Deceived, Yet Drawn to You - Chapter 106

The car carrying Isabelle and Rufus didn’t reach the capital until late at night after leaving Eldenvale. The entire time, Rufus’s gaze never left the view beyond the window. The dazzling night streets of Borsa had captivated him.

The capital, which never slept even at such a late hour, was dazzling. The golden sign of the grand theater glittered painfully bright, and jazz music from an unknown source filled the streets. Beneath the brightly lit streetlamps, well-dressed gentlemen passed by with their coat hems fluttering, and beside them, women in dresses that boldly exposed their backs were a common sight. Among the pedestrians, there were even people who looked like opera singers, clad in daring stage costumes.

Rufus couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene. As if spellbound, he stared blankly, mouth slightly open.

For years now, rumors had circulated in high society that the eldest son of House Libert couldn’t even properly perform his role as a man. For Rufus, who had already struggled with poor social relationships since childhood, standing before people felt like torture, and he couldn’t endure the atmosphere of being made into an object of ridicule.

Rather than endure that humiliation, he told himself it was better to shut himself away in the mansion and live in silence. At least in Eldenvale, he was no different from a king. And so, for years, he hadn’t stepped a single foot outside the Eldenvale estate. Yet even as he burned with envy watching Edmund freely walk the streets of Borsa, he secretly nurtured a longing for the capital.

And now, every pleasure Rufus had never been able to enjoy lay spread out before his eyes. To someone who had only glimpsed such a glamorous world in dreams, this place was overwhelmingly stimulating and, at the same time, looked free.

“My child, Rufus.”

“….”

“Rufus?”

“…Yes, Mother.”

Rufus, his mind caught outside the window, turned his head a beat late. Isabelle examined her son with a worried expression.

“It must feel stifling, but for the time being, you need to stay hidden inside the townhouse on the outskirts of Borsa. It was a place I managed to secure with great difficulty by asking the Marchioness of Rainworth.”

The Marchioness of Rainworth was a relative on Isabelle’s maternal side. She had been displeased when Isabelle asked for a hiding place, but in the end, she reluctantly lent her the townhouse. It was a secluded spot once used for secret affairs with a lover, making it an ideal refuge.

In return, she made Isabelle keenly aware that this favor was a debt to be remembered, and emphasized that even if Edmund later discovered the conspiracy, she would claim ignorance of hiding Rufus specifically.

It meant that Isabelle, whose pride usually soared sky high, had swallowed her pride to smuggle out Rufus.

“Stifling? Not at all.”

There was no way it could feel stifling, now that he would be staying in the Borsa he’d dreamed of. Thinking that, Rufus replied curtly. At his response, Isabelle looked at her son with moved, admiring eyes.

“But Mother, what happens to me now?”

Rufus continued speaking while staring intently at a woman beyond the glass who was practically naked.

“I’ve escaped Eldenvale for now, but what comes next?”

“We’ll stay in Borsa and look for another way. For now, the priority is getting you far away from that cunning man’s grasp. He meant to send you off to Rorschach as early as tomorrow, but if he doesn’t even know where you are, his plan will fall apart.”

“So what exactly is this ‘way’ you’re talking about? I can’t live forever as a parasite in someone else’s townhouse.”

“…Nothing is decided yet. But I will find a way, no matter what. You don’t need to worry, just trust your mother.”

In other words, they had only barely avoided the worst, and the situation was still unstable. Rufus let out a scoff, his gaze drifting back to the glittering night streets. His lips curved into a strange arc that held something that might have been anticipation, or desire.

The shimmering lights of the capital beyond the window seemed to beckon to him. Rufus wanted to be compensated for the years he’d lived crushed beneath Edmund’s shadow. And layered over all of that, an old, festering desire rose to the surface.

“Mother, do you think I could become the Duke of Libert?”

According to the will, Edmund had inherited all authority of the dukedom, but to formally receive the title, there was the condition that he must produce an heir. Rufus thought he needed to dig into that point if he was going to steal Edmund’s position.

