If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties - Chapter 95

Leonhart approached him with a smooth gait.

Nihir jumped up from his seat, but their eye levels remained the same, whether he was seated or standing.

Under the Duke’s gaze that bore down at him from above, Nihir bit his lip and lifted his chin.

‘Those d*mned Imperial b*stards, you’re nothing but uselessly big.’

He really disliked it that everyone looked downwards at him.

When Nihir showed signs of displeasure, the guards standing behind him unsheathed their daggers and raised them.

“If you don’t want to die, don’t draw it.”

That was, until Leonhart gave them a short order in Bashal language.

The escorts were also one the best warriors from Bashal.

The difference in skills between them and their opponent was already sufficiently gauged.

Under the duke’s momentum, they were in a dilemma while holding the handle of their daggers.

Because of that, shame appeared on Nihir’s face instead.

“I’ve read the letter that the chieftain had personally written. I’ve also made my intentions clear in my reply, so I would like to know what have you made a trip all the way here for.”

Chieftain, he said. Nihir was embarrassed by the way Leonhart called him, which didn’t seem to recognise him as family.

“Well, are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“No, I know, but I need confirmation for procedural reasons, so I asked.”

“And what’s that?”

“If the reason that I’m thinking of is correct, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to allow you to remain in this castle.”

“W, what…”

“I’ll keep this short.”

Leonhart continued with a cold gaze.

“I think my wife has entertained you as a guest sufficiently, so it’ll be better if you returned back now.”

“Duke Esbaden!”

As he screamed, Nihir’s face was so red that he wondered if he could get any redder.

“If you kick me out like this, you’ll definitely regret it!”

“Regret?”

Leonhart let out a brief, mocking laugh.

“You’re the one that’ll regret it.”

His blue eyes seemed to emit an aura colder than the winter sea as they remained trained on him.

“I’m being quite patient right now. Because you’re my wife’s blood relative.”

That was the truth.

Leonhart felt rather displeased at the uninvited guest’s arrival.

It’s because Dooha’s blood relative, who was before him, seemed to be a person that’s much more terrible than he’d imagined.

He had a sly countenance and seemed to be without a shred of courage.

Other than the unusual hair colour, he couldn’t seem to find any part of him that resembled Dooha.

‘How was such a man born from the same womb as my wife?’

Well, he was dissatisfied from the beginning.

He was so furious when he received a letter of divorce while he was busy cleaning up Paul’s mess.

How dare he talk about divorce before him?

“You seem to have come to meet my wife because you weren’t able to persuade me, but it’s useless.”

Leonhart lifted a corner of his mouth and he continued.

“Even if you managed to persuade my wife to ask for a divorce, I will never divorce her.”

Why?

Nihir frowned like he couldn’t understand it at all.

“Why on earth are you adamant on continuing this marriage? I heard that the duke disliked this marriage.”

He couldn’t understand why Leonhart was so obsessed with his sister.

“I’d mentioned in the letter that if you divorced my sister, you’d surely gain without suffering any loss.”

The fourth prince had promised to grant a portion of the fertile granaries in the center of the empire, which was under his rule, if the duke agreed to the divorce.

He’d even made an oath to recognise the autonomy of the Esbaden duchy if he became the next emperor.

After reading Nihir’s expression, Leonhart slowly lowered his gaze.

‘Without close examination, it’s obvious.’

He’s already making promises in the capacity of an emperor, before he even became the emperor.

It’s evident that he must have given Nihir indefinite promises and threatened him that the Duchess of Esbaden must be handed over to him at all costs.

That’s why Nihir came to his wife like a colt, despite receiving his refusal letter.

“No matter what conditions I’m offered, my decision will never change. So, return back while I’m still speaking nicely. Before I reach the end of my patience.”

“Duke Esbaden…….”

“And if you pay another visit to my wife again without a single word of notice as discourteously as you’d done so today,”

Leonhart’s voice lowered even further.

“At that time, I won’t let it slide like how I’m doing now.”

Nihir faltered and backed away at the duke’s bone-chilling momentum.

The shoulders of the warriors that were escorting him trembled in astonishment.

“Baron.”

Leonhart ignored Nihir, who was staring at him without saying anything, and called for his lieutenant.

At his summons, Baron, who was waiting outside the dining hall, walked in unfalteringly.

“Escort the chieftain to the gate.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Baron and his knights stood in front of Nihir’s party.

Nihir’s face turned pale as Baron, who was larger than the Duke, approached.

“Let’s go.”

The knights surrounded Nihir and his escorts.

When Baron tried to grab his arm, Nihir quickly shook it off and shouted.

“Don’t touch me! I’ll walk out with my own feet!”

Nihir walked with a furious expression.

The moment he walked past Dooha, who was standing near the door, he whispered lowly in the Bashal language.

“You’re always so incredibly lucky.”

“That’s right, I’m different from someone that has neither skills nor luck.”

“You d*mn lass, let’s see how long you can do whatever you want.”

Dooha glared at her brother silently, and he also glared back at his sister before leaving the dining hall.

“How troublesome.”

As she stared at the door Nihir went through, she heard Leonhart’s voice right behind her.

He, who’d approached Dooha before she knew it, was staring down at her.

“My wife is a human, and not a flower, so why are there so many flies?”

Leonhart bent his neck in both directions like he was rather exhausted.

“You don’t have to pay attention to what your brother said.”

“But the fourth prince……”

“Don’t mind that either. As you know, he has more than one or two weak points, and he’ll succeed the Emperor’s throne over my dead body.”

Dooha lowered her head as