18. The Effects of Heavy Snow (2)
“Ugh…”
The next day, Saena woke up with a throbbing headache.
Why does her head feel like it’s about to split?
Pressing her forehead, Saena rose and scanned the room. Her memories gradually returned.
‘Ah right, this isn’t our house.’
After drinking last night…
Her memory after drinking the whiskey was hazy. Perhaps mixing drinks when she wasn’t even good with alcohol had been a mistake. Or maybe drinking spirits had been the mistake.
“Water…”
Her throat burning intensely, Saena looked around. Fortunately, she spotted a water pitcher by the bed. Gulp gulp. Only after downing two full cups of water did she feel somewhat more clear-headed.
Though her spinning head and nausea hadn’t completely subsided, it was more bearable than before.
When she signaled that she was awake, maids entered to attend to her. Unlike usual, she decided to eat first and then bathe. After finishing a light meal, her hangover seemed to ease somewhat. She felt completely aler after completing a half-bath as well.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t remember how I got back to this room last night.’
The Duke had even fixed the door open so she could return safely after drinking moderately, but the problem was she had no memory of returning on her own feet. Reproaching herself for acting without any sense of caution yesterday, Saena thought she should apologize to the Duke.
“He stepped out briefly to handle some matters regarding the heavy snow.”
But when she asked about the Duke’s whereabouts, that was Royter’s response.
Perhaps because he had always been near her until now, as if determined to be her hands and feet, she found herself strangely flustered by that answer.
“Yes… I understand.”
“He asked us to take good care of Miss in the meantime. Is there anything you need?”
“No, it’s fine. Thank you for your consideration.”
Thinking about it, it made sense that he would be busy. Whether as a lord or as the head of the family. It was stranger that he had stayed by her side for several days until now.
She convinced herself of this.
The strange emptiness she felt was simply because someone who had been constantly by her side was gone.
Or perhaps it was natural to feel this way because this wasn’t her home but someone else’s house, leaving her with nothing to do.
That’s what she told herself.
‘I should work on the translations.’
Though she couldn’t directly examine the Black Diamond without the Duke, she could at least analyze the patterns she had copied so far, so Saena headed to the study thinking she should at least do that.
That day, even as she wrestled with the characters until sunset, ate dinner, and went to bed, the Duke did not appear.
* * *
Clatter!
Saena suddenly woke up to the sound of windows rattling in the blizzard.
‘It’s still dawn.’
Though she hadn’t gone to bed particularly early yesterday, she woke up before morning.
It seemed to be because of the temperature.
The fireplace in the room had been filled with so much firewood that the air was not just warm but stifling hot. It seemed she had even sweated a bit while sleeping.
Saena brushed back her loosely flowing hair and exhaled deeply. She wanted to breathe some cold air.
The terrace was inaccessible with snow piled high outside the window. Saena thought she should go out and walk near the porch for a bit.
After draping a thick shawl over her nightgown, just as she was about to leave, the connecting door caught her eye.
‘…I wonder if he’s returned?’
Whatever the matter was, there had been no sign of the Duke returning even when she went to bed. She thought perhaps he might still be absent. Strangely, she suddenly felt a strong urge to confirm whether he was present or absent.
Human psychology is strange — perhaps it was because she had been told that door could only be opened from this side.
‘Just for a moment… let me take a quick peek.’
Just to check if he’s there or not, then close it right away.
Though she rationalized it this way, Saena’s heels had already lifted. Though the action itself reeked of impropriety, her hand didn’t stop as it carefully opened the door.
The doorknob had a button on top that needed to be pressed while turning for the door to open. This button probably served as the automatic lock.
She flinched momentarily at the clicking sound when pressing the button, but the door itself opened silently and smoothly.
Through the opened gap, Saena first carefully poked her head in.
Seeing the fireplace burning, it seemed more likely that the room’s owner was present. Saena narrowed her eyes and peered toward the bed, relying on the firelight.
A shape on the distant bed appeared to be undulating. Though she couldn’t see the face, it was clearly a human form.
‘So he did return.’
And appears to be asleep.
Having confirmed this, Saena started to withdraw. Or rather, she tried to.
