# 51
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Ariana was surprised as she took cover in her humble fortress.
"What do you do?"
“You see, I'm looking at you lying on the ground.”
"No! I mean, why are you, here...!"
Kenneth raised an eyebrow with an annoyed look.
“Is there a reason I can't stay here?”
Even for him, sleeping for a long time was rare, so he felt a little confused internally.
But the feeling of embarrassment did not prompt him to get up immediately, as Ariana sleeping in his embrace was sweet. Therefore, unlike usual, he did not leave early and stayed for a long time.
For the first time in ages, his frantic mind calmed down, as if a violin string stretched to the utmost had suddenly snapped, leaving everything quiet.
He hugged the sleeping woman and muttered carelessly.
'...What should I do with you?'
It was a relationship that could not be rationally loved again. The feelings he felt when he was twenty-one were pure, but they were a little different now.
At that time, it was pure love.
Expect regular outings together and dream of proposing to her.
As for now… He wanted to consume her from head to toe, but he also wanted to break her not afraid of death attitude.
However, while waiting for her to wake up, he was more inclined towards the first desire.
That is, until Ariana screamed as if she saw something terrifying.
When he got out of bed, Ariana's face flushed as if he was going to explode.
“No, don't come closer!”
Ariana tried to escape from her fortress, but it only aroused a mixture of distress and interest in Kenneth.
“Why do you come so close, ah!”
Ariana, wrapped in the sheet, was hoisted over his shoulder like a bag, then thrown onto the bed.
Ariana screamed as his shadow covered her. The servants were about to come soon.
“Wait, it's a lot of light...!”
"Tell me, Ariana. Why can't I stay here?"
“But you usually leave every day...!”
The days when she ed to stay with him for a little while had passed, so why was he now acting like it didn't matter to him?
He laughed, looking at her insulted face.
“Were you sad because I was leaving you?”
Ariana looked at him quickly as if her neck was going to break.
Kenneth laughed lightly, impressed by her prompt reaction.
“Did you hope that I would stay until the end, as if I slept with you out of true love?”
“Cough, I don’t even love you!”
Ariana screamed, her voice hoarse with insult.
For him to describe her long wait in this way, anger made her eyes redden.
But she realized as soon as she screamed that she had made an error in judgement.
You should have reacted with indifference or mild aversion until he left.
But her strong reaction revealed her weak point.
“…Really? Then we should live like this for a while.”
As he was now, Kenneth smiled overwhelmingly.
When he pressed the summoning bell, Ariana bit her swollen lips in anger.
'Arrogant man.'
When she wanted to walk away, he mocked her and called her rude.
When she gave up the “Wednesday meal,” he insisted on having it whenever he wanted.
And now, while she was completely ready to run away with her baby, the day she had always wanted had begun.
Is she supposed to be happy now?
She has given up from exhaustion, should she accept his belated mercy without apology?
'I'm sorry and saddened by what Kenneth went through in the past.'
But she really didn't want to be more involved in his life.
[Anything untoward that arises from you I will not acknowledge as my child, Ariana]
Someone who hurt her once can hurt her again.
But when she heard the servants' footsteps approaching, Ariana buried her face in the pillow from a headache.
* * *
The belief among the servants was that the Duke, although he spent some nights with the lady, was only doing so to satisfy his own needs.
So, when Kenneth slept with Ariana in the same room and stayed up late in the morning, a mild shock spread.
"What's going on? Why did their relationship change suddenly?"
“I don’t know. But this way, don’t they look like a normal couple?”
Servants wondered if Ariana Aberdeen would finally become the Duke's "true lady." In fact, his staying until late in the morning was not for a day or two, which added to the conversation.
But for Ariana, these days were a nightmare.
Melting into the heat of the moment and kissing wasn't such a bad thing.
Well, it can happen.
Since people have mouths, they may suddenly want to use them for kissing.
She was willing to endure that for the sake of her grand plan.
'But why does he stay here...?'
On the first day, I assumed it was a cruel whim of Kenneth.
Maybe, for once, he wanted to sleep late.
[Did you hope that I would stay until the end, as if I slept with you out of true love?]
But ever since he said this, he seemed determined to tear her heart out.
Every morning, Ariana prayed fervently.
'Please, leave completely today'
When she opened her eyes, she didn't want to hear him say that it was a 'mistake' like before.
But when she opened her eyes, Kenneth was drinking tea or going about his business as if that was normal.
In fact, he was already dressed.
When she saw him, her old wounds came back, and she attacked him defensively.
“Why are you here today too?”
“You seem to be sleeping more than you do in the morning.”
“…why don’t you answer my question-”
“I think I was the one who should have gotten tired.”
Ariana's cheeks turned red from embarrassment and injustice.
The man was already exhausted, and now she couldn't keep up with him with her energy.
Kenneth taunted Ariana as she bit her lip.
“And you were the one who wanted me to stay here.”
“No…”
“You said I could kill you at any time, but your words are different from your actions.”
Ariana was angry internally, but she tolerated it, ignored him, and went into the bathroom.
Her inability to maintain indifference was a painful mistake.
'When will he get bored?'
She hoped this bad whim would end the next day.
Her feeling was like watching the guillotine blade fall and rise repeatedly in real time.
* * *
While Ariana was in the bathroom, Kenneth remembered the medications he had been prescribed.
She hasn't said much about steroids lately. However, he was falling asleep so deeply that he did not remember when he fell asleep.
'I've avoided deep sleep for a long time.'
After his life was turned upside down, he hated being in a vulnerable state like sleeping.
But he admitted that the side effects made his nerves very sharp.
Even without stimulants, controlling emotions is a little easier thanks to natural sleep.
Especially after spending time with Ariana until the end.
It wasn't bad for him to hug the exhausted Ariana from behind and bury his lips in her soft shoulder.
It was so good that, for the first time since their marriage, he asked her this question after she had finished preparing herf.
“Is there something you want?”
"What?"
“This is not the first time you have heard this question.”
Kenneth laughed lightly and looked at Ariana.
“What you want. Something you want to have, or something you need.”
Ariana bit her lip and turned her head.
She did not like his attitude, as if she were a child who did not understand the language of the Empire. But she wasn't stupid to miss an opportunity like this.
“I would like to call a tailor from this area. Also, there is someone I would like to bring from the capital.”
“Someone you want to bring?”
“Edith Clark. I talked about it before we left.”
"Yes."
Kenneth remembered the conversation in the palace office and frowned. Even though she is not a man, Ariana's attachment to a certain person was disturbing.
When he asked Ariana what she wanted, he expected a physical answer.
But what she wanted was a person.
'Fortunately, you did not request Damien Baptiste's summons.'
Since he suggested it himf, he didn't object. But he was not happy about mentioning it to anyone other than himf.
It wasn't about sex.
He was upset at the thought of Ariana finding comfort in thinking about anyone else.