Ch#39
“You’re misunderstanding, Rosalyn. You’ve done nothing wrong. I was simply delayed longer than expected while attending to our guests.”
He chose not to elaborate. There was no need to tell her he’d stayed away because he feared she might be frightened or uncomfortable, or that he thought it best to give her a few days of space. What was the point in sharing such foolish thoughts?
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m glad the misunderstanding is cleared up.”
And yet, there she was, smiling like that.
“Indeed. I’m glad as well.”
“I hope we can continue to have such honest conversations. Communication is the most important thing to prevent misunderstandings, after all.”
“Of course.”
“Then, may I expect you to come to me early tonight?”
Rosalyn didn’t hide her anticipation. Seeing those sparkling eyes only made him more incredulous, and suddenly, he didn’t want to play along. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to respond politely, as if he’d been waiting for the invitation, saying, ‘I understand; as you say, we shall certainly do so tonight’?
‘I want to fulfill my role as your wife.’
In other words, she was telling him to do his part as a husband.
Jared felt something twist deep inside him. He disliked this situation, he disliked this woman, and he disliked himself. A profound sense of disillusionment with everything surrounding him washed over him.
That was why he didn’t give her the answer she wanted.
“I’m afraid I can’t promise that. As you know, we have many guests at the house right now, and as the host, situations often arise where I cannot leave when I wish.”
“I don’t know what kind of gentlemen you associate with, but I doubt they would feel slighted if you left a little early. They are thoughtful people, and I’m sure they would understand your circumstances.”
“My circumstances?”
“You need an heir,” Rosalyn said.
She spoke with a calm face, her gray eyes blinking slowly. Her expression was so earnest that she didn’t even avert her gaze. In that moment, a powerful surge of emotion pierced through Jared.
“Right. Of course.”
Shame. Or perhaps rage.
“I need one quite badly. An heir.”
He couldn’t distinguish exactly what this hot, immediate agitation was.
“That is why I married you, after all.”
A crooked smile touched his lips. He felt a twisted sense of satisfaction at the words that had slipped out.
Did he want to hurt her? Perhaps.
Indeed, Rosalyn fell silent for a moment. It seemed his words had stung. Jared watched her face with a subtle sense of pleasure, expecting to see her wounded and shaken.
But his wife did not waver.
“Since I am married to you, that matter is my responsibility as well. I am well aware that having a child as soon as possible is the best way to put everyone at ease. Everyone is waiting for good news, so I hope you will put in the effort as well, Your Grace.”
She said this with an astonishingly composed demeanor. It was the same thing he’d heard until he was sick of it from his mother, his uncles, his great-uncles, and his great-aunts. This woman was saying the exact same thing people had been hounding him with for years.
‘So please, be faithful to your duty, Duke of Windburg.’
That goddamn duty.
Jared looked at her, suppressing a quiet fury. He looked at her beautiful blue dress and her white hands folded elegantly on her lap. The diamond on her left ring finger shimmered. The unchanging brilliance of that diamond, which was at least three hundred years old, felt hideous to him.
Then he reminded himself who this woman was. She was the woman who had put that ring on her own finger. Why had he felt even an ounce of pity or consideration for a woman who wanted to be a Duchess so badly that she’d accepted a proposal like that?
‘I married him knowing all of that. Becoming the Duchess was my lifelong goal.’
This woman didn’t need his consideration. What she needed was a child. Now that she had the Glan name, she needed to bear a son. That was the only way she could become the Dowager Duchess after he died.
To feel such misplaced pity for a woman like her.
Jared mocked himself as he shifted his weight to his other foot. His wife sat there like a doll, still waiting for his answer. The blue satin dress—the aristocratic color suited her perfectly.
The Duchess of Windburg.
“You’re right, Rosalyn. Thank you for the excellent advice.”
Jared smiled. His anger faded, replaced by a cold clarity. Without hesitation, he turned and opened the bedroom door. Stepping past the threshold, he turned his head back.
