Grand Duke, Please Stop Obsessing Over Your Wife! - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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18.

The Duke’s hand clutched at his left chest. The fabric near his heart was mercilessly crumpled.

His gaze wavered uncontrollably.

“…I understand.”

Finally, the Duke opened his mouth. His voice was confused.

“I understand, so stop sparkling your eyes. They’re so dazzling I can hardly look at them.”

Annelize blinked.

“Stop sparkling my eyes?”

It’s not like human eyes have a sparkling on/off function, so how was she supposed to do that.

Besides, she wasn’t even sparkling her eyes in the first place.

‘Is he being sarcastic? Is he deliberately picking a fight to change the subject?’

Though she felt suspicious for a moment, Annelize obediently lowered her eyes.

A sigh of relief settled down from above her head.

“Has the misunderstanding been cleared up?”

“Yes. I understand. I believe what you said.”

The Duke relaxed his expression as if catching his breath.

“And I wish you’d do something about that face. You’re so pale. I’d believe you if someone said you were a corpse that just died.”

Seeing him speak so bluntly, his mood had definitely improved.

‘He’s saying your complexion doesn’t look good and he’s worried about you.’

Annelize filtered the Duke’s words kindly through the sieve of her heart.

“My color will return to normal soon. I’m sorry for causing you worry.”

“I wasn’t worried, so there’s no need to be sorry.”

Sure, whatever.

Can I lift my head now? Annelize glanced sideways to gauge the Duke’s mood.

He was looking at the scar on Annelize’s arm.

‘Oh no. I forgot to pull down my sleeve.’

Annelize quickly pulled down her sleeve to cover the hideous scar.

‘It’s not a pleasant sight to show others. The Crown Prince always told me to keep it covered too.’

Of course, after hearing that, Annelize wore sleeveless clothes every time she met the Crown Prince. To ruin his mood.

‘The Duke probably didn’t marry me for my looks, but you never know. Scars are considered flaws in the marriage market.’

When she covered the scar, the Duke looked puzzled.

“Why are you covering it?”

“I thought it might be unpleasant for you to see.”

“No. There’s no need for that. Why would it be unpleasant? It looks like a flower stem embroidered there, so I found it interesting.”

Now it was Annelize’s turn to be flustered.

“Oh.”

She had never heard such words before.

“Do humans think this is disgusting? How strange. I don’t understand what part of it is supposed to be unpleasant to look at.”

The Duke’s words were sincere. He let out a bewildered laugh.

“I wouldn’t know.”

It wasn’t a question Annelize could answer for him.

Fortunately, Isaiah appeared and rescued her from this situation.

He spoke with an insolent attitude.

“The young lady is troubled. Stop being so clingy, my lord.”

“I wasn’t being clingy.”

“That’s right. Your Grace the Duke wasn’t being clingy at all.”

The Duke glared at Annelize.

‘Geez. Even when I take your side, you make a fuss.’

“Enough. Get ready to return. We’re leaving today.”

“Travel safely, Your Grace the Duke.”

Isaiah opened the carriage door.

Just before getting in, the Duke turned back to look at Annelize.

“When will you come to the North?”

“I need to organize the manor and pack my things, so I was thinking of departing in about two weeks.”

If there’s time, it would be good to stop by the Solarichen Estate too.

“Hmm.”

But the Duke’s reaction wasn’t very positive.

‘He’s not suspecting that I’m deliberately stalling because I don’t want to go to the North, is he?’

Even though the misunderstanding was cleared up, wounds that had been deeply rooted for so long wouldn’t heal easily.

Annelize pondered and added,

“Is that too late? If you wish, I can depart sooner. Your Grace must be waiting too.”

“I won’t be waiting.”

“Yes. Now that I think about it, I can visit the Solarichen Estate next time. I’ll depart immediately after packing.”

After saying that and watching the Duke’s reaction, he simply nodded without saying much.

‘He says he won’t wait. So he really was suspecting I’d come late on purpose.’

This matter was resolved well, but there was still a long way to go to earn the complete trust of her contract partner.

‘I’ll manage it somehow.’

Annelize clenched both fists tightly with determination.

“When you reach the Duke’s domain border, there will be a carriage waiting.”

