The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 25

Episode 25. Half a Success (1)

Emilia had fallen asleep in the armchair. On the small table in the bedchamber, Helen had carefully prepared wine and snacks for the couple to share that night.

“Hm.”

A tall man stood before the sleeping Emilia. He cleared his throat softly. He had come to speak with her, but he had not expected her to be asleep.

“Hm, hm!”

When she didn’t wake, Louid cleared his throat more loudly. Emilia slowly opened her eyes, looking him up and down.

It’s Louid. This time he’s standing.

She had always dreamed of touching his body as he lay down, but this time he stood before her.

Perhaps he had just bathed, for his dark hair was tousled across his forehead, and a faint scent of soap clung to him.

‘Handsome.’

Emilia thought Louid was handsome no matter when she looked at him. But the figure she thought a vision began to speak.

“Wake up, Emilia.”

“Ah!”

Realizing at last it was no dream, Emilia straightened up from the armchair.

“You are awake now. Sit here.”

Louid walked toward the table and spoke curtly.

“Yes.”

Rising from the chair, Emilia smoothed her messy hair and followed him.

“There’s no tea.”

She had intended to pour him tea, but only noticed the wine on the table. Embarrassed, she realized the gown at his chest hung loose, exposing his firm chest muscles. Unsure where to rest her eyes, she faltered.

“It’s fine. I prefer wine.”

Louid deftly uncorked the bottle and poured the wine into two glasses.

“Drink.”

“Yes.”

Emilia licked her lips nervously. It was the first time she had drunk since fainting from too much wine at the knights’ banquet.

I may get drunk again, but it’s fine. This is my room. If I drink too much, I can simply sleep.

She remembered how good the wine had tasted that night and eagerly accepted the glass. The sweet yet bitter drink slid warmly down her throat.

“It’s delicious.”

“You drink well.”

As though waiting, Louid refilled her empty glass. Though sweet, it was a strong wine.

“Thank you.”

Emilia bowed her head slightly, then drained the glass again.

“Here, eat this too.”

Louid offered her a biscuit topped with cheese. It was a sweet biscuit she liked.

“This is delicious too.”

“Yes, eat plenty. To bear my heir,” Louid muttered as if joking.

“……?”

An heir? Emilia blinked slowly, still holding the half-eaten biscuit. Perhaps from the alcohol, her thoughts grew hazy.

“You said you would fulfill the duty of the Grand Duchess, didn’t you?”

Louid fixed his gaze on her.

“…Yes.”

That was only if he granted her a divorce. Then does he mean…?

Emilia’s eyes widened in alarm. “By that, do you mean…?”

“I will give you what you wish. But my favor lasts only until you bear my heir.”

Refilling her glass, Louid spoke firmly.

“Then will you grant me a divorce after one year?”

Swallowing hard, Emilia asked as if to confirm his promise.

“I told you. Only after you give birth to my heir. It would be best if it were sooner, but whether it takes one or two years, I cannot say.”

Louid frowned. Though he disliked the situation, he couldn’t allow the throne to pass to Duke Berthe.

He would simply not recognize the child as heir.

He had no intention of handing the empire to a child of Duke Berthe’s blood.

“Very well.”

The answer he wanted left her lips. Though her tongue slurred slightly from drink, he had intended to intoxicate her anyway.

Satisfied, he smirked. “Come to my office tomorrow. We will draw up a contract.”

“Yes.”

At night, this man seems to return to his true age.

Emilia, tipsy, relaxed at the thought that she would at last be divorced. She gazed at Louid in a daze.

Facing him at night in her room, he seemed different from how he appeared by day. With his hair falling across his forehead, he looked younger. His sharp red eyes seemed less frightening. His firm, manly lips were striking, and the slender line of his cheeks seemed almost boyish.

“Then shall we make the heir?”

“…What? N-Now?”

Lost in thought, she started at Louid’s words, stammering. Her drunken mind could not think quickly.

“If you wish for a divorce within a year, you must conceive quickly. We must share nights together until you are with child, but the divorce will come only after the birth.”

