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Chapter 16

She had no choice but to look at the shameless, obscene sight in front of her. Whenever the vicious manhood thrusted recklessly at her breasts, touching her pert red nipples, an electric shock would pass through her body over and over.

Nadia gritted her teeth, not wanting to admit that she felt promiscuous as well. Just endure. It will be over soon.

His thrusts as he rubbed between her chest seemed to accelerate, then he soon poured out s*men, moaning low. The fluids spurted over Nadia’s breasts.

The salty smell suddenly hit her. While he stroked his manhood as though to squeeze every last drop, he touched the tip of his length over her chest, his hands relaxed.

Even then, Nadia was still frozen with shock. As he moved away slightly, he pinched her nipples, then the s*men flowed down to her stomach.

“What a nice sight. You look good with c*m.”

Edwin chuckled as he pulled up her dress. The hand that was on her chest pulled the string that held the dress up, and it was a gentle touch, but it didn’t comfort her at all. The inside of her dress was damp, and the fluids splattered on top of her chest glistened.

He lifted Nadia to her feet as though telling her their business here was done, and he sat back down on his chair, grabbing his quill. Nadia, who looked vaguely at his fingertips and how clean he looked, faltered and turned around. She felt it again, the realization that she was married.

She staggered over to the mahogany door, then just as she reached it, Edwin said, “Ah,” as if he remembered something belatedly. What was he going to say? Nadia looked back.

“You’d better practice doing oral. You were so terrible that I almost lost my erection, but if you’re like this again next time, I’ll have you practice with the knights. There’s a lot of practice targets for you to use.”

“…Y-You must be joking.”

Her lips trembled. No way. He wouldn’t go that far. The unfairness of being treated this way over and over again filled her senses.

Even as she tried to hold it in, tears dropped sharply. She couldn’t stop them. Her eyelashes were soaked, and her chest was nearly heaving. Nadia even thought that she should hang onto his feet and beg him not to make her do that.

Then, her husband smiled viciously.

“I’m joking. You’re so naïve.”

She heard him say it was only a joke, but she couldn’t calm down. Nadia turned around, swallowing her tears. He seemed to have said something more, but she didn’t want to listen any longer. She returned to her room, crying to the point that her entire face was soaked.

It was fortunate that she didn’t come across anyone one her way back. Regardless of her appearance that was tear-stricken or laden with s*men, she didn’t want to show it to anyone. She just wanted to be alone.

Summer was just around the corner. The days became hotter and hotter, and people started wearing clothes that were thinner and lighter.

Elheim’s fashion followed other countries’ trends. Instead of a skirt that had abundant layers and a tight corseted waist, the dresses here tended to look just like a simple piece of cloth that was draped over the body. It was a simple, yet unconventional outfit.

The light dress called Stola¹ was simple, and the most ornate thing about it was the sash that would be hung over the shoulder, along with the other colored fabrics used as a belt on the waist.

Nadia’s eyes widened when she saw this at first, not having been able to see anything like it before. She waved her hand, expressing her disapproval because she’s never been out of the capital, therefore she was reluctant to try it.

But as the heat began to rise, the corset used to tighten her upper body seemed to suffocate her and sweat flowed unpleasantly underneath her layered dress that did not let any wind pass through.

Eventually, she couldn’t help but wear the clothes that the maids had prepared for her.

As the bottom part was empty, it was an unfamiliar and awkward feeling, but because it did not trap heat. She now understood why this style of dress was popular.

There was no need for a heavy petticoat, stockings and high heeled shoes that need garter belts and thigh highs. The wind blew into the long open skirt on the side, and every time she took a step, the skirt’s pleats would brush over her legs. It was all unfamiliar, but not as bad as she originally thought.

The estate was right next to the river, so the river breeze blew by all year round. The heat was dampened by the cool river wind as she sat on a wide window frame on the balcony.

It’s been well over a month since she started living in Elheim, and Nadia was more relaxed here due to the freer atmosphere compared to the capital. As she adapted to the unfamiliar city, she was also able to adapt to her eccentric husband.

They had spent the night together a few more times in the past few weeks, but Edwin still ran a foul mouth. Even so, the more Nadia heard it, she became used to it. She wasn’t so affected by his words anymore.

As she got used to it, she felt that most of the rude words he said did not have much malice. Of course, anyone else would agree that his words were harsh, but he seemed to be the kind of person who was originally like that anyway.

Some people were just naturally born as*holes. Nadia laughed alone, recalling the word that she would have fainted at only a few weeks ago if she heard it. It would have been better to tie up Edwin’s mouth rather than her adapting to his foul language, but it couldn’t be helped.