“Understood. Travel safely back and I’ll see you in the North.”

The carriage door closed.

Isaiah, who had been beside the driver’s seat, winked.

“Are you disappointed? Should I escort you home after all?”

“While I’m asking nicely, please travel safely, Sir Isaiah.”

After seeing off Isaiah as well, Annelize took her family’s carriage home.

It had been a tiring day.

As she stretched and saw her exposed arm, she recalled the Duke’s words.

‘He was the first person to say it looked like a flower.’

The Duke seemed to genuinely think that way, not just empty words.

Annelize lifted her arm and touched the scar.

The reddish, mottled scar that spread vertically along her arm was reflected in the mirror.

‘No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like a flower. He really is strange.’

For the first time since that day, the scar that throbbed painfully whenever touched didn’t feel painful.

‘I’m glad I made a contract with the Duke.’

Though he had some peculiar aspects, the Duke seemed like a good person.

‘Though he did seem to oddly avoid eye contact after telling me to stop sparkling my eyes. It’s probably nothing.’

That was a problem she could think about after arriving at the ducal castle.

Annelize buried the Duke’s strange behavior in the back of her memory.

She would be busy starting tomorrow anyway.

‘When the Third Prince goes missing, the Emperor will summon me. Asking me to find her missing son.’

She had already thought about what to demand from the Emperor in exchange for finding and protecting the Third Prince.

But for today, she decided to sleep without thinking about anything.

* * *

“You said you’d return to the North immediately on the night of the banquet, my lord.”

Contrary to the Duke’s words, Isaiah was still in the capital several days later.

And he was circling around the Solariccen Manor like a stalker at that.

“There’s something on my mind. Have patience, Isaiah.”

“I think you should be the one to have patience first, my lord. I told you, didn’t I? That young lady won’t run away. Look. There’s the carriage departing.”

Under the shade of a tree stood the Duke wrapped in a cloak.

The Duke followed Isaiah’s gesture and cast his gaze toward where the carriage had disappeared.

“Are you satisfied now? You’ve seen Annelize Solariccen’s face.”

“She’s certainly less pale than she was a few days ago.”

Since the day of the Emperor’s banquet, the Duke had been mulling over Annelize’s face for several days.

Her particularly ashen complexion kept circling in his mind.

Why was he so concerned about Annelize Solariccen?

‘Because she’s unusual?’

She was the first human who didn’t frown upon seeing his face.

She was also the first human to stare directly into his eyes and remain unharmed.

He had never heard a request to remove his mask before either.

And she had said it with such a clear, nonchalant expression, as if it were nothing special.

‘Yet she made that face just because her hand caught fire.’

He couldn’t figure out what her standards were.

Of course, Annelize had explained why she was startled.

But the Duke’s suspicions hadn’t completely disappeared.

Moreover.

‘What was that flash of light?’

For a moment, it was so blinding that he had involuntarily closed his eyes.

In many ways, she was truly an irritating human.

He would keep her close and monitor her. Even if she wanted to escape, he would never let her go.

If she tried to run away…

Just the thought made his face harden with tension.

“If she runs away, she’ll have to face proper punishment for breaking her oath and fleeing.”

That’s right. Annelize Solariccen was different from other humans.

Because she was his contractor.

And he absolutely despised broken contracts. That’s why she was so concerning to him.

Anyway, that was it.

Isaiah’s voice interrupted the Duke’s monologue as he tried to convince himself.

“Punishment, my foot.”

Isaiah scolded the Duke without hiding his exasperation.

“Then why did you touch her and startle her in the first place? When you’re going to worry like this afterward.”

The Duke replied with displeasure.

“I didn’t know she would be startled.”

“Human hearts are more delicate than you think, my lord. If you don’t want to make that already pale young lady even paler, it would be better to restrain yourself in the future.”

Could a human become even paler than that?

He pictured Annelize turning deathly white in his mind. His golden eyes moved slowly.

The Duke paused before answering.

“Still…”

“Still?”

He furrowed one eyebrow.

“She didn’t cry this time.”

It was a carelessly uttered remark.

Isaiah questioned him.

“Oh? Has she cried before?”

Silence fell between the two men.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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