I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke

Evelyn trailed off, staring at her empty fingers.

 

Her sharp upper teeth poked through her gums, biting at her red lips in frustration.

 

Kalian gently pushed a stray strand of damp hair off her forehead as he watched her lips compress. Then he slyly changed the subject of the conversation.

 “Why are you wearing pants anyway? Didn’t Emma pack you a dress?” “No, she did, but I couldn’t find it, haha, and I’m more comfortable in pants than a dress.” 

Her face contorted into a troubled expression at his touch.

 

It was new to him to see Evelyn express emotion with her whole body, and Kalian lusted after her body without restraint.

 

He hated himself for pushing this animalistic behavior in the name of purification.

 

Kalian laughed bitterly at the nauseating absurdity of his own satisfaction at the sweet trace of her mouth in the midst of it all.

 

He wasn’t sure why her absence made him feel uneasy, but he decided not to dwell on it.

 

If he wanted it, he could have it. There was no reason to overthink such a simple calculation.

 

Meanwhile, a large hand dug into her tunic, and Kalian dragged a helpless hand that clutched at thin air to tangle in his hair.

 “Ha.” 

Evelyn seemed to struggle against his hand, but she couldn’t resist the deepening stimulation.

 

He seemed to want her so badly that the veins on the nape of his neck and temples threatened to burst from the effort of suppressing his lust.

 “You’re going to come.” 

He tossed off his half-unbuttoned top haphazardly to release the rising heat.

 “I think I’ve washed you enough.” 

Beads of sweat rolled down his hard chest muscles. The Guardian’s mark etched beneath it glowed in the reflected shadows.

 

Ouroboros, a serpent coiled around a magic sword.

 “Hmph!” 

Evelyn gasped, pulling her hand away from his body.

 “Get used to it.” 

She brought her wrist to his chest, her fingers sliding lightly across the hard muscles.

 

The air grew hotter.

 

A shallow breeze blew in, cooling their bodies against each other, but only for a moment.

 

The sound of the waterfall cascading over the calm lake brought a sense of reality, but only when it was drowned out by her heat.

 

Lips still pressed together; they floundered in the strange warmth.

 “Huh.” 

With a ragged breath, Kalian ground his own against hers.

 

Evelyn moaned at the rush of stimulation and pulled him closer.

 

They tangled promiscuously in the dim moonlight.

 

The noises and stirrings around them were no longer of interest.

 “Oh, no, not there, please, please stop…!” 

Her nails dug into her forearms in frustration. Evelyn’s thighs clenched and he heard her moan as she climaxed herself.

 

‘My head is tingling; I feel like I’m melting.’

 

He cupped her cheeks and sucked in her panting lips. Her scented breath began to fill his mouth.

 “Ha…” 

Sweet.

 

His head went white from the sweet stimulation as he swirled his ravenous tongue around them, sucking greedily and sometimes gently.

 

He bit his lip like a demented beast, flicking it wildly, wishing he could linger in the afterglow of his ejaculation.

 “Shit.” 

When her mouth tasted like fishy blood and her tongue was tingling, Kalian let go of her swollen lips from his biting and sucking.

 

How many times has she climaxed without penetration?

 

She suddenly wondered what more intimate acts would bring her pleasure.

 

‘But not if I don’t hold onto my sanity here.’

 

A warning bell rang in her head that she might have to repeat the madness again.

 

He gritted his teeth until his temples burned with the realization that he had succumbed to his carnal desires.

 “Grand duke, aaaaahhhhhhh!” 

Gasping, Benjamin reached the shore of the lake and turned away, suspicious of his eyes.

 

When the two of them didn’t return from their patrol after collecting all of the creature carcasses, he began to search.

 “Sir, I’m sorry, I swear, I didn’t see anything!” 

He whirled around, hiding Evelyn in his arms, and glared coldly at Benjamin’s back.

 “Get out of my way and get the hell out of here.” 

Benjamin, who broke out in a cold sweat at his icy stare, quickly added,

“I’m sorry,”

before fleeing at the speed of light.

 “Hmph, it’s none other than people from the imperial palace, you might want to check it out!”  

* * *

  

At that time, the imperial palace was in a grim mood.

 

The Emperor, Theodore, was in a very low mood when faced with the late-night visitor.

 Bang! 

Theodore frowned as he slammed down the report from Julius, the vicar.

