My Ex-Husband Came Back Crazy - Chapter 44

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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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Chapter 44
Chapter 5. Secrets (1)
The road was punishing.
On the journey back to Windermere Castle, Celia had failed to fall asleep four times over, and now she glared out the carriage window with eyes full of resentment.
“Sleep well?”
As her eyelids rose slowly, she caught sight of Lucious closing the book he’d been reading.
Sunlight filtered through the carriage window, swaying gently.
“…No, it keeps jolting me awake.”
Light streamed through the gap in the curtains, drifting lazily across dustless air.
Lucious sat across from her, and even in the moving carriage, his posture hardly wavered. Celia blinked at the man who bore the title of her husband.
Sunlight traced across his shirt collar, the back of his hand, and his knees arranged with perfect precision. Something about the sight unsettled her deliberately, and she withdrew her gaze slower than necessary.
“If you want to sleep, would it help to lean against something more comfortable?”
“How?”
Lucious pushed aside a cushion that sat beside him and patted the spot next to him.
“Come here.”
Celia stared at his strange proposal with her mouth half-open before shifting herself over.
‘He’s offering to be my pillow.’
There was no real reason to refuse. That thought accompanied her.
“Move a little more to the side.”
Celia sat quietly for a moment, then seized an opening when the carriage swayed slightly to reposition herself.
And without ceremony, she rested her head against his shoulder. The firm muscle beneath the fabric pressed against her cheek. The subtle vibrations from the moving carriage traveled through his body in shallow waves.
“…You’re so stiff.”
Celia bit her lip hard and straightened her upper body. A piece of stone rolling down the street would have been more comfortable.
At her deliberate complaint, Lucious laughed softly.
“Just a moment.”
He removed his coat, angling his shoulder, and draped it across himself with the smooth silk lining facing her, guiding her to lean against it.
“Better?”
“More than before, anyway.”
Celia, who’d spent the previous night without sleep, managed to drift off fairly quickly despite the weight pressing on her body.
“Mm.”
Though not long after, her body flinched.
Lucious, quietly absorbed in his book, glanced back at her at the small sound. Her brow was creased with worry.
“Shall we adjust the position a little?”
Setting down his book, he leaned over and gently lifted her into his arms. Careful hands encircled her slender waist and supported her sagging body firmly.
“Ah—”
“Shh. Sleep more.”
He first untied the laces on her shoes, which had been constricting her feet. When he cradled her head against his chest, her breathing became markedly more steady.
Lucious gazed down happily at Celia asleep in his arms.
She burrowed against him each time her body twisted, seeking warmth like something drawn to a flame.
“Ah…”
The fragrance that brushed against him and the delicate fabric of her clothing would not leave him in peace, testing his restraint. Even knowing he must hold back, he drew her closer to him almost unconsciously.
‘If only it could stay like this forever…’
His desire, surging forth like a breaking dam, was starkly naked.
So Lucious restrained himself, again and again.
He could not allow her to be startled at the sight of this savage side of himself and flee.
“Sir.”
At that moment, someone called to him from outside the carriage.
As Kabel opened the carriage door, Lucious brought a long finger to his lips.
At the silent signal to keep quiet, Kabel reflexively closed his mouth, though his eyes could not stop moving. Though obscured by Lucious’s embrace, he caught sight of a slender shoulder rising and falling rhythmically beyond.
Unable to adapt to the situation, Kabel rolled his eyes before lowering his voice per instruction.
“A message has arrived from the castle.”
Since they’d arrive at the castle by tomorrow anyway, Lucious tilted his chin, questioning why a messenger had been sent.
“It appears His Grace has returned.”
The Duke, who’d been away in the West, was coming back.
Lucious paused to gauge the timing. He’d been told beforehand that his father would return within the month, so the timing wasn’t unexpected.
“Father has returned to the castle, then.”
“Yes, it seems you need only pay your respects upon arrival.”
Father.
How would his biological father—a man whose face he’d never seen in person—react to what he was now?
