35 - 39

< — Damian — > (6)

The time struck midnight. Unlike how he was usually, the Duke reeked with the strong smell of blood.

Due to the murderous atmosphere surrounding his master and the smell of blood, Jerome was frightened for a moment then he masked his expression.

"Milady is asleep and the young master had arrived. There's nothing else of particular importance that needs to be reported."

Jerome gave a brief report of what his master mostly wanted to know. Hugo simply nodded at him, turned around and walked away. As Jerome watched the further moving back of his master, he once again ordered a maid to prepare a bath for his master.

After which he turned around quietly and quickly chased after the group of Knights that were leaving the castle.

"Sir Heba!"

One of the Knights stopped walking and waited until Jerome had reached him.

"What's wrong?" (Sir Heba)

Dean wondered quizzically as he looked at Jerome who seemed somewhat serious.

"Did something happen? The Lord doesn't usually return covered in blood…"

"Ah, we met a group of thieves on our way back."

"Thieves in the vicinity? I don't think the security here is that lousy…"

"Tell me about it, I don't know where they came from but they were robbing nearby peddlers and the Lord discovered it."

"…I see. Did his Grace personally punish them? It seems they weren't usual robbers."

Instead of replying, Dean gave a wry smile. They weren't professional robbers. It was unfortunate for those roaming beggars that were trying to steal and were caught.

Punishment? The Lord didn't ask of their crimes. He just blew their throats off on the spot. Thanks to that, the peddlers that were able to escape from their robbers were much more afraid than they were grateful.

Through they were robbers, among them were young men that had not yet reached maturity but the Duke didn't tolerate such charity. Rather than call it a punishment, it was more of a slaughter.

Dean would think that he'd gotten used to it but every time he witnessed the cruelty of the Duke, he would recoil. Just like today.

"So, you're saying nothing else happened?"

"Yes. Pretty much."

Dean shrugged. Apart from the death of a few thieves, there wasn't much else that needed to be mentioned.

"When he was subduing barbarians, did his mood seem foul or…?"

When they were subduing barbarians, the manner in which the Lord killed them off was extremely cruel. It was on an entirely different level from the way he killed enemies in the past war.

Only the seasoned knights that accompanied him to subdue barbarians were able to see this side of him. It was not a situation that could easily be described with 'he was in a bad mood' or what not.

Dean was unable to put it in words so he just shook his head.

"I understand. It must have been a tiring journey. Please rest." (Jerome)

"I will. Farewell"

***

Hugo spent a lot of time soaking in the bathtub as though to wash off the pungent smell of blood. However, the sickening bloody smell under his nose still didn't disappear.

Before, such things had never bothered him but when he saw Jerome's hesitant-to-draw-closer face, the face of his wife came to mind.

When he imagined her seeing him and stepping back in fear, his heart sank.

'I don't want to show this to her.'

The moment he reached that conclusion, the feeling of blood that he'd never felt anything wrong with before suddenly felt disgusting.

'An Honorable Noble? A Mighty Knight? What rubbish.'

When he stripped off his shell, he was no more than a hunter. A slaughterer that hunted humans.

Hugo knew of the madness that flowed within his blood. It was tenacious as it urged him into that madness, for it wished to see rivers of blood.

If it weren't for the past war, he would have probably become a notorious murderer. The dull feeling of a person's neck flying off filled him with thrill, the smell of blood gave him a sense of liberation.

Even when he could see the desperation in the eyes of the people as they faced death, he didn't feel any sort of guilt. He'd never had any nightmares either.

For generations, the Master of Taran was a mighty knight and a brilliant Lord. The Taran lineage had a special blood that passed down superior physical abilities and intellect to their descendants hence why the Taran family was obsessed with preserving the purity of their bloodline.

According to the words of Philip, Hugo was a successful product. However, he'd never felt proud of that fact.

[This cursed blood. I will gladly end it here.]

Although he performing solemnly at his conferment ceremony, inwardly, Hugo was grinding his teeth.

He wanted to trample the cursed Taran bloodline and not leave any traces. He wanted to revel in delight as those dead ancestors of his ran amok in hell with anger.

'If only that old geezer didn't come with Damian.'

When Philip appeared with Damian, Hugo's resolve to end his own lineage became all for naught.

***

After Hugo was done with his bath, he walked to his bedroom then stood holding the door knob. After worrying for a while, he turned around and walked to his wife's bedroom. After entering, it didn't take long for his eyes to adjust to the darkness in her bedroom.

He walked to the bed and for a while, he stood, watching her sleeping figure on the bed. Although he was just looking at her, his heart felt somewhat strange.

It was as though his heart was sick for it because somehow, he found it difficult to just keep watching her.

He lifted up the blanket and slid in beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her soft body into his arms.

He then buried his nose in her neck, breathing in her fruit-like fragrance. He closed his eyes and after a while, he could feel his sharpened nerves calm down.

Within Hugo, there were two sides that existed. The reason he could return to being the Taran Duke as though nothing happened after he'd hunted and soaked himself with the blood of humans was because he'd separated himself into two.

Perhaps a normal person would have gone insane but Hugo's spirit was abnormally strong and tenacious.

However, it took more time in order for him to fully return to being Duke Hugo after becoming Hunter Hugo than when it was the opposite way around. He needed more time to calm down the madness in his blood as it got excited by slaughter.

Surprisingly, this time, perhaps because of the warmth in his arms, he was calming down much faster than usual.

Now that the excitement from slaughter had subsided, the heat in his lower abdomen began to spread throughout his body. At first, he'd just wanted to embrace her and fall asleep however after feeling her warm temperature, her soft skin and breathing her in, he couldn't stand it anymore.

'I'll feel just a little bit…'

He slipped his hands inside her nightwear as he kissed her neck then he carefully squeezed her breast, watching for her reaction.

'Will she wake up?'

Betraying his expectations, she was still fast asleep.

'Why is she such a heavy sleeper?'

He grumbled. Her husband had been away for a long time and just returned, kissing and touching her yet she stayed asleep. He was dissatisfied. He refused to hold back anymore.

He sat up on the bed and kicked the blanket covering her to the ground. He lowered himself to her legs, lifted up her slender ankle and kissed the tip of her foot.

He put her small foot into his mouth, licking it with his tongue then sucked and rolled his tongue around it like candy.

He kissed and licked her ankle then moved his lips to her calf, sucking on it before giving it a light bite and kissing it.

He didn't know if she was going to wake up even with all these caresses. He usually had a lot of work so he would retire late to the bedroom and sometimes he would wake her up after she slept off first.

She usually would have woken up at this point but today, it seemed like she was in a remarkably deep sleep.

However, seeing her like this only triggered his obstinacy. He lifted his hands to her waist and stripped off her petite lace panties.

He then grabbed her thighs and spread them apart causing the mouth of her bashfully concealed petal to open slightly. His lower abdomen began to throb at this sight causing him to frown.

He had to suppress his throbbing member that was begging to enter.

He lowered his lips to the pale, tender flesh of her thighs, suckling till he made a mark. As he looked at the red hickey, he gave a smile of satisfaction.

Because it wasn't in an easily discoverable location, she wouldn't be able say anything.

'When would she find this mark?'

He really wanted to see her expression the moment she did. She would probably panic. Her face would go red and she wouldn't know what to do.

He looked up again only to find her still fast asleep.

"Sleeping so well you wouldn't even know when you're carried away."

'Let's see how far you can endure.'

He lowered his head again, kissing her hot spring that was hidden within her forest. He licked, suckled, swallowed and repeatedly swirled his tongue around it then slipped the tip of his tongue into her slightly open entrance.

As he licked her tender flesh and continuously ravaged her insides with his tongue, her dry spring began to flow.

Translator's Corner:

*Abrupt ending. I know. Don't hurt me. (ノдヽ)

*The words were so flowery this time hahaha.

< — Damian — > (6)

TN: Sorry for the cliff (I think?).

Lucia awakened to the feeling of strange heat spreading through her lower regions. In her half-asleep, half-awake state, she felt an external stimulus exciting the sensitive junction between her thighs.

Before she could grasp the situation, she felt an intense stimulation travel through her as something plunge inside of her.

"Hk!"

Both of her legs were held firmly apart and her most delicate part between her legs was being sucked up. She managed to lift her head and look down only to find his head buried between her legs.

Lucia forced her still asleep brain to function.

'Is he back? Since when?'

However, she wasn't able to contemplate for long. His pointy tongue touched her petite vaginal entrance and pierced into her. A tingling sensation travelled up her spine.

Lucia shuddered as though stuck by lightning and couldn't help but utter a cry.

"Ah!"