“Urgh…”
If she hadn’t heard that pained voice that sounded like it was choking.
Saena narrowed her eyes, as if doubting her hearing, and carefully examined the Duke’s bed. The occasional trembling of his body and the choking-like sounds he made were deeply concerning.
‘…Is he sick?!’
Saena entered his room, startled.
He might have caught a cold while taking care of her.
Since all she could see was his back as she approached, Saena walked around to the opposite side of the bed.
His form curled up in the center of the massive bed was clearly not normal. She climbed onto the bed, trying to look at his face.
— Bang!
Suddenly, the loud sound of the door closing made Saena jump. Having rushed in without properly securing the connecting door, it closed behind her.
“Ah!”
Before she could even process the closed door, her vision was suddenly flipped.
In an instant, he grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the bed.
“D-Duke?”
“……”
Was he really awake? Something seemed off about his state of mind.
Sweat beaded between his furrowed brows, and his eyes seemed unfocused.
And his touch… his touch was different from usual.
“Uhm… excuse me?”
As if he couldn’t hear her words, he moved his hands slowly.
The hand holding her wrist slid down her inner arm, caressing her skin. Despite this, his grip remained strong enough that she couldn’t easily escape.
“Saena…”
His fever-tinged voice wrapped around her ear. His voice seemed to be yearning for something, sending chills down her spine, yet somehow making it difficult to push him away.
“…Are you ill?”
Are you really awake?
Though she wasn’t sure, this didn’t seem like a cold. His hands caressing her remained cool to the touch.
“Eek!”
When his hand moved from her arm to brush past her armpit and down her side, the sensation felt so strange that she wanted to escape immediately. But his legs were pressing her down, making it impossible.
“D-Duke?! Ah!”
He had suddenly lowered his head and buried his face in her neck. The sensation of his lips nuzzling slowly against the line where her neck met her shoulder made all her fine hairs stand on end.
It was different from getting goosebumps, but similarly prickly, making it feel very strange.
“Ha……”
When he exhaled a breath he’d drawn deep into his lungs, it felt like every inch of her skin was rising and standing on end.
Saena drew in a sharp breath, afraid strange sounds might escape her throat.
His other hand still held her wrist, his thumb circling and caressing the inner skin. The large man, languidly entangled with her, gradually expanded his territory along her exposed skin.
“Hnh.”
Finally, a strange sound escaped her lips.
He had licked up her neck. As she hunched her shoulders at the strange feeling, he burrowed deeper between them, nuzzling.
“Ah, D-Duke…”
What should I do? I can’t even cry out…
Saena felt herself starting to feel strange too.
Saena desperately tried to push him away by wedging one hand between them. His robe must have loosened while sleeping, as her hand directly met his bare chest.
She pushed, trying to ignore the sensation of firm skin against her palm. Surprisingly, he moved when pushed. Though his lips did trail up from her neck to her chin as he moved.
“…Saena.”
Whether it should be called fortunate or not, he seemed to at least recognize that the woman beneath him was Saena.
The problem was that his dreamy eyes still didn’t look normal.
“Are you… coming to your senses?”
Saena asked as she removed her hand from his chest. He caught that hesitating hand and pressed his lips to her palm.
“Ah!”
Though it was less sensitive than her neck, it still felt strangely intense. Her fingers curled tightly, but couldn’t fully bend due to his cheek blocking them.
“Saena, Saena…”
He seemed absorbed in exploring her skin while murmuring only her name repeatedly.
His half-closed white eyelashes slowly lifted as he fixed his gaze on her face. Then his head gradually lowered.
“……!”
Though she was watching intently, somehow she couldn’t turn her head away. In the end…
“Mmn.”
She ended up accepting his kiss.
Unlike his careful caressing of her skin, the kiss was rough.
His tongue parted her lips and entered her mouth, exploring as if searching for something hidden inside.
“Mm, ngh.”
He tilted his head to push his tongue deeper. His tongue was as large as his build, filling her mouth completely. Feeling short of breath, she clung to his shoulders, struggling to find space to breathe.
Saliva pooled in her mouth, which was spread wide with no chance to close. The Duke licked and sucked at it as if he’d been waiting for this.
Lewd sounds escaped between their teeth.
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