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The duke did not appear at breakfast. Deatrice wasn’t even the least bit surprised, remembering how her father had shunned her new ‘husband’ during yesterday’s wedding, and a few years before that too.
But she was annoyed at him for making her face Lucius all alone.
Coward.
Normally, she wouldn’t have bothered much. But after what happened yesterday, it became very difficult for her to even face Lucius. She might have gained a bit of the upper hand last night by slapping him on the cheek, but now she was left feeling uneasy that she could almost hear the unnatural pounding of her heart.
What happened last night was an unpleasant feeling for her, and she had never experienced such an insult before in her life. But unlike all her tumultuous thoughts, Lucius still had the mind to go out for a leisurely gallop through a forest, practically unaffected.
She didn’t expect their marriage to be smooth-sailing at all, but she also did not expect to be slighted in the way that he did. To harass her directly, to speak to her so vulgarly, and pinning her down to the bed to let her endure his humiliating words…
Yes, she might have hurt him, but that does not grant him the right to hurt and humiliate her. He was even a knight, a person expected to have upstanding morals. And what’s more, they were already legally bound as husband and wife.
Deatrice could only hope that when he returned, he would contemplate his drunken wrongdoings last night and never treat her that way again.
Lucius had already finished bathing and was already by the door once she had put a plate of soup in front of her. Dressed in a light shirt with his hair slightly dry and wet, he smiled at her and sat down.
“Are you alright?” Suddenly, she frowned, unable to comprehend what was going on with him.
He looked down at her with an impish smile and it was then that she realized that Lucius was already playing the role of a caring husband in front of the servants. One that looked after the well-being of his wife after spending their first night together.
The servants saw their mistress blush, but then she ordered all of them to leave. They looked on at the couple with enviable attitudes, but they still obediently left the place, whilst cheering for the newlyweds in their hearts.
When everyone was finally gone, Lucius grunted lightly.
“Why send them away? I haven’t even said the lines I’ve prepared all morning.”
“Because I’ve had enough of this childish farce.” she calmly answered as she ate a spoonful of soup, “I thought our little act was supposed to be over right after we got married?”
“But wouldn’t it be suspicious if we, two individuals who married for love, suddenly become estranged? As newlyweds, we should practically be glued to each other’s hips.”
He tried coaxing her. “Let’s show off some more, it’s not too difficult, is it?” Then he recalled her earlier words, “And also, what did you mean by ‘childish’? Is love a childish affair to you, Deatrice?”
She tightened her grip on the knife she was holding as she abruptly cut off a portion of meat on her plate. Then she unconsciously bit her lip. After observing her for a while, his tone dipped a few degrees colder, “Now that I notice, where is your ring?”
“I left it on my vanity table.”
When Deatrice answered indifferently, the corners of his lips rose into a tensed smile. “You still wore your previous engagement ring even after you’ve already reunited with me. But then you remove our wedding ring right after the day we get married? If you’re doing this to spite me, then, by all means, you are succeeding.”
At his snide remarks, Deatrice put down the cutlery and looked straight into his eyes. “How long are you going to keep using that one mistake to push me around? It’s just a ring. I don’t even wear it at home.”
“I’m pushing you? You’re the one who slapped me yesterday?” He pointed out yesterday’s occurrence with a bored attitude.
Deatrice knew that now was the right time for her to say out loud the words she had prepared.
Be more of a gentleman. If you treat me once more the way you treated me yesterday, see if I don’t fight back!
But those words did not come out as expected.
In fact, they did not escape her lips at all.
There were two reasons. First of all, she imagined how she should respond if he suddenly acted as detestably as he did last night. Like him telling her, ‘Do you really think I’m a gentleman?’ and other sentences along those lines. Then there would basically be a repetition of yesterday’s distasteful dispute.
The second reason was… because of the sudden change of his gaze. He had his arms crossed so lazily while showing an attitude full of appreciation for her that she suddenly fell silent. She was truly unable to grasp how his mind worked.
Her gaze sharpened. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m just looking at you.”
She furrowed her eyebrows in response. “Then stop. It’s making me uncomfortable.”
“What’s so uncomfortable about it?”
“Everything.” she answered simply.
Lucius looked at her face, then he slightly cocked his head to the side.  “Well, you’ve never really liked me looking at you ever since a while back.”
Deatrice felt herself getting irked. “You already know, and yet you still—”
“I just want to.” he interjected.
It’s impossible for there to be such a thing as ‘passion’ behind his words. Deatrice let go of her cutlery and glared at him. “What for? To irritate me and show how much you hate me?”
His smile broadened at her sharp attitude. “You’ve become so unruly during the times we didn’t see each other, Deatrice.”
“I don’t think you should be the one saying that.” With those words, Deatrice had completely lost her appetite. She had only fiddled with her cup of coffee and no longer paid any heed to him during the course of breakfast.
Lucius looked at the food in front of her that was barely even touched, thinking she would have a hard time inside the carriage during the ride back to their mansion.
But instead of urging her to eat more, he brought up last night’s happenings again with a little more seriousness. “I apologize for yesterday; I was too drunk. I regret it and have been feeling remorseful all morning… Will you accept my apology?” He uttered humbly.