His tongue wasn't as hard as his fingers but it was a lot more accurate. Lucia felt intense excitement from the unseen stimulation. She grabbed the sheets tightly and her head trembled as she moaned.

Her waist swayed and she tried to close her thighs but he held her legs firmly apart so it didn't turn out as she wished. He spread her legs strongly and violated her insides with his tongue.

He sucked intensely on her drooling entrance like it was an oasis discovered in a desert. He tasted her soft and moist inner flesh then explored deeper with his tongue, exciting her and enjoying her reactions.

As fluids gushed from her oasis, a thick smell spread out and he could see that she was fully awake. He fondled the small protrusion on her center with his tip of his tongue then poked and prodded before finally lightly biting down on it.

"Hk! Ah! Ang!"

Her small moans transformed into passionate cries. Until those cries turned to sobs, he did not take his lips off her vagina. He kissed, licked, suckled and swallowed.

He couldn't stop himself savoring from the odd flavor and aroma of her body fluids. He sucked as though to swallow her aroused fleshy mound and in response, her waist shook excitedly in the air then flopped down.

Hugo licked from her lower abdomen and traveled all the way to her breasts. Her eyes were unfocused as they blankly stared at him.

It was a pity. If only the surroundings were a bit brighter then he would have been able to see her flushed appearance.

He wove his hands into her negligee and squeezed her chest. He grabbed her soft and tender breasts with his palms that were coarse from wielding the sword.

Her skin felt as smooth as the finest silk and every time he touched her he felt good. Whether it was her face that was without the slightest blemish or her milky teeth that had no defects.

The fact that only him, her husband would be able to feel and see such a sight satisfied his possessiveness.

He lowered his head and took a mouthful of the appetizing fruit in front of him. Stimulated by his caresses, her nipple stood firmly as it was fondled and swallowed by the anxious tongue.

She gave off a delicious fragrance. It was such a captivating smell that if he could, he'd swallow it all.

As he listened to her gasping and moaning sounds, he couldn't help but admired how he was able to hold back and endure all this while.

From the first day of the hunt, he suffered from an overpowering sense of hunger (desire) and thirst. No matter how much he hunted barbarians, he was not satisfied.

[Whatever, I don't give a damn.]

He tried to break off the string that had tied up his heart. Wavering? So what if I waver?

He alone was intoxicated with her and didn't know what to do and she'd never tried to make him waver.

He reached out with one hand and spread her closed thighs apart. His member had hardened to the extent that it ached and was begging to be released.

He took a place between her legs and quickly lifted her weight. In a single thrust, he penetrated into her without any hindrances, hitting deep into her womb.

Her body flinched slightly as it accepted the intruder.

"Ah!"

"Haa…"

His hand supported her body while his other hand on the bed squeezed the sheets of the bed tightly. A grunting moan flowed out of his mouth.

This was it. Her slippery insides wrapped perfectly around his manhood as they squeezed. Their point of union fit tightly without any gaps.

As he burrowed his desire into her warm and wet insides, he was filled with a sense of perfect satisfaction. Her breasts under him bounced up and down with the little movements he made.

Her pink nipples, wet from his saliva and her glossy fair chest were littered with marks from him. Her taste that had been in his mouth till now still excited him.

He flicked her nipple with his tongue then licked it softly. He fondled and played with it a few times then took the whole thing into his mouth.

"Ung…Aah!"

He teasingly chewed on it before sucking with great force. He loosely rolled his tongue around it, lightly bit it then repeatedly suckled strongly.

Her body shuddered in excitement as she released a small moan and her inner walls clamped down on him tightly. Although it was good to taste her soft breasts, he couldn't stay still anymore.

"Lift your waist."

Only the end of his sentence flowed into her ears. Lucia who'd been moaning due to his persistent caresses felt thrill at the vague sound of his deep voice.

Vividly remembering his movements when he'd thrust deeply into her, her insides throbbed and squeezed at him.

Lucia watched as a suppressed groan left his mouth and her mouth felt dry. Her heart grew desperate and she reached out, grabbing his hand that was next to her while placing her other hand under the pillow then she wrapped both of her legs around his waist.

Hugo grabbed her buttocks, moved closer on his knees and lifted her waist into the air. He pulled out from her anxiously soaked inner walls and heavily drove his searing hot member deep into her.

"Huuu…"

Maybe because it had been a while, she felt that his thing was much bigger. It completely filled up her body as it entered and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

She put more force into her hands, clenching tightly on his hands and when he saw the slight grimace on her face, he spoke.

"Slowly?"

Lucia pursed her lips and nodded her head. He slipped out then slowly moved his waist as he re-entered. The feeling of his desire hitting her deepest spot was numbing and she let out a moan-like sigh.

"Ah…hng."

His firm member repeatedly penetrated her, heating up her insides. Deeply and at times, shallowly. As his movement to control the intensity continued, her tender, relaxed insides tightened and swallowed him.

"Haa…Really…"

He muttered with a murky subdued voice.

"Your insides are practically devouring me."

As she drew closer to her climax, her tight squeeze on him began to lessen. He couldn't hold back his impulse to rampage deeper inside of her. He felt good when he put it inside of her but when he began to move, the feeling was amazing.

The movement of his waist quickly increased in speed, plunging deeper without reserve.

"A-! Aah!"

Her body shook in accordance with his movements, swaying rhythmically with each thrust. Her body twisted and twitched as she mewled in pleasure.

When he slowly pulled outwards, it felt like her insides were pulling away with him and when he thrust hard, the heavy force caused her body to tingle.

He lowered his head to kiss her wet eyelashes then he moved to her earlobes, licking and biting then he whispered.

"Do you know your expression right now…is a little crazy?"

He held her waist firmly so she wouldn't move up to the head of the bed and thrust powerfully. Every time he rammed into her, her eyes glistened and flickered and his rough breathing echoed in her ears.

"You look like you're about to cry but…your insides won't let me go…ha…hng…this…do you like it? Does it feel good?"

"Ah! Ang!"

"Tell me, do you want me to go deeper? Does you like when I put it this way?"

He didn't feel embarrassed by his teasing words. Just like he'd said, her insides were actively sucking and wrapping around him. Her sensitive inner walls moved with him as though attached to his penis and the movement excited her immensely.

"A-! Hugh! Too-! Hng!"

The stimulation was too intense. She felt short of air as though she was falling from an incredible height. His hard penis ravaged her vigorously and when he moved outwards, she felt like she was losing her mind.

As though to split her into two, his heated shaft repeatedly thrust in and out of her. And every time her deep inner flesh was prodded and rubbed, she screamed at the pleasure that filled her brain.

Her body twitched and gasped at his seemingly never-ending thrusts.

"Haa-! Aak!"

Reaching her climax, Lucia lowered her head and screamed seductively. As her inner walls viciously clamped down on him, a wild roar burst forth from within him. She spasmed in pleasure and he continued to burrow into her.

"Hng…ng…Hugh…just..a sec…a moment…"

Lucia teared up from the intense stimulation. She wanted him to pause for a moment but it seemed as though her pleas had excited him as his movements grew fiercer.

His hip muscles contracted and relaxed as he frantically thrust into her. Her legs that were wrapped around his waist seemingly lost power as they slipped off his waist.

He grabbed both of her legs and drew her closer to him then he lifted her buttocks and plunged even deeper inside her. After several attempts, he held her ankles side-by-side in one hand then his stiff enthusiasm entered her narrow entrance, repeatedly advancing and retreating.

"Uue-! Hk!"

It was exhausting. But it felt good. His powerful force as he penetrated her, his passionate movements as though he wanted to eat her up, his muscular movements that she could make out through her blurry eyes, his low moans that slipped out intermittently too, she liked them all and they excited her.

Her body had learnt the joy of a union with a man. Her buds blossomed, her petals grew and as time flew by, she was in full bloom. Her ecstatic body was open to the one she loved.

As the wall that she'd built against him disappeared completely, her body reacted more actively to his coupling. Her body sensed his body and instinctively reacted to him and this change was driving him crazy.

He let her legs fall to one side and grabbing her behind, he penetrated her slowly. As he was enraptured by the churning of her tender insides, she closed her eyes and gasped for breath.

Whenever his moving penis hit and stimulated a sensitive spot, her forehead would wrinkle slightly.

He once again grabbed her ankles and positioned them upwards then began to burrow deeply into her vagina. Again, her body trembled greatly and she uttered a cry of pleasure.

Her lingering hand on his shoulders felt as though it would slip so she clasped down firmly with her fingers. The painful sensation of her fingernails digging into his shoulders as she held on with all her might infused more heat into his underbelly.

"Hng!"

"…Ku-!"

