a bit embarrassed. With that budget and even using magic directly from her husband, anyone could have managed this. Sensing her thoughts, Lucas spoke with a serious expression, devoid of any humor.

“Rosie, I don’t think you realize how amazing you are.”

In fact, she didn’t. Rosaline thought it was only natural, but her abilities were unparalleled. Household management might seem trivial to some.

But in reality, managing the household was more important than external affairs. Handling internal matters, distributing the budget, organizing everything neatly inside and out, and managing people—all of this was extremely challenging.

Rosaline managed these difficult tasks smoothly without any noise. Since she became the Grand Duchess, the satisfaction of the employees had skyrocketed.

Lucas was never a difficult master to serve, but beyond that, having the right people in the right places, allowing them to focus solely on their tasks within the allotted time, and receiving fair compensation for their work was uncommon.

The employees knew this better than anyone. They had their own network. For their livelihood, they had to share information about places with good and bad reputations. Comparing conditions, they couldn’t help but recognize how excellent the working conditions and pay at the Bryant Grand Duchy were. As a result, the turnover rate of employees at the Grand Duchy had been zero since Rosaline’s arrival.

Household management was difficult to do well, but poor management was immediately noticeable. Rosaline was perfect at it. Lucas felt proud and pleased on her behalf, as she didn’t realize how extraordinary she was. She was someone who could excel in this way.

“From today, I’ll tell you every day how perfect you are, Rosie.”

“What, that’s…”

Lucas, looking at her affectionately as she stammered in embarrassment, stood up and entered the bathtub. He hugged Rosaline and sat her on his lap. Feeling embarrassed to look at him, Rosaline closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder.

In the meantime, Lucas skillfully guided her legs to wrap around his waist and gently stroked her back. A sigh of satisfaction escaped her.

Then his touch began to change, becoming more intimate. Unlike the earlier massage, this touch had a different purpose. But Rosaline kept her eyes closed and surrendered to his touch.

It felt good. She felt relaxed and drowsy, like she could fall asleep just like this. But his lower body, particularly large and hard, serving her, made it clear that she should probably engage with him at least once or twice out of conscience.

“Rosie…”

“Right now… it’s too much.”

Lucas kissed her temple and whispered with a smile, ‘I wasn’t suggesting right now.’

05.

“Huff… Ugh…”

Rosaline tried to strengthen her trembling legs. As a result, only half of him was inside her, but Lucas was busy kissing Rosaline as if nothing was wrong.

Gentle eyes and soft hands. From the waist up, he was a perfect gentleman. The fact that he was pushing that monstrous thing into his wife’s lower body was hidden by the bathtub. So Rosaline couldn’t relax her legs.

The moment she relaxed, it would be buried to the root, and that was too overwhelming. When she was on top of him, taking him in, it went in too deeply, making it hard to stay conscious.

He served her for a long time. She received both a regular massage and an erotic one simultaneously, and only after a long time did Lucas slowly start to push his thing in. If she took him all the way in this state, she would reach climax quickly and fall asleep immediately.

So Rosaline tried to keep her body tense and stay conscious. Lucas seemed to enjoy her cute efforts.

“It’s okay, Rosie. Relax.”

“Hah… Ugh, but…”

“I’m fine. But if you’re in pain, then I’m not fine.”

Lucas grabbed Rosaline’s waist while sitting and pulled her down strongly.

“Ah, ahh, ahhh!”

Lucas’s thing reached the deepest part of Rosaline in an instant. At the same time, Rosaline’s insides convulsed and contracted violently. Her pupils dilated, and her whole body trembled before going limp. The climax was intense, as much as she had held back. Lucas licked her slightly parted lips and saliva while patting her buttocks.

“Good job. Does it feel good?”