Chapter 54 – 54
Melione, who had stopped Euro as he tried to flee the office, wore a somewhat bewildered expression at the unexpected answer.
And for good reason; regardless of who heard it, wouldn’t coming all the way to where he was at this late hour just to say, ”I’m going to bed first,” actually mean “Let’s go to bed together”?
Euro had been trembling as if someone were about to eat him alive, speaking of feeling hurt or grateful with a face that was exceptionally red—perhaps because of the candlelight. Yet, in the end, he had flashed a smile so bright that Melione had doubted his own eyes.
It was a face where relief and excitement were wildly intertwined. The moment Melione saw the corners of Euro’s mouth curl upward, he felt as if his heart had plummeted with a thud.
‘And to say that with such a look on his face.’
Feeling displeased, Melione tightened his grip on Euro’s wrist and asked impulsively.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?”
At Melione’s question, Euro simply blinked and stared at him. What on earth was [stolen content]he talking about? The one who found it uncomfortable to be close was Melione, not him.
Of course, it wasn’t as if Euro found every moment spent with him entirely comfortable. However, at the very least, he was capable of managing his expression to pretend otherwise. It meant that even if he disliked it, it was bearable.
Melione, however, often failed to hide his look of displeasure even while acting quite kindly toward him. Was that not the case right now?
It was Melione, not Euro, who had stopped the person trying to leave. Yet Melione was blatantly displaying signs of discomfort, as if he were the one being held back.
Euro found it absurd and unfair. Melione was framing him as if he were the bad person.
“I never said I was uncomfortable…”
“Then have I made you feel hurt again?”
“What?”
“In the dining room, you said you left first because you felt hurt.”
“…”
“Then what about now?”
Strangely, Melione clung tenaciously to Euro’s emotions. Euro didn’t feel particularly hurt by Melione at the moment. In the grand scheme of things, one could say he did, but for now, it was more accurate to say he felt nothing.
The reason he had said he would sleep in the second-floor room was solely to engage in a relationship with Melione. He felt that approaching him after he had fallen asleep would make it feel more like a dream.
It was merely a tactic to create a sort of alibi. That was the only reason, but since he couldn’t possibly say it, Euro squeezed his eyes shut. Since things had come to this, there was no other way.
“I… I do. Feel hurt.”
Euro snapped his eyes open and looked up at Melione. Melione was simply looking down at him with a peculiar expression, his brow still slightly furrowed.
“You… won’t get angry, right?”
As he hesitantly began to speak, Melione somehow slowly released his grip on Euro’s wrist.
“No, I promise.”
“It’s nothing much.”
“…”
“I wanted to sleep together.”
Euro gripped the candlestick tightly with both hands and cast his eyes downward. Since he was at it, he might as well become someone who shared a bed. He couldn’t keep glossing over the situation like this every time.
If he could go so far as to sleep in the same bed and fuss over singing him a lullaby, it might be less effective than having a physical relationship, but it would certainly be helpful for his body.
“…Since we don’t use the same bed anyway, I thought it would be better to sleep on the second floor. Even though there’s a door, it’s practically the same space, so I thought you’d find it uncomfortable.”
“…”
“You always come to the bedroom after I’ve fallen asleep. That made me feel a bit hurt… and anyway, we are a married couple. Even if it’s just an arranged marriage.”
“You felt hurt because we don’t share a bed?”
“I put it that way, but it’s not that I’m incredibly hurt, it’s just, how should I put it…”
“…”
“Never mind. I was just saying. Let’s go. I’ll sleep in the first-floor bedroom.”
Euro rambled incoherently before simply letting out a hollow laugh. Since this wasn’t something he had prepared, he didn’t know what to say himself.
Moreover, the more he spoke, the harder it became to meet Melione’s eyes or stand still as if nothing were wrong. He was nervous.
This had never happened before. He had been able to look Melione straight in the eye while saying things far more daring than this. Why was he like this? Euro remained acutely conscious of Melione.
“Is that all it takes?”
“Pardon?”
“Is it enough as long as we use the same bed?”
“I… I suppose so?”
“…”
“Is there… something else?”
When Euro asked blankly, Melione suddenly let out a sigh. He had told him to speak up if he felt hurt, and he did, so why was he reacting like this again?
“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to. I was just explaining why I was sleeping on the second floor. That’s all. If the guest room on the second floor is an issue, I could just use the bedroom in the annex…”
“I dislike that.”
