In the quiet bedroom, only the sound of two people breathing could be heard. Luciaâs breathing was calming down to an even pace and Hugo lowered his head, turned her body sideways then wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his arms.
He simply embraced her for a while then he began to cover her lips, eyes and forehead with kisses.
âHha, thatâs ticklish.â [Lucia]
âShall I make it not ticklish?â
Hugo whispered softly then bit her neck. His hand stealthily slipped from her back to her waist but Lucia twisted her body and naturally pushed his hand away.
When the smooth sensation of her skin disappeared from his palm, he reached out stubbornly and grabbed her b.u.t.tocks. This time, Lucia pushed away from his chest.
âWe canât. I have a lot to do so I have to get up early tomorrow morning.â
âWhat do you have to do?â
âIâm planning to have a garden party in three days and since itâs a situation where I show my garden to people, I want to increase the scale a bit. So, from tomorrow, I have to organize the garden, prepare it and of course, there are a lot of other things I have to take care of.â
âShe was completely fine even though I wasnât around.â
He grumbled inwardly.
âA garden party? The days are starting to get colder, are there still flowers?â
âThere are autumn flowers. Although they arenât as bright as springâs or summerâs, I wanted to have a garden
party before the year is over.â
âSo, your party is more important than your husband that just came back. Which one is your priority?â
Again, his hands stealthily slid to her waist and his lips glued themselves to her neck. Lucia smacked his shoulders.
âDonât be unreasonable. Do you know how childish you sound?â
âOh-ho. Now youâre beating your husband?â
Lucia teasingly booed as his attempt to act tough. Hugoâs eyes strangely lit up then with huge motions, he pounced at her but Luciaâs small body quickly rolled away and avoided him.
There were bursts of laughter blended with small screams and the bed quickly became a mess with the two of them tossing and turning all over.
Soon enough, Lucia grew breathless and began to pant then was firmly caught by him. That she was able to avoid him even once on the narrow bed meant he was going easy on her or it would have been impossible.
He hugged her from behind, slid his legs between hers, then placed one hand on her chest as he kissed her back. Lucia tried to move but found she was held firmly in place so she gave up. Although his hands kept fondling her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, she left him alone.
âDid your a.s.signment with your va.s.sals go well?â
âMhm. What of you? What have you been doing?â
âNothing muâŚah, no, they is something. Damian came back.â
Just for an instant, his body stiffened. As Lucia was wrapped in his embrace, she could feel it.
ââŚI know.â (Hugo)
What did Damian mean to him?
him? Lucia had a lot of things that she wanted to ask but she decided to take it slow and wait for when they could sit down and have a long conversation.
Since even Jerome was treasuring his words, she didnât want to approach it prematurely. All this while, sheâd been interacting with Damian and could tell that the boy did not resent his father.
It wouldnât have been strange if the boyâs sense of shame over his situation and illegitimacy twisted his emotions but Damian turned out to be an honest and innocent child.
If she had a son like Damian, even if he wasnât a child she gave birth to, she would put all her effort into raising him.
Now, she wanted to know how he thought of Damian. If they didnât have any animosity towards each other, it was be a pity for them to keep having such a frigid relations.h.i.+p.
Was the relations.h.i.+p between them only the fact that they shared the same blood?
Lucia believed that even though it wasnât as intense as the love between a man and a woman, the love between blood ties was bound with a string that was not easily broken.
âWhat do you think? Lunch? If possible, letâs have a meal together.â
Although Lucia spoke like it wasnât a big deal, inwardly she worried about what to do if he rejected. If he didnât even want to eat with the boy, then it was the worst possible situation.
âLetâs do dinner, I have a meeting in
meeting in the morning.â
Fortunately, his answer was positive. Lucia gave a little sigh of relief.
âWas there any rudeness?â (Hugo)
Lucia thought about it briefly then realized the subject of his words was Damian but she couldnât help but think, âah, he doesnât really know his son.â If he knew Damian, even a little bit, he wouldnât ask that question.
âNot at all. He was very polite and mature and his att.i.tude and manners were not out of place. Iâll co-exist fine with Damian, you donât have to worry about thâ
âIâm not worried about that. Just tell me if heâs ever impolite to you.â
Behind his back, Luciaâs eyes narrowed as she listened to his tone that sounded like an officer talking about a recruit.
âWhat would you do?â
âAdvise him.â
However, Hugoâs type was advice was never one from the mouth.
âThat wonât happen. While you werenât here, weâve gotten along very wellâŚâ
Her voice was getting increasingly drowsy.
ââŚWe?â (Hugo)
The lingering question was not heard by Luciaâs ear that had fallen asleep.
He kissed her lips close to the end of her mumblings. Not long after, Lucia fell asleep, her breathing calm and even.
âIâm back.â
Once again, he lightly kissed her lips, then closed his eyes to sleep.
When Lucia woke up in the morning, she was alone. His waking hours were quite early so sheâd grown accustomed to waking up alone.
The lingering sensation in her body told her that last night was not a dream. It had been a long time since theyâd unitedsince theyâd united so she had no strength in her body. She had to use her arms to support her body upright.
âAhâŚâ
After she stood up, his viscous body fluids flowed out from between her thighs. No matter how many time sheâd experienced this, Lucia covered her face out of embarra.s.sment.
When she calmed down, she called the maid and ordered for a bath to be prepared. The maids waited on Lucia as she entered the bath full of warm water.
Her dazzling skin that was enhanced by the bright morning sun was littered with red marks. The maids kept glancing at those red traces and their faces grew flushed.
Their master returned late last night and no one could catch a glimpse of him but now they knew he went to their Mistressâ room. It was almost certain that after the bath, this rumor would spread among the maids.
âIs he in the office?â (Lucia)
âHis Grace is in a meeting.â
âAlready?â
âHis Grace suddenly issued a summon before sunrise.â
He was a really energetic man. The ones that works below him could only suffer. To him, as soon as heâd returned to the castle, having a meeting was only a natural procedure. Even though he did the most work, he was the most energetic.
Luciaâs face reddened as the events from the previous night floated to the top of her mind. She was happy to see him again and glad that he still wanted her as pa.s.sionately. Her mood became as light as petals floating on water.