His body stiffened momentarily as he released deep inside her womb. Lucia felt a hot fluid spreading and filling up her insides and she shut her eyes. Her vaginal walls clenched and squeezed him tightly.

His arms shook and a growl escaped his throat while her body twitched and spasmed with pleasure.

"Hha…Hha…"

His weight came down on her as he stopped to catch his breath. He wasn't completely leaning on her as he held some of his weight with his elbow but his body moderately pressing down on her gave her a pleasant feeling of comfort.

Lucia placed her shivering hand on his head and the sensation of running her hand through his slightly wet hair felt good.

Translator's Corner:

*I forgot how long steamy scenes take to translate.

*This chapter was so long(1k words longer than usual) I started to feel like the author got inspired while writing this scene. (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡.

*Also make sure you're reading this on rubymaybe translations! ?

< — Damian — > (7)

In the quiet bedroom, only the sound of two people breathing could be heard. Lucia's breathing was calming down to an even pace and Hugo lowered his head, turned her body sideways then wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his arms.

He simply embraced her for a while then he began to cover her lips, eyes and forehead with kisses.

"Ha-ha, that's ticklish." [Lucia]

"Shall I make it not ticklish?"

Hugo whispered softly then bit her neck. His hand stealthily slipped from her back to her waist but Lucia twisted her body and naturally pushed his hand away.

When the smooth sensation of her skin disappeared from his palm, he reached out stubbornly and grabbed her buttocks. This time, Lucia pushed away from his chest.

"We can't. I have a lot to do so I have to get up early tomorrow morning."

"What do you have to do?"

"I'm planning to have a garden party in three days and since it's a situation where I show my garden to people, I want to increase the scale a bit. So, from tomorrow, I have to organize the garden, prepare it and of course, there are a lot of other things I have to take care of."

'She was completely fine even though I wasn't around.'

He grumbled inwardly.

"A garden party? The days are starting to get colder, are there still flowers?"

"There are autumn flowers. Although they aren't as bright as spring's or summer's, I wanted to have a garden party before the year is over."

"So, your party is more important than your husband that just came back. Which one is your priority?"

Again, his hands stealthily slid to her waist and his lips glued themselves to her neck. Lucia smacked his shoulders.

"Don't be unreasonable. Do you know how childish you sound?"

"Oh-ho. Now you're beating your husband?"

Lucia teasingly booed as his attempt to act tough. Hugo's eyes strangely lit up then with huge motions, he pounced at her but Lucia's small body quickly rolled away and avoided him.

There were bursts of laughter blended with small screams and the bed quickly became a mess with the two of them tossing and turning all over.

Soon enough, Lucia grew breathless and began to pant then was firmly caught by him. That she was able to avoid him even once on the narrow bed meant he was going easy on her or it would have been impossible.

He hugged her from behind, slid his legs between hers, then placed one hand on her chest as he kissed her back. Lucia tried to move but found she was held firmly in place so she gave up. Although his hands kept fondling her breasts, she left him alone.

"Did your assignment with your vassals go well?"

"Mhm. What of you? What have you been doing?"

"Nothing mu…ah, no, they is something. Damian came back."

Just for an instant, his body stiffened. As Lucia was wrapped in his embrace, she could feel it.

"…I know." (Hugo)

What did Damian mean to him? Lucia had a lot of things that she wanted to ask but she decided to take it slow and wait for when they could sit down and have a long conversation.

Since even Jerome was treasuring his words, she didn't want to approach it prematurely. All this while, she'd been interacting with Damian and could tell that the boy did not resent his father.

It wouldn't have been strange if the boy's sense of shame over his situation and illegitimacy twisted his emotions but Damian turned out to be an honest and innocent child.

If she had a son like Damian, even if he wasn't a child she gave birth to, she would put all her effort into raising him.

Now, she wanted to know how he thought of Damian. If they didn't have any animosity towards each other, it was be a pity for them to keep having such a frigid relationship.

Was the relationship between them only the fact that they shared the same blood?

Lucia believed that even though it wasn't as intense as the love between a man and a woman, the love between blood ties was bound with a string that was not easily broken.

"What do you think? Lunch? If possible, let's have a meal together."

Although Lucia spoke like it wasn't a big deal, inwardly she worried about what to do if he rejected. If he didn't even want to eat with the boy, then it was the worst possible situation.

"Let's do dinner, I have a meeting in the morning."

Fortunately, his answer was positive. Lucia gave a little sigh of relief.

"Was there any rudeness?" (Hugo)

Lucia thought about it briefly then realized the subject of his words was Damian but she couldn't help but think, 'ah, he doesn't really know his son.' If he knew Damian, even a little bit, he wouldn't ask that question.

"Not at all. He was very polite and mature and his attitude and manners were not out of place. I'll co-exist fine with Damian, you don't have to worry about tha-"

"I'm not worried about that. Just tell me if he's ever impolite to you."

Behind his back, Lucia's eyes narrowed as she listened to his tone that sounded like an officer talking about a recruit.

"What would you do?"

"Advise him."

However, Hugo's type was advice was never one from the mouth.

"That won't happen. While you weren't here, we've gotten along very well…"

Her voice was getting increasingly drowsy.

"…We?" (Hugo)

The lingering question was not heard by Lucia's ear that had fallen asleep.

"Ah…my greetings…are late…Welcome back…" (Lucia)

He kissed her lips close to the end of her mumblings. Not long after, Lucia fell asleep, her breathing calm and even.

"I'm back."

Once again, he lightly kissed her lips, then closed his eyes to sleep.

***

When Lucia woke up in the morning, she was alone. His waking hours were quite early so she'd grown accustomed to waking up alone.

The lingering sensation in her body told her that last night was not a dream. It had been a long time since they'd united so she had no strength in her body. She had to use her arms to support her body upright.

"Ah…"

After she stood up, his viscous body fluids flowed out from between her thighs. No matter how many time she'd experienced this, Lucia covered her face out of embarrassment.

When she calmed down, she called the maid and ordered for a bath to be prepared. The maids waited on Lucia as she entered the bath full of warm water.

Her dazzling skin that was enhanced by the bright morning sun was littered with red marks. The maids kept glancing at those red traces and their faces grew flushed.

Their master returned late last night and no one could catch a glimpse of him but now they knew he went to their Mistress' room. It was almost certain that after the bath, this rumor would spread among the maids.

"Is he in the office?" (Lucia)

"His Grace is in a meeting."

"Already?"

"His Grace suddenly issued a summon before sunrise."

He was a really energetic man. The ones that works below him could only suffer. To him, as soon as he'd returned to the castle, having a meeting was only a natural procedure. Even though he did the most work, he was the most energetic.

Lucia's face reddened as the events from the previous night floated to the top of her mind. She was happy to see him again and glad that he still wanted her as passionately. Her mood became as light as the petals floating on the water.

Translator's Corner:

*Next part is…dun dun dun.

*Nah, I'm just kidding…or am I? We'll find out next week~~

< — Damian — > (7)

It was the first dinner together for the three people that had become family. Damian was the first to arrive at the dining room and sat waiting. When Lucia arrived, he got up and helped her into her seat as usual.

"Damian, have you seen your father?"

"I have not yet sent my greetings. His Grace was continuously occupied."

"You're right. He seems very busy today."

Lucia pouted slightly as she replied.

'No matter how busy he is, calling the boy in for a short greeting wouldn't be too hard. Now look, this meal ends up being the first time they meet.'

Really, he was so inconsiderate. It was really admirable that Damian managed to grow so big without having a twisted mind.

Lucia had also been busy today and the fact that she was unable to have lunch with Damian as usual was constantly on her mind.

"What did you do for lunch? You didn't skip it, did you? I had a lot of work today and couldn't pay attention."

"I ate and I know that you're busy preparing for your party."

After a while, Hugo arrived. His gaze fell on Damian, pausing on the boy for a little while then he sat down.

Without a simple word of greeting, the first family meal began. In the suffocatingly quiet dining room, Lucia proceeded to alternate glances between father and son.

'Both of them are quite extreme.'

She didn't expect an amicable, friendly relationship and Lucia didn't know that ever since Damian went to boarding school, they hadn't seen each other but even so it was obvious that this identical pair of father and son had not seen each other in a long time yet their eyes didn't even meet.

'Damian said he admires his father and…he wouldn't have made Damian his successor if he hated him…'

The dreary atmosphere between the two was as cold as the weather but Lucia had no idea what to do so she decided to not worry about it.

The atmosphere between them wasn't murderous or threatening and Lucia didn't have any problems with either of them so the thought that it was serious didn't occur to her.

'It will probably be better if I am in the middle.'

