My Dear Grand Duke on a Leash - Chapter 92

Chapter 46.2 — Chalonné’s Man (8)

Throughout the dinner, her attention was focused on him, and her cheeks felt hot. Her mother had always been like that with her, so there was no need for him to protect her to that extent. However, the words didn’t come out of her mouth.

The sight of him quietly angry at her mother beside her strangely pricked her heart.

Recalling his firm voice that had decisively drawn the line against her mother’s neuroses, which had been a normal part of her daily life for twenty years, made her stomach flutter strangely.

‘So cool…’

“This, this can’t be…”

Riette stopped in her tracks and covered her face with both hands.

‘How can you be so excited so easily like this? Lariette! After everything is over, it’s just a relationship that will end in a year!’

“I have to think rationally…!”

Her muffled voice echoed in her palm.

She stood in the middle of the hallway, forcing herself to gather all the rigid thoughts stashed away in that corner. She must not forget the clear purpose of this marriage: to thwart the ascension of Narkissis during the one-year contract marriage.

Cain put a lot of effort into getting permission for the marriage, so from now on, she must also do her best to fulfill the contract. She must bear his child, play the role of a double agent for Narkissis, and ensure that the secrets of the Grand Duchy of Acheron wouldn’t leak…

A light bulb lit up in her head.

“Oh, Shushu, no, Ian must be furious!”

It had only been two days. Yet, Ian would pout and whine if she left him alone for even half a day.

Riette quickly crossed the hallway and reached the bedroom door. She pushed open the heavy bedroom door with a creak and stuck her head in. A large golden birdcage rested quietly on the windowsill. Beyond the slightly crumpled cage door, Ian sat on a perch, deeply immersed in serene sleep.

It was a tranquil sight.

“Huu…”

A sigh of relief escaped.

Riette tiptoed into the bedroom, holding her breath to avoid waking Ian, who slept deeply.

Thud.

The heavy sound of the door closing reached her ears a beat later.

‘…Come to think of it, when did Ian start transforming into a lark?’

She would soon be leaving Chalonné. Should she put him in the birdcage or just carry him? It would be inconvenient if he transformed into a human while she was packing, and it would truly be disastrous if Narkissis caught wind of that in the process.

‘I’m sorry, Ian, but I have to wake you up and ask you now. Since we don’t have much time…’

Riette paused abruptly in the middle of the room as she crossed the bedroom towards the window.

“….”

She felt a chill down her spine. A strange sensation crawled across the floor and gripped her back.

…Someone was there.

The realization hit her like a hammer to the head, and she turned slowly on the spot. As a person’s silhouette was reflected in the mirror on the wall next to the door, her pulse raced, and cold sweat gathered on her palms.

When she turned her head, her eyes met with the unknown intruder, and she involuntarily gasped.

“Your Highness Narkissis?”

His brilliant blond hair glistened in the light of the wall sconces.

Leaning diagonally against the console table with long legs stretched out, holding a swirling amber-colored drink in hand, it was Narkissis. It seemed that he had discarded his jacket somewhere since he was now dressed only in a shirt and vest. His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar.

He smirked, the corners of his eyes folding into an elegant smile.

“Hello, Lariette.”

His sly smile seemed like a god of pleasure descended to earth. Or perhaps like a prodigal son of a god who had come down to seduce the woman he had chosen. If it were an ordinary person, they would have been so captivated that they might have lifted their skirts in surrender to his dazzling allure.

“What kind of outrageous behavior is this? You came into the bedroom without a word!”

“Ppiik!”

As Riette raised her voice, Ian, startled, jumped up from his perch. At the sound, she stepped sideways to shield Ian from Narkissis’s view.

Tension gripped her spine.

‘He couldn’t possibly have discovered Ian’s identity, right?’

“Oh dear. You’re too cautious. It’s a little hurtful, you know. It’s not like it’s been just a day or two since we had a conversation in your room, isn’t it?”

“Things are different now. Your Highness and I are no longer friends!”

“Friends…”

Narkissis sighed and touched his chin, his eyes mockingly observing Riette like one would watch the anger of a small animal with its fur stand on end.

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but we were never friends. My friend is Beatrice. Don’t misunderstand. It’s true that I’ve liked you every moment since I got to know you.”

He then set down his glass of liquor on the console table.

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