Deceived 47

Chapter 47

***

"Um... why do you lock the door?"

"Because it would be troublesome if rats disturbed the wedding night."

"Who would dare enter the sacred marital bedchamber during the wedding night?"

"I can't disagree."

Edmund let out a hollow laugh and hung his coat on a chair. When he pulled his tie off his neck, the woman watching him flinched.

She had every reason to be tense. How could she not tremble, spending the night alone with a man she didn't trust in a tightly locked bedroom?

"I haven't washed yet. May I use the bathroom?"

“…Of course. It’s your bathroom.”

Edmund walked past the woman toward the bathroom. He wanted to wash away the tangled mess of thoughts in his head along with the water.

***

When he emerged from the bathroom in a robe, Blair was sitting demurely on the edge of the bed. She too wore a crisp white robe. Edmund stared at her face, which looked unusually youthful, unsure what to do.

He lit the bedside candles and turned off every light in the room one by one. In the silence, illuminated only by the soft flickering light, only the two of them remained.

Edmund was still consumed by worry.

To prove their marriage night had been consummated, he needed Blair's cooperation. But would she accept it? He wasn't very optimistic. The evidence to present to the priest and attendant waiting outside would be sound—the bride's moans, the echoes suggesting the union of husband and wife. Could a woman with no experience truly cooperate willingly and act out those sounds? The answer was definitely no.

“Edmund.”

Edmund, who had been pouring wine from the cabinet into a glass, looked up. Blair, who had been sitting on the bed, had somehow approached him and was now standing within arm's reach. A rich, fragrant soap scent wafted from her. It was the same scent he wore.

“I called your name three times. Didn't you hear me?”

“......”

"Did something happen?"

She asked, not entirely oblivious. Right, she couldn't possibly have missed it unless she was an idiot. Edmund took a sip of wine and stared down at Blair.

"Nothing happened."

"Did you happen to meet the Duchess?"

"Why would you think that?"

“…Well.”

Blair pursed her lips as if choosing her words. She lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, then narrowed the distance between them, meeting his gaze. Their pupils, dark and rippling, locked in a face-to-face stare.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I said trust was important, yet I wasn’t honest.”

"......"

"Actually, during the reception, when the Duchess called you away, I followed out of curiosity. She’d called me the day before too, talking about this and that. Nothing major. But... it seemed like she was subtly probing about you. It bothered me, and I gave in to my pointless curiosity."

Blair hesitated, bit her lip once, then added.

"The part about falling earlier? That was a lie too, of course."

"I knew."

"I should have confessed right away... yes?"

"I saw through both lies—the fall and you following me to eavesdrop on my conversation with my mother. So you don't need to apologize."

Edmund replied calmly, taking a few more sips of wine. Blair, standing beside him, stared intently at the ripple in his Adam's apple. As soon as he set his glass down with a clink, she asked as if she'd been waiting for it.

"So, are you okay with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a difference between figuring it out on your own and me telling you honestly, isn't there?"

"The result is the same. I know the truth now."

"No. It's significantly different. The former might be deception, but the latter means I didn't want to deceive you."

Heart. Why did that trivial thing keep weighing so heavily on him? The heart he knew was nothing but a cheap facade, an illusion that always returned as betrayal.

Was the heart this woman before him offering any different?

"Miss Blair is a truly peculiar person."

"Peculiar?"

"Aren't you expending excessive energy on pointless matters?"

"I don't consider them pointless. And, it's all I know how to do."

Edmund drained the last of the wine in his glass and lowered his eyes. A low sigh escaped him, mingled with deep fatigue. It was true he'd been through a lot since the wedding that morning, but his exhaustion wasn't solely due to the ceremony.

"Even if we're only a nominal couple, I wish we could at least become people who can trust each other. Just having someone nearby you can confide in is a great source of strength."

"......"

"Edmund, are you truly alright?"

Blair, who had been silently watching his profile, asked. She gently took hold of his hand holding the wine glass, as if soothing a wounded animal.

"Is there... anything I can do for you?"

Their eyes met again in the darkness. It wasn't mere curiosity, nor a polite inquiry. There was sincerity in her gaze. A warmth that slowly seeped into his chest like a deep, soothing heat. Edmund knew this was his chance.

"Something I can do."

He repeated her words softly.

"There is one thing."

"......"

"Can you hear me out?"

She didn't answer for a while. Her eyes, reflecting the light, simply shifted between his. After a moment of silence, Blair slowly raised her hand. He felt the small warmth envelop his cheek. He could have grabbed her wrist to stop her, but Edmund didn't. He didn't want the warmth caressing him to fade away.

Their gazes locked as Blair lifted her heel. She gently pressed her lips to his closed mouth.

It wasn't a contact that involved biting the lower lip or slipping in a tongue. It was an awkward kiss, so clumsy that only a trace of her saliva was exchanged. That single, inexperienced brush shattered the thin veil of reason into pieces. All that remained was a fiercely surging instinct—perhaps his most intimate truth.

Edmund reached out, gripping Blair's nape. His fingers tangled in her soft hair as his other arm wrapped around her waist. Their union deepened in one swift motion, her lips parting in a perfect circle. He pushed his tongue inside, mingling their breaths. The thudding of their hearts echoed within the space between their tightly pressed chests.

Their breath, tangled with saliva, grew hotter by the moment. Edmund, fearing the flustered woman might flee, stroked the downy hair near her neck with his thumb, gently biting her lips as if soothing her soft flesh, giving her time to adjust. When the familiar sensation returned, he tilted her chin and drew her tongue deeper, sucking it wetly.

Edmund lowered his hand and slowly pulled the sash of her robe tied around her waist. The woman offered no resistance. She didn't push his hand away or even pretend to shake her head. The gown, shed like a skin, fell to the floor. Blair was now clad only in a low-cut chemise.

He thrust his tongue between her pressed lips, pushing it in, while his hand slid down and dug beneath the chemise. His palm cupped the soft curve of her hip, caressing it before sliding upward along the contour. Pulling away from her lips, he kissed her nape and squeezed her large, full breast. The flesh, warm with her body heat, was impossibly plump and soft.

"Ah..."

The woman's languid sigh carried unmistakable arousal. As he squeezed her soft breast and pinched her swollen nipple, a rather loud moan escaped her. Fighting the urge to bury his face there immediately, Edmund bit her collarbone once, then firmly held Blair back as she stumbled, preventing her from falling, and guided her toward the bed.

Thud. He sat her down on the edge of the bed and lifted the hem of her sheer chemise. Between her snow-white legs, her bare, unclad mound was exposed. She whispered belatedly, her face lost in confusion.

"Edmund..."

He paused his movements and met Blair's eyes. Slowly, he bent his waist until their foreheads touched, biting his lip.

"I don't intend to hurt you."

He murmured low. His voice was quiet enough not to carry outside.