Lucia didn't think that a relationship like this could be changed overnight. If one tries to forcefully improve a relationship, the side effects could be huge.

When Damian returns to boarding school, the memory of his time here would remain a good one and if Hugo became more conscious of his son than before, that would be good too. For now, she would consider that as the first step.

'Although…it's really nice to see them side by side.'

It felt as though there was a big Hugo and a small Hugo together. Just looking at the two of them made her feel content. Meanwhile, the employees felt the the Lady of the House was incredible to eat calmly in such a suffocating atmosphere.

"Is the preparation for the garden party going well?"

Hugo asked a few moments after they had finished dining.

"Yes, it's going smoothly. And about that, I have something to tell you. I was thinking about having Damian attend, what do you think?"

Damian who was drinking water made a small choking sound. Hugo glanced sideways at Damian then moved his gaze to Lucia.

"Isn't it a party for women?"

"But Damian isn't a man, he's just 8 years old."

For a moment, there was silence then Hugo let out a small laugh while Damian's ears flushed red.

"As you say, Damian is not a man. Do as you please."

"Damian, what do you think?"

"I-!"

Damian suddenly opened his mouth but when Hugo's calm gaze moved to him, he shut his mouth and lowered his head.

"…Yes. I will do so."

'Wow.' (Lucia)

Lucia could feel the absolute power difference between father and son. Sometimes, Damian was so mature it was hard to believe he was just eight years old.

With his huge, sturdy build, his stiff but polite manner of speaking and his vocabulary that was on the level of an adult, one could barely see the signs that he was a child.

Lucia tried to remember her childhood as an eight year old but found she could barely even remember. Perhaps she had spent her time playing with the other children in the neighborhood.

But beside Hugo, Damian became a cub lion. In comparison, Hugo was the lion king, seated on the highest throne and looking down below. It seemed as though even if Hugo's giant paw pressed down on him, Damian wouldn't even make a sound.

'It's a good thing for a son to admire their father but they could also have difficulties to some extent.'

Lucia's mood improved when she began to think that there was some possibility for improvement in their relationship.

'The great lion king and his cub lion…now that I think about it, the banner for the Taran family is a black lion. How fitting.'

"Did you have something planned after the meal?" (Hugo)

"Nothing special, I wanted to go to the study and read a book." (Lucia)

"Is it a book you have to read today?"

"Not really. Are we having guests?"

"At this time? There's no need to attend to such rude guests."

"Then…?"

"Take a light stroll to digest your meal and take a bath."

"…What?"

"I'm saying if you want to wake up early tomorrow, you have to retire to bed early."

As Lucia looked her Hugo, her face gradually became red.

'So someone's face can get this red.'

Damian thought with an expressionless face.

"… what the hell are you saying in front of the child?"

Lucia's face was crimson and she spoke in hushed tones. Seeing Lucia this way, Hugo couldn't help but chuckle.

"What did I say?" (Hugo)

"You-!"

Lucia glared at him then stood up. Hugo called after her as she walked away.

"Where are you going?"

"Going for a walk!"

Her footsteps thudded as she rushed out of the hall with huge strides.

Damian stared blankly at her departing back. The boy could not understand the situation itself.

What part of that conversation caused Lucia to have such an excessive reaction? The smart boy couldn't figure it out at all.

As the boy was mulling over it in his head, he heard the sound of a small laugh and turned his head in that direction, only to see the Duke laughing quite pleasantly.

The boy had seen the Duke's cold smile or his ridiculing smile but it was his first time seeing the Duke laughing like this.

It was fascinating to see and at the same time, shocking. His father that was as fierce as a sword suddenly seemed human.

After a while, Lucia came back into the dining room.

"Damian, let's go together."

Damian glanced sideways at the Duke then stood up and followed after Lucia. The suddenly alone Hugo's expression didn't look so good.

The word she'd said the previous night.

'We.'

He began to worry over that word. He recalled her appearance as she called for Damian without any inhibitions or hesitation and it seemed like the two of them had grown pretty friendly while he was gone.

It wasn't as though he wanted them to have a terrible relationship but for some reason, he didn't quite like it.

Translator's Corner:

*I didn't realize how much I wanted to see Damian and Hugo interact till this chapter (cries).

< — Damian — > (8)

TN: Nothing to see here, move along~

As they walked through the garden, Damian continuously stole glances at Lucia.

"Is there something you want to say?"

"It's kind of…amazing. You aren't afraid of his Grace…"

"Is there any wife that's afraid of her husband? Damian, when you grow up and get married, would you like for your wife to be afraid of you?"

Damian shook his head. However, the young Damian was yet to fully grasp her meaning.

It was a huge shock to Damian that Lucia could treat the Duke whom he saw as someone on the peak of a distant mountain, very comfortably.

In Damian's eyes, Lucia was a small, gentle herbivore. On the other hand, the Duke was a large, ferocious carnivore.

The boy was confused at the fact that the two beings, who in normal circumstances could not match each other, were seemingly a perfect fit.

"And here. Repeat after me. Father." (Lucia)

"…Father."

"Good job."

Lucia subconsciously reached out to stroke the boy's head. Damian was surprised and reflexively moved away and Lucia was also surprised and withdrew her hand.

They stopped walking and awkwardness filled the air.

"…Sorry, my body moved on its own…did I upset you?"

"Ah…no. I was just a little surprised."

Damian had never had such close contact with anyone else before.

"I'm not upset or anything…" (Damian)

"When a child does something praiseworthy, one can compliment and also pet them. I won't do it if you don't like it."

Damian hesitated a bit then spoke in a tiny voice.

"I don't…hate it."

"Really? Then, is it okay if I pet you right now?"

Damian nodded. Lucia slowly stretched her hand towards the boy as though saying, 'I'm not your enemy' and stroked the top of his black hair. Maybe because he was very young, his hair was much softer than she'd imagined.

She stroked his head a few times before withdrawing her hand. She felt excitement as though she was given a present because she had finally accomplished what she'd been wanting to do ever since she laid eyes on the boy.

'When will I get to pinch his cheeks?'

Lucia began to walk with a joyful heart and Damian quickly followed, walking beside her.

"Lucia."

"Hm?"

"Earlier, in the dining, why did you get angry?"

"Huh? That…I wasn't angry…that was…umm that is to say…"

Lucia didn't want to explain it nor did she know how to explain it so she began to rack her brain on how to naturally shift the topic. Just at the moment, she finally recalled something she'd been forgetting.

"Ah! Damian, you don't have a tail-coat to wear to the party. I didn't think of that. Do you by any chance have anything?"

"I do not."

"Right. There's no way you would, you were at school all the time."

"Lucia, I don't have to attend…"

Damian wanted to use this chance to one way or the other, remove himself from this occasion. He'd already had his fill of the women's gazes in the horse-riding field.

He didn't care how they saw him but he was unhappy when Lucia became the target of those strange gazes. He didn't want Lucia to receive those gazes because of himself.

"No, you have to attend. Mmm…who can I ask about this?"

Lucia did not want to go against Damian's intentions as much as possible but this time, she wanted to make sure Damian attended the garden party. She'd taken him to the horse-riding field and had them greet him but that was not an official occasion.

The garden party would be a formal social gathering. The scale of the party this time was big and all the renowned noble women in the northern social circle were invited.

If she were to formally introduce Damian in that gathering, Damian's position would change.

Of course, Damian was still young and as it was a women-only garden party, it could not be his official social debut.

However, oftentimes children would appear in social circles in advance as it would be helpful to them later if they were put in people's memories beforehand.

There was a reason noble ladies threw parties even though it was a hassle and cost a lot.

"You can purchase ready-made tail-coats for children."

Lucia and Damian stopped walking at the sound of this voice and looked backwards. It seemed like at some time, Hugo had begun walking behind them. Seeing them stop, Hugo closed the distance between them.

For the first time since he came to Roam, Damian stood beside his father so he was stunned and stared at his strong father. He couldn't remember how long it was since he'd seen his father so close.

"Since it's a garden party, there's not need to think of it so complicatedly." (Hugo)

"What a relief, thanks for letting me know. If it's ready-made garments then… for Damian, we have to get garments for children around twelve years old."

"He's eight."

"Damian is much bigger than usual eight year olds. Compared to his peers, he's a giant."

Hugo's gaze moved and fell on Damian. 'This little guy?' was what his gaze was saying.

"You never know, someday he could be bigger that you."

"Hmm…"

His tone of his mumble was somewhat odd however, Lucia didn't catch it, rather it was Damian that noticed it.

'There's no way I'm growing bigger than father.'

While thinking this, Damian began to worry whether Lucia might have annoyed his father.

