Dear Contract Husband, I Didn't Know You Were Like This? - Chapter 11
‘Am I remembering things incorrectly?’
Maya desperately recalled the Grand Duke’s face from before her regression.
“Maya Pendragon?”
The man asked, seeing her frozen state. His voice, languid yet deep, tickled her ears.
But soon, her heart sank.
‘His voice is different.’
In her memory, the Grand Duke’s voice was more boyish.
Hadn’t he been just a boy?
‘Could it be a curse related to age?’
Then, what was the reason he summoned her, the reason for his proposal?
All her prepared words now seemed pointless.
‘What about the deal?’
Maya bit her lip to hide her confusion. She needed time to gather her thoughts.
The figure she saw before regression was indeed the Grand Duke.
His commanding tone, his entourage calling him ‘Grand Duke,’ the black helm, his dignified demeanor…
…Certainly, the man’s demeanor resembled that boy.
‘But he doesn’t have the appearance of a child.’
That was the most puzzling part.
“You look unwell.”
The man, furrowing his brows, moved closer to Maya.
His towering stature and overwhelming presence could have intimidated anyone.
Maya seized this as an opportunity.
‘A chance to see his face.’
To confirm he was the same person she remembered.
Thankfully, she remembered his face precisely.
How could she forget?
The man who showed kindness even to a criminal, respecting her choice despite his own curse.
‘And he was so handsome.’
That fact played a significant part too. The pretty boy had become a promising beauty.
Maya stared intensely at the man.
He calmly met her gaze, seemingly intrigued.
‘Similar yet different.’
His black hair, like the dark night sky, neatly framed his forehead. The thick eyebrows matched his deep voice.
Above all, his blue eyes captivated her.
‘Beautiful.’
For a moment, Maya was lost in them.
His eyes reminded her of the blue sky sprawling over the white mountains.
A spark flared where their gazes met.
The man before her seemed like a deity beyond this world.
His deep eyes, the angle of his nose, even his slightly parted lips seemed unreal, as if part of a masterpiece.
It was like a dream.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Maya only snapped back to reality when his hand touched her forehead.
Staring at the Grand Duke without responding was extremely rude.
Yet, he didn’t scold her. Instead, he gently lifted his hand and tilted his head.
“No fever…”
It was the same warm consideration as the Grand Duke she had met before her death.
The sunlight-like kindness she had never experienced before made her heart flutter.
The warmth from his touch on her forehead lingered. Her heart, tense with nerves, pounded as if she had just finished a workout.
‘Too close.’
Her life had been devoid of physical contact with others.
Before becoming a knight captain, she was either cooped up at home training or out hunting monsters.
After Kendrick’s death, she devoted herself even more to swordsmanship.
It was meant to prevent innocent victims, but ironically, she ended up empowering a tyrant.
Later, manipulated by the violent Emperor, she couldn’t form proper relationships.
Lost in these thoughts, the man before her again muddled her mind.
The image of the boy she saw then overlapped gradually.
Clearly, he had matured into a robust man, but he was the same person.
‘Stay calm. There must be a reason he called me.’
Maya took a deep breath to compose herself.
The Grand Duke, who had hidden his existence from everyone, wouldn’t have proposed to her without reason.
She might not know why he wasn’t in his boyish form now, but it was right to assume the curse existed.
The Grand Duke broke the silence.
“Is there something on my face?”
His still light-hearted tone didn’t seem angry, but it was proper to be polite.
Maya stepped back and bowed.
“I apologize, Grand Duke. You are exceedingly handsome, but it was rude of me to have stared so blatantly.”
Her excuse, more than half sincere, wasn’t a lie.
“I’ve never heard such a straightforward compliment before.”
Surprised, the Grand Duke’s eyes widened, and he rested his chin on his hand, murmuring.
‘How could anyone not compliment such a face?’