He’d seen him in a portrait, but that was all Lucious had to go on. He’d circled back to his mother Eleanor with questions many times seeking information, but she never provided a real answer.
‘He looked like he resembled me somehow.’
His green eyes took after Eleanor, but his other features—the lines, the bone structure, the overall bearing—all seemed to come from the Duke.
‘He seemed like a stern man.’
Unlike his mother, who wore her emotions openly on her face, perhaps he was not the sort to do so.
Suddenly, Lucious pressed at his chest.
His breath caught briefly, and an inexplicable unease rose up sharply.
“…?”
At the strange sensation, Lucious’s brows furrowed, and Kabel, unable to leave his side, called out carefully.
“Sir.”
“Speak, Kabel.”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Kabel could not bring himself to say more and fell silent.
Words without permission never crossed the lips of a loyal servant. Instead, he clenched his fist, so hard that his knuckles blanched.
***
The Mansion, arrived at before sunset, sat nestled among gentle hills and an ancient forest path.
The carefully maintained timber and low-lying roofline, with shadows evenly cast across every window frame, lacked ostentation but carried a sober, old-world charm.
People hastily sorted their luggage and retired early to their chambers for the night.
“Does your foot hurt?”
“…”
And Celia was no exception.
The only difference was that she had a man who’d shamelessly invaded her room.
“You walked for a long time on the gravel path earlier.”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Celia watched the crown of Lucious’s head as he knelt on one knee at her feet. His hair was so thick she could barely see the scalp between the strands.
“What are you doing?”
“Massage.”
Lucious uncorked a bottle of Purple Fragrant Oil.
A deep lavender scent wafted out.
“You’re giving me a massage?”
“I learned a bit from an attendant and thought I’d try. My technique might be rough, but I have strength, so it should feel good.”
“Is that… the problem?”
He smiled handsomely and without waiting for her answer, his oiled fingertips slowly pressed into the sole of her foot.
His thumb pressed the arch, his palm supported the heel, and each time his fingers traced under her toes, her spine somehow tingled.
“Wait…! Just… maybe you should stop.”
“Hmm?”
Celia hurried to withdraw her foot from his grasp, but the hand cradling her ankle quietly shifted angle to follow the movement.
“Did it hurt?”
“No… it’s not that…”
She’d grown accustomed to his attentions, but having this man treat her like a servant to be waited upon was another matter entirely.
There was a far deeper gulf between borrowing someone’s hands and watching this infuriatingly talented man actually kneel at her feet and move his hands than she’d bargained for.
Once upon a time, she’d thought she wanted to see such a scene. But where had that feeling gone? Her heart only fluttered uselessly where satisfaction should have bloomed.
“Stop, it’s embarrassing.”
She barely completed the sentence.
“Why are you suddenly like this?”
Her gaze was sharp as a lance. In response, Lucious dried his wet hands on a dry towel and murmured with detached indifference.
“Right. Why am I like this?”
Drawing out a fresh white towel, he pulled her ankle toward his knee.
“If foot massage isn’t to your taste, I’m happy to try elsewhere.”
His thumb scratched lightly at her held ankle, tickling. Her thin silk skirt slid up roughly, and bare skin appeared in an instant.
“Should I do more?”
He wrapped her foot in the towel, tilting his head slightly as he rested his face against the inside of her leg.
Finally, she lifted her foot.
Smack! With the sharp sound of impact, Celia’s cheek flushed crimson as she struck his thigh, her shoulders trembling.
Apparently it didn’t hurt, for he laughed broadly.
“Celia.”
Their eyes met.
Tick-tock—the clock clicked, the second hand advancing. As if that were his cue, Lucious reached out.
“Later. Shall we live alone, just the two of us?”
“What?”
His large body overwhelmed hers in an instant. The words forming on her lips were swallowed by him, and the sentence scattered before it could take shape.
It wasn’t until the next morning that Celia realized she’d heard something strange from him.

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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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