The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 76

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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 76
My head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache. I forced my heavy eyelids open, and my blurred vision gradually came into focus. Pushing myself upright, I surveyed my surroundings. This was not a place I recognized. It seemed I had been abducted.
Abarid Bestes. I rolled the name Delania Siaz had spoken just before I lost consciousness over in my mind. So when I refused to become his consort, he had me kidnapped like this? The absurdity of it all made my irritation surge uncontrollably.
But irritation alone would accomplish nothing. Where on earth was I? I took a deep breath and slowly examined my surroundings. The spacious room contained only the bed I had been lying on, a fireplace crackling with flames, a table, a chair, and a small vanity. Each piece was of fine quality, yet the room felt utterly desolate and barren.
I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. A day? Two days? My body felt completely drained of strength. Yet judging by the way my cheek still stung from Delania Siaz’s blow, it couldn’t have been too long.
I closed my eyes tightly. Aster Veil Lilywood would be worried. Even if I was merely his wife in name, bound to him by necessity. He was such a kind person, after all.
Just as I bit my lip, the door burst open. The man who entered held a bouquet of flowers in one hand—broad-shouldered, with platinum blonde hair carelessly tousled, and eyes that gleamed like golden beads beneath. Abarid Bestes. I pressed my lips together and stared at him for a long moment before slowly bowing my head.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince. I greet you.”
“I thought it was about time you woke up.”
My voice trembled with barely contained fury. Abarid Bestes chuckled softly and set a vibrant bouquet and a small box on the table. Then he dragged a chair over to place it beside my bed and sat down with a heavy thud.
I did not lift my head, yet I could still feel the weight of his persistent gaze upon me.
“How do you like the room? It’s quite nice, isn’t it?”
If only I could close my ears as easily as I could close my eyes. His casual tone suggested he genuinely believed this place was acceptable. Despite myself, a bitter laugh escaped me.
“No matter how fine a room is, if you’re forced here against your will, it’s nothing but a prison.”
Abarid Bestes wanted to hold me. I knew I shouldn’t provoke him, yet sharp words spilled from my lips unbidden. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, he did not grow angry or raise his voice at my defiance.
I glanced at him sideways, my eyes darting. He seemed… pleased.
“I ordered that you be brought here with utmost courtesy. It seems my instructions were not properly conveyed, Lauren.”
His fingertips brushed against my bowed cheek. I flinched in alarm and struck his hand away. A sharp sound echoed through the room. I clenched my fist and forced down my ragged breathing. Before I could help it, our eyes met.
“I startled you. I’m sorry.”
Abarid Bestes smiled at me. I bit my trembling lip and lowered my gaze. His hand, visible in my line of sight, had flushed red from the impact.
To strike the Crown Prince’s hand—it was an act that could be condemned as lèse-majesté. Ordinarily, I should have fallen to my knees and begged forgiveness, but I felt no such inclination. After all, he had touched me first. As if he understood this perfectly, Abarid Bestes apologized to me first.
“I meant nothing by it. You just looked like you were in pain.”
My hand moved to touch my face. It still burned, which meant the wound remained visible. Abarid Bestes frowned and grasped my wrist, preventing me from touching my face further.
“…Let go of me.”
At my small, trembling voice, he simply smiled gently and raised both hands, as if to say he meant no harm.
It was not the behavior of a kidnapper. I clenched my fists. He was acting as though he were harmless, and I found it nauseating beyond measure.
“You must have been in terrible pain, Lauren.”
Of course I was. What kind of conscience does one have to drug someone into unconsciousness and expect them to be fine? I turned my head away sharply, rejecting him. I knew I shouldn’t provoke him, yet the very fact that the person before me was Abarid Bestes filled me with revulsion.
“I didn’t know Delania would lay hands on you. I should have warned her beforehand not to.”
“Perhaps. But regardless of what Your Highness commanded, my fate would have been the same.”
Abarid Bestes regarded me silently. He had maintained a facade of kindness throughout, yet his eyes and the depths within them revealed his true nature. I could not comprehend how someone could commit crimes so casually, driven by such base desires.
I wished I could die right here. I meant it sincerely. I wanted to see that smile, worn so intimately, twist and distort. I had never known I could hate someone this much. Even Delania Siaz, who had tormented me all this time, had frightened and angered me, but she had never driven me to such depths of hatred.
“Lauren…”
“Don’t touch me!”
To escape the hand reaching toward me, I recoiled on the bed. At my sharp cry, almost a scream, Abarid Bestes’s brow furrowed deeply.
