The Monstrous Grand Duke’s Fake Lady

“Shall we have dinner a bit early?”

Knox had already taken notice of Vivian’s gaze and therefore, drew out her own chair first. After she had been seated, only then he took a seat next to her before raising his knife straight away.

He wasn’t that hungry, but it seemed like she would be hesitant if Knox, himself, didn’t get a spoonful at least.

And that was sure enough. Only after that did Vivian’s fingers begin moving around when Knox’s own spoon had already started scooping out the soup.

Knox, who was just staring at Vivian’s behavior, soon began to eat as well. Even when the two of them had finished their dinner, the physician still kept on focusing on his own meal.

When the physician who finally had his stomach all filled up and put his fork down eventually, darkness had already enshrouded the whole ground.

As soon as he saw how the physician’s face was blooming even  more than before, Knox couldn’t help feeling that his mood had turned rather uneasy.

“Come here, my dear.”

Vivian just couldn’t help herself but to head towards the gentle voice that was calling for her. In consideration to his character, this mansion was absurdly small in size. But, just like a child who was in a very big maze, he could only feel anxious if Vivian wasn’t by his side at every single moment.

Nevertheless, she didn’t really hate that sense of restlessness at all. In fact, Vivian even held on to his hand. And amidst that silence, only the warmth of the two of them was transmitted between themselves, which made Vivian wish for that particular moment to just last forever.

The night in the forest had arrived much earlier. The only place that had lights on was this mansion, so it didn’t matter if someone were to walk around even with a lantern because they could never drive away out of the darkness.

Eventually, Knox decided to go to bed early to which he then had his clothes changed first. Just at a first glance, there seemed to be no difference between his outdoor clothes and his pajamas, but that stuffy area around the neck had made an apparent variance.

The lights in the room were all lit up as much as possible just for Knox who couldn’t see that well, but still, it wasn’t as bright as when the sun had risen. Knox then raised his head as soon as the white light had permeated through his dark-stained and crushed-colored vision.

“My dear.”

Her appearance in that white slip had contrasted with her red locks that were still vivid even in the dark. Knox reached out with a small smile drawn on her face.

However, Vivian just couldn’t accept his hand in response.

“Why are you being shy?”

“It’s not that I’m shy! It’s just…”

Vivian, who tried to speak, closed her mouth all of a sudden. Actually, she wasn’t being shy at all. It was just due to the fact that her bare face, which was without any makeup, was ultimately that of Vivian’s—no matter what.

“Just what? Haven’t you done much more than just being in this outfit?”

Vivian gazed at him carefully when Knox had uttered those words.

Does he still think of me as Alexia? Perhaps it was just natural for him since he had never truly seen Alexia’s face before.

As she thought so, she was then able to hold his hand with a more relaxed mind. Vivian’s heart immediately became aflutter as soon as she set her bottom on his bed with her own free will for the first time ever, and it was not because she was forcibly pulled in by him.

“It just felt amazing that we could actually sleep together, being next to each other. I could have never dreamed of this before.”

“Did you say that your house was rather strict?”

Knox then sat next to her before he carefully swept her hair over to her back. He smiled when her hair, which hadn’t dried yet, felt cold at his fingertips.

“When we’re already married, we can sleep together whenever we want anyway. It’s not that amazing.”

Marriage.

The moment she had heard that from Knox, Vivian’s complexion was immediately drained away.

It was a fact that she had to accept. The fact that regardless of how she was in this position right now, in the end, the one who’d remain would ultimately be Alexia, herself.

“Alexia?”

However, Vivian did not want to ruminate over that end.

She liked how it was right now. Provided that she could enjoy this happiness and joy even without doing any single thing by his side. And above all else, Vivian, who had already known the taste of happiness now, did not want to miss it anymore.

“My dear? Why…”

Knox, who immediately felt strange when Vivian suddenly stopped responding, began to look unwittingly at her complexion.

Even though she knew that it wouldn’t be noticeable, she still shouted nervously when she felt that his fingertips had brushed against the skin of her face, without even her realizing it.

“Don’t look at me!”

Knox immediately ceased to move at her sharp words. Vivian’s lips moved ever so slightly as she flustered, but it was merely for a moment. She then clenched her teeth and slowly closed her eyes.

“…I’m embarrassed, so don’t look at me too closely.”

Don’t try to look that keenly at my face.

Vivian then buried her face in Knox’s arms while hugging him tightly.

Knox said nothing in response. Instead of forcefully pushing her aside, he slowly raised his hand before he stroked her head carefully.

Knox’s constant petting had gradually softened Vivian’s slightly disturbed mind. As Vivian’s pants eventually turned steady, Knox then leaned back to the bed.

When Vivian fell back with him while still being embraced, the sound of her surprise immediately permeated through the air.

“Uh…?”

“What’s wrong?”

Are we not doing it today? She slightly raised her head from his arms, but as she took a glance towards Knox, who was asking her, words that couldn’t really be uttered started reeling around her own mouth.

“Uh, no, that… I was just wondering if we’re only going to have our sleep like this?”

“Is there anything else that you’d like to do?”

“No! I don’t mean it like that.”

“Then, let’s just sleep together like this. You don’t have to worry about anything at all and just rest comfortably.”

Vivian slowly closed her eyes at those brief yet sweet words of his. Knox embraced Vivian a little stronger as her breath gradually calmed down.

For the first time ever, Vivian held a selfish thought in her mind.

Alexia and Knox; I hope that they will never get married to each other for the rest of their lives.

End of Volume 1