Chapter 5 – 【 What Misunderstanding Brings 】 (Part 6)

The Eastwood Trading Company, which had been shaken by recent investment failures, couldn’t refuse Henry’s proposal. No matter how much Lesia despised Henry.

“She told me she was opening a salon…”

Yuria mumbled dejectedly. Henry’s involvement meant that the game involving the railroad construction rights wouldn’t proceed fairly. But he didn’t expect them to involve the Princess. No, he should have known when they started pushing him to divorce the Princess.

Honestly, he was careless. He knew Henry was a reckless fool, but he didn’t expect him to kidnap the Princess. And he certainly didn’t expect him to plan to push her off a cliff in the same carriage as Edward.

“Do you know you almost became part of a historic love elopement?”

Pale-faced, Yuria shook her head. She wouldn’t have known. Edward was also completely unaware that he had been deceived. He was just excited about the prospect of impregnating the Princess and gaining a t*tle, without considering the feasibility. Henry said he would persuade Lahen well, but how could that be possible?

Everyone knew the Crown Prince and the Duke didn’t get along. Anyway, Edward was dragged in as Yuria’s lover. He was supposed to be the lover eloping with the Princess, who couldn’t bear the abuse and neglect of her vulgar husband.

Since he had met Yuria a few times before and mingled with others, he was perfect for the role.

“So, they had to make it look like you went to meet Edward on your own.”

Since Yuria stuck close to Cedric, they needed an excuse to separate her. Lesia took on that role. She completely bewitched the Princess, making her lose her senses. Seeing how naive she was, they must have drooled at the opportunity to manipulate her.

“How can you still be so naive after meeting so many men?”

Even if she flirted with others to get his affection, after dealing with so many people, shouldn’t she be able to read their true intentions? When Cedric scolded her, Yuria pouted again, then suddenly raised her head as if remembering something unfair.

“Then what about the cake?”

How could you bring the same cake I saw Lesia with at the cake shop? How could I not be suspicious? 

Yuria asked with narrowed eyes.

“She brought the cake for you.”

Of course, he waanted to throw that cake away. But since it was a famous cake shop, and all the women in Ritano went there at least once, he thought the Princess should try it too. She seemed to like sweet things.

He had softened a bit, and she had taken advantage of that gap. He couldn’t believe he fell for such a light trick.

“Then the nail marks.”

Cedric’s gaze fell on Yuria’s fidgeting hands.

“I did that?”

Her expression showed she had no memory of it. When Yuria reached her cl*max, she would scratch his shoulders and sides, but Cedric never made a fuss about it. It didn’t hurt much, and he didn’t want to make her self-conscious before reaching her peak.

Maybe I should tie her hands next time. 

She couldn’t deny it wasn’t her doing, but she couldn’t admit it either. Biting her lip, Yuria made her last argument.

“But she was your first love, right?”

“No, she wasn’t.”

How could anyone think I had a first love? 

Even Charlotte, who came to defend Yuria, briefly added that the word “first love” didn’t suit the Count at all. Even Charlotte, who had seen him only a few times, said that, so Yuria, who had shared a bed with him, didn’t know her husband at all.

Was it because he had been too soft on her? Indeed, when a person becomes soft, weaknesses appear. That’s why he had lived with a rigid body and mind all this time, but what now? Cedric swallowed his sarcasm as he looked at the Princess, who still had many questions left to ask. He didn’t want to let her go, nor did he want to become soft. As someone once said, he was just a greedy bastard.

“What about the marriage talk? Did you say you’d marry her?”

“Technically, she proposed.”

“So, did you say yes?”

“In passing.”

Since she seemed to want an honest answer, he answered honestly, and her shocked eyes trembled. The marriage talk that happened long before they met was so unbearable for her. The princess’s emotions towards him were so clear that it made him laugh, but she ended up looking sad.

“If it wasn’t love, why did you say you’d marry her?”

“Because I wanted to go to another kingdom. And she was a woman who didn’t require much attention.”

He had always disliked women who needed constant care and pampering. As he hinted at that, the Princess’s shoulders slumped even more.

“…Then what about me?”