“Come in.”
Rosalyn didn’t seem to understand his words immediately. She stared blankly at his face, looked at the bedroom beyond the open door, and then looked back into his eyes.
“……Now?”
“You told me to put in the effort.”
Finally, a look of bewilderment crossed her face. Jared stared at the woman sitting like a portrait on the parlor couch. Her straight shoulders and the nape of her neck; the sensual shadows of her collarbones. Keeping his gaze on those beautiful lines, he spoke.
“Let’s do it now. The effort.”
He could do it. He could put in as much effort as she wanted. If that was what the Duchess so desired.
Click.
Her body stiffened at the sound of the bedroom door closing. Rosalyn took a slow, deep breath, trying not to be nervous. It was just past eight in the morning, a time when the day’s routines had barely even begun.
All the curtains in the room were drawn back. Morning sunlight poured in through the large glass windows. This was because she’d asked for her morning service earlier than usual today. Noblewomen usually didn’t leave their bedrooms before ten.
Standing in the middle of the bright bedroom, Rosalyn felt at a loss. Surely there was no one left in the dressing room. The maid who’d helped her dress had gone, but the Duke’s barber might still be tidying up. She was worried, but she didn’t have the courage to ask, so she simply stared at the man’s back.
Jared was silently taking off his morning coat. He didn’t even glance her way, but she could feel a cold aura radiating from him. Was he angry? Why? She tried to guess the reason for his displeasure, but she wasn’t given the time.
The man, having hung his coat over a chair, turned toward her. He was still wearing his crisp white shirt, gray vest, and silk tie. Jared looked at her, dressed perfectly as a gentleman. His cold eyes felt like they were pressing down on her windpipe. Rosalyn was afraid, so she felt she had to say something.
“……Should I lie down?”
“Take it off.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“You should take it off before lying down.”
His face was completely devoid of humor. Rosalyn met his cold gaze in the bright sunlight. She hadn’t expected to be stripping herself in such a bright place at eight in the morning. It was truly unexpected. It was a turn of events she’d never even imagined, leaving her utterly bewildered.
How did it come to this? Should she have brought it up at a more appropriate time? But he returned so late every night, and in the mornings, he hurried away before she could even try to talk to him. During the day, they were never given a chance to be alone.
And now, finally, she was with her husband. She had no reason to refuse his demand. This was a mutual duty of a married couple, a responsibility they were meant to fulfill together.
‘Now that matter is my responsibility as well. I am well aware that having a child as soon as possible is the best way to put everyone at ease.’
It is my job. It is the role I must play.
Steeling herself, Rosalyn reached for her chest. She untied the ribbon of her satin dress and began to undo the buttons one by one. Only after she’d unbuttoned down to her waist did she think of her undergarments. The corset and petticoat, the thin chemise and drawers beneath them, and the stockings.
“You don’t need to take it all off.”
As if reading her mind, he approached her. Rosalyn suppressed the urge to step back. Trapped between the two beds, there was nowhere to run anyway.
“We don’t have time for that.”
Jared reached out without hesitation and pulled the ribbon of her corset. It took him no time at all to untie the knot at her chest and finger the laces loose. He only needed to create enough space for his hand to fit.
“Ah,”
Everything was unfamiliar, and it began so suddenly. A large hand delved inside the corset. His touch, kneading and probing, was hurried and rough. It was completely different from their wedding night, when he’d treated her with such care. Rosalyn had to bite her lip to keep from showing the pain she felt at every sharp touch.
Pleasure and pain were unexpectedly close. At the end of the stinging ache was a strange trembling. The pain was bearable, but the pleasure was what she found difficult to endure.
Even with her mouth shut, sounds leaked out. She couldn’t help the way her body twisted. At some point, Rosalyn realized the man’s arm was wrapped around her waist and her hands were resting on his shoulders.
They stood close, facing each other. Just like they were dancing.
