Chapter 59

The bedroom door shut with a click, and Edmund took off his jacket and draped it over a chair. Then he stood straight in front of Blair, looking very much like a man sincerely asking for help changing clothes.

Seeing him act so shamelessly eased the foul mood she’d been in all day because of Rufus. Blair faced Edmund and lifted both hands, reaching for the tie around his neck.

“You’re taking a while.”

A low voice dropped onto the crown of her head, feigning complaint. She’d removed the tie pin easily enough, but she’d fumbled for quite some time, unsure how to loosen the knot. Blair shot back without backing down.

“I trust you were prepared for at least this much.”

“I was. I just didn’t expect you to try to strangle me. That’s not really my taste.”

“…Ah!”

He slipped his fingers into the loop of the knot and pulled, loosening the tie himself. When their fingertips brushed and warmth passed between them, Blair found herself hesitating for no reason. All the while, the man who had been staring at her intently opened his mouth.

“Now tell me. How was your day?”

“Well, I….”

In the meantime, the silk tie that had been cinched around his thick neck came loose and fell onto the jacket below. Blair glanced briefly at Edmund in just his vest and shirt, then looked away. She couldn’t honestly say that nothing had happened. It hadn’t been anything major, and she hadn’t exactly been threatened by Rufus, so she hadn’t told anyone, but still.

‘But he’s my husband now.’

He’d told her to inform him if anything at all happened in the estate, no matter how trivial. Reaching that thought cleared her head a little.

“In the morning, I talked about this and that with Milia, and then I went to the library in the annex.”

“The library?”

“Yes. I was curious since you used to frequent it. There was a librarian there, and it didn’t seem dangerous, but I ran into Lord Libert.”

After choosing her words carefully, Blair added, “Your half-brother.”

“What kind of discourtesy did Rufus show you?”

“He didn’t commit any great discourtesy toward me. It’s just that… he showed me the book he was reading, and the illustration in it was a little….”

Even that much was enough for a perceptive man to grasp the situation. The broad chest right in front of her swelled as Edmund reined in his twisted irritation.

“It wasn’t anything seriously problematic. Really. But what was strange was….”

By now, Blair had begun unfastening the buttons of Edmund’s vest one by one.

“I’d heard that Sir Rufus had lost that function. If that’s true, shouldn’t he barely feel impulses in that regard? I thought he’d been pushed out of the line of succession precisely because he’d completely lost that function.”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“Because it didn’t seem that way.”

Unlike the knot of a tie, undoing buttons was remarkably easy. Soon, Blair removed Edmund’s vest and stood facing him as he remained in just his shirt.

“He seemed very interested in a painting of a naked woman, and he looked a little… excited.”

Blair clearly remembered what she’d seen when she came upon Rufus hiding among the shadowed bookshelves. Rufus panting as he stared down at a nude painting of a woman, his hand subtly rubbing the front of his trousers.

Even though their eyes had met, he hadn’t looked startled, so for a moment she wondered if she’d seen it wrong. But thinking back on it now, she was sure. He hadn’t taken his trousers off, but Rufus had clearly been engaged in an act that could only be described as masturbation.

“Forget that disgusting memory now, Blair.”

Blair, who had been lost in thought, lifted her head. Edmund spoke as he briskly undid the buttons down from his collar.

“Sexual impulses don’t occur only in the young or the healthy. Even an eighty-year-old still has instincts.”

“Of course… that’s true.”

“But the fact that Rufus committed such rudeness is unacceptable. He already has much to lose. I’ll make it clear that if he approaches you again, I won’t let it go.”

“There’s no need to take such a hard line. I can just be more careful and avoid going around alone.”

“Rudeness isn’t something you can avoid by being careful, Blair. I’ll say it again. When I’m not around, move with company as much as possible. And when you can, stay by my side like this.”

“I will.”

The moment Blair replied, Edmund pulled his shirt completely off, baring his upper body. Since her eye level landed squarely at his chest, she naturally found herself staring at his smooth skin.

His broad shoulders and large chest muscles gave him a build closer to that of a soldier than a businessman. After staring blankly at his firm chest, her gaze dropped to his abdomen, where muscles were divided so distinctly they looked sculpted. Looking at a male body so completely different from her own suddenly brought their wedding night to mind. The overwhelming strength no woman could possibly push away, the pleasure that had crashed down like lightning, even though it hadn’t gone all the way….

“I’m going to take my trousers off too.”

Startled back to her senses, Blair looked up and met Edmund’s eyes, then quickly turned around. With no screen in the bedroom, there was no point blaming him.

“You can keep looking. I don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind either. …You won’t need help taking your trousers off, will you?”

At her odd question, Edmund let out a short laugh behind her.

“What, if I beg you to undress me, will you help?”

“No.”

“That’s a shame. Getting my hopes up for nothing.”

Then came the clink of a belt buckle, followed by the sound of fabric hitting the floor. Blair clasped her hands in front of her chest and waited for her contractual husband to finish changing.

***

After changing, Blair went down to the dining room with Edmund and enjoyed an unusually pleasant meal. Of course, the food at the ducal residence was always good, prepared by a skilled chef using the finest ingredients, but tonight’s dinner felt especially excellent.

It was probably because she was alone with Edmund. And because the anxiety that had shaken her earlier had settled because of him.

After finishing a perfect dinner with fruit drinks, Edmund once again personally escorted Blair back to her bedroom. His protectiveness felt a bit excessive, but she didn’t bother refusing. After the incident with Rufus, his concern was understandable, and more than anything, Blair liked exchanging goodnight greetings with him.

From the sound of water coming from the bathroom deeper inside the bedroom, it seemed Milia was preparing Blair’s bath. Standing at the bedroom door, Blair faced Edmund.

“A telegram came for you.”

“…Did it say who it was from?”

“It was sent by the Countess of Gillingham. She asked if you’d like to have tea together this Thursday, if you have the time.”

“That’s good news. We grew fairly close at the hunting gathering.”

Blair answered brightly, then glanced at his expression.

“Do I need my husband’s permission to go out?”

“I’m your husband, not your jailer. I just want you to be safe wherever you go, so let me know the place you plan to meet before you confirm the appointment.”

“Thank you.”

That was the end of the conversation. It was time to go into the bedroom, wash up, and go to sleep. The same would be true for him. Even so, the two of them didn’t move right away and remained standing in the corridor, meeting each other’s eyes.

The night she’d spent sharing a bed with him at the villa remained a very fond memory for Blair. His steady breathing so close by, the warmth of a man’s body reaching her, the comfort of knowing she wasn’t alone. She’d always believed herself to be fairly independent, yet since then, she kept wanting to seek him out. Blair could feel the desire to rely on him beginning to take root deep in her chest.

“Good night, Blair.”

As always, Edmund offered the quiet greeting with a smile. Blair lifted the corners of her lips in return.

“You too….”

Before she could finish, he stepped closer. Blair froze with her lips parted. Edmund bent forward slowly and tilted his head, then pressed his lips to her cheek. Very gently, lingering just long enough to feel deliberate. When he pulled away, a ticklish breath brushed over her skin. Even then, Blair stood there like a fool, her lips still parted.

“Sweet dreams.”

With that teasing farewell, Edmund turned away. He didn’t hesitate. Watching him walk off down the corridor, Blair found herself seized by a bold thought that perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to sleep in the same place just for one night. She turned and went into her bedroom, thinking that if she couldn’t fall asleep for a long time tonight, she’d blame it on Eldenvale’s heavy, stagnant air.