Droit du Seigneur: His Lordship's Right of the First Night - Chapter 30
Mildred would have loved this kind of treat.
If Louise were at home, the soft cream, which she would never have thought to reserve for herself while taking care of her sister, melted smoothly on her tongue.
‘It’s delicious.’
She realized for the first time how much she liked such treats.
When she first arrived at the castle, she didn’t even know her own preferences, so discovering her tastes felt quite new.
As she ate the cake, Louise watched Richard at work. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, with his back to her, while a long table piled high with documents occupied the narrow space beside the bed.
With each of his movements, the firm contours of his body became visible beneath his white shirt, causing Louise to blush slightly. One of the first things she realized while living with him was her vulnerability to a man’s appearance
Richard was a man whose good looks were hard to describe with mere words. The blend of his indifferent expression with his meticulously sculpted, sturdy face often left Louise’s heart pounding and her cheeks flushed. Sometimes, even when alone, thinking of him felt like a fierce wave crashing over her or a chill wind blowing through her chest.
As she pondered these strange feelings while watching his back, Richard suddenly turned to her.
“Is there something on my back?”
“……!”
Startled by his low voice, Louise wondered how he knew she had been looking at him when he couldn’t see behind him.
Caught in his gaze, she quickly sought an excuse.
“Um, I was just curious.”
She knew it was a foolish excuse, but she hastily pointed to the bottle of alcohol beside him, the same label he was drinking when they first met.
It seemed to be his favorite drink. Richard picked up the bottle, seemingly surprised.
“This?”
“Yes, I’ve heard drinking makes you feel good, so I wondered if that was true…”
“Not particularly. It helps a bit when I can’t sleep or when something is bothering me.”
“Can I try some?”
“This is too strong for you. If you want a drink, I can have something else brought from the kitchen.”
“No, I want to try this.”
Driven more by curiosity about his experience than a genuine desire to drink, Louise impulsively pleaded.
Richard, after a moment’s hesitation, poured a small amount into a glass, barely enough to cover the bottom.
Disappointed by the small quantity, Louise looked up at him, but his stern look made her give up and take the glass.
“…Hic!”
After downing the contents, her throat burned intensely, bringing tears to her eyes as she coughed. Richard clicked his tongue as if to say, “I told you so,” but still handed her a glass of water from the room.
The fiery sensation lingered in her esophagus, and her stomach felt as if it was burning for a while. However, as the heat subsided, a different sensation took over.
Her body felt as light as a feather, floating on a fluffy cloud, or it was like she was dreaming. Her mind became slow and hazy, yet she felt relaxed and eager to spill her thoughts without any filter.
Counting in her head to stay focused, she noticed Richard carefully observing her face.
“Are you okay?”
“It was tough at first, but… I feel quite good now. I think I understand why Helio liked drinking so much…
“……”
“Oh! Helio is my, um…”
Realizing her slip, she tried to cover it up quickly.
“If my brother finds out you deceived him, he’ll likely kill you and your family.”
She couldn’t let Richard discover the truth about the proxy consummation. Yet, as Richard continued to stare at her impassively, he raised a hand to stop her.
“That’s enough. Go to sleep.”
With that, he turned his attention back to his papers, and silence filled the room. Louise still felt dizzy, her vision wavering between clear and blurry. Richard’s side profile, strong and chiseled like a marble statue, appeared and disappeared as she blinked.
In that moment, she confronted a personal desire she had always pushed aside in favor of her family’s needs.
“My lord.”
The man in front of her perfectly matched her taste, far beyond any sweet dessert, tea, book, or painting. Once she left the castle after two months, she knew she would never see him again, and their time together would become nothing more than a dreamlike memory.
So, just once in her life, she wondered if it was okay to be a little selfish. To create a deep memory she could cherish forever…
The light intoxication encouraged her to finally express her honest feelings.
