The Dragon Duke's Wife - Chapter 28
“She’s coming from across the sea. It’s not a short distance, did you really think she’d come as soon as she said so?”
“If it’s Lady Eleanor, crossing the sea wouldn’t be difficult for her at all. She’s likely taking her time to travel. She did contact us more than two weeks ago, right?”
Niro said this while pouring the tea. Ancia remembered the letter envelope she had seen in Khalid’s study.
“If that’s the case, you should have told me. I wasn’t prepared at all…”
She couldn’t hide her confusion. Khalid spoke casually, as though it wasn’t a big deal.
“No need to prepare anything. Don’t bother with hosting her. She’ll probably stay for a few days, meet some of the people here, and then leave.”
“That’s not possible. She’s your only cousin, the only direct relative you have.”
Khalid looked at Niro. Niro politely responded.
“I did mention it.”
“Did you?”
“If I knew… is that something I shouldn’t have mentioned?”
“There’s nothing you can’t know. You’re the Duchess, after all.”
He said it like it was nothing. Ancia bit her lower lip. If he had said, “You’re my wife,” it would have made her feel a lot better. But his words sounded more like something she needed to know in order to manage the affairs of the Duke’s household.
Khalid didn’t seem to notice her discomfort. After a brief pause, he sat there drinking his tea, and then, without fully hiding his irritation, shook his head.
“You’re right. Until you bear me a child, Ellen is the only direct relative and heir to the title of Duke of Velados. It’s just a formality, so there’s no need to worry about it, but if it concerns you, you can handle it however you like.”
“I understand.”
Ancia answered, still feeling a bit uneasy.
Khalid’s tone didn’t sound as willing as when he gave her authority over the mansion. The words “until you bear me a child” bothered her too. That word, “only,” made her heart tighten, even though she had said it first.
He was right. She was still a temporary Duchess, and until she bore him a child and gave him a family, his only family would be that woman, Eleanor.
“If Ellen makes things difficult, make sure to tell me.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your dignity isn’t compromised. After all, it’s my first time hosting a guest.”
“Guest? Just do it casually. No need for any formalities. There’s no need to worry about appearances with Ellen.”
His tone was rough, but it didn’t seem to carry an intense dislike. Ancia felt strangely conflicted.
As Khalid spoke about Eleanor, he had a youthful expression that Ancia had never seen before.
Khalid stood up first, saying he had business to attend to. Ancia asked Niro to bring her paper and a pen and began making notes of the things needed to prepare for the guest’s arrival.
“First, we’ll need a place for her to stay… Then, food supplies. If she’s traveled such a long distance, she likely packed light, so she might need clothes as well.”
“Lady Eleanor doesn’t require many things. But since you’ll need winter clothes for yourself, perhaps you could ask to bring some along for her as well.”
“No, my winter clothes are fine. I already have six fur coats.”
“What about riding clothes? The Duke enjoys winter hunting. It might be nice for you two to go together.”
“I don’t know how to ride.”
Riding was probably part of the noblewoman’s education, Ancia thought, adding another item to the list of things she needed to learn, though she sighed inwardly. Niro smiled broadly.
“The Duke’s horses are very strong. A lady’s weight won’t be a problem for them.”
“I’m just not in the best shape lately.”
Khalid had suggested a few times that she should learn to ride, but Ancia refused, not feeling confident enough to do something that might cause her discomfort.
Thinking about it, it had been almost two months since their marriage, and the only things they had done together were indulge in each other’s bodies, laze around in bed, and drink tea a couple of times a week.
Ancia knew Khalid enjoyed hunting and horseback riding, but she hadn’t dared to try and keep up with him.
Did Khalid know what she liked? He probably knew that when he sucked on her n*****s and rubbed his tongue against the inside of her gums, it made her moan. But he probably didn’t know that, sometimes, she wrote poetry in her mind.
The time they shared outside of the bed was so little, and that thought made her feel uneasy.
“If I had the time, I’d give the mansion a proper makeover, but there’s no time for a full cleaning. For now, I’ll focus on the lobby and the front garden… But where should we arrange her stay? Do you think there’ll be time to clean the guesthouse?”
“It’ll be difficult within two days. Don’t worry about the guesthouse, we can just have her stay in the main house.”
“…Alright. If she’s staying longer, we can move her to the guesthouse later.”
Ancia sighed quietly. She kept mentioning the guesthouse to make it clear that Eleanor was a guest and not family, but it was too late to prepare it.
She understood that Khalid, on the other hand, thought of Eleanor as family and felt that it was fine to treat her casually.