"I think you were much bigger that he is when you were his age, right?"

"…I don't know."

Hugo wasn't fated with a good life where he compared heights with his peers. When he was around Damian's age, most of the slave children around him did not know his age and for him, he also didn't know his exact age until he was kidnapped and brought to Roam by the now dead Duke.

"Didn't you have a lot of work? I thought you would return to the office right away." (Lucia)

"Am I interrupting?"

Hugo replied sullenly.

"Usually when you leave for a while and return, you get busier. Actually, you came at the right time. I don't think Damian has greeted you officially. Damian, go ahead."

Damian hesitantly looked at Lucia then bowed his head.

"I'd like to extend my greetings, it's been a long time, have you been well?"

He lifted his lowered head and stealthily glanced at Lucia only to see her mouthing the words, 'father'.

Damian squeezed out his courage.

"…Father."

Hugo's eyebrows jumped. The title didn't exactly make him uncomfortable or displeased but he wasn't used to it.

Perhaps because of Hugo's hatred and disgust towards the existence of a father, it was a word that had never come out of his mouth.

Even when he lived under the previous Duke, he had never officially called the man father.

As his silence grew longer, Lucia secretly pulled his sleeve. He met her eyes and she was smiling so excessively that it gave some kind of unspoken pressure.

Although he was indifferent, he wasn't dense. He opened his mouth and gave a soft reply.

"…Yes."

The boy's neck flushed red and seeing that, Lucia felt pleased.

'I wish he learns of Damian's cuteness quickly.'

But for today, it was fine. There was still a lot more time so she would take it slowly.

"So you're taking a walk? Aren't you busy?"

"I'm out for a walk."

Hugo replied sourly, feeling as though she was trying to get rid of him again. On the other hand, Lucia was thinking that maybe he was tired since he was having meetings all day long so she gave in and put it off her mind.

"Then the three of us can walk together. This would be the first time for the three of us."

"…Together?"

Hugo glanced down at Damian. When his father's eyes landed on him, the boy flinched. Damian didn't know why but he felt as though it wouldn't be good to keep staying there.

The rare species of herbivore, Lucia didn't sense anything wrong however, the carnivore cub, Damian was able to sense the subtle snarl of the great lion.

"I'll be going back inside. There's a book I have to read so…" (Damian)

"Damian, if you go to your desk right after eating, it's not good for you. Your food needs to digest." (Lucia)

"I'm done digesting. I must read this book today."

Damian bowed his head then quickly disappeared like he was running away. Lucia wistfully watched Damian's departing back meanwhile Hugo had an expression full of satisfaction.

'This boy, he's not useless at all.'

The recognition the boy wanted to receive from his father was very easily obtained.

Translator's Corner:

*Herbivore and carnivores ???

< — Damian — > (8)

Hugo opened his mouth after Damian left.

"Your relationship with the boy is pretty good."

"I thought you wanted me to get along with Damian."

Hugo had figured they should at least know each other's faces so he'd called Damian back but he didn't have any intention in particular regarding their relationship.

His wife was still young and he'd considered that it would be a bit difficult for her to tolerate an eight year old child, also, since Damian was a stiff child, if the both of them weren't put together on purpose, they wouldn't ever get involved with each other.

"Why are you taking him to the garden party?" (Hugo)

"Because they aren't many chances to introduce him to other people. He's your son and now, he's my son too so it's troublesome if people don't even know his face."

"…Easy."

"What?"

"It's very easy for you to call him your son."

Lucia did not know the exact intention behind his words so she stopped walking and looked at him. When she stopped walking, Hugo also paused his footsteps.

"Do you dislike my interest in Damian? Do you perhaps think I have some other intention behind this-"

"No, Vivian. It's not like that."

He sighed softly.

"Honestly, I didn't think both of you would get along so well."

Hugo recalled the scene from earlier where she'd stroked Damian's head. The appearance of Damian as he offered his head like an innocent puppy was an unfamiliar yet familiar scene causing Hugo stop and look at it.

Without warning, a piece of memory from his past surfaced in his mind.

[Hey! I said don't touch my head!]

Hugh screamed frantically at Hugo that had carelessly touched his head.

The head was the most important weakness of human beings. The moment it was exposed to the enemy, it was a direct gateway to death.

Mercenaries never touched each other's heads unless they wanted their wrists to fly off.

[It's a sign that we're friendly.]

Even though Hugh screamed frantically, Hugo laughed and replied in his usual manner.

[Inconsiderate jerk. What's so funny you're snickering everyday?]

[Smile. If you smile, you'll get good fortune, Hugh.]

[Ha…weakling.]

Hugo suddenly pushed his head in front of Hugh.

[You can touch mine too.]

[Move that thing away.]

[Just try it. I heard this is what parents usually do for their children but since we don't have anyone, we have to do it for each other.]

[I'm fine without that crap.]

[But I want someone to do it for me. Come on.]

Hugh stretched out his hands, his expression telling how much of a nuisance it was and stroked Hugo's head.

Watching Hugo laughing in delight, Hugh couldn't help but think it felt nice as he stroked Hugo's head.

"I mean…what I'm trying to say is, just tell me if he's ever rude to you." (Hugo)

"That won't happen!" (Lucia)

Hugo fiercely pulled her arms, drawing her into his embrace. He hugged her small figure tightly in his arms.

Although she was a bit taken aback, she returned the hug, placing her hands on his back. Feeling her small hands holding onto his back, Hugo couldn't help but smile.

From time to time, when memories of his brother surfaced, he felt both sweet happiness and heart-aching torture.

The pain of it was the same as usual but when he felt her body temperature, the heart-wrenching pain in his heart was relieved to some extent.

[There's a woman I want to marry. I'll introduce her to you one day.]

One day, his brother had told him so as he laughed happily.

If his brother was still alive, then he would have told him this.

[I have someone like that too. We're already married though.]

***

That evening, Hugo sorted out data from the meeting he'd been having all day then he looked at the report from Fabian.

Fabian's reports was usually about the capital. They contained information about movements of major powers, the arrival of foreign key figures, who they came in contact with and so on and so forth. At times, the visible status of the trading giants were also included.

Although Fabian knew his master wasn't very interested in this kind of thing, he still looked into rumors floating around social circles and included it since it was still sort of a formal report.

When it came to his work, Fabian was really thorough. Even when gathering information of rumors, there were no gaps and even if it was a rumor that would displease the Duke, he did not exclude it.

If Fabian was overflowing with work concerning the duke and repeatedly worked overnight, he would gather rumors even more diligently for the Duke. That kind of work was more like stress reliever to him.

And so, Hugo was mostly up-to-date on the rumors concerning him.

Hugo casually flipped through the contents of the rumors as usual then suddenly, he knit his brows. The contents of the document read that rumors concerning his dowry had spread throughout the capital.

"Tsk."

Hugo unhappily clicked his tongue. The King's lips were too light.

'If that old man acts in a dignified manner and something will definitely go wrong.'

Kwiz had once given such a review to the King. Then said,

'I mean, it would be nice if it wasn't just going wrong but he breaks his ankle in the process.'

After saying so, Kwiz had proceeded to laugh like a devilish underground boss.

Hugo's expression as he read the following rumors became increasingly strange. The contents read that duchess was such a celestial beauty that the Duke had dragged her off to his manor before anyone else could see her.

"Hmm…"

Although Hugo felt a slight sense of discomfort with the rumor that portrayed her as a colossal beauty…

'Well, they're not entirely baseless…'

Was what he was thinking. According to the rumors, they married in secret so that no one else would see her.

'It doesn't exactly match the facts but they're pretty close.'

His actions, such a building a horse-riding field or restricting boating so that no other man would see her was an ongoing process.

The part of the rumor that said he dragged the Duchess to his manor was also not completely wrong either because right after they got married, she came to his estate.

'It's not a rumor that matters.'

He judged and closed the document.

Translator's Corner:

*Just in case anyone is still confused, I'll explain it again: Hugo is a twin and was formerly known as Hugh. His twin is dead and was formerly known as Hugo. Essentially, they've "switched" places and to the world, the dead brother is Hugh, the one alive is Hugo. I hope that clears it up.

< — Damian — > (9)

TN: Let's start off the week with a 'bang' *cough*

Lucia walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around her damp hair. When Hugo was gone, the maids would wait on her till she was dressed but as soon as he returned, they only followed her to the bedroom door before taking to their heels.

She sat on her dressing table, pressing the soft towel around her hair in an attempt to dry it.

She'd left drying her hair in someone else's hand for over a month so she was a bit slow doing it herself. Still, she couldn't compare to the meticulous drying of several maids attending to her hair.

