CH 21.3

After dismissing Jessie, Lucas and Lila sat side by side on the couch, lost in thought. Never before had they been so lost in their own thoughts while together. The whole time, they were too busy looking at each other…

“You know, Lucas.”

“Yes, wife.”

Finally speaking, Lila began to say what was on her mind.

“Now that the dukedom is ready for winter, I think the new hires will have settled in somewhat, and the ones who didn’t get fired will have a new mindset.”

She slowly unpacked her thoughts.

“I don’t think it’s easy to change servants, whether it’s at the manor at the capital or here, so I’m just saying, Lucas.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

He felt excited. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was…

“How about creating employee benefits? For example, we can provide magic tools to representatives in each field such as Jessie, Vincent, the maids, the head maids, the butlers, garden manager, and so on. Jessie and Vincent already have communication magic tools, right? If representatives can communicate with each other through these tools, work efficiency will increase. And we can offer space magic tools as a reward. We can evaluate and select the best employee of the month, which will also increase work efficiency.”

Lucas was a little surprised; this was more specific and fair than he’d expected.

“Oh, and I think it would be good to give them a medical kit, just in case something like today happened, but I have a question.”

Lila blurted out without pause.

“I think the reason the fire was able to spread so easily was because of the dry weather. Maybe less so if it snows in the winter, but I’m guessing we’ll see a lot of fires in autumn or spring…”

“Even so, there have been some fires recently, which is why Owen is there.”

“Well, do you have any preparations in place to deal with that? I mean, the noble houses probably employ alchemists and magicians, so they should be fine, but… the commoners don’t have any preparations, do they?”

“That is correct, wife.”

Lucas hadn’t neglected the business of the manor, but he hadn’t thought about it this specifically.

Her words struck him anew. Who would actually think this much about the commoners?

Probably no noble, he thought.

“Lucas, do you think the lower-grade gemstones are expensive?”

Lila asked a question that had just occurred to her. Lucas gave her a wry smile.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts first.”

He was excited to see what she would come up with.

“I’d like to see a universalised subspace tool that can hold water, so we can keep it as a drinking water substitute and throw it in a fire to put out the flames.”

“Hooo… that’s a great idea.”

Lucas was genuinely impressed. What he had just thrown was a fire-sucker.

It hadn’t been designed for firefighting, but rather as a prank by his brother. But it was useful.

“Also, I think it would be good to make a hand warmer or something like that. I mean, you know how cold it is in the north, and I’ve heard of people freezing to death.”

“Yeah, I’ve had my fair share of trouble with that.”

“Oh, and this might be a bit of a challenge…”

Lila, who had been speaking without interruption, paused, looking up at him. Lucas cocked an eyebrow gently at her attitude.

“Wife. What did I tell you?”

When she was in trouble, when she asked for something, Lucas always said something like this.

“You said you could make me anything I wanted.”

Lucas smiled brightly, as if her answer was the correct one.

“Yes, that’s right, so don’t be afraid to say it.”

At his prodding, Lila opened her mouth.

“I’ve heard that it’s hard to grow crops in the north because of the long winters, but if you look, you’ve got the tools to keep the snow out, and you’ve got greenhouses.”

“Isn’t that right?”

“It’s about creating land managed by the duke where greenhouses or weather-blocking magic tools can be installed. We can establish rules so that the village can work together, and the duke will only charge a fair rental fee. That way, we can have work to do, food to eat, and it would be good for the village to unite in many ways.”

Every time Lila spoke, her mint green eyes lit up.

“Of course, these are all my ideas, and some of them may not be realistic, so I’m hoping Lucas can help me with the rest, but today’s events have woken me up, and I’ve realised how poorly I’ve handled myself, and I have a goal for myself as Duchess: to make the North a better place.”

Lucas smiled at her bravado.

“That’s a good attitude. I will be happy to help you in that endeavour. Then, wife?”

“Yes?”

Lila repeated, smiling brightly at his answer.

“I thought you said you were remorseful…”

Lucas said with a coy air. He rubbed his fingers along the nape of Lila’s neck.

“If you’re remorseful, you should be punished… so that you don’t do anything like what you did earlier.”

With that, Lucas pushed her down onto the couch, and she looked up at him with a shiver.

“Punishment, what punishment?”

It wasn’t that she didn’t know what she’d done, of course, but the punishment he was referring to seemed to be something else entirely.

His scent, which had wafted through the room like an air freshener only moments ago, had now turned into a stinging sensation.

Not in a painful or harassing way, but in a way that seemed to stimulate something.

“First of all… You went outside the mansion without permission, and then you started a fire, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t set the fire…!”

Lila, who had desperately tried to stop his words and actions, was stiff as a clam at his next words.

“I see that both the annex and the orangerie have burned, which is a shame, as I’ve never had the pleasure of using them with my wife.”

The annex and the orangerie were both…

Lila hadn’t realised it, but since he said it was fine, she’d assumed he’d put it out quickly.

Looking down at her stupidly frozen form, Lucas began to untie his cravat. He tugged at it with his fingers, his lips curling into a lecherous smile.

“Now, wife. If you’re going to be punished, you’re going to have to undress first.”

