Chapter 138

Chapter 138

It was such a quick change that it caused goosebumps to erupt on Deatrice’s skin. The gentle energy it contained disappeared in an instant, leaving only apathy in its wake.

Deatrice suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. He had looked at her with that kind of gaze not too long ago and it was one that made her feel like she was truly nonexistent in his world. But soon enough, he now looked at her like she was his most precious possession.

When did this all happen?

Although the beginning of love is always unclear, Deatrice could still not wrap her head around the flow of how their relationship suddenly developed like this.

When they had returned from Dixie’s house, they were burning with a desire to hurt each other, even after kissing each other. Did the feelings that were so vivid back then completely disappear? Or was it just lurking somewhere beneath their angry facade?

Deatrice was curious, but the first thing to do was to rescue Rosalynn.

“I told you not to do it.”

Lucius frowned and answered. “I didn’t do it this time. I feel wronged.”

Deatrice sent Rosalynn and other servants away with a wink, undressing and pulling herself out of that gigantic duvet-like dress. Dressed in a light slip, she took a cold teacup and wet her lips. She felt Lucius, half-buried in the clothes she had taken off earlier, looking at her and she turned her head. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Why did you send them out?” Lucius asked.

Deatrice shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing, “I don’t want to show any more embarrassing sides of us.”

“Does that mean you want to do it here with me?”

Deatrice was taken aback by Lucius’s sudden assumption and blushed involuntarily. When she realized that her blush wasn’t due to coquettishness, Lucius’s face fell, and he buried his face in the back of the sofa, looking disappointed.

“I mean, you left that on purpose,” he said, pertaining to her current state of undress, “I thought you knew what it meant.”

“How would I know that? You think everyone thinks like you?”

“Do you really think I’d just watch you take your clothes off? Just like that?”

After his brazen response, he soon let out a weak moan and pulled her clothes back to the top of his head. Deatrice blushed at the lewd sounds he was making, changed her clothes as quickly as she could, and quickly bolted out the door.

Lucius smiled at her little act of leaving hastily and slowly removed the dress that was on him.

“Well, that was fast.”

He thought she looked so adorable when she ran away, afraid of being feasted on by him for real. He only wished he saw her expression up close when she ran out.

Feeling the regret of a missed opportunity, Lucius lost his appetite and glanced around the room. It was still as full and messy as ever, but after Deatrice disappeared, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it somehow felt so empty.

As if the waves came and took something from him as they ebbed away from the shore. Lucius buried his face in her scented dress as he felt the void in his chest.

Soon the attendants knocked on the door.

It was annoying to be disturbed, but he eventually got up slowly and rang the servant bell to get her clothes sorted. There were a lot of items, so it would take a long time organizing them. It wasn’t until he had read the rest of the newspaper that a servant arrived.

“M’lord, from which account should I collect the payment?”

“Mine,” he answered as he went back to a particular section in the papers.

“Ah, alright.”

There was a bit of relief in the servant’s tone.

Lucius took note of this little change of expression, put down the newspaper he was reading, and looked up at the servant. “Why, is there any problem?”

Then an embarrassed expression appeared on the servant’s face. It was evident that the servant was hesitant to speak. However, with the master’s cold red eyes boring through his skull, the servant couldn’t bear it and chose to speak frankly.

“I was worried that we would take from the madam’s coffers, because the price this time is a little too much for her.”

“Is the money I give to her not enough?”

“Well…” the servant hesitated and looked around at all the extravagant items filled with precious stones and rare materials, “The price to pay this time really is quite high…”

A dangerous glint flickered through his eyes.

“Answer me this—where did Deatrice’s allowance go that her coffers can’t even pay for a dress like this?”

“T-then, should I find out?”

Another servant was in-charge of the lady’s finances, and she couldn’t give an answer right away. However, such investigations tend to become sensitive issues, so the servant played it safe.

Lucius knew this. At first, he thought that someone might be stealing from her and the idea of that made him furious, but when his thoughts swerved to another direction entirely, he became nervous. He consoled himself that it was her share of the budget anyways. Wherever and whatever she spent it on was up to her own whims and discretion.

Thinking that he was just about to investigate his wife’s spending habits, Lucius sighed in disappointment with himself. “Stop. Just check to see if someone had stolen the money and no further than that.”

“Yes.”

The servant bowed his head deeply and retreated.

Of course, Lucius knew that Deatrice wasn’t foolish enough to be irresponsible with her purchases. But somehow, in the corner of his heart, he wished that the maidservant attached to Deatrice’s hip was the one who had stolen the money.

Moreover, didn’t she say that there was a sick person in that bothersome maid’s house?

Lucius had a dissatisfied expression as he recalled the face of that personal servant who had cared for Deatrice the entire time, without the slightest change of expression on her face.

***

A few days later, the servant who had been tasked with investigating Deatrice’s expenses came to Lucius with an update. However, Lucius was so focused on a letter that had just arrived from the lord of Rondini that he didn’t immediately recognize the attendant.

The contents of the long and lengthy letter sent by the lord was a request that a monster appeared in Rondini, so he wanted Lucius to come. It couldn’t be helped. Anything monster-related, he had to deal with it as it falls within the scope of his responsibilities.

But that wasn’t what he was internally griping about. It was the fact that he had to be away from his wife again.

Based on the North Island, Rondini was located to the south and the duke’s residence, where the soon-to-be wedding was held, was located to the north. When adding up the time it takes to handle the mission and the time it takes to travel with horses and knights, he can only see Deatrice during the wedding at the duke’s residence after completing this mission in Rondini.

The conclusion is that they must be away from each other for a month or so.

Just kill me now. He thought to himself.

Separation in the morning and seeing each other in the evening is already so frustrating. How can he wait for a month without even a glimpse of her?

Lucius could already feel a headache throbbing against his skull at the mere thought of being away from here.

But then, a sudden thought crossed his mind – what if he asked Deatrice to come with him on his mission? Lucius grunted inwardly at his absurd idea.