Chap 16

"That, that's because… you're too."

"Too?"

"Too handsome!"

Adelin, unable to maintain her gaze on the duke, let her eyes fall and spoke a truth far from her real feelings.

"It's been a long time since you've cut your hair like this. Plus, look in the mirror. Isn't Mel's face extraordinary? It's natural for me to be this nervous."

Once a lie is set in motion, it rolls out easily.

Today, as always, Adelin began to coax the duke with her wit.

However, looking up slyly, the duke was squinting his eyes, arms crossed.

"You say we've been together for quite a while, yet you avoid my eyes for such reasons?"

"That's… I'm just suddenly nervous."

Of course, it was a different kind of nervousness, but wasn't it still a form of nervousness?

"Then."

As if satisfied with her answer, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The duke uncrossed his arms and strode towards Adelin, then swiftly wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

"If you don't dislike me, then we can sleep together tonight, right?"

"What, what?!"

Adelin was so startled that her voice trembled, unaware.

But the duke, more composed than ever, smiled and led her towards the bed.

"Uh… Mel? Even so, to sleep in the same bed…"

Adelin blinked rapidly, unable to lie down on the bed.

The duke, leaning back against the headboard of the bed, said,

"It's a perfectly natural thing, isn't it? Given our relationship."

Gone was his shy demeanor from when he first awoke, replaced by this sly man.

Only during nightmares would she stay by his side. Now a grown man proposes to share a bed.

And what kind of relationship is so natural for sharing a bed?!

Surely he doesn't see her as a motherly figure after losing his memory?

Adelin narrowed her eyes at him and then shook her head.

She was about to speak to persuade the duke.

"What are you talking about?"

He asked, not understanding her point.

"So, I mean… us sharing a bed is…"

As Adelin's response trailed off, the duke cut her off and asked,

"Fate, isn't it? We are too important to each other, right?"

"…Yes?"

After all, they needed to save each other's lives.

"I'm the only one for you, right?"

"Right."

For now, the Duke of Thorpeo was the only man who could save her life.

Adelin nodded in agreement.

"Indispensable to each other, and living under the same roof. That's what married couples do, right?"

"Married?"

Adelin suddenly snapped back to reality.

Married? What was this man imagining?

"Isn't that so? If not, what exactly are we?"

The duke looked at her with a serious gaze.

Adelin, startled, opened her mouth wide. As she regained her composure, she realized her vague words had been interpreted this way by him.

To explain, she needed an astonishing excuse to surpass his imagination.

Moreover, his misunderstanding wasn't all bad for living together.

"Well, yes. Not married, but… lovers!"

Faced with the crisis of becoming a married woman, Adelin hastily claimed they were lovers.

Even so, the gap to become a married couple was too big.

If the duke's memory suddenly returned, she dreaded the consequences.

But her trembling in anxiety was brief. Somehow, it would work out.

Adelin resolved to treat the duke better for the day his memory would return.

That way, he might pity her and spare her life.

While Adelin was secretly harboring dark thoughts and planning step by step,

"There's only one bedroom here. How did we used to live?"

Adelin's heart sank at the duke's sharp question.

"Of… of course, we shared it! You were sick, so I slept on the sofa to let you rest comfortably."

"I'm not sick anymore. And how can I let my lover sleep on the sofa? Come here."

Adelin secretly swallowed a sigh at his urging and reluctantly approached the bed.

Seemingly, she had to engage in a honeymoon-like experience with the handsome, amnesiac duke as part of her ruse to be lovers.

'Being lovers with that handsome face isn't so bad.'

That way, even if his memory returns, he wouldn't hurt her right away.

Lying on the bed, Adelin felt unfamiliar with the situation and lay straight, tightly closing her eyes.

As the duke's hand intertwined with hers and his piercing gaze fell on her, she felt the heat on her skin.

"But are we before the marriage contract? Usually, living under the same roof like this means being married, not lovers. Why are we still just lovers?"

The duke continued his relentless questioning, leaving Adelin flustered.

She hadn't thought that far, only that being lovers would bring less guilt if his memory returned.

Unable to come up with a clever answer, Adelin decided to sidestep the question.

"Ah. I was planning to submit it to the temple, but then you fell ill… Yawn."

Despite being fully awake from the duke's interrogation, she feigned tiredness with a fake yawn.

One lie needed another to cover it up.

She disliked her growing guilt towards him for continuously lying, even if it was to avert immediate danger.

Therefore, she began to act sleepy, wanting to avoid his questions.

"Mel. I'm so sleepy. Goodnight."

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