# 11
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Before she met Pepe, the most basic and fundamental obstacle for her was that she had to sleep with this man.
“I had a baby late this year... Will I be able to get pregnant again at exactly the same time?”
No matter what Ariana thought, she wasn't sure she could completely recreate the circumstances in which she had previously become pregnant with Baby.
But, if that child were to come to her in the end, wouldn't he be the same, no matter when he came?
Even if she wasn't Baby, Ariana was ready to love and protect the baby, just like she does now.
She looked up at Kenneth, who had become expressionless, and whispered:
“If you're worried, you can check now if you want.”
The nobles usually had intercourse on the days specified by the private doctor, but after the first night, Kenneth rarely came to visit her.
In this palace, there was nothing that Ariana could initiate on her own.
“In my previous life, I was always afraid...”
She was afraid of becoming one of those whom Kenneth pointed out at the execution ground.
She was trembling like a child in this thin ice, afraid that one wrong move would lead to her death.
But now, there was nothing to fear at all.
“I just want to increase the possibility of meeting Pepe as soon as possible.”
And let this man live happily with the woman who underestimated Bibi.
She gently reached for the hand that was holding her chin.
The bones of the back of the hand were prominent and rough, but they seemed cold and smooth as a piece of marble before you touched them.
But when that hand rose to her shoulder, it was surprisingly warm, to the point that it was difficult to believe that its owner had emerald eyes devoid of any sparkle.
“You said that this body of mine is the only thing of value I have, right?”
Ariana whispered in a low, hoarse voice:
“Then, examine it as you wish.”
“As long as we're together, it's okay if we take the initiative a little early… it will be more… efficient.”
She gently used Kenneth's hand to push the tip of her white shoulder.
The nightgown, made of soft and delicate muslin, fell easily, gradually revealing her skin.
In the quiet room where only their breathing could be heard, the sound of rain pouring from outside pierced the walls of silence, as if piercing their eardrums.
They couldn't estimate how long they had been staring at each other so deeply.
As the upper part of the dress slid down, the white band that held the chest pulled down with it.
Finally, the tape came undone.
With her neck and back suddenly exposed in the cold air, her body shivered gently.
"Yes…!"
Then her field of vision, which had been facing forward moments before, quickly jerked toward the ceiling disconcertingly.
She settled on a soft bed touching her back, and a huge shadow hung over her body.
Kenneth wiped the back of his hand over Ariana's exposed skin. Whenever his prominent veins touched her delicate skin, her skin immediately colored as if she was following his trace.
“What are these hidden intentions, I wonder?”
As Ariana squirmed at the slightest touch, Kenneth spread a pedantic smile on his face.
“You were the one who shivered every time...”
“Ah...”
“You're being so proactive now? Really suspicious.”
"Suspicious? How do you say that?"
Ariana frowned as she had a flashback.
Those suffocating encounters that preceded her death, how did she behave during those difficult and dark times?
Thinking back, she was very negative, but, isn't that normal?
First, the wedding night was her first experience, so how could she act so subtly? She didn't know anything.
Then, after what happened with Andrew, any physical relationship inevitably became terrifying.
And after that…
“I was afraid that something about me would make him angry, and he would hang me on the execution platform...”
But there was another, deeper reason, that made her feel so nervous.
Ariana bit her lip as she stared at the man above her.
Cremisia's men were mostly tall, and she was well aware that Kenneth was taller than most of them by a clear margin.
But, when everyone is in tuxedos, that's just a passing piece of information in the mind.
When they are alone in the bedroom, the situation is completely different.
He was such a big man that she didn't even have the strength to push him away.
His chest pressing against her body, his hand holding her wrist—everything about him was overwhelming.
Simply put, it was exhausting and scary.
Especially when he takes off his clothes...
“Don't be frightened now...”
As soon as I remembered the past, I tensed up.
In this case, she would obviously miss the opportunity if it came.
Ariana suppressed the heat that rose to her neck, and whispered: “Didn’t you say that one day you would replace me with another woman, more worthy of you?”
“You made me powerless to do anything.”
She raised her leg lightly, sticking to the side of his waist.
The touch of her inner thigh with his jacket and shirt clearly revealed to her the heat of his tense muscles even under the fabric.
“I have no authority here. Not even an ounce of respect.”
I went out one day just to pray, and I was stoned.
Just thinking about that made tears pool behind her eyelids.
But Ariana, deliberately, put a dreamy and stupid smile on her face.
"So...I'd like to find at least some pleasure in the bedroom. After all, I'm a luxurious and dissolute woman, right?"
That's how the world referred to it, and Kenneth himf firmly believed it.
So, it wouldn't be strange for her to give in and show her “naturalness” as everyone expects.
Kenneth tilted his head and laughed sarcastically: “So you plan to use me as a toy? Nice idea.”
“Instead of me being stuck, let's spend time that benefits both of us.”
Ariana slowly placed her hand on his chest.
He was still very elegant.
She pressed the buttons of his shirt with her fingertips, but they did not come undone, as expected of a nervous person.
To hide her nervousness, she deliberately acted more coldly than she should.
“I will not flee anymore”
“As long as you keep me by your side, do with me as you please, Duke.”
Ariana swallowed dryly. Is this considered temptation?
I don't think I crossed the line.
Even this man, who suffers from an obsession with control and strictness, might not find it suspicious.
Kenneth placed his hands on either side of her waist and stared at her for a long time. Then he leaned towards her neck, and whispered in a voice carrying a hidden smile: “Everything you say is true, Ariana.”
“So—”
“But, what can I do?”
"Yes?"
“These actions of yours...seem rude to me.”
“What…ah!”
Suddenly, Kenneth grabbed her left ankle with one hand. The ankle was well wrapped in a bandage, yet he caught it easily.
It wasn't painful, but terror rushed through Ariana's body until it reached her throat.
It can't be...it can't be that he's going to break it again?!
Suddenly, disgusting whispers crept into her mind, as if they were insects crawling on her skin:
“You don't want to gouge out your pretty eyes, do you?”
She remembered Andrew's hideous sarcasm, and fear flooded through her in an instant.
“Sir Duke, wait, no… there isn’t…!”
Ariana fumbled, trying to get free, while Kenneth stared at her ankle with a cold, emotionless stare.
“You dug a hole like a fool while you were delirious, and then you say that you suddenly came to your senses.”
“Ah...!”
“And you now appear to be an obedient and cooperative wife in bed.”
“My lord Duke...!”
He looked at her again with a hard, sarcastic look.
Her terrified face, which looked as if she expected him to break her ankle, was clearly drawn into his eyes.
However, the word “Duke” no longer came out of her mouth in its previous submissive form.
However, her features now were closer to those that appeared when she clung to his feet, crying and ing him to keep her alive.
And just like that night, her blue eyes, similar to crystal beads, were shining with tears about to fall, which made her even more beautiful.
“It might be nice... to go to the opera together that night...”
But a memory he didn't want invaded his mind without permission.
Kenneth sighed in annoyance and pulled his hand away from her.
As for Ariana, her body shrank and her breath was cut off due to the sudden shock.
Kenneth looked at her from above, with a look of mixed pity and contempt: “Andrew, he seems to have been fooled by something so trivial and considered it a temptation… Can’t you try harder?”
“Huh… huh...”
“If you do, I will visit you even outside of scheduled sex appointments.”
Do not cause disturbances unnecessarily, and do not break this fragile peace that he has so painstakingly rebuilt.
Without looking at her again, Kenneth turned and headed for the bedroom door.
***
He originally hated having someone serve him to change his clothes, and after the opera incident, he completely refused any kind of personal service.
The buttons of his jacket and white shirt, which Ariana could not undo, were unbuttoned and began to slide off his muscled body.
Many scars appeared on his shoulder and chest: one round, as if from a gunshot wound, and another long, as if from sword strikes.
It was the remains of the attack that he resisted so violently that he was almost killed, while the assailants began to attack him with their daggers in confusion.
Certainly the pain at that time was not easy, but he did not pay any attention to these scars.
He survived.
“And this is the most important”
In fact, there were worse than these scars—things he considered much uglier scars.
Like that crown he threw in a safe without the slightest care...