Secret Private Life of the Villainous Grand Duke - Chapter 64
Moritz’s work ended in the middle of the night. Exhausted, Moritz emerged from his study with slow steps. Immediately, a maid came up beside him.
“Lily?”
“She’s in the bedroom. She’s had dinner.”
Saying that, the maid glanced at Moritz. It was because Moritz had skipped dinner. Thanks to that, Paul, whose stomach was rumbling, had also missed his dinner.
Unlike Paul, who had eaten the food the maid had brought after finishing work, Moritz still hadn’t eaten anything. She wanted to ask if she should bring him something to eat, but she didn’t have the courage to do so.
“Alright, I’ll take a shower and go to bed, so don’t worry.”
.
.
.
After the shower, Moritz headed straight for the bedroom. Lily, who had been lying in bed, sat up when the bedroom door opened.
“Moritz…”
“You were still awake.”
“No, I just woke up. I’ve been sleeping until now.”
Lily gently stroked his cheek as Moritz, looking tired, sat beside her.
“Is work tough?”
“Not particularly, just a bit busier than usual recently.”
Lily felt the urge to ask him all sorts of questions. Was he trying to start a war, and why exactly did he want to make her the Empress? There were many things she wanted to ask, but today didn’t seem like the right day.
“Why are you looking at me like that, huh? Because you want to do it?”
“No… Well, it’s not that. It’s just that earlier…”
As Lily blushed and tried to turn the conversation, Moritz pulled her into his arms, lifting her up.
“What, what are you trying to do…? We can do it in bed, you know…”
“In bed? What do you think I’m trying to do?”
Moritz gave a mischievous smile and gently kissed Lily’s ear with his lips. Thanks to her twisting, bare, white feet with splayed toes, she had no choice but to cling to him.
“Really… You’re so naughty…”
The all-knowing emerald eyes, arrogantly high bridge of the nose, alternating between words that caused embarrassment and a tender voice. It was all unfair play.
Was there really any way not to fall for such a man? Lily buried her flushed cheeks into his chest.
“We’ve attended the party twice, but I’ve never seen you dance.”
“Actually, I don’t know how to dance…”
“Don’t joke.”
“…”
Moritz was quite taken aback by Lily’s avoiding gaze.
Even though she had attended social gatherings only twice, he thought she would know how to dance at least as well as a noble lady.
“Not knowing how to dance makes me seem foolish, doesn’t it…? You’re not planning to discard me because I’m useless, are you?”
“I said I would help you become the Empress first, Lily.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
She resisted the urge to add that he was the villain who would try to assassinate her the day before the wedding, despite approaching her first to help.
“Lean on me like this.”
With his arms gently around Lily’s waist, he took slow steps and turned half a circle. As a result, her heart seemed to beat so fast it might burst.
“A, a little slower, please…”
“Slower than this?”
Lily’s hesitant dance moves were clumsy yet cute. Moreover, whether she turned or stepped, she appeared particularly awkward.
In less than a minute, Lily accidentally stepped on Moritz’s shoe three times. Luckily, she was barefoot.
“Alright. So, it seems you have some ill feelings towards me, Lily.”
There was a teasing intention in his voice. Lily, with her cheeks flushed from embarrassment, looked away and retorted sharply.
“Oh, of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“You have ill feelings?”
As Moritz lowered his head to meet her gaze and looked at her sharply, Lily’s cheeks grew even hotter.
Lily firmly reminded herself not to forget that, handsome as he may be, he was still the villain.
“Hmm, I thought I was the prince on the white horse who rescued you from danger.”
“Well, sometimes villains ride white horses too. They give it names like Alexander or Onyx.”
“…”
In reality, Moritz’s white horse’s name was Onyx. Lily, who had played the game countless times, remembered every small conversation they had.
Whether it was a coincidence or Lily’s information-gathering ability, Moritz couldn’t find any clues on her naturally expressive face, despite feeling a little surprised.
Moreover, no matter how good her information-gathering skills were, these were certain pieces of information that only some people could know, like from Moritz’s younger sister or the servants at Kneiss Castle.
Since it was impossible to know from those two sides, it was a meaningless suspicion. Regardless, it was clear that he was becoming more interested in Lily, no matter what.
“Let’s put the dancing on hold for a while tomorrow.”
“What if His Majesty requests a dance?”
“It will be an entertaining sight.”
“….”
She remembered the moment when she had fallen with Matthias. Lily resolved to avoid dancing in front of everyone to avoid embarrassment.
“Don’t worry too much. I don’t think the two of you will end up dancing.”
Although she had stayed in Moonique and attended several social gatherings hosted by the imperial family, the time she had seen Matthias wasn’t very long. Not only Moritz, but other nobles were also the same.
The tyrant emperor, who ruled arbitrarily, often left the scene after only briefly showing his face.
* * *
Waking up late in the afternoon, they filled their stomachs with a simple snack and dressed up to attend the party.
While Lily received help from the Kneiss mansion maids to dress up, Moritz, who had dressed first and was waiting, looked at the necklace he had prepared for her.
It was a necklace with a pendant adorned with a clear gem gently wrapped in yellow gold.
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