She acknowledge Hugo as he walked into the room then returned her gaze back to the dressing table. He headed straight towards her and embraced her from behind. Surprised, Lucia let go of the towel causing it to fall to the ground.

"Hugh! I have to dry my hair more."

If I sleep like this, my hair will be a lion's mane tomorrow!

"Do it later."

"It's not something I can do later!"

No matter what she said, he lifted her up, moved straight to the bed, placed her down on it then kissed her still complaining lips.

Like biting into a fruit, he softly bit her lower lips and swiftly inserted his tongue into her mouth. He held her flouncing wrists down on the bed and pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth.

She still didn't know that her rebellious reactions tended to incited him more. He licked her soft lips with his tongue, enjoying the enticing taste.

He re-inserted his tongue into her mouth and the feeling of her soft and tender tongue surprised him, causing him to flinch. Perhaps because she had just taken a bath, the insides of her mouth were feverish.

When he thought of her inner thighs being as hot as this, his lower abdomen began to throb. He gently pressed his excited lower regions onto the section between her thighs.

He sloppily removed the bathrobe wrapped around her lower body, the mere thought of her tight entrance making blood rush to his lower regions. Perhaps she felt his excitement as her fidgeting began to settle down.

He let go of her wrists he'd been holding onto and she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. His tongue rummaged throughout her mouth, sometimes strongly, sometimes softly. Her fleeing tongue was easily overwhelmed by him.

As he teased the insides of her mouth and kissed her deeply, Lucia couldn't focus and fell into a trance. His hot member pressing on her delicate part as though they would instantly unite made her feel somewhat anxious and excited her more.

The moment he entangled her hot tongue and sucked on it strongly, Lucia felt her insides throb and unconsciously lifted her waist.

Her movements rubbed against his penis that was pressed against her inner thighs. He released her lips and a low moan escaped from his mouth.

With the long swooning kiss over, Lucia stared at him trying to catch her breath.

"So I've thought about it."

His voice was seemingly calming down and his eyes lit up as he saw her red lips, swollen from their kiss.

"And I think the reason you tire out so fast is because I do it all at once so let's change that. We'll do it once, rest a little, do it again, rest, then do it again, just like that. What do you think?"

Red-faced, Lucia gathered her breath before giving him a frown.

"Please don't think about things like that."

"Things like that? This is important."

He kissed her swollen lips lightly.

"Okay then, we're trying a new way today."

As his gaze was like that of a predator before it leaps on its prey, Lucia swallowed nervously.

"I haven't agreed to this…"

"Umm…then today is the trial version."

"How is that different!"

He acted like he didn't hear her and grabbed the front of her robe, spreading it apart. He enjoyed her body with his eyes for a moment then grabbed her bountiful breast with both hands.

He grabbed it a bit strongly causing her to flinch. He lowered his head and began licking from her navel, making his way down her body.

It was the beginning of a long and intensive night.

Her legs hung on his shoulders and her butt was raised as he penetrated deep inside of her, stimulating her. She held onto his arms to support her body and every time his penis entered her, she shut her eyes tightly and bit her lips.

Every once in a while as he thrust into her, a strong tingling feeling assaulted her from the insides and her body shivered with hypnotic pleasure.

He noticed a frown on her face and clenched his teeth. Her tight inner walls swallowed him up completely and spasmed, exciting him and he barely managed suppress his desire to ravage her insides.

"Is it difficult?"

Lucia nodded her head. It was a position that was difficult to maintain for a long time. His deep penetrations that reached deep enough to hit her womb was too stimulating for her however for him, he was in a good position.

The feeling of her vagina tightening all the way inside gave him a sense of ecstasy. He grabbed her ankle and lowered it to the side then in that position slid inside of her thighs, plunging into her vagina.

He moved his waist in a controlled rhythm, at time swiftly and at times slowly.

"Ung…Huu…"

Her body lay slightly to the side as she moaned in pleasure. The rims of her eyes grew red as he excited her with the right amount of stimulation.

She responded weakly to weak stimulations and strongly to strong stimulations. She liked gentle sex with moderate stimulation while he liked wild sex with intense stimulation. He also liked to somewhat torment her in bed till she cried.

Inwardly, she grumbled that he liked to torment her and was too much but she didn't know. She didn't know how much he considered her and controlled his desire and greed for her as much as he could.

If he were to ravage her as he pleased, she wouldn't be able to get up for a days and her body would suffer. In an effort to embrace her every day, he was carefully tempering himself.

It was also one of his endeavors towards keeping the doctor's 'once-every-five-days' advice.

"Hk!"

Her body trembled intensely and her insides clenched. With the continuous stimulation, her pleasures peaked and she reached a pleasant orgasm.

He stayed still, keeping his hot member buried inside her contracting vaginal walls till they relaxed.

After a while, he rolled her body, turning her to lie on her belly. As she leaned downwards, he placed some of his weight on her body then swiftly and intensely plunged into her.

"Ah!"

As though following a tempo, he continuously thrust in heavily and pulled out slowly. She let out a brief scream and each time he thrust into her, she gripped the bedsheets tightly.

"A-!"

The feeling of his weight pressing down on her also gave her pleasure. She could vividly feel his movements with her butt as he thrust into her vagina.

It didn't hurt but she couldn't stop herself from screaming. Sometimes, she felt as though his tenderness was rather rough. It made her feel like a helpless wild animal shaking its neck but at the same time, the feeling of his intense and eager desire for her was electrifying.

Lucia placed her hand on his head, her fingers grabbing his hair. She felt his slightly damp hair brushing against her fingers and enjoyed the pleasure it gave. (1)

He kissed her neck, slowly making his way upwards then he pulled her arms causing her to lean on him then lightly kissed her eyes and lips several times.

"…about Damian."

Hugo grabbed her thighs and drew her closer to his waist. Once he pulled out, her insides were like inertia, her vaginal walls narrowed and returned back to how it was at the beginning.

He had to constantly make new paths in her tightly packed vagina. Her dense and throbbing inner walls never ceased to excite him.

"When I saw him…I was…so surprised. He looks…so much like you…Uk…"

He pushed his waist forward, slamming into her with one big thrust and in response, Lucia shut her eyes. Within seconds, he began to move, slowly increasing the intensity of his thrusts.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and her body swayed in accordance with his movements.

"Ah…s-…so…"

Lucia paused to gather her breath before continuing.

"I was…a little excite-hk."

Hugo fiercely thrust in and out of her and she clung to him, her nails digging into her shoulders.

He took her lips into his mouth then pushed his tongue into her mouth, rummaging inside and exciting her. He ended the kiss shortly and covered her neckline with kisses, trailing down to her shoulders.

"…you saw the boy and felt excited? …why?"

"It…felt like I was seeing you."

"The kid will look like me for quite some time."

"Quite some time? I think he'll still resemble you in 10 years…Ah!"

The conversation could no longer continue. His movements intensified and Lucia could do nothing but scream coquettishly.

Translator's Corner:

1) I know no one reads too deeply into smut but here she didn't rotate her hand 360° to touch his head. In the raws, there's a space before this paragraph signifying scenery change (well rather than scenery change, it's more like 'some time later')

*If you guys ever see any mistakes, do tell me. I go over them and edit but some things still slip past me.

< — Damian — > (9)

TN: Been gaming all day and I may have just taken some coffee….it's 11p.m. T^T (Lost track of time ahahaha). Oh and this is NSFW

Hugo placed the pillow behind him to support his back and leaned halfway on the pillow. Lucia sat on his thighs, her upper body sprawled across his abdomen and chest.

Her head leaned on his chest, her arms and legs hung apart and to the side while his hand slowly moved up and down her back as though comforting her.

The fervent passion had dissipated to some extent but the lingering passion was just as before. Above all, his erect member was still fully buried inside her body.

His huge rod stirred a bit inside of her, as though reminding her of its presence. Lucia felt slightly nervous as she didn't know when he would resume moving inside her.

She didn't find the new way he tried particularly likeable. Although she could rest, she couldn't sleep and they'd vigorously gone at it all night.

"Why did you send Damian to boarding school?"

Young noble children were usually taught by a private tutor. These days, it was trendy to send children to an academy but that was usually to gain experience when they were around 15 years old and for about three to four years.

Rather than for studying, the purpose was for noble children to build a network while interacting with several other noble children. There wasn't a case where one with a status such as successor to a duke completed a boarding school course.

They were usually not allowed as courses were taken by second sons who weren't successors and wished to select a course purely for studying purpose.

"Because I couldn't take care of him."

When Philip brought Damian, Hugo was focused on the war which was at its peak. At most, he could only stop by Roam a few times a year.

