My Dear Grand Duke on a Leash - Chapter 15
Chapter 8.1 — Princess Wedding (13)
Cain cleared his throat as he felt a lump coming up.
Meanwhile, Riette was so focused as she pursed her lips, completely unaware of his expression and posture. Perhaps it was because she had only seen the liquid formulation, but the semi-solid texture was quite unfamiliar.
When she put it on the back of her hand, it clumped together, so she had to apply quite a bit of strength with her fingers to spread it out.
“Hm… I was afraid that it’d hurt because I had to press it hard, but the more I rubbed it, the better it felt. It’s tingling yet cool…”
As a satisfying glow flowed on the back of Riette’s hand, a sense of pride slowly rose. Only then did she face Cain again.
….?
A question mark floated in the innocent green eyes.
Cain, with his clasped arms reverently lowered between his legs, was staring into the harsh space. He was wearing a very serious, thoughtful expression on his face.
“Ah, Grand Duke?”
Cain looked back at Riette in surprise as if ice had touched the back of his neck as she showed him her stretched-out hands.
“Ta-da~ I applied it well for the first time, right? I’m afraid I’ll become a doctor at this point. Sounds like a good idea since it’ll help my sister, too, don’t you think so?”
Thanks to the smooth ointment, her well-groomed fingertips shone in the sunlight.
“…Now, we can wrap the bandage, and you’re done. Give me your hand.”
Cold. Her hand was cold.
He began to carefully bandage Riette’s hand, which she held out neatly. The sight of her skin turning red and burnt like this made his heart ache. The pain must’ve been daunting. Had She been holding it in all along with this tiny body…?
Her hands were very fine and delicate. Maybe the only thing she could hold was a teacup. It would be a sin to make a royal woman carry something heavier than that in the first place.
…What on earth had happened to Chalonné Palace to make such a severely injured Princess meet Prince Narkissis?
It was an incomprehensible treatment. If he were an aristocrat of Chalonné, he would thoroughly manage and supervise to prevent such a terrible accident from occurring in the first place…
Tuk.
Their two hands brushed. It was because Cain was distracted by his thoughts.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have moved my hand.”
“No. It was me.”
“But, you must not like it. That’s why you’re being careful.”
“I don’t hate it. Not at all.”
Surprised by the words that had been spat out in an unconscious mind, Cain shut his mouth. His hand, which was wrapping her bandage, also stopped abruptly.
He morbidly hated being in contact with anyone, to the point where Narkissis thought he had a chronic illness. Not to mention his family, he was a man who hated even contact with the Emperor. Because of that, he couldn’t even understand the words that came out of his mouth.
‘I don’t like it. Not at all…?’
“I see. I’m glad to hear that.”
Riette murmured as if relieved.
Regardless if it was because he had polite manners, it was more likely that they could become friendly rather than him hating it.
She vaguely knew what was going on in the couple’s bed, but she didn’t know any specific detail of the process. However, thanks to having good parents, she knew very well that if she wanted to get married, they shouldn’t hate the act of being in close contact with each other.
The silence, which was strangely different from before, tickled the lips of the two.
‘Yes. It’s not like I didn’t know…’
Having to marry him meant holding hands with him, talking to him… it meant they had to adjust to each other. She’d have to sleep and wake up in the same bed as him for at least a year…
Meanwhile, as Riette was in her thoughts, Cain was already cutting off the excess fabric that stretched across the table with scissors. To secure the end, he lightly pressed her palm with his thumb. The body heat flowed through the thin cotton cloth permeated into each other.
It was much like touching fingertips, just that much.
“Well, just a little… can I touch you a little more?”
“….”
‘If he doesn’t hate it even if he touches it that much, wouldn’t the gap of possibility open up a little more?’
She stared at his hand, which had frozen in place.
After her father died, Riette never even had contact with men. Even if it was just the fingertips, regardless, bare skin was bare skin. His eyes… she couldn’t face him, feeling guilty for putting such a cunning test on someone who didn’t know anything.
Her ribs and between her toes were a little tickling…
As she put strength on her toes inside her shoes, she slowly reached out to him. Her fine, unbandaged fingertips touched his fingers.
Suddenly, his shoulders stiffened in surprise.
Riette brushed his hand very carefully, from the knuckles of his fingers to the back of his hand with vivid blue veins…
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