Chapter 43
***
He couldn’t stay away. He had lived his whole life being careful, and he couldn't afford to do anything stupid, like indulge in distractions before something important.
But what had he done all night to make his body ache?
He sighed in self-pity.
If he had pushed himself so hard, how was it that the woman who always seemed to have so little energy was okay?
Slowly, out of compassion, he looked over at the sleeping woman.
Her petal-like lashes were tightly closed, and her red lips were plumped, making them look even sweeter than usual.
Caius traced his own lips. If they were as swollen as hers, they would be unbecoming.
The voluptuous woman was stunning, even just sleeping. Her white, slender shoulders shone like pearls.
He pulled the quilt over her shoulders. Her tight breathing suddenly relaxed.
He shook his head and stood up. He found his pants rolling across the floor, picked them up, and pulled them on, tucking them in neatly.
He ruffled his hair in frustration on the short walkway to his office, and his mind flashed back to the night he had given in due to lust to Ermoli, who he wanted to kill.
"Damn it............"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt unrest.
To make matters worse, as soon as he reached his room, a servant's voice rang outside the door.
"Are you awake? May I help you with your morning grooming, master?"
He had to dismiss the servant for the first time.
"..................come later."
There was no reply in time from the servant, who must have been surprised.
Caius added with a frown.
"Come back in an hour."
"Yes, master."
He threw down the bundle of clothes he'd been carrying and took off his pants.
5:00 a.m. He swore he'd never had a schedule so wacky interrupted his routine.
***
A few minutes later.
Sitting in the bathtub, Louise looked at Pauline's surprised face and wished she could find a rat hole to hide in.
She wished she'd turned down her offer from the start, but washing herself when she could barely lift a finger was a bit much. She had no idea what time it was when he'd let her go.
"Are you very.................. ill, my lady?"
"No, Pauline."
The calm reply was not at all convincing, even in her hoarse voice.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Pauline jumped to her feet, panicking, and heard a voice outside.
"Come in for a minute."
Before she had time to think about what to do, the door opened.
Neither Louise in the tub nor Pauline outside the tub froze like ice at the sight of Caius approaching.
Regardless, he strode nonchalantly into the room, plopped down in front of the tub, and cleared his throat with a very sheepish look on his face.
"Are you all right? I had a little too much to drink last night."
Louise blinked, not sure how much of him was sincere and how much was an act, and finally opened her lips at the serious look.
"..................I think you did, yes."
The pointed answer was met with a low chuckle from Caius.
"Are you angry?"
He leaned in and kissed her softly.
In full view of Pauline, Louise was too surprised to look away.
Fortunately, their lips soon parted.
"I'm sorry, but you're not hurt anywhere, are you? Do you mind if I take a look?"
"Oh, no!"
Louise shook her head, startled.
Wanting to hide herself from him somehow, she crossed her arms over her chest and sat closer to the tub.
"You're not hurt? That's impossible."
Behind him, Pauline could see her reddened ears. Louise wished he'd just get out of there, but Caius slowly peered at her with worried golden eyes.
"Ha, I know you're busy, but I'll leave you to it..................."
Louise was about to say, "Goodbye," when the man ducked his head to the nape of her neck and froze in place.
He ran his tongue over her bruised collarbone, then lifted his face and smirked.
"I’ve left a nice mark here, I like it."
Then he shamelessly glanced up at Pauline, who stood as still as stone.
"You won’t say anything later, won't you?"
"What?"
Pauline stammered, then snapped out of it.
"Yes, Your Excellency. Go on, I won't say anything.”
"..................You may go, Your Excellency."
Louise said with a pale face, but the impudent man naturally clicked his tongue.
"Not again."
Unfortunately, the man understood. Louise meekly corrected him.
"You'd better go, Caius. You're busy."
He pressed his lips to hers once more.
As if the maid he'd just talked to was invisible, he leisurely slipped his tongue in and scraped the roof of Louise’s mouth.
When Louise, startled, dodged with a slight twist of her chin, he pulled away with a wistful look on his face. "You're not mad at me, are you? Don't go to bed first, okay?" he asked sweetly.
He couldn't be serious. Louise looked up at him uneasily, then nodded reluctantly.
"Okay. Just don't do this in front of everyone, and get going."
Caius smirked and stood up, stretching his long legs. Before he left the room, he remembered to say to Pauline, who was bright red with embarrassment.
"The lady is going to have a rough day. Cancel everything and let her rest."
"Yes, master."
The man turned away.
There was a click at the door, and Louise bowed her head deeply. She didn't know what to make of Pauline's face.
Suddenly, Pauline was sitting in front of the tub, sobbing.
"..................Pauline, what's wrong, what's wrong, is it because he’s been so mean to you? It was just a joke.”
Pauline looked up from her wet face as Louise absentmindedly covered Caius’s shameless act.
The sight of her mottled body must have shocked her. Louise regretted that she hadn't chased the maid away, insisting that she would wash herself somehow.
"It's nothing like that, you just saw it, it's just.................. he had a little too much to drink last night."
Pauline nodded, relieved despite her sobs.
"I know, it was just a little bit of lovemaking, the master does care a lot, doesn’t he?"
Louise's heart sank.
It hadn't been an act of love; he hadn't cared for her, he'd just been drunk and acting out.
She honestly doubted he remembered the night before. If he did, she wondered if he would have the audacity to appear before her.
It was Louise herself who was most hurt by the false excuse.
"..................Of course," she said, "you've seen it, it's just in a different way."
"He does things in different ways."
Pauline, who had stopped crying, now sided with the impregnable man.
"Now you see, my lord is so sweet, and his eyes are dripping with honey when he looks at you, and he gave the lady a vacation.”
"No vacation. I'm fine, Pauline."
Louise protested, but Pauline shook her head firmly.
"My master himself ordered me to do it, and I'm afraid I can't protest. Let me give you a gentle wash."
She placed the dried sponges in the tub.
Louise avoided Pauline's gaze as she stared at the sponges, which quickly swelled to plumpness in the water.
She chewed on her lower lip out of habit, then stopped in horror. It was definitely his lips, but they seemed to have an unfamiliar scent.
The scent of embers and wood, as if it had been drained from him.
"Don't sleep first, okay?"
His last words echoed in her ears.
She didn’t if she had ever been so afraid of the approaching night.
***
Louise slept all morning, unable to wake up. It was embarrassing that the maid refused to take a break.
When she finally awoke, Pauline served her soup and soft bread.
Her battered lips and throat still tingled. Louise could barely eat a slice of bread soaked in soup. Time flew by without her doing anything.
Whether he realized it or not, Caius opened the door to her room even earlier than usual.
The stage lights were now off. It was time for the stinging words to fall from his lips.
"Did you really stay up all night to wait for me?"
My lord ordered me, she thought, and I must obey. She had promised him, unknowingly, that she would be loyal to him with her life, even in bed.
Then she made an excuse.
"..................You're early. I'm usually awake by this time."
The man's gaze lingered at the base of Louise's neck, and one corner of his mouth twitched upward.
"Your maid is quite faithful."
Realizing the implication, Louise couldn't help but blush.
But it wasn't because Pauline was faithful that she couldn't cover the red mark on her neck; he'd carved a mark too deep to cover.
Instead of explaining the bruise, Louise asked cautiously.
"You were pretty......... drunk last night, weren't you?"
***
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