“So you do know you need a lot of attention.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, ready to spill onto the blanket. There was no trace of the princess who smashed Edward’s head gone, leaving only the soft-hearted one behind.

“Yet I still live with you. Even when you ran away to start a life with another man, I brought you back.”

He got up and headed to the bed.

“And I even pamper you.”

Wiping away the forming tears and gently rubbing the marked lips, Yuria parted her lips as if asking for his tongue. He could give her his tongue anytime. Not just the tongue, but anything she wanted.

Yet she still lacked confidence.

“What do you think that means?”

Her tearful eyes stayed on him before rolling to the side.

“I, I don’t really…understand…”

Pretending not to understand, she was trying to get him to say what she wanted to hear. She was doing all the cute things by herself. Though her scheming was adorable,

“It means you need to be punished.”

He had no intention of giving in to the Princess’s wishes right now. Because of her, he had been through hell and heaven. The rational self he believed in was gone. When it came to Yuria, he became emotional. He had become the type of person he usually scorned as foolish. 

“But, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

And yet, she claimed she was just a victim of kidnapping.

“Nothing? You ran off when a woman you didn’t even know called you, and got kidnapped, and you think you did nothing wrong?”

“That was…”

“It was wrong.”

As he scolded her and pulled out a pearl necklace from his pocket, Yuria blinked, unsure of how to react. When he put the necklace around her neck himself, she smiled brightly, happy to have it back, no matter what had happened.

She didn’t realize it was more like a collar than a necklace. Now, even if she liked another man, she wouldn’t be able to run away. Cedric let Yuria enjoy her reunion with the necklace as he undressed her n*gligee.

“…Cedric?”

While she stammered, her n*gligee flew off the bed. She belatedly reached for it, her hand lingering futilely in the air before realizing what was next and quickly lowering it.

But Cedric was faster. The demure, outdated underwear she wore to suit his taste slid down her thighs and past her ankles in an instant. The sight of her white n*ked body adorned with only a pale pearl necklace was obsc*nely satisfying. If not for the scratches on her arms, it would have been perfect. How dare anyone leave marks on what was his.

Though the scratches were ones she made while trying to escape, his anger was directed at Henry and his cronies. As his gaze, filled with rage, lingered on her n*ked body, Yuria, noticing his anger, subtly lowered the arm that had been covering her chest.

She seemed to think he was angry because she had covered her body. That misunderstanding wasn’t bad, so he didn’t correct her.

“Spread your legs so I can see your hole.”

Knowing she would be punished in another way, Yuria looked at him with resentful eyes. Instead of spreading her legs, she clamped her thighs tightly together.

As if to punish her, Cedric flicked her hardened n*pple with his fingertip. Yuria’s body jolted at the sudden stimulation.

“You suspect your husband, who only has eyes for you, but trust a stranger you’ve only met a few times.”

Only have eyes for me? 

Yuria couldn’t believe her ears. 

“If you hadn’t given him a chance, would Edward have planned to c*m in your p*ssy?”

“No, really.”

That much was unfair. If it were Kyle, the man she met before Edward, she could understand. Though they hadn’t had s*x, they had a relationship somewhere between lovers and friends. Compared to that, Edward was barely an acquaintance.

“You can’t deny that your behavior gave him an excuse.”

That was true, so Yuria just moved her lips without saying anything. 

Couldn’t we just have passionate s*x and smooth things over?

“If you wanted my affection, you should have said so.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“You wandered outside because you wanted my attention.”

Her large green eyes trembled. It was true.

“If you had said so earlier, it would have been better, right? I thought you only liked being treated harshly.”

At first, he considered throwing Mr. Lawrence into the shark-infested sea. How could anyone interpret words like interest and affection as rough s*x and coercion?

“No, no. How could you believe such nonsense?”

“Honestly, it was hard to believe.”

It wasn’t really hard to believe; he did have a slight suspicion.

“I believed it because I liked you too much.”

“When did I, when did I ever!”

“Then did you not like it? What was it when you spread your legs and twisted your waist, asking me to thrust deeper?”

And who was it that lifted their skirt on a public street?