My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 47

Of course, no one knew better than I that it wasn’t true. But right now, Ethan was so irritating that I wanted to tease him, even if just a little.

Mael seemed flustered and hurried to explain. “What? No, that’s not true. Bruno gave it his all against the Duke and still lost. I can assure you because I saw it myself.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. No need to make excuses. I’ll just accept it since Sir Mael is saying so.”

“No, Duchess, it’s the truth. Please believe me.”

“That’s enough, Mael,” Ethan cut him off in a gruff voice.

“I told them not to go easy, but ultimately, only the person himself knows how much effort he put in. If she wants to think that way, let her.”

‘…What? How insufferable.’

I had expected him to get prickly when his pride was challenged, but his nonchalant response only made me more annoyed.

“Exactly. Besides, even if that knight gave it his all, he’s not the strongest in the knight order, right? To really prove his skill, he should at least beat someone like Sir Mael.”

An awkward silence settled around us.

In the original story, Ethan and Mael had never crossed swords. Even if Ethan brought it up, Mael always found some excuse to decline. Mael had been considered a swordsmanship prodigy since childhood and was arguably the strongest character in terms of pure combat ability. It was clear that even Ethan couldn’t beat Mael.

“Interesting,” Ethan muttered quietly.

“Camille even suggests it. How about it? Would you spar with me?” Ethan’s words put Mael in an awkward spot.

“Your Grace,” Mael began.

“Why not? I’ve wanted to spar with you for a long time. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take this opportunity to learn a thing or two.”

Though Ethan’s words were humble, raw determination radiated from him.

“I must decline. Your Grace has just finished sparring with Bruno,” Mael said firmly.

“It’s not a problem. My body is warmed up now.”

“That won’t do. How can we test our skills if we’re not both at our best? Let’s leave it for another time,” Mael insisted.

Ethan narrowed his eyes and rested his wooden sword on his shoulder. “When?”

“We can decide that later. For now, please hydrate and rest. Even in summer, it can get chilly quickly once the sweat cools,” Mael said, then turned to me. “Duchess, since you’re here, could you please take care of the Duke?”

“What? Oh, yes. Sure…”

“I’ll leave it to you then. I have some pending work to attend to,” Mael said, bowing slightly before quickly leaving.

‘I meant to tease Ethan, but it seems I ended up troubling Mael instead…’ I sighed softly, feeling a bit guilty.

“So, that’s that. Let’s go. Where did you leave your clothes?”

“I’ll handle it. Don’t worry about it.”

Ethan turned away from me abruptly and started walking. I blinked in surprise, then hurried to catch up.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Are you sulking?” I asked, quickening my pace to keep up with him.

Ethan looked at me with an incredulous expression. “What are you talking about? Just don’t come any closer. You said you hate the smell of sweat.”

“Oh…”

I suddenly understood. Was he still bothered by what I had said before?

‘So, that’s why he told me to stop earlier,’ I thought, feeling a bit awkward and somewhat guilty.

“It’s fine. I don’t smell any sweat,” I said.

“That can’t be true. I’ve sweated twice as much as I did then.”

“I wasn’t talking about you back then. I meant I didn’t want to come close because I was the one sweating and didn’t want to smell.”

Ethan’s steps faltered at that.

“…Really?”

“What would I gain by lying?”

“If it was a misunderstanding, why didn’t you correct it then?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary. I didn’t know you’d be so bothered by it.”

“……”

Ethan pursed his lips and said nothing more. We soon reached the barracks next to the training grounds. Ethan picked up a shirt and quickly put it on.

“You haven’t wiped all the sweat off yet,” I noted.

“I’m going to wash and change soon anyway.”

“But it’s uncomfortable. Give me the towel,” I insisted.

Ethan looked at me intently. “Are you going to wipe it off for me?”

“…Why, is that a problem?” I asked defiantly, feeling my cheeks warm.

Honestly, I didn’t know why those words came out of my mouth. Was it because I felt guilty for teasing Ethan earlier? Or because I only now realized how much it had bothered him? Or was it simply because I wanted to see his bare body up close?

I’m not sure. But one thing is for sure—I can’t take back what I said.

Ethan handed me the towel wordlessly and took off his shirt again.

I approached Ethan. For some reason, I felt nervous, and my mouth was dry.

Up close, his body looked even more like a work of art. Small beads of sweat clung to the contours of his muscles, giving them an almost sensual sheen.

Now that I was closer, I could indeed smell the sweat. But it wasn’t unpleasant or disgusting. It was strangely intoxicating.

I swallowed and reached out with the towel. I started at his chest and moved down to his abs, feeling the firmness of his muscles even through the thick fabric.

“Is it hot?” Ethan asked suddenly.

“What? Why do you ask?” I stammered, caught off guard.

“Your face is red.”

“Well, it is hot. It’s summer. And unlike you, I’m fully dressed,” I replied.

“That must be uncomfortable.”

“It is. You wouldn’t know unless you tried it,” I said, speaking faster than usual due to my nerves. I wiped his sides and then moved to his back.

If his chest was impressive, his back was even more so. It was wide, strong, and perfectly V-shaped. I felt a bit dizzy from the sight.

‘I never thought I had a thing for men’s backs… Maybe I’ve never really seen a proper back before. Sorry, my eyes, for missing out.’

I wiped his back slowly and thoroughly, almost regretting that the sweat was being wiped away.

“Are you done?” Ethan asked.

“…Yes.”

I felt utterly exhausted after wiping down his entire body. Ethan put on his shirt and then turned to me.

“Your face is still red. I’ll call for a carriage so you can go back to your room and rest.”

“I suppose I should,” I agreed.

Ethan paused as he was fastening his cufflinks and suddenly looked at me. “By the way, what was it you wanted to talk about earlier?”

“Oh, that…”

I realized I had completely forgotten my original purpose. The visual spectacle had driven it out of my mind. How should I bring this up now? Should I just wait until later? As I hesitated, Ethan stared at me and then spoke up.

“Did you come to demand an apology?”

“What? What do you mean…?”

Then it hit me.

“It’s your loss if you don’t believe me. When the truth comes out, you’ll want to apologize for doubting me.”

“Fine. If you’re so sure, I’ll wait and see.”

I remembered that we hadn’t talked about it since that day. At first, I expected Ethan to come to me with questions after hearing Mael’s report. When he didn’t, I was puzzled but relieved. Maybe Ethan felt the same, though for different reasons.

I looked at Ethan and smiled slightly. “That’s right. Now that you mention it, I did say something like that, didn’t I? I almost forgot. So, now that you know the truth, do you feel like apologizing?”

“…No.”

I narrowed my eyes at his response. “No?”

“At that time, I had no idea what was going on. You just kept insisting that I should wait for an explanation from Mael. Even if my tone was a bit harsh, you can’t blame me for that.”

“…Are you making excuses like a coward now?”

“It’s not an excuse, just stating the facts. Even if you were upset because of me, there should be some understanding of the situation.”

“Oh, really?”

Of course, he wasn’t entirely wrong. The reason I had forgotten about it was because of that. I had also been a bit on edge due to the heat. But if I had truly been angry at Ethan, I would have been plotting to make him apologize.

“Anyway… you did well with this,” Ethan said.

“What did you say?”

Ethan looked away slightly and cleared his throat. “I said you did well… for the sake of Dumont.”