“……”

At his blunt words, Emilia only blushed.

“You know how children are made, do you not?”

Louid drained his glass of wine and asked again. Emilia gazed at the strong line of his throat and chest through hazy eyes. Strangely, they felt familiar.

“Do you?”

She managed to ask in a husky voice.

“Ha… must I teach you even that?”

Louid’s tone turned impatient. From what he knew, noble ladies were given education before coming of age. Yet this wife of his seemed utterly innocent.

“You touched my body plenty.”

“Wh-when did I?”

Emilia protested at the absurd claim, though inwardly she flinched.

Then… were those dreams real?

“Here, here, and here.”

Louid stood abruptly, pointing to his neck, his chest, and between his thighs.

“Ah.”

Emilia clapped her hands over her mouth. Though hidden by his gown, she could see the great bulge there. Worse, her hands remembered it.

‘Long, thick, and hard enough not to fit in one hand.’

What am I to do? Emilia fanned her burning cheeks with her hands, flustered.

“Calm yourself. I forgive you for touching me. In the future, you will do even more.”

Louid smirked. He had changed his plan for revenge. At first, he had intended to deny her divorce and leave her neglected. But now he thought to humiliate her.

‘That will be fair.’

As Duke Berthe had tormented him, so he would torment the Duke’s granddaughter. Concealing his glee, he took Emilia’s hand and led her to the bed.

“Like this?”

“No, do you really know nothing?”

His bride was far too ignorant. When he told her to kiss, she merely pecked at his lower lip with her small lips like a bird.

“Mmph.”

Unable to endure it, Louid grabbed the back of Emilia’s head and pressed his firm lips to hers. In an instant, his tongue parted her lips and invaded her mouth. It swept along her palate and the inner walls of her cheeks, coiling around her shrinking tongue. The saliva, infused with the sweet scent of wine, was drawn out by the forceful suction.

“Delicious.”

He whispered softly in her ear, then lowered his head again and sealed her lips. His tongue moved freely within her mouth, drawing out every drop of her saliva until she thrashed for breath.

“Huff, huff.”

Barely freed, Emilia’s shoulders rose and fell as she gasped for air.

So this is what a kiss is.

She had never kissed before, but his was so rough she thought she might suffocate.

“That’s enough for now—mmph.”

“You must practice more. Breathe through your nose.”

“Mmph.”

At the resumed rough kiss, Emilia flailed, pressing weakly against his chest.

‘Breathe through my nose.’

She repeated his words in her mind, struggling to draw air through her nose. But his lips covered not only hers but her chin and philtrum as well, making it nearly impossible.

“Wrap your arms around my neck and coil your tongue around mine.”

Obediently, Emilia wrapped her arms around his neck. Louid bent his head lower for her, but she still had to rise on her toes to reach.

“Like this?”

She curled her tongue against his, rubbing gently, and Louid gave a faint nod.

‘That must be right.’

Encouraged, she clung tighter to his neck and pressed her tongue more firmly.

“Suck.”

At his command, she pursed her lips and sucked at his tongue tip. Louid twisted and coiled his tongue even more forcefully. Their bodies pressed together with no space between, the quiet bedroom filled with the sound of their ragged breaths.

Emilia felt her body grow languid.

‘Is it the wine? Or the kiss?’

Even in her daze, she thought her body strange. Her heart pounded wildly, and shocks like lightning tingled through her body.

‘Why is he so skilled at this?’

One of Louid’s hands gripped her back, the other held her head firmly so she could not move. He kissed as though fighting a battle.

“Mmph.”

His lips trailed down her slender neck, sucking hard over the throbbing vein. A moan slipped from her lips.

“Sweet.”

Louid murmured low. She didn’t know why he said her neck was sweet, but when he began sucking there, Emilia felt a strange sensation so strong it raised goosebumps all over her body.

‘What is this?’

Everywhere his lips touched sent shocks through her. And something wet seeped out between her thighs.