 

<The former Countess of Lawrence, Louise. Found dead beneath the Quanta Bridge!”> he said.

 “She was found dismembered, and what on earth were the Paladins leading the convoy doing while this was going on!”

The lieutenant said.

 

Shortly after leaving the gateway to the eastern part of the continent, the convoy was ambushed.

 

And while the knights scrambled to put down the disturbance, tragedy struck.

 

The guards guarding the caravan were also found dead, leading many to believe that the killer was a skilled swordsman.

 

In the end, no one knows what happened. Not even her husband, the Count of Lawrence.

 “What is the count doing now?” “He’s holed up in his office. He’s very much in shock.” “How frustrating.” 

Theodore sank back into his overstuffed chair and wiped a tired hand across his face.

 “If the grand duke had escorted the prisoner, none of this would have happened…” 

The High Priest, who had been leaning back in his chair at an angle, straightened up.

 

His brow furrowed, as if offended by the word

‘grand duke’

.

 

But he was a handsome, middle-aged man who made even his rumpled features look handsome.

 

His fine golden hair was as smooth as silk, and his clear, almost transparent violet eyes gave him a holy air.

 

He was born of the same blood as the Emperor, but the gulf between them was as wide as the gulf between their innate auras.

 

Julius Maximus Adin Icar.

 

That was the High Priest’s true name.

 

He was the fourth emperor born to the empress by the previous emperor, a man who had turned away from politics early on to pursue a career in the clergy.

 

The people applauded Julius for his holiness and purity, but his intentions were more ambitious.

 

He chose the temple as the backdrop for his life and his will.

 

It was the only thing that kept him alive during the current Emperor’s purge of the Emperor, the Empress, and all of her family.

 “Do you really think so, Your Majesty?” 

Frowning, Julius picked up the teacup in front of him, hiding his inner thoughts.

 “Even though the dead sinner being the mother of the new grand duchess is… the blind spot in this case?” 

Theodore threw up his hands as if to cover his heavily closed eyes, as if that were some sort of insult.

 “How dare you, you doubt the Grand duke?” “The circumstances are such that one would think so, given the Grand duke’s unwarranted meddling in the family’s affairs, and the Grand duchess’s constant abuse by a criminal.” 

The emperor was already plagued by internal problems.

 

And now the death of a prisoner being escorted to a monastery.

 

If the world knew about this, it would cause quite a stir.

 

Theodore pressed his temples together.

 

The thought of the people rising up to complain of unrest made his bones ache.

 “You speak as if the grand duke has avenged the rain.” 

Julius sipped his tea, disgruntled at the weakness.

 “Do not be angry. I am merely speaking of possibilities, Your Majesty.” 

No matter how much the Emperor favored the Grand duke, it was Cardian he had to protect.

 

Moreover, the Emperor harbored a deep-seated inferiority complex toward his former friend, the Grand Duke, Tristan.

 

Tristan had done a great deal to ensure that Theodore, born second crown prince, would succeed to the throne, but he had also taken away what he loved most.

 “By nature, Orpheus’ men are known for being unstoppable when they fall in love. Just look at the way the former Grand Duchess can’t get over her dead husband…” 

Theodore’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Julius, who nudged him in the back.

 “Yes, it’s complicated.” 

The son of a woman who loved him with all her heart.

 

The emperor’s feelings for the grand duke were complicated for others to understand.

 

‘If the Grand duke hadn’t been so insistent on Tristan’s appearance, the Emperor would have insisted that he was his son at all costs.’

 

Moreover, the Empress was pregnant with three more children after Cedric’s birth, but none of them saw the light of day except for the Empress, who was married.

 

The emperor, with an unworthy heir, could not help but suffer from a fundamental longing for and fear of power.

 

Julius clicked his tongue as slyly as a snake.

 “It is the law of the north to cut off limbs and bury them at the ends of the east, west, and north. I am deeply troubled that the safety of the empire is entrusted to such a feckless man, however much he claims to be its guardian.” 

The people revered Orpheus for risking his life to hunt demons, but not everyone admired him.

 

There was a growing consensus among the people that the Grand duke had conspired with Babel to open the gates and oppress the empire through the politics of fear.

 

And the emperor was not unaware of this.

 “Have you considered what would happen if, when the Empire is in crisis, the Grand Duke were to claim the honor of having prevented the runaway Gates and dungeons and defended humanity?”