Chapter 38

Chapter 38

‘The Day’ had finally come.

When Chloe awoke from her morning slumber and opened her eyes, she realized it. Rolling halfway across the bed, she buried her face into the pillow.

Today was the day.

In other words… it was the day she and Alphonse would attempt to produce an heir, for the first time since she’d arrived in this world.

Chloe let out a sigh. Even though she had steeled herself countless times the night before, she couldn’t help feeling nervous.

‘It’s not even my first time.’

Back when she was Park Hajeong, she had dated two boyfriends by the age of 28. Naturally, she had spent the night with both. Everyone made a big deal about it, but once she’d experienced it, she found it surprisingly underwhelming. 

The first time had hurt a bit, and after that… it was just alright. Not terrible or traumatic, but she never understood why people were so desperate to do it.

‘Just once, please? Just once.’

She remembered her ex-boyfriend begging. Back then, she was overly conscious of others’ opinions and couldn’t say no to him. She’d given him everything, like a tree that gives without hesitation—only for both relationships to end the same way: the boyfriend cheating on her.

Chloe suddenly sat upright, shaking her head to erase the pathetic faces of her exes from memory. She thought of Alphonse instead, and her mood slightly lifted.

That evening went by like any other. She shared dinner and tea with Alphonse.

After asking the maid to clean up, the two parted in the hallway. Just before leaving, Alphonse said something with deep meaning:

“I will come to you.”

Chloe felt her face flush again just remembering it.

Back in her room, she bathed. She did this daily, of course, but tonight felt different. Even the maids seemed to sense it. They looked unusually serious, not just dutiful, but like artists working on a masterpiece.

They bathed her with utmost care, using rosewater and bath salts, massaged her with aromatic oils, and polished her until her white skin was soft and glowing. Her hair shone with a silky gloss.

Wearing only a negligee, Chloe looked in the mirror, and her jaw dropped.

‘I was always pretty, but I look even better now.’

She admired her reflection. Her face looked beautiful, and her body, faintly visible through the sheer negligee, was striking. Curves in all the right places, a slim waist, and glowing skin made her feel like a sculpture.

While lost in admiration, a knock at the door startled her. The door opened, and she quickly wiped her mouth and shut her gaping lips.

It was Alphonse.

He, too, had apparently just bathed. His golden hair was wet, and he wore only a bathrobe. Chloe nearly gawked again, he looked even more stunning than she did.

“Have you been waiting long?” he asked.

“Oh, no. I just finished bathing too,” she replied.

They had spoken and spent time together many times, but why did she suddenly feel so nervous and shy? Chloe hoped her pounding heart would calm down, but it didn’t.

Alphonse noticed her flustered state. While Chloe wasn’t looking, a faint smile formed on his lips. She looked more adorable than ever.

He placed a wine bottle and glasses on the bedside table, but his red eyes never left her.

He naturally guided her toward the bed. They lay down side by side.

“Will you be alright?” he asked.

Chloe realized his figure was casting a shadow over her—Alphonse was leaning in, his upper body angled toward her.

‘His face is so close…’

They were close enough to feel each other’s breath. The warmth in his smile and his alluring crimson eyes made her flustered. His lashes, the same shade as his hair, his straight nose, defined jawline, his neck, and his large hands—all still damp from the bath—overwhelmed her senses.

Could any woman possibly reject a man like this? Chloe wondered.

She averted her gaze and pressed a hand to her pounding chest as she replied:

“I think… I’ll be okay.”

Her blushing cheeks and hesitant reply made her look unusually charming.

Alphonse gently touched her warm cheek. Every time they had tried to conceive, he had always brought wine. They had always been a little drunk when it happened, and maybe that made it easier.

But this time felt different.

Holding her in his arms, even opening the bottle felt like a bother. All he wanted was to take in every inch of this woman, even down to a single strand of her hair.

He brushed her lips with his thumb as she closed her eyes bashfully.

‘Was she always this lovely?’

They had been married for thirteen months, and he had embraced her many times. But never once had she seemed this heartbreakingly beautiful.

Alphonse gazed at her face, her white skin, and the dark chestnut hair spread out across it all, and thought…

This moment feels entirely new.

Chloe, who had her eyes closed, grew increasingly curious as Alphonse said and did nothing.

‘Is he doing something?’

Finally, when curiosity overcame her shyness, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Alphonse.

Alphonse saw Chloe looking up at him from within his arms. When her clear, olive-colored eyes, filled with curiosity, turned towards him, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Kya!”