He had been slightly fascinated at how fast the boy grew every time he saw him but to him, the boy was like a pet.

To the Hugo who had no intention of becoming a father, the child that had appeared all of sudden held no special meaning for him however, he had instinctively known that the child needed a safe home.

It was very possible that if there was no Damian, Hugo would have abandoned the Taran family or trampled it to pieces.

It was only after quite some time had passed that it occurred to Hugo that perhaps Philip had brought Damian to him because he'd realized his thoughts towards the Taran family.

It was also around this time that the war was beginning to slow down, Damian had turned five years old and Hugo had more room and time for his thoughts.

With time to think, he considered the situation on the warfront and concluded that the war didn't seem to be expanding any further. He was a perfect match for war and the thought of going back to the north and dealing with boring paperwork was loathsome.

Why do I have to? He'd questioned himself.

It wasn't any of his concern what happened to the likes of the Taran family but he liked the northern land. He didn't want to leave the wild and coarse land and it was general knowledge that the Taran family had to be doing well for the north to be prosperous.

He ended up reaching the conclusion that all he had to do was find a useful person to hand over the family to and so he appointed Damian as his successor. He didn't intend to have another child and figured that if he took Damian, who was already known as his son, as his successor then there wouldn't be much backlash.

Later, he realized he'd thought too simple of it. The northern nobles and of course, his vassals, did not like it.

They questioned why the boy was recognized as successor and said that there was no precedent but in response Hugo laughed scornfully at them.

No precedent? Then he would do it and become the precedent. Hugo didn't care what the nobles were grumbling about but he kept thinking of the darkness he'd seen in the boy's eyes when they'd met after a long while.

Placing the boy under the public eye seemed to be harming his mind so Hugo figured that since he couldn't embrace the boy properly and raise him then it would be better for the boy to be educated in a place with no prejudice.

And so, Hugo sent the boy to boarding school where no one's eyes or hands could reach him.

'You don't hate the child, do you?' (Lucia)

Lucia held back what she wanted to ask. It would be too much to question to that extent. She still didn't know exactly how he felt towards Damian and making a judgement in advance was more likely to make his feelings towards the child worsen.

"Then…since I can take care of him now, can't he keep staying in Roam?"

He reached out and grabbed her butt firmly with both hand causing Lucia to reflexively lift her head.

"I promised the boy."

Hugo lowered his head, placing his teeth on her neck and biting down causing her slender body to flinch. He licked her neck, his tongue sweeping over the light bite mark on her neck.

"I told him, when he graduates in the future, I will hand over my position. If I tell him not to go to boarding school anymore, he would think I am pushing him out of the seat for succession."

He lifted his head, meeting her gaze.

"Do you think his staying here would benefit him?"

"…No, I didn't think it through."

A crescent line formed across his lips. He thrust his head forwards, placing his face very close to hers.

"Although it's nice and cute." (Hugo)

His lips touched hers briefly and he moved away.

"Don't go too far."

Lucia interpreted his words as telling her to not get in involved in his child's affairs. Hugo's meaning in asking her to get along with the child but limiting her some was that he did not want the child to come between their relationship.

Unfortunately, the misunderstanding that had risen through their conversation could not be solved now.

He captured her lips in his mouth then held her butt and thighs firmly with both of his hands and repeatedly lifted her up and down. Her smooth waist curved and her head fell backwards.

Her hand moved backwards, grabbing onto his legs for support and her body shook with his intense movements.

"Ung…ah! Hugh!"

He grabbed her shoulders, pulling her forward as he hurriedly pounded into her several times, the motion bringing his lips to hover around her ears and his rough whisper floated into her ears.

"Haa…Vivian…"

The way he said her name sent tingles up her spine. She didn't know since when but when he called her Vivian it no longer felt awkward. Rather whenever he called her…

'Vivian.'

She felt like she'd discovered a new side to herself. As her insides throbbed and squeezed, he suppressed a moan and quickly flipped her to lie down horizontally on the bed.

He immediately re-capturing her lips and at the same time, repeatedly plunged in and out of her deep fleshy insides. While holding onto his arms, Lucia's body trembled with the tingles of pleasure.

She could vividly feel his full length inside her body and instinctively widened her legs and lifted her butt to accept him deeper.

Hugo ended the breathless kiss, lifted his head and began to concentrate more on the movement of his waist.

He moved slowly at first then abruptly increased his speed, heavily thrusting in and out continuously.

A coquettish cry escaped from her mouth in response to the vigorous movements in her lower body and she watched his solid chest move as he devoured her.

His ripped muscles and tiny nipples moved as he thrust into her, enticing her to touching them. When his movements slowed down a little, she stroked his chest with her hand, feeling the movement of his muscles.

She lifted her head, lightly licking his chest and his body instantly jerked in response. She once again stuck her tongue out, this time licking around his nipple for a while.

Hugo swallowed back his curses and fiercely re-captured her lips. As he wildly drove his member into her, her body shook back and forth and her screams were blocked by his lips covering hers.

Her sight repeatedly brightened and blurred and she felt like a firework had exploded in front of her. She wasn't even sure herself whether she was closing or opening her eyes.

Tears flowed down from her eyes and Hugo lowered his head to lick them up. The scalding heat that filled up her head and the passion that felt like it would burn her to ashes was exhausting but it also felt good and Lucia clung to him.

Translator Corner:

*My chest is actually hurting right now from laughing too hard while translating this…?

*Not cuz it was funny….nvm I'll go to my corner now.

< — Damian — > (10)

TN: When life gives you lemons…okay, I dunno where I was going with that. I live for fluff ❤

Lucia tussled with him all night and was barely able to sleep at dawn. By the time she woke up, it was already daylight.

She was against his new way. His tenaciousness was inexplicable and she'd already given up on explaining his endurance.

Lucia continuously thought about getting up from bed, but her body did not listen to her. She had such a hard workout for two consecutive days in a month so her body felt languid.

She fell into shallow sleep and upon woke up, she felt a soft touch on her hair and opened her eyes. She didn't know when he'd come in but he was sitting on the bed, his finger running through her hair.

She was sleepy-eyed and watched him with an empty gaze. Their eyes met and he lowered his head, lightly kissing her lips.

"I was worried since you haven't gotten up yet. Are you okay?"

The soft touch on her lips told her this was real. Last night, she hated him a little but seeing him now, the hatred vanished into thin air.

"…at least you have a conscience."

She bluntly blamed him, closed her eyes again and heard him laugh a little.

Hugo's fingers ran through her hair, sweeping through it like a comb. It felt good and a little ticklish.

'Isn't my hair is completely disheveled?'

As the thought came to her mind, her sleepiness deserted her and she raised the blanket over her head.

"What's wrong?" (Hugo)

"…my head…"

"Does it hurt? The doctor…"

"No, it's not that."

She lowered the blanket a little, her eyes peeking at him.

"Yesterday…I didn't dry my hair properly. It's probably a mess."

It was the heart of a woman who wanted to show only a pretty figure in front of the man she loved. He could not understand her words, and tilting his head to the side, ripped the blanket off her. She let out a short scream and he kissed her lightly on her lips.

"What of it? You look pretty."

Lucia stared at him, her gaze full of intent.

"…Flirt."

"…What?"

"Nothing."

He felt wronged. If she'd said that in the past, he would honestly have nothing to say. But not now.

"Vivian, did I do something wrong?"

"Aren't you busy?"

"Don't change the topic. I know your list defines me that way, but why are you saying this now, all of a sudden?"

"What list?"

"I know you have a list of all the things I've done wrong in your head."

"What?"

Lucia was dumbfounded and burst into laughter.

"There's a list in my head?" (Lucia)

"Weren't you steadily adding one at a time?"

Lucia started laughing again. He sourly looked on as she began to laugh. He couldn't see why she was laughing so much about what he said and couldn't understand her laughter.

"Then, when did I make this list?" (Lucia)

"Why are you asking me that? You know better than I do."

Lucia shrugged and once again burst into laughter. The thought that he also wonders what other people are thinking was very amusing and interesting.

'Things I've done wrong.'

Through those words, he admitted to her that he'd done a lot of things wrong. She thought he was someone that was very unlikely to admit it even if he made a mistake.

"There is no such list. I can't put up with something so complicated."

"Then what was the word that popped up before?"

Lucia shyly pursed her lips.

"Because you said that all of a sudden."

"What did I say?"

"…look…pretty."

Lucia felt a bit embarrassed to say it herself and her words weren't clear. She'd heard herself being called gentle or cute but she didn't think the word 'pretty' matched her appearance.

"Is it wrong to just say what I feel?"

Lucia stared at him blankly. He was flirtatious yes, but he wasn't the type to whisper sweet nothings into a woman's ear so his words came off a bit unfriendly.

