It's Not A Childcare But A Contract Marriage - Chapter 19 Part 2

‘Did I want to make sure she was okay?’

The door opened and a small figure was seen. When she raised her head, her eyes were thankfully dry.

Upon seeing this, the duke felt a slight sense of relief.

‘What a pointless act.’

For some reason, the duke felt awkwardly speechless in the face of unfamiliar emotions.

As the memories in his mind transitioned to the next scene, although there was no one watching, the duke subtly covered his eyes that had started to redden for no apparent reason.

‘Dressing according to the occasion is only natural.’

Even as he chastised himself, the flush on the duke’s ears would not go away.

She was in her bedroom, dressed comfortably as one would for sleep. 

Although he had seen her a few times in the mansion, this was the first time he had seen her in a dress like that.

Was she truly a fairy like she appeared at the engagement ceremony, or was this just another one of her acts?… … .

The image of the contract bride, dressed in robes that fluttered like wings, flashed in the duke’s mind, making his neck flush once again.

“Hmph.”

The duke exhaled a hot breath as if blaming his stifled throat for no reason.

In any case, it had been fine until then. 

They had stamped the documents promising marriage, but she, just like he knew, had done it out of a deal.

So, instead of casually exchanging glances like those who had entered some personal relationship, he could simply turn his head rationally.

His reason was fully functioning until he listened quietly to her story, trying to keep his eyes on the teacup she had poured for him as much as possible.

With delicate pink eyes that seemed to wonder what the visit was about, he brought up the topic appropriately and cleared up the name that was bothering him.

“Then Kyle?”

When the word ‘Kyle’ came out of her mouth, he couldn’t help but pause unconsciously.

Still, up to this point, his senses were intact.

The problem was…

“Please take care of me in the future.”

As she said that, she held out her hand.

As he stared at the innocently outstretched hand of his contract bride, who knew nothing, Kyle strengthened his resolve.

Remembering the first time she had held his hand when she came to his office and what she had given him, he aimed not to show any signs of unease or hesitation.

‘It was no use.’

When her hand touched.

Touching bare skin without anything blocking it was on a completely different level from what he had vaguely guessed and prepared for.

The contact with her hand was fundamentally different from what he had vaguely imagined and prepared for.

The sensation flowed through his hand, not letting go until it reached the indentation on her palm, and even to the tips of her slightly raised small fingers, as if it was too precious to let go.

He wanted to swallow it whole.

‘I don’t want to be apart even for a second anymore.’

That thought felt natural.

An addictive sensation he felt for the first time in his life.

He wanted to stay like this forever, no, he wanted to overlap even more. A strong impulse dominated his entire body.

The strength that had been flowing out of him unconsciously suddenly relaxed.

“Um, Duke? … … Duke!”

It was after he recognized the delicate, slightly frowning eyes.

The duke, who realized that he was holding on to her small fingertips so tightly that they turned white, slowly opened his fingers.

It was very difficult to let her hand slip away from him.

He felt her gaze glancing at him as if she thought it was strange.

He made the excuse that he had been drinking too much, but in reality he was not drunk at all.

His monstrous physique was barely affected by something of that caliber.

‘If I’m drunk, it’s because of her.’

He shook his shoulders at the crazy thought that came to his mind at that moment.

Brushing back his black hair falling on his forehead, the Duke pushed away the strange thought.ts.

‘… … Although she didn’t seem to notice at all.’

Last night, even though he had not gotten drunk from the ten cups of alcohol, he had become somewhat dazed from a simple handshake.

He couldn’t understand her words at that time, but her face, which didn’t seem to have any idea how her small hand was shaking him, said it all.

Still feeling the sensation that made his body sluggish, he didn’t understand her words, but he could only remember how her small and thick lips moved.

If he later recalled what entered his head, it was like this.

“I think we should establish some rules to have a successful contract marriage for the next year.”

“… …”

“First, as for me, Evelie Ivernum, as long as I maintain this name, I pledge to fulfill the role of a model Duchess without crossing any lines.”

Without receiving any response like a nod, she continued to speak diligently even when he was lost in thought.

“If there’s anything you expect from me, please tell me. I mentioned it earlier, but I’ll let you know right away if I remember it.”

“… …”

“Oh, just in case… Since others will be watching, even if our bedrooms are combined, we won’t have a marital relationship, right?”

He came to his senses at that moment. Perhaps it was because he had heard something absurd.