Deceived 102

Chapter 102

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠He was wearing a thin robe, just like Blair. His black hair was slightly damp, so she could tell he had just finished showering in another bathroom.

“It’s been a long day.”

The man’s voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke. Blair, who had been unnecessarily hesitating, forced a smile.

“…It really has been.”

“Are you okay? You must have been quite startled.”

“I—I’m fine.”

Edmund didn’t continue the conversation; instead, he looked up at Blair with piercing eyes. As if he were ransacking the chaos of her mind, filled with dark anxiety. As if he were seeing right through the emotional turmoil she had tried so hard to ignore and the clumsy attempts she had made to put her feelings in order.

No sooner had Blair swallowed hard than he pushed the glass and whiskey bottle on the round table slightly away and reached out his hand.

“Come here.”

After hesitating for just a moment, Blair began to walk toward him. As soon as her hand touched his, Edmund gently wrapped his fingers around it and pulled her toward him, seating her on his lap. Then, burying his face in her full breasts, he inhaled her scent deep into his lungs. 

Blair looked down at Edmund, who was pressing himself against her, with a conflicted expression. Though their bodies were pressed this close together, her heart still drifted in the void, unable to connect with him.

“I thought doing this might make things a little better.”

Muttering quietly as he turned his head, Edmund buried his face in the nape of her neck. He scattered ticklish breaths across her sensitive skin before lowering his lips to her chest, covered by the robe.

“Are you okay?”

Blair cautiously spoke up. Perhaps thinking it was a strange question, a hint of a smile tinged Edmund’s reply.

“I’m not injured from just choking Rufus.”

“More than that, you seemed pretty worked up yourself…”

“As you can see, I’m calming down, so I’m fine.”

Edmund buried his face in the hollow of Blair’s collarbone and rained kisses upon it. Seeing this strikingly handsome man with his unusually sharp features pressing his lips against hers so frantically, her heart couldn’t help but race.

Blair couldn’t even muster a wry smile. Accepting this contact while harboring even a shred of distrust toward Edmund would be nothing short of deceit. So she should push him away, yet her heart was racing uncontrollably at the man’s body heat. Could the human heart really be this contradictory?

“My selfishness has caused trouble after all. This wouldn’t have happened if I’d left you behind in Borsa.”

“That’s not true.”

Blair cautiously raised her arm and stroked his hair. Just as Edmund had done to her all the way back to the duke’s residence, she gently ran her fingers through his smooth, black hair.

“What happened today would have happened eventually, one way or another. It was the result of Lord Rufus’s emotions running high.”

“Perhaps.”

Edmund gave a faint, mocking smile.

“My brother’s inferiority complex stems from me, so clashing as if we were trying to kill each other is a fate predetermined from the moment we were born. It won’t end unless one of us dies.”

“…….”

“In any case, I agree that running away isn’t the answer.”

For some reason, it felt like he was speaking to Blair. To the woman who was hiding a flood of questions she wanted to ask, yet pretended nothing was wrong as she accepted his lips. To that foolish woman who allowed him to ravish her to his heart’s content.

But he desired her just as much, didn’t he?

“…Is Lord Rufus really leaving for Rorschach?”

“Yes.”

“Is this your decision?”

“Of course.”

Edmund continued speaking while his lips remained pressed against Blair’s chest.

“Rather than failing to properly manage even a single one of the many family businesses my father left him, and just tormenting the maids at the mansion, it’s better for him to go to Rorschach, where he can be of use.”

Blair knew full well that Rorschach was a powerful matriarchal kingdom. There was no way Edmund would have gone out of his way to find a suitable match for Rufus. So, just as he had said, it meant he had to make full use of his pretty face and noble status.

Just like Blair. Just like countless women in the Kingdom of Genoa—only the gender had changed.

She swore she had not a shred of sympathy for a scoundrel like Rufus. It was just that, through him, she found herself looking at her own reflection in a mirror. She began to wonder if all the words Edmund had hurled at Rufus were, in the end, actually directed at her.

After pressing his lips against Blair’s chest for a while, Edmund naturally slid his hand inside her gown. The intimacy deepened in an instant.

The touch gripping her swollen breasts started cautiously but gradually grew passionate. The same was true of the kisses that landed wherever his lips touched. Edmund licked the area where Blair’s ear met her jaw, completely pushing her robe aside as he fondled her breasts. He twisted her nipples, then squeezed her breast, teasing it.

“…Ah! Mm…”

Her excitement doubled at the sight of the large man’s hands caressing her with such abandon. Blair let out a moan without realizing it, then paused and bit her lip. Her eyes darted quickly toward the tightly closed bedroom door.

Could someone be standing outside the door?

The very thought seemed ridiculous. After all, she had been screaming in such lewd ecstasy right here throughout the Duke of Liberte’s funeral, and now she was worried about the noise leaking out?

No, Blair had to admit it. Ever since learning the truth about their wedding night, she had been unsettled. She was anxious and couldn’t trust Edmund. Her doubts about his sincerity had swelled uncontrollably, leaving her in a state of turmoil.

Before she knew it, he had pulled the robe she was wearing past her shoulder blades and bit down hard on her exposed breast. He sucked on the soft flesh, making a slurping sound that was almost embarrassing, but when he didn’t get the reaction he wanted from her, he looked up.

“You’re distracted.”

“…Ed.”

“Is it because you’re tired?”

As Blair remained silent, her lips merely moving, Edmund muttered as if to himself.

“You used to let me hold you all the time when we were in Borsa. What kind of change of heart happened in such a short time?”

“I haven’t changed. I’ve always felt uncomfortable.”

The answer slipped out before she could stop it. Unable to contain her uneasy feelings, she buried her face in the conference room table. Perhaps her words, which seemed to mock the foolish woman who had once accepted him, had inadvertently offended him.

“Why?”

The man’s eyes flashed coldly as he asked the short question. His voice dropped low, as if asking, “After reaching climax countless times in my arms, what exactly was so uncomfortable?” Standing bare-chested before him, she felt like she’d rushed onto a battlefield without armor.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

They had finally made up, yet she couldn’t bring herself to meet those dark eyes and mumbled instead. Just moments ago, she had told him that avoidance wasn’t the answer, and now she felt like a complete fool.

“I’m just… not feeling well.”

It was true that a wave of fatigue kept washing over her, so Blair shrugged her shoulders and lowered her gaze. Though it was fatigue born of the distrust she harbored toward the man she loved.

“Why don’t you see your doctor?”

“It’s not that bad…”

“See him tomorrow, at least.”

Edmund drove the point home firmly and smoothed out the fabric of Blair’s dress that had slipped down below her chest. It was a signal that he wouldn’t touch her any further.

“It would be best to get checked out, even if it’s just a routine checkup. Your body sends signals when it’s changed, you know.”

…A body that’s changed? Blair tilted her chin, unable to grasp the meaning at first, but soon realized what he meant and blushed. What on earth was he thinking?

“Well, I have a slightly different opinion. I haven’t really felt any warning signs.”

“Given how much we’ve been together, isn’t the possibility high enough?”

A smile played at the corners of Edmund’s lips. His voice, emerging from between them, was remarkably calm.

“Benjamin has stepped out for a moment, so I’ll send a telegram to summon him to the mansion. Let’s meet him tomorrow.”

“…….”

“If you’re uncomfortable for the reason I suspect, it’s because it’s a very important matter.”