Chloe yelped in surprise as Alphonse suddenly shifted his position. Alphonse lunged and took over the space above her, then kissed Chloe’s white forehead.

And then her nose, her lips… As his lips slowly descended and covered hers, Chloe slowly closed her eyes again.

‘This is my first kiss with him.’

Unlike the light kisses on her forehead and nose, the contact of lip to lip was intense and lingering. His tongue, parting her lips and entering, started with Chloe’s tongue, then tasted and conquered every corner of her mouth.

“Hmm, mm…”

It was just a kiss, but the sensation was so strangely captivating that Chloe moaned and clutched Alphonse’s lapel.

Alphonse’s kiss was unexpectedly rough. It was completely different from his usual elegant and aristocratic demeanor. Chloe was at a loss, feeling her entire mouth, from teeth to palate, being plundered, and with each touch, a small static-like sensation spread through her body.

‘It’s not my first kiss, so why…’

...does it feel like a new sensation?

By the time Alphonse’s lips pulled away, Chloe’s breathing was ragged. A long strand of silver saliva stretched between their lips, and Chloe’s chest rose and fell with her breaths. Unable to escape the lingering effects of the kiss, Chloe looked up at Alphonse, feeling somewhat dazed.

She couldn’t help but be surprised. 

His eyes, his red eyes, seemed to be burning. Desire flickered in his crimson pupils, and it was clearly directed at Chloe, at her.

Her heart began to pound again. The moment she saw Alphonse’s desire for her, she felt all strength drain from her body. 

She couldn’t resist.

***

Chloe, who still hadn’t shaken off the habit of going to work, usually woke up early. But today was an exception, she had slept in until the sun was high in the sky.

Awakened by the sunlight slipping through the canopy, Chloe realized she was tightly wrapped in a pair of strong arms, unable to move. And those arms’ owner was looking right at her.

The owner of those crimson eyes had woken before her and had been gazing at her sleeping face the entire time. Chloe felt a mix of embarrassment and an unfamiliar warmth as she offered him a small smile.

“Did you sleep well?”

Looking at her smiling in his arms, Alphonse thought to himself,

‘Should I suggest we sleep together again?’

No, of course not. That wasn’t possible. The contract they signed before their marriage clearly stated that the two of them would spend the night together only once a month.

Alphonse wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about s*x. Despite his natural physical capabilities, he had been raised under strict abstinence from a young age. For him, like eating meals for survival, s*x was something he only did to fulfill a basic need—a mundane, functional act.

But what happened the night before… it made him feel like his entire worldview had shifted. That overwhelming physical pleasure combined with emotional fulfillment, the sight of her teary, love-filled face in his arms was something no other experience could compare to.

‘D***, why did I agree to just once a month?’

He regretted it. Once a week… no, three times a week would’ve been better.

Unaware of what Alphonse was thinking, Chloe tried to get out of bed. But as soon as she did, a sharp pain in her lower back brought her back down.

“Ahhh—!”

She collapsed onto the white bed sheets again, slowly crawling under the blankets. No doubt she had overdone it last night. Understandable, given how thoroughly exhausted she’d been, to the point where she couldn’t even lift a finger.

A shadow fell over her head as she whimpered under the covers.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“Ugh… I can’t move. My back… no, my whole body…”

Her entire body ached, but her lower back was especially sore. As Chloe groaned in pain, she belatedly realized that the culprit responsible was the very man standing in front of her. She glared at Alphonse.

Seeing her glare so adorably, Alphonse felt a strange ticklish feeling in his chest. He wound a strand of her long hair around his finger and kissed it.

“I’ll call the doctor for you.”

Chloe couldn’t stay mad as he gently swept her hair from her forehead.

With the help of the maids, she barely managed to wash and change into comfortable indoor clothes. Soon, the duchy’s resident physician, Chantal, arrived. With her sharp black bob and no-nonsense demeanor, she carefully examined Chloe.

“When did you start feeling unwell?”

“This morning.”

“Hmm. Did anything happen yesterday?”

While pressing on Chloe’s lower back as she lay on the bed, Chantal asked calmly. Chloe’s cheeks flushed. Here it comes…

“Um… I spent the night with the Duke.”

“You mean, you had s*xual intercourse?”

“…Yes.”

Unfortunately, Chantal was not the type of physician who handled bashful young ladies with much sensitivity. She was cold and precise, just the kind of doctor Alphonse would hire.

“What time did the intercourse start and end?”

“Uh… from around 10 p.m. to… 4 a.m.?”