Chapter 15

Yelena seemed to be gloating over the maid’s words as she glanced sideways into the mirror.

‘She seems to be right.’

“Plus your voice, too.”

‘There’s more?’

The maid continued her words despite Yelena’s evident surprise.

“You sound beautiful every time you speak, as if you are singing.”

“Is that so?”

Yelena, who usually self-praised while looking at herself in the mirror, was slightly embarrassed.

The maid had driven a wedge in.

“I swear by this humble servant’s mouth, that no man in this world would think that you are not beautiful upon seeing you. Including the duke.”

“Thank you.”

Yelena replied sincerely.

It came from the bottom of her heart.

The maid smiled gently.

“It’s nothing. I’ve only replied truthfully based on what I’ve seen.”

‘This maid will make it big.’

What was her name?

Was it Abi?

Yelena memorized the maid’s name in her heart and said, “Take back one of the things I said earlier.”

Thanks to that, Yelena had gained back her confidence.

There was no problem with her. If there were a problem, it would be on the other party.

“Tell the Duke. We’ll have lunch together if he isn’t busy.”

Yelena corrected herself, “No, even if he is busy, we should have lunch together.”

She must hear a reason from him.

They were a married couple, so why is he not acting as such?

Yelena’s pink eyes burned with determination.

The veteran maid gave a simple reply this time.

“Yes, Madam.”

***

Yelena gulped as she sat down at the dining table with the Duke.

They were sitting quite a distance from each other.

Since the Duke’s seat was always set at the head of the table, this sitting arrangement was Yelena’s choice.

Yelena could hardly take her eyes off the table.

‘I wanted to sit closer to him.’

That had been her original plan before she stepped into the dining room.

They were supposed to be seated close enough to see each other’s reactions while having conversations.

But as soon as Yelena stepped into the dining room and saw Duke Mayhard, her body automatically took the seat furthest away from him.

Her body seemed to have ordered itself to not be greedy any more, as all the courage she had mustered as she walked up until now dissipated.

After taking her seat, Yelena didn’t get even one look at the Duke until all the food was served.

Last night’s event which had seemingly faded with time, suddenly flashed across her mind vividly.

‘A-ah.’

Yelena swallowed a sigh.

It now seemed amusing how determined she had been in the morning, desperately trying to figure out why he did not want to lay a finger on her .

Would it be a troublesome thing to ask about within a day of the last incident?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Yelena began to regret that morning’s impulsive decision.

Yelena had begun restlessly fiddling her fingers under the table when Duke Mayhard finally broke the silence.

“How are you feeling today?”

Yelena realized immediately that he was referring to her hangover.

Although replying was painfully embarrassing, Yelena still forced herself to answer, seeing as she could not just ignore the question.

“I’m fine. Thanks for the concern.”

“That’s great to hear.”

Yelena’s gaze wandered even farther away from the Duke.

She soon made up her mind to look back at him.

It wasn’t as if she could avoid him the entire time whenever they had a meal together.

Yelena’s eyes met the Duke’s blue ones.

Ah. Damn it.

A cry rang out within Yelena’s mind.

“That” played out in her head again.

This time, it was not only that shameful event that was stirred up.

It included the Duke’s arms rolling her body up with the blanket.

Though she could not feel it due to the sheer fluff of the blanket and the fact she was under the influence of alcohol, she recalled it to be firm and strong.

Duke Mayhard’s arm muscles could be seen when his shirt sleeves had been rolled up slightly.

Yelena subconsciously gulped again.

Yelena then downed a glass of water, as her throat was dry.

‘I’m suddenly feeling very hot.’

Did the temperature indoors go up?

As Yelena had learned more about the household expenses, she’d found out that the budget was not enough, and that the household tended to overspend. That could be why they did not use the firewood sparingly.

While holding onto that thought and pondering if Yelena should fan herself, Duke Mayhard started to speak.

“No one is allowed to come in until they are called.”

Those words were meant for the servants.