* * *

“That, stop!”

Lila pleaded, her breath catching in her throat at the sensation of being crushed beneath him.

Grabbing her around the waist, Lucas hauled her upper body up so that she was screaming into the bedding.

His upper body, glistening with sweat, was toned with lean muscles.

He couldn’t help but be distracted by Lila’s growing scent. It was an intoxicating scent that he could smell every day, every hour, even if he were drunk.

Not only that, but the way she moved set his heart on fire.

SLAP-!

The corner of Lucas’s mouth twitched up at the weak smack on her soft bottom in the name of punishment.

“Wife.”

A large hand gripped her lower body in a domineering grip, an urge he sometimes found impossible to resist.

The urge to covet her wildly. And even if he did, he might not be satisfied.

He’d always catered to her vulnerability, but today he was going to give her a good spanking.

Fires were always dangerous, even when they ended safely, and there was no telling what might have happened to Lila if he hadn’t been there.

So he wanted to warn her.

“Your body doesn’t belong to you anymore. If you get hurt, I get hurt. If you’re sick, I’m sick. If you’re happy, I’m happy, and if you’re happy, I’m very happy.”

Lucas grabbed Lila’s arm as she struggled to keep her upper body upright, already weakened.

Her lower body jerked backwards, pulling her arm straight up. Her mauve hair, dishevelled down her pure white back, swayed in time with his movements.

“Lila, if you’re sad… Hhwa.”

Instantly, the pleasure plummeted like a thunderbolt. Lucas squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and stopped moving.

He bit his lip at the warm, erotic sensation, as if she’d wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.

“Ha, ha…”

Lila couldn’t answer. Her whole body was tingling, and she didn’t know if it felt good, or if it was him or if her body was malfunctioning.

Her body trembled regardless of her intentions. His scent washed over her shivering body.

It was overpowering, but more than that, it was insistent. He licked every inch of her, as if he didn’t want to miss a single hair.

The scent moved like his tongue, and it was enough to make Lila blink back tears of pleasure that flashed before her eyes.

The pause allowed her to recover a little, and it was then that Lucas picked up where he left off.

His words, raw but full of wistfulness, penetrated her heart.

“If you’re sad, I’m very angry, and I can’t forgive things that make you sad… even if it is myself.”

His hot, wet tongue touched her upper back. Licking gently, he began to move again.

With one arm, he pinned her arms together, and with the other, he gently stroked her reddened bottom. Like he was apologising for the slap.

Lila squirmed unnecessarily at his touch. Blinking back tears, she turned her head away.

The room was now pitch black, lit only by the moonlight. Faced with the reflection of his toned thighs in the pale light, Lila tensed her body.

“Hmm.”

Lucas was gripped by an irresistible sense of pleasure at her small gesture, which was both endearing and condescending at the same time.

As if he were the only one swayed by her.

One corner of his mouth turned up in a grumpy smirk. Lucas slapped her hips again, this time weakly.

“Hmmh.”

“Why aren’t you answering me, are you going to do something dangerous again?”

“I just said I’m sorry…”

She replied.

Lila couldn’t finish the sentence, because every time she tried to apologise, Lucas moved his lower body roughly.

It was as if he was rejecting her apology, and she couldn’t say a word as he pushed harder and harder.

It was no use fighting back, like being swept away by a rough current. There was nothing she could do but submit and go with the flow.

His scent and gestures, came to her that way.

At times warming, at times coldly provoking, at times dazing her with unbearable heat.

So that she couldn’t even think.

Everything about him was intoxicating to her.

“Ha!”

As if he couldn’t hold back any longer, Lucas moved ferociously, grabbing Lila’s chin, savouring every inch of her soft flesh.

Their roughly meshed lips were hot. A moist tongue slid in where there was dampness.

Lila stuck out her tongue in welcome. Then she pressed her tongue firmly against his snagged fangs.

Lila’s whole body shook mercilessly, and then she stopped. His rough, penetrating hand pressed down on her head.

His gesture was angry, but she couldn’t think of anything but the bright white light that flashed through her eyelids.

Her lips parted. A silver thread shimmered in the moonlight, then disappeared.

When he let go, Lila’s body collapsed. She couldn’t struggle anymore.

With a weak touch, she pressed against his thigh.

“No more…”

Lucas didn’t answer her plea. No, it was more like he couldn’t.

“Just…”

She whispered in a low, desperate voice.

Lucas couldn’t believe it. The mere fact that she had pressed her fangs against his had brought him to climax.

It was unacceptable. Grabbing her waist as she collapsed exhaustedly beneath him, Lucas eased her back.

Her limp body slowly settled onto his chest.

“Lucas?”

Cobalt eyes widened in disbelief, and though she couldn’t see them, the mint ones were already glowing menacingly.

A large hand gripped her leg, and even as he pulled away, her white leg was already covered in red handprints.

His scent, which had once been subdued, swirled like a typhoon. Lila stirred, sensing something was wrong, but…

“Wa, wait!”

By the time she realised what was happening, it was too late. At the same time as Lila’s plea, he moved.

She sobbed again at the roughness of his movements, which didn’t compare to the one just before.