My Dear Grand Duke on a Leash - Chapter 85

Chapter 43.1 — Chalonné’s Man (1)

Riette looked up at Cain, dumbfounded.

“Grand Duke, are you jealous?”

“….”

That wouldn’t be possible.

For him, his marriage to her was just another expression of a thorough political alliance, nothing more. Besides, unlike her, he was a thoroughly rational person with a small emotional scale. If her secret hadn’t been exposed, they would have parted ways as they were. They had just formed a temporary alliance to thwart Narkissis. She knew exactly where she stood with him.

So, no matter how emotional a person might be, Riette understood that much.

“There’s no need to act when it’s just the two of us!”

Riette grunted as she pushed herself to her feet.

“You’re already dealing with so much. When there’s no one watching, don’t worry about me and just relax.”

As she leaned against the headboard, the blanket slid down over her pelvis. A white, undulating hill covered in petals was revealed.

Cain’s gaze lingered on her pure white body.

Plump and firm breasts that could fill a sizable hand. Moreover, there were traces of swelling from his torment all night and subtle imprints of handprints that stubbornly remained. In addition, down to her slender waist, which narrowed to a handful of thickness…

The area around her eyes was shadowed as if painted with hues since she was crying all night beneath him, and her eyelids were still slightly swollen, as were her lips.

Around her neck, the marks he left were vividly apparent.

Cain slowly sank onto the bed, pulling the blanket up and covered her chest. Only then did Riette realize her state and quickly pulled the blanket up.

“That’s not possible.”

“Why?”

“The truth…”

He cut himself off and closed his mouth. There was a moment of inexplicable silence, but it wasn’t long before he finally opened his mouth again.

“In reality, practice should be like the real thing, and practice prevents mistakes in unexpected situations.”

“….?”

It seemed like he uncharacteristically stumbled over his words for a moment, didn’t he? However, his gaze remained calm and placid as ever.

‘Was it just my imagination…?’

“Well, yes. That’s true, but…”

“There’s no need to overthink it. You just have to enjoy everything I do, like any other wife from an ordinary family.”

“Where in the world is there a wife like that? If you look at it, the Grand Duke isn’t just old-fashioned, but you keep talking about things from two hundred years ago.”

“I’m just stating a very basic principle. The Princess will get used to it when you go to Katak.”

Katak.

During feudal times, it was the manor of Acheron, and now it remains a vast piece of land owned under the name of a lord. It was the land Riette would have to take care of for a year as the Duchess of Acheron, and it was also where Cain’s siblings, whom he wanted to protect from Narkissis, resided.

Riette realized that she had never asked about his siblings despite them being the key motivation behind his marriage contract.

“Grand Duke, what are your other siblings like? Are they both as cute as Ian?”

“….”

When Cain furrowed his eyebrows reflexively, Riette tilted her head in response to his scowl.

“Do you… dislike your siblings?”

“There are no siblings anywhere in the world who call each other cute unless it’s a joke.”

“Why? Ian is cute!”

“Ian is five years old. If I had gotten married beforehand, he could have been my son’s age.”

“But still, a younger brother is a younger brother. He can be cute.”

“….”

Riette looked at him subtly, a hint of mischief in her smile.

“You might not want to admit they’re cute, but you still care about them a lot, don’t you?”

“….”

Cain tried to relax his expression and turned his head away. As he stared out the window, he murmured almost as if to himself.

“What would answering achieve?”

He lived solely for his siblings. Was there anything more to say? He slightly furrowed his eyebrows at the thought as he remembered his younger brothers’ faces.

“I would like to tell you in advance that they still lack considerably and require a fair amount of education. While naturally gifted, they are generally…”

He swallowed as if choosing his words.

“Their behavior is somewhat lacking. Still. It’s not enough to say that they’re lacking.”

Not only that their tempers were a handful, but they also had personalities that warranted such a statement.

“Because they’re young. Things like that happen, too! Ian is really nice.”

“Ian isn’t my brother.”

“Huh?”

Cain turned his head again to face Riette.

“Now that we’re going to become a family, I’ll be honest with you. Ian is, to be precise, my uncle.”

“….”

Riette’s eyebrows arched quizzically as if she had just tasted a sour candy.

“So… Ian’s father is the Grand Duke’s grandfather?”

“That’s right.”