The Barschuen Scandal

A beautiful man’s hand caressed Ertia’s cheek.

Ertia, who had been dozing, opened her eyes.

The Archduke of Barxhuen, with his distinct black hair and blue eyes, and her husband, was on the bed.

Was he back after just two weeks this time?

Ertia counted the days since she last saw him and looked at the man approaching her.

The large hand removed the chemise she was wearing.

Her hidden white skin was exposed.

Again, right after coming back.

She thought it would be nice if they could wake up and have a conversation sometimes, but that thought was soon interrupted by the familiar sensation of his hand moving between her thighs.

“Ha…”

In the dim room, with only a few candles lit, the heat began to rise as if waiting for it.

The shadows of the two entwined.

Ertia reached out to the Archduke, who was barely visible.

Love, what a magical feeling it was.

The stifling emotions that had dominated her during the day disappeared as if they had never been there when she saw him.

The uniform the Archduke was wearing felt cold. It seemed he had come up to her room as soon as he arrived at the mansion.

Ertia’s eyes, resembling the blue sea of her homeland, were filled with the sight of her husband.

Black hair and navy blue eyes like the deep sea.

She looked at the man, more beautiful than any crafted artwork, and slowly began to undress him.

The finely crafted gold buttons were undone one by one, and soon, with a dull sound, the uniform fell onto the bed.

As if he had been waiting for her to undress him, the Archduke aggressively kissed her.

“Ung!”

The man’s tongue explored the intimate space inside her mouth. The soft and hot thick flesh swept through her teeth.

“Uhng…”

Her heart, which had been muted by the stifling life like wearing an ill-fitting dress, responded fervently to the pleasure.

In Ertia’s white night, a feverish flower bloomed.

The Archduke’s hand climbed up her thigh, caressing the hidden skin beneath.

The response was immediate.

“Ha, hah, ugh…”

The simultaneous sensation of his tongue and lips sucking and the heat below made her shiver.

Ertia, panting, responded to the clear and explicit sensations as she always did.

The feverish flowers bloomed more rapidly. The Archduke lightly bit and sucked on her neck.

One hand constantly caressed her private parts, while the other gradually moved down to her white, ample chest, gently massaging it.

“Uhng…”

When his fingers grabbed the pink peak, Ertia’s slender waist arched, ignoring all thoughts.

A hot flame whipped through her lower abdomen.

“Ugh, uh…!”

The Archduke let out a low laugh and tickled the hidden part between her legs.

A clear sound of water was heard. The white underwear, as white as Ertia’s skin, was helplessly torn apart.

“You’re wet, Ertia.”

“Haah, st-stop…!”

Completely aroused by his touch, Ertia cried at the low voice of the Archduke, who whispered while lightly biting her earlobe.

Thin, shimmering tears seeped out from her brilliant blue eyes.

“Wait, hah, ha…”

The pink private parts shone lasciviously, enticing the man with the love liquid flowing out.

Ertia, feeling the hot and sticky sensations all over her body, dug her nails into the Archduke’s back.

“Take, ha, it off.”

The Archduke was equally aroused.

His navy blue eyes, filled with primal desire, swept over her body.

Ertia willingly responded, pulling down the black trousers that were bulging in the middle.

What sprang out from there, what had made her cry all night long, was-

***

In the still morning, sharp sunlight pierced through the half-closed curtains.

Ertia blinked blankly.

A deep sense of exhaustion enveloped her entire body.

A dull ache climbed up her spine.

Without even looking, she knew her body under the blanket was a mess.

{Ert, ha, Ertia.}

Ertia smiled warmly, recalling the growling voice that had held her until she almost fainted last night.

When she turned her head, the empty bed felt desolate.

Her husband must have already boarded the train back to the capital.

Though she had stopped expecting it, seeing the empty space beside her still made her a bit sad.

But as always, instead of being depressed over something inevitable, Ertia chose to hug the pillow and roll around the vast bed, reminiscing about last night.

{Uh, ha…!}

Rather than pondering the unknown intentions of a husband who never stayed by her side, it was much healthier for her mind to recall the pleasure of the previous night and blush.

After a while, she got up slowly, kicking her legs in the air.

By the time the sun was high, the hour when an ordinary noblewoman of the empire would have a maid come in to attend her, Ertia had no maid to attend her.

For Ertia, who grew up in free Anquetria, it wasn’t so strange.

Although it was a bit disappointing not to have a personal maid to be close with,

When she drew back the curtains, the scorching southern sunlight flooded every corner of the room.

Opening the window, the heat poured in, and Ertia squinted her eyes for a moment.

The temperature was something she never got used to, having grown up in the cooler northern kingdom.

A place so different from where she grew up.

Ertia looked at the hot sunlight pouring in for a moment, then turned her back.

It was the start of another day.

Humming a song that was once popular in her kingdom, she washed and dressed before stepping out of her room.

“Did you hear about it?”

As soon as she stepped into the hallway, she heard the voices of the maids of the mansion, but there was nothing good for her in encountering them. Ertia paused for a moment.

“The Archduke will return soon!”

“What, really?”

Ertia, who had thought she could handle hearing anything, couldn’t help but be shaken by the maid’s words.

She couldn’t believe her ears and unconsciously listened to their conversation.

They wouldn’t say he was returning if he was just coming for a short visit at night. Was he really coming back to the mansion for good?

{Ha, Ertia.}

Her husband’s satisfied moan and his voice calling her name flashed before her eyes.

“Oh my, is that true?”

“It’s true. I heard the butler telling the grand lady! But that’s not the important part.”

Ertia’s white hand trembled, holding her chest that was starting to pound.

“Hey, what is it? Tell me quickly!”

The maids, excited by the news of the return of the mansion’s strong and noble master, the Archduke of Barschuen, whispered excitedly.

“Lady Melmubor is coming with him!”

“Oh my, really?!”

“It’s true!”

The maids exclaimed with delight.

But contrary to their brightening faces, Ertia’s previously pale blonde hair hung limp.

Lady Melmubor was a woman who had been by the Archduke’s side for a long time before Ertia married him, as his fiancée.

If it weren’t for Ertia, she would have become the Archduchess.

“Isn’t it such a relief?”

“Of course, it is. I thought we wouldn’t see His Grace again this year.”

In any other place, it would be unthinkable for the maids to be so excited about another woman in the mansion where an Archduchess exists, but it was tolerated here.

Though she had resolved to spend the day energetically, Ertia couldn’t help but feel a bit down.

She knew the maids sometimes compared her to Lady Melmubor behind her back. But seeing them openly pleased was a bit painful.

“It’s all because of Her Grace.”

“Yeah. If it weren’t for Anquetria…”

The maid’s voices, engaged in their work, gradually faded.

Ertia, leaning against the wall, stared at the floor for no reason.

“What are you doing here?”

She was trying to suppress her emotions, not wanting to spend the morning in sadness, but nothing was going her way today.

When she looked up at the cold question, her mother-in-law, the Grand Lady, stood before her.