Chapter 12

Yelena figured she was prepared.

She’d been petrified when Duke Mayhard came to the chambers yesterday, but it wasn’t because she disliked him or felt uncomfortable.

The only reason she had to be nervous was because she’d heard that a woman’s first time hurt a lot, as if her body was being split into half.

“Even if it feels like I’m dying, I won’t actually die, so it’ll be fine.”

Yelena thought, keeping bold statements like these in the forefront.

“Will this be our first night together?” She wondered. Yelena hoped that would be the case, if for no other reason than to give birth to a son, and as soon as possible at that. This was all to save the world, after all.

She didn’t know who she was making excuses for, but waited quietly until night-time had arrived.

It was then that Duke Mayhard found his way to Yelena’s chambers.

Just like yesterday, Yelena had the lights dimmed.

“Do you feel tired today?” asked the Duke who’d climbed onto the bed next to her.

Yelena viewed that as a sign. If you’re not tired, then doesn’t that mean something will happen between you, as a married couple???

“No, not at all,” Yelena answered.

The Duke chuckled at the emphatic head-nodding that accompanied Yelena’s response.

“That’s a relief. You must have slept well yesterday?”

“Yes, yesterday’s sleep was very refreshing.”

“I hope tonight’s the same, then.”

Yeah, tonight too! …wait what? “I should rest well today too?”

She stared at the Duke, bewildered, but he had already laid down and turned out the lights.

“I thought it was a sign.” It must’ve been a fluke…  “I’ll have to try again tomorrow.”

‘It’s rather unfortunate, but today isn’t the only chance I have.’

Yelena fell asleep, looking forward to the next day.

The next day.

Yet another day.

Then the next, next, next day.

Although they slept together in the same bed for several days, nothing actually happened between Yelena and the Duke.

A week had already passed and Yelena began to worry.

“Is he really going to keep this up for two whole months?”

She remembered the daily life of the countess who waited two months for her husband.

That can’t repeat itself here.

To let two months pass without any night-action; that was far too long of a wait.

That night, Yelena had a serious conversation with the Duke when he arrived in the chambers.

“Are we going to continue like this without doing anything?”

She was too nervous to bring this up while sober, so she’d had a glass of wine before the discussion.

‘Or maybe it was two glasses?’ She didn’t really remember.

Duke Mayhard hesitated at the nature of the question that the tipsy Yelena had so abruptly spouted.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Worry?

“You may be my wife but I will not lay a single finger on you.”

What was he saying? Yelena thought, her mind going blank.

She didn’t know what he was trying to say, but she knew she couldn’t just accept it without a counter of her own.

“Is that so? Then, can I touch you instead?”

“What?”

Truthfully, Yelena did not know much about what happened between a man and a woman during the night.

The romance novels she read did not go into depth on what happened during intercourse and she was not that interested in knowing, either.

She had received sex education but the madame that used to teach her only told her this: “Relax your body and let your husband do everything.”

That was not going to help her here at all, she realized.

The one thing she knew for sure was that you had to undress to spend a night with your lover.

Yelena extended her hand towards the confused Duke.

“Undress.”

“Wait, wife-”

“Are you going to try to do it with your clothes on? Undress!”

She had drunk wine like water while waiting for the Duke to come to bed, and wasn’t exactly sure how much she’d had, but one thing was for certain: it was definitely more than a mere two-and-a-half.

She didn’t know how much she drank because she didn’t keep count but it was more than two glasses and a half.

Seeing Yelena acting on pure instinct, Duke Mayhard froze, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“I told you to undress!”

“Wife, please calm down first…”