I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 56

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 56
Edward swallowed hard, fighting to maintain his composure.
‘The wedding is coming soon, anyway.’
He’d already signed the Marriage Contract as Luciana wished.
Once the ceremony was held and the Wedding Night consummated, the two of them would become a lawfully married couple under Imperial Law.
‘When that time comes.’
This little mouse would lose even the thought of escape.
If she tried to flee from the Temple afterward, she would come to realize that no refuge was as safe and comfortable as marriage to him.
Of course, he could do it now if he wished.
But after the wedding, he intended to lavish her with finer things at every meal, dress her in the softest fabrics, let her sleep in the most luxurious beds, bathe her with the gentlest hands—until she became so thoroughly intoxicated by comfort that she couldn’t think of anything else.
‘Then she won’t be able to harbor any other thoughts.’
A trap this perfect was already laid.
Why force the prey into the snare before it was even set?
‘Right.’
Not yet. Not now.
Clenching his teeth with that thought, Edward exhaled a languid breath.
And instead of tearing her clothes apart with brutal instinct….
“Ah!”
He placed her hand firmly over his own, guiding it straight up onto the towel.
“W-what are you…! Mmph!”
“Hush.”
Edward murmured the word like a soothing whisper, then slowly began moving his hand—and hers—up and down.
‘This much is acceptable.’
Surely this much was acceptable.
He’d already touched her body under the pretense of Purification or bathing—what was a little more?
It wasn’t as though he were violating her.
If anything, he was simply allowing her to violate him as she pleased.
Edward rationalized the thought in a way he knew Luciana would mock if she heard it, even as his neck flushed and he gritted his teeth.
The pleasure from that small hand moving over his lower body was already almost unbearably intense.
“Ah… ah….”
If anything could be called fortunate, it was this:
Rather than pull her hand away, Luciana simply kept her eyes shut, panting softly.
Perhaps the shock had made her forget to run.
Before she could regain her senses, Edward pressed her gently against the wall.
Even with the cold stone at her back, she made no move to escape.
‘Oh… what do I do.’
She was genuinely half-panicked.
Swish, swish. The soft rustle, the subtle whisper.
Each movement of his hand made the fabric sing with shameless clarity.
As the rhythm quickened, the jeweled ornaments adorning Edward’s clothes began to chime against one another, creating a lewd symphony.
With her eyes closed, hearing alone made her senses impossibly acute.
And that heightened touch conveyed vividly the sensation of what her palm was meeting.
With only a thin layer of fabric between them, she could feel the tremendous heat radiating outward.
‘How can it possibly be this large….’
‘Is something even capable of being like this?’
The heat seemed almost implausibly intense.
‘What do I do!’
Yet even as the thought crossed her mind, Luciana didn’t pull her hand away.
If she’d truly hated it, she would have struck out at his lower body and run.
So Edward grew bolder in his movements.
“Huh!”
At what happened next, Luciana stifled a gasp.
Swish, swish-swish. The delicate sound, the whisper, the whisper.
Each time she swallowed, an overwhelming heat seemed to pierce through her palm and between her fingers—the sensation vivid and undeniable.
She couldn’t tell if the tingling came from his fingers brushing against hers, or from her own growing intoxication with the moment.
The tip of her nose, which she’d barely managed to keep in check, began to grow hot again.
Her heart raced as if she might faint at any second, and her head swam with dizziness.
For Luciana, who’d never even had a boyfriend, all of this was dangerously overwhelming stimulation.
‘This… this depraved man!’
At some point, she could no longer bear the ticklish sensation building up in her chest.
Between her legs, too, there was that unmistakable gathering of warmth.
“Oh!”
The moment she could no longer hold back a whimper.
Without thinking, Luciana bit down hard on Edward’s finger that had slipped into her mouth.
‘No, I shouldn’t bite like this….’
Even as the thought crossed her mind, the deed was already done.
Like a puppy that had accidentally nipped a hand and then licked the spot in apology, Luciana carefully licked where she had bitten.
And only afterward did she realize how strange that was too.
“…….”
What was she going to do?
While Luciana flushed crimson all the way to her nape, Edward remained silent.
Only his breathing grew slightly heavier….
The wet sound intensified.
“Ha….”
“Luciana.”
His voice, rough and lowered, called her name.
Without realizing it, Luciana gripped the column of his neck as if making a fist, her palms tensing.
As her delicate hands tightened around him, Edward felt as though he might lose himself entirely.
“Your…Your Grace….”
A small whisper escaped her gasping lips.
The sound of teeth grinding.
And with it, Edward’s movements ceased.
“Ah….”
Then she felt his flushed forehead lean diagonally against her cheek.
His voice, painfully lowered, pooled in the shell of her ear.
“For now.”
“…….”
“Just this far.”
So don’t run away later.
The low whisper fell like an echo in a cave, dropping to the edge of her hearing.
Luciana squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, feeling as though she might faint.
* * *
“My lady, you look absolutely beautiful today.”
“…….”
“My lady?”
“Oh, yes?”
Several weeks had passed.
At Sophie’s voice—she had become Luciana’s dedicated attendant—Luciana suddenly came to her senses.
Around her stood not only Sophie but several maids, all tending to her appearance.
Thanks to weeks of steady familiarity with Luciana, their manner was far less awkward than before, when they would have fled at the mere meeting of eyes.
“Sophie’s right. You truly are beautiful today.”
“You’ve been eating well, and those dresses that were a bit loose before now fit you perfectly.”
It was almost affectionate, even.
“Any bridegroom would surely lose his heart—even His Grace himself couldn’t resist such a sight.”
“Come now, he’s already fallen for you—that’s why he’s marrying you!”
“That’s true.”
“Someone so ill-tempered, so ruthless, so— well, in any case, so difficult as that. How much must he care to marry you straightaway? Isn’t that right, my lady?”
The maids burst into delighted laughter in the cheerful atmosphere.
Sophie, who had stepped back a little, laughed shyly as she brushed Luciana’s hair.
And she spoke with genuine warmth.
“Congratulations, my lady.”
“…Thank you.”
Luciana, feeling a touch of embarrassment, lifted her head.
Looking at the mirror before her….
A noble lady, perfectly groomed and dressed in white, looked back—as if she had never been drab a day in her life.
In her Wedding Dress, needing only the Wedding Veil to complete the picture, there was Luciana.
The maids’ painstaking work on her makeup had paid off—even to her own eyes, she looked genuinely beautiful.
As she gazed in admiration, a new realization settled over her.
‘So this day has finally come.’
Through the hurried, hazy days that had passed, their wedding was today.

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