My violet eyes burned with hostility. I did not want to hear what he had to say. His touch repulsed me. Abarid Bestes was the most untrustworthy person in this world.
At my reaction, he seemed offended, exhaling a bitter laugh. It was the distorted smile I had longed to see, yet I had no time to dwell on such things.
“Lauren.”
He spat my name. His tone made it clear he was displeased. I recoiled from him as though fleeing, but on a bed positioned flush against the wall, my options for escape were severely limited.
“I hope you remember that I’m looking after you.”
Abarid Bestes’s golden eyes gleamed with menace. They resembled Gloria’s, yet were utterly different—where Gloria’s held the warmth of sunlight or chrysanthemums cradling the sun itself, Abarid Bestes’s gaze was cold and reptilian, sweeping across a person like a serpent’s stare.
But I met his eyes directly without flinching. Somehow, I sensed that looking away would mean defeat. I summoned Aster Veil Lilywood to mind—I would carry myself as his wife with pride and confidence, unashamed of that name.
How long did our eyes lock? Time seemed to stretch into an eternity, yet also compress into a single moment. It was Abarid Bestes who broke the gaze first. He lowered his head deliberately, as if to make a show of it, and exhaled a long sigh.
“Don’t worry. I have no interest in embracing the wounded and suffering.”
Could I trust those words? While I deliberated, Abarid Bestes rose from his seat. At least I had bought myself time for today. My burning cheek still throbbed, yet strangely, I felt relieved. Why was that?
“I’ll send a physician. Make sure you receive proper treatment.”
He seemed about to leave after those words, but Abarid Bestes picked up a flat box from the table. He opened its lid and extended it toward me. Inside lay a necklace bearing a pendant—star-shaped or perhaps like crystalline snow—the very one that Ilita Enbail and Delania Siaz had worn so proudly around their necks.
Abarid Bestes tried to remove it and place it around my neck, but I turned my head sharply away. One of his eyebrows shot up. He irritably set the necklace down on the table with a sharp clink of glass and gold that made an unpleasant sound.
“I’ll wait eagerly for the day you wear this.”
“That day will never come.”
“We shall see.”
Abarid Bestes gave a dismissive shrug toward me, who refused to even look at him, and left the room. The door slammed shut with a violent crash that seemed to shake the entire house.
* * *
Abarid Bestes’s promise to send a physician proved no lie. The doctor left me oral medicine and salve for my cheeks and neck, saying the bruises would fade within the week with proper care.
An elderly Maidservant who entered with the physician brought simple refreshments and assisted with my bath. For someone unaccustomed to being attended to, even that felt like an ordeal.
When I faced the mirror after bathing, I saw a woman decorated with bruises darkening her cheeks and black fingerprints adorning her neck. I bit my lip hard. I understood now why he wouldn’t want to embrace me looking like this. Perhaps I should thank Delania Siaz. Knowing it made me sound mad, I laughed bitterly despite myself.
The Maidservant brought soft sleeping clothes from somewhere. The loose, simply adorned garment was comfortable and warm. But the heart of the one wearing it found no comfort whatsoever.
After changing, she applied medicine with gentle hands—so meticulous and careful that it was hard to believe she served under Abarid Bestes. I hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
“Thank you.”
Perhaps there was no need to express gratitude at a time when I was imprisoned here, yet I wanted to say those words anyway. It was simply my nature. I couldn’t help it.
The Maidservant, apparently unprepared to receive thanks, blinked blankly. Then, slowly, a smile bloomed on her lips. She rose and bowed deeply to me.
“What’s your name?”
I didn’t know how long this Maidservant would attend to me, but there was no harm in learning her name. In fact, it might be better to make her one of my allies—by learning her name and gradually building rapport through small conversations.
But the Maidservant only furrowed her brows in distress and smiled without answering. Of course—Abarid Bestes must have instructed her not to speak. Yet knowing this, I couldn’t give up easily. To escape this place, I would need the help of others. This Maidservant, whose touch was so careful and considerate, clearly pitied me.
“I understand you can’t tell me. If you don’t like your real name, a false one is fine. It’s difficult if I have no name to call you by.”
Hoping the Maidservant would open her heart, I forced a smile. My lips trembled slightly, but I could conceal such things. The Maidservant bit her lip, lost in thought, then took a breath and opened her mouth toward me.
My violet eyes widened. I couldn’t speak. There was nothing in the Maidservant’s mouth. Abarid Bestes had cut out her tongue.

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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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