It wasn’t that she intended to learn extraordinarily crass swear words. The Elantz castle was full of knights. Half of them were nobles and the other half were commoners, but either way, they were all foul mouthed.

No, perhaps they were more like mercenaries than knights. It was shocking for her at first because in the capital, she had only seen elegant and chivalric knights. But as she continued to stay here, she got used to them as well.

She had nothing to do with the knights, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t encounter them at all. So, the few swear words she heard from them were stamped in her memories, and she would try saying them at night once she was alone. Most of the words she tried were directed at her husband.

Throughout all that, she had also encountered Asheel several times, but he pretended that they had nothing between them, just as Nadia had pleaded that day. He just bowed and left like any other knight that she encountered in the castle.

She felt relieved… and disappointed. At this, she only laughed at herself. Why was she disappointed when she was the one who told him to leave her alone? Wake up. This is your life now.

Nadia spent time alone sipping cold fruit tea at a pavilion in the rear garden whenever she had nothing special to do. Sometimes, Edwin would come by as well and drink tea with her. Today was a day like that.

Nadia still couldn’t figure out why he only drank tea and would leave without doing anything else. She thought it might only be a whim on his part, but she was actually quite bothered.

Looking at the man who threw a piece of fruit at the pond like a man who didn’t know how to spend his free time, Nadia turned to him and carefully spoke.

“Why me?”

It was an extremely impulsive decision to voice this question now. All this time, she had attributed it to fate, but she wanted to ask him at least once.

Edwin glanced at her, then turned back again towards the pond where a silk carp surfaced, showing its mouth. It was a random question, but he understood what she meant. He answered her question with another of his.

“Why do you want to know all of a sudden?”

Nadia couldn’t respond. She didn’t know either. When she hesitated because she couldn’t think of anything to say, he sighed and then faced her.

“Alright, I’ll answer you. It’s because I don’t have to be careful with you.”

“You don’t have to be careful?”

“That’s right.”

His expression returned to an uninterested one right then as he drank his remaining fruit tea in one gulp. Certainly, it didn’t look like they were together now because he was interested in her.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the rumors surrounding me, yes? Those were rumors I personally ordered to be spread because it’s annoying to see so many marriage proposals. It worked pretty well, but there were still some persistent people left. Like your father… As long as it’s beneficial, he’s the type of father who’d marry off his daughter to a lunatic.”

As he tilted his head to the side with his chin propped over one hand, his soft blond hair fluttered over his pale face.

“The woman who would be sent from a family like that won’t try to cling to her parents and try to go back home, even if I act however I want.”

“…It’s better not to have heard your reason.”

“I think so too, but you asked, so I answered.”

She chewed on a walnut cookie with her eyes on the floor. The refreshments and walnut cookies smelled strongly of butter.

She didn’t know the details, and she didn’t think it was going to be a good reason, so the blow wasn’t that big. Nadia swallowed down her complex thoughts along with the snacks she munched on.

Edwin mockingly toasted his empty cup with Nadia’s and said, “For Ingram.” Nadia wanted him to leave as soon as possible, but when he called the maid and asked to bring more tea, he indirectly expressed his intent to stay longer.

“Since I’m spending time with my wife as a husband, tell me if you have more questions. I’ll answer them.”

That seemed to be his reason. Whenever she was with Edwin, she became so nervous that the back of her neck would grow stiff, worried about what words would flow out of his lips. He was like an uninvited guest to her, and she couldn’t believe he was acting like he was being a good husband. Even so, she couldn’t correct him.

As she stroked the sides of her teacup, feeling the beads of condensation trickling down the sides of the crystal cup, she thought about what she wanted to ask the most…

“Have you always been like that since you were born?”

Her thoughts spilled out of her lips unknowingly. Nadia was surprised by what came out of her own lips, and so she shrank down. She was worried that he would throw his cup at her and get enraged, but rather than that, he burst into laughter.

With a frozen expression, Nadia stared at Edwin, distracted by the way he laughed riotously with his head tilted back.

Nadia regretted what she said. If she knew this would happen, she should have asked if he was an as*hole since birth. After laughing for a long time, he barely stopped chuckling as he took in a short breath and wiped away his tears.

“Have I always been like this since I was born? Haha, that’s true. I’ve always been like this.”

The maid brought more fruit tea with ice. Edwin drank the tea with an indifferent face, and with a plain tone as though he was commenting on how nice the weather was today, he spoke.

“I’m an illegitimate child of the Emperor.”

“……!”

“And even in front of my father—no, His Imperial Majesty—I also speak like this.”

——

t/n:

¹ Stola – a traditional Roman garment; the counterpart of the Toga that men wore