Chapter 233

“…Where are you looking.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

A startled Yelena feigned a few coughs and turned her head away. She kept her gaze fixed on the bedsheet, though there was nothing to see. Then, she opened her mouth.

“But why are you holding back? We’re… married.”

He was allowed to not hold back, wasn’t he?

Then, Kaywhin answered her question easily.

“…Holding you simply out of lust isn’t what you want, is it?”

What did he mean by that? Why wouldn’t she want that?

Yelena blinked cluelessly, and then she realized.

Ah, that was right. That wasn’t what she wanted. She had densely questioned what Kaywhin had meant, having forgotten what she had said with her own mouth.

“Ah, that’s true. I… said I would wait.”

“…”

“Until you wanted a child.”

Yes, she had. She had indeed said those words with her own mouth.

So that was why he was holding back. He wanted their first time to be after he was ready to welcome a child, as Yelena had wished.

‘Should I have not said that…’

Yelena reconsidered her own words belatedly. Then, she snapped back to her senses and shook her head.

She still felt the same way. She didn’t want to have a child that only she wanted. She wanted to see her husband happy, with a joyful look on his face.

In the end, Yelena’s desire to see that joyful look on her husband’s face won over her primitive desires. Yelena quickly laid down on the bed and covered herself with the blanket. Then, she spoke up, to escape from the awkward situation she had created.

“It’s getting late. Should we go to bed now?”

“…”

“Of course, um, I mean just peacefully sleeping.”

Was that comment unnecessary? Yelena peeked her head out from under the covers and inadvertently shifted her eyes.

‘Oh right, is Kaywhin okay?’ she suddenly thought.

According to the books she had read, when “that” change occurred to a man’s body, it was a rather painful experience for the man to wait for the change to settle down…

“Could you do me a favor, Yelena. Please stop looking.”

“Gasp.”

Yelena flung the covers over her head.

That was weird; just when did her eyes wander over there?

She was too embarrassed to bring the covers back down.

After hiding under the blanket for quite some time, Yelena felt her husband move on top of the bed. He seemed to be making his way to turn off the lights.

A little after, the bed dipped, as if her husband got back in bed with her.

“…Good night,” Yelena mumbled softly, still with the blanket covering her from head to toe. Her voice was so low that she wasn’t sure if it could be made out, but she knew her husband would definitely be able to hear her.

Yelena closed her eyes. Then, she sat up, kicking off the blanket.

“Oh! The crown prince!”

She thought she had been forgetting something. This wasn’t the time to be peacefully going to sleep. Nor was it the time to continue being bashful.

In the dark bedroom, Yelena turned to her husband with a determined look in her eyes.

“Darling, you definitely said that you would tell me. About your conversation with the crown prince.”

It was dark, so she couldn’t really see her husband’s face. Yelena brought herself closer to him. Kaywhin, whose vision wasn’t inhibited by the dark, flinched and started shuffling backwards. Then, he stopped.

“Tell me.”

There was a mere centimeter between them. Kaywhin looked into Yelena’s eyes and opened his mouth.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Okay. To tell you the truth…”

***

This was the plan that the crown prince had come up with to get revenge on the ducal couple:

First, he would send Kaywhin to the northern border.

‘There’s a war going on over there.’

A war with another nation.

The war seemed to be ending, but it still hadn’t. The conflict had already been going on for three years.

Moreover, there had been some bad news recently. The other nation had appointed a new general, and his skills were remarkable.

In the end, there had been a discussion about the reinforcements to be sent to the northern border. The King chose Duke Mayhard to be the commander of these reinforcements.

“This is a matter of going against the opposing nation’s top-class general. We must send the cream of our own crop as well.”

Thus, the crown prince had justification. Though, in truth, the King’s decision had been heavily influenced by his beloved son, the crown prince.

‘And while the duke is away for a prolonged period of time to fight in the war…’

There was a nasty glint in the crown prince’s eye.

‘The duchess will be seduced.’

By who?

‘By me.’