Melione cut Euro off sharply and pulled his wrist. Euro followed obediently as Melione led him out of the office.
Soon, when they stood before the stairs after passing through the hallway, Melione suddenly took the candlestick from Euro’s hand and walked ahead, lighting the dim stairs.
Euro nodded to himself [visit our site]as he watched Melione’s back, who walked [Read on Read BL Novels]in step with him without once looking back.
‘He said many of the Duchesses moved their bedrooms to the annex entirely. It seems even me going there feels like a trauma to him.’
And Euro guessed that this was likely related to Melione’s biological mother. This part wasn’t revealed in the book or the author’s social media, but it was easy to infer just by looking at his behavior.
Melione probably hadn’t even seen his biological mother. He likely only learned about her life’s trajectory naturally after discovering the truth about the curse engraved on his body.
Melione’s biological mother had probably moved to the annex and ended her life there, or perhaps she had left the Dukedom entirely.
‘Poor thing.’
Because Euro knew better than anyone what it felt like to be abandoned, he sincerely pitied Melione.
If he entered the bedroom led by Melione’s hand and shared the same bed, everything he had planned for today would go up in smoke, yet for some reason, Euro couldn’t shake off his hand.
As they descended the stairs and reached the first floor, they ran into Raymond, who was coming out of the dining area with a teapot, having prepared tea in advance.
Raymond looked surprised for a moment, but his expression [stolen content]quickly returned to calm [stolen content]as he bowed slightly to Melione and [Read on Read BL Novels]Euro. At this, Euro hurriedly sent a pleading look toward Raymond.
Fortunately, Raymond was a perceptive butler and immediately realized that the plan had fallen apart.
“I apologize for interrupting your way to bed, My Lady, but there are some documents I would like you to look over for a moment.”
“Do it tomorrow.”
While Euro was about to quickly agree, Melione barked coldly.
“…Your Excellency. I believe it’s regarding the spring festival. It seems urgent, so I will just take a quick look and then go to the bedroom.”
“Do it tomorrow.”
“…”
“If it’s that urgent, Raymond, handle it yourself.”
Since Melione was being this stubborn, there was no other way. Raymond, unable to think of [visit our site]a [stolen content]way to rescue Euro, obediently stepped back and bowed.
It was a complete disaster. Since he had ruined everything with his own nonsense, he couldn’t even blame anyone. Euro, being practically dragged along by Melione, turned his head and shouted to Raymond.
“Raymond! Please bring me a cup of tea. The one I always drink before bed. Got it?”
“Yes, My Lady.”
Only after hearing that answer could Euro feel somewhat relieved. Since things had turned out this way, it couldn’t be helped. He had to proceed with the plan, even if it meant risking being caught.
‘Since when did he ever want to sleep with me? This is unbelievable. I take back everything about thinking he’s pitiful, I take it all back!’
Euro vented his frustration internally as he entered Melione’s bedroom together. He had managed to get into the same bedroom with a plausible excuse, but the problem started from here.
Larry would have surely made the medicine properly again, but it was a bit risky to carry out the deed in this bedroom. First of all, he had to be by Melione’s side when he woke up.
If he sang about wanting to sleep together and then slipped out of bed alone in the early morning, the clumsy acting he’d done in front of him would have been completely useless.
While Euro stood by the door fighting [stolen content]his [visit our site]inner turmoil, Melione lit the candle by the bedside of the dark bedroom and [stolen content]set down the candlestick he had been holding.
“Would you like to wash first?”
When Melione asked suddenly, Euro snapped back to his senses.
“Wh-what?”
“I will tell them to prepare your pajamas.”
“No, wait! I’ll use the bathroom attached to my own bedroom.”
Since he hadn’t prepared himself “down there” yet, Euro waved his hands in horror.
“As you wish.”
Melione answered nonchalantly and headed toward the bathroom inside the bedroom. Then, very naturally, he took off the shirt he was wearing, regardless of whether Euro was there or not.
Startled by the sudden appearance of Melione’s bare skin, Euro gasped and spun around.
“I-I didn’t look! I’ll go wash up!”
Euro opened the door connected to his own bedroom as if fleeing and slammed it shut with a loud thud!
Melione, who had been watching the scene quietly, blinked and let out a small, incredulous snort.
“What a bold one.”
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