He was someone who had a lot and as such, was the flirt that women loved to cling to. Lucia reached out and rubbed her head.

As expected, just by touching her hair, she could feel it was untidy. Even without looking at a mirror, it was obvious it was a mess.

"Pretty? This look?"

"I don't know what's wrong with it, you look pretty."

His expression did not change at all. It was as though he was looking at a tree and saying it was a tree. As Lucia kept staring into his eyes doubtfully, his expression grew increasingly awkward.

"Is it that you don't like that way of expression? Then, your beauty is so bright that it seems blinding…"

"Are you making fun of me?"

Lucia replied sullenly. Hugo sighed and placing one hand on his forehead.

"Tell me what you want me to do."

"…Pretty? Me?"

"You're pretty."

She didn't know what he was thinking, but she decided not to think more complicatedly about it. It was good even if it was empty words.

She felt pleased, happy, ticklish inside, and when she looked at him, she couldn't help but chuckle.

His expression became somewhat twisted and he spoke.

"Don't laugh like that. It makes me want to eat (you)."

Lucia laughed even louder and looking at her, Hugo burst into laughter too. It was hard to pinpoint it but anyhow, it was nice to see her feeling comfortable.

After admitting to herself that she loved him, Lucia's heart was more at peace and the mood around her grew relaxed.

When Hugo was away from Roam, Lucia was always on his mind. Although they'd reconciled before he left, he'd felt like it was somewhat insufficient and was uncomfortable with it.

It seemed like they weren't putting out the fire but simply covering it up so they couldn't see it. He was worried that when he came back to Roam, she would turn away from him as the issue wasn't fully settled.

Contrary to his worries, she was doing very well. Rather, she became even brighter than before.

The thought that even without him, she would be completely fine, made his heart feel cold.

'I want her'

He wanted to have all of her body and mind.

But how could he have a woman that had declared that she would never love him. It was the biggest challenge in his life.

He'd never properly fallen in love before. The brother he loved, said he loved him but chose death in the end.

She was going to be his first love. However, it was a tragedy that he'd experienced too much physical love before he knew of emotional love.

At times, love was so simple that an honest word of confession could be the key but he didn't know that.

"Is it okay for you keep staying here? You aren't busy?" (Lucia)

Hugo could sense that her voice was much clearer than before.

'She likes being called pretty.'

Now, he began making a list in his head.

"Busy or not busy, for me, there's no end to work so I can rest for as long as I don't do it."

"So you're not working?"

"It's not like that, I mean you don't have to fret over it. Is it troublesome if I don't work?"

"…It would be."

"Why?"

"The husband has to feed his wife. And to do that, you have to make money."

Hugo couldn't help but laugh.

< — Damian — > (10)

TN: Hehehe

Lucia lifted her head to look at him at the sound of laughter. At times, he would laugh oddly when she said something and Lucia couldn't tell what part of it he was laughing at.

"It would be very easy to feed you. Even if I make money, seems like you don't really use it."

"I do use it. You know how much money it takes to throw a party?"

"I mean for personal spending."

"I also use it for personal spending. I bought flowers to decorate the garden…"

"Dresses or jewelry. Things like that."

"I've spent on that. Spent a lot of money to repair a dress but the Taran warehouse is overflowing with jewelry. I wouldn't be able to wear all of them till I die."

This was because noble women tended to accumulate lots of precious ornaments. For a family of considerable wealth, there would be precious ornaments passed from generation to generation however, these ornaments would be property of the family.

In the care of a divorce, the precious ornaments obtained by the noble women were completely recognized as their property apart from the alimony.

The conversation somewhat failed to get his point across so Hugo spoke a bit more directly.

"Do you not want to spend my money?"

Lucia thought about the meaning of his words for a moment then laughed.

"It's not like that. Did you think so?"

Surprisingly, he was quite sensitive. Discovering this unexpected side to him was somehow so cute, Lucia couldn't stop laughing. To think that the huge man who gives off enormous pressure was cute…perhaps this was a side effect of being with Damian.

Since she'd looked at small Hugo for a long while, looking at big Hugo now, the previous threat level was somehow cut in half. It didn't occur to her that maybe this was a result of Hugo's effort.

If Lucia recalled their first encounter at the victory ball, she'd be able to tell just how different he is from back then. Even if out in the world, he was the King of beasts, in front of her, he killed his momentum, becoming more docile.

"Why're you laughing?" (Hugo)

She couldn't see the image of the Taran Duke, the black lion of the war that overwhelmed people simply by being there, in the man grumbling in front of her.

And so, the little rabbit, Lucia sat at the feet of the great Lion, laughing and thinking he was cute.

"I was just so surprised. I didn't expect you to have think like that. Truthfully, I'm not fond of shopping unnecessarily."

"Hah…right. Our ladyship is used to being thrifty and frugal."

"It's a good thing though."

"Did I say otherwise?"

He'd never heard of a wife being criticized for being frugal. Asking her to use and spend his money somewhat seemed like a joke now.

His wife was fragile, she felt like she'd be crushed if he held her a bit more tightly but she had a rock-solid will, confidence and independence in her thoughts. Even though her appearance was full of contradictions, she didn't contradict herself.

Hugo needed something to hold onto her. There was already a strong bond of marriage tying them together but it was lacking.

He wanted to find something based on her personal desires so she could never escape from him. It was not money and neither was it power.

As for her social activities, they were limited to the necessary minimum amount that she had to do. There weren't many people she had frequent exchanges with and she hadn't built an active rapport with influencers of the northern social circles.

She didn't show much interest in his work neither did she snoop around in his office.

Money and Power.

'If one subtracts the two, what else is there for humans to have?'

The people of the bottom class do not have money and power yet they have families and bear children with love.

What do they have?

'Is it the child?'

At the sudden thought, his frame of mind grew somber. He definitely did not want a child born from his blood to exist. Even if there was no reason, he couldn't give her a child anyways.

When he thought about it carefully, he found himself doing well. He'd been proven by many woman, and he was confident.

If he could make her toss and turn at night because she was lonely without him then that was truly killing two birds with one stone. It was a little instinctive but in the first place, the more instinctive the desire is, the greedier it is.

The problem was he wasn't too sure if she liked it too so he decided to garner some confidence.

"Do you like doing it with me?"

"…Huh?"

"Are you satisfied on the bed?"

Lucia's face, all the way to her neck, gradually turned red. She stared at his brazen face for a moment then turned around, her back facing him.

"I need to sleep a bit more. You should hurry and get back to work."

Hugo was considerably shocked by her turning away. Was it terrible to the extent that she didn't even want to answer?

He hastily pulled at her.

"Vivian, what's the problem? The length? Number of times? Not enough caressing? Or is it the position…"

Lucia quickly sat up and screamed at him.

"That's enough so please just stop! How can you? You…you…those words…"

Her face was as red as an apple as she rambled causing him to chuckle. The sight of her embarrassed and shaken up made him want to tease her.

"What's wrong all of a sudden? I've said much more racy stuff than that."

"Th…That…the situation was different."

"In the bedroom. On the bed. What's so different?"

"Even if we're in the same place, time has passed so the situation is different. Now, it's morning…"

Lucia jerked as he climbed over her knees and onto the bed. Even though there was no place to escape to, she was thinking of escaping. However he was faster.

His arms intercepted her body on the bed, closing up any gaps for escaping.

"It's not like we've never done it in the morning before."

"You also overslept then…"

"Your criteria's pretty unique. It's okay to do it from night to morning but not in the morning?"

He lowered his head and covered her lips with his own. The kiss which started off gently quickly flared up as their tongues tangled with each other.

His tongue rummaged inside her mouth, caressing her gums, stroking the inside of her palate and rolling her tongue like a ball.

Their lips separate for a moment then were glued together again.

When his hands flew to her chest, grabbing her breasts and rubbing with his fingers, Lucia suddenly came to her senses.

"Look here, Beast-ssi." (1) (Lucia)

His red eyes widened in surprise.

"If you go any further than this, you'll have to explain to the guests tomorrow why they have to leave as soon as they arrive."

"Ha-ha. You really…"

He burst out laughing and took Lucia into his arms. Lucia felt her body tingle at the sound of his laughter.

'Ah…'

Lucia sighed inwardly

'I'm happy now.'

She was so happy that her heart felt numb and tingling. She felt the edges of her eyes sting and buried her head in his chest.

Translator's Corner

1) For here but I usually don't leave Korean terms in my translations but Mr. Beast or Sir. Beast felt so awkward. Think of it like Beast-kun… Well, not exactly but something like that. It's a honorific.