Isabelle shared the same view. She knew what Edmund’s weakness finally was, no, who it was, after being flawless for so long. Still, even if Edmund failed to produce an heir, would an opportunity really come to Rufus, who had inherited nothing? Isabelle was skeptical about that.

“…It’s not completely impossible.”

To avoid upsetting her son, she gave him a hopeful answer.

“It’s unusual that your father left nothing at all to his family. It’s quite difficult to accept. While we’re staying in Borsa, I plan to consult with a team of lawyers. We’ll review the will again and see if we can find a loophole.”

“But if Edmund’s woman ends up carrying a child, then none of that will matter.”

Rufus said it bluntly, bursting the fantasy he’d been building.

“In other words, if that becomes impossible, then the story changes a little.”

Isabelle’s eyes wavered at the remark that instantly crossed the line. She could see all too clearly what her son was thinking, and just how far he intended to go.

“We’ve only just escaped Eldenvale. Reckless thoughts like that are….”

“Reckless?”

Rufus cut her off.

“You know it too, Mother. Right now, there’s only one woman who can give Edmund an heir.”

“….”

“You think I wouldn’t know just because I’ve been shut up in the mansion? Things like that make their way to my ears. They say he doesn’t even touch whores or enjoy pleasure. It’s obviously an inferiority complex inherited from his lowborn mother.”

Rufus wasn’t simply relieved to have escaped Eldenvale. He was harboring a far more dangerous calculation.

“If that woman gets pregnant, I’m finished.”

Rufus’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

“So if the chance comes, take it.”

There was no way Isabelle didn’t understand what that meant. Just then, the car that had been gradually slowing finally arrived at the townhouse owned by the Marchioness of Rainworth. Isabelle quietly drew in a breath and, in the end, gave no answer.

***

Blair woke with a start at the ticklish sensation brushing her nape.

Blinking sleepily with one eye squeezed shut, she saw the bedroom washed in bluish dawn light. When she lowered her hazy gaze, she saw the man who hadn’t let her go for a single moment since last night, rubbing his lips against her nape as he held her close.

“…Edmund.”

A drowsy voice slipped from between Blair’s lips, swollen from being sucked so many times through the night.

“It tickles….”

“Did I wake you?”

The man asked with a low chuckle, his breath scattering over her collarbone. Blair curled up slightly beneath the blankets.

“…Obviously. Why do you always wake me up like that?”

At some point, kissing any part of her sleeping body had become his habit. Whenever his soft breath tickled a sensitive spot, Blair inevitably opened her eyes.

“Because you look cute when you open your eyes to my kisses.”

“It’s dawn. I want to sleep more.”

“Then sleep.”

“How can I sleep when you’re tickling me? And why are your hands…. You’re really indecent.”

“Even your sulking is cute.”

Unfazed by her grumbling, Edmund’s lips brushed over her chest. Beneath the heavy blanket, his hand moved past her lower abdomen and explored the mound. It was slow, but the touch carried a suggestive intent.

“Are you tired?”

“Yes… If you keep acting so indecent, you’ll get tired too.”

“Are you going to climb on top of me like last night?”

“Go away.”

“You were good at it. I don’t remember teaching you, so where did you learn?”

“I guess I picked it up naturally because of someone who sulks at the slightest thing, complaining I’m being cold in bed.”

When Blair shot back shamelessly, Edmund let out a laugh and lifted his head. Their eyes met, and their lips naturally touched. They brushed and bumped playfully a couple of times before their breaths tangled. As the bedding rustled, heat slowly built between their pressed bodies.

It was a rare moment of peace. The recent turmoil felt like a lie. Not wanting to let this moment slip away, Blair reached out, wrapped her arms around Edmund’s neck, and lifted her upper body first. Saying he’d get tired if she teased him was no exaggeration.

Just as their lips were about to meet again, an urgent knock sounded from outside the door.

The cozy silence shattered, and Blair flinched. The sound, so out of place in the quiet bedroom, instantly told her something serious had happened. Edmund’s eyes sharpened instantly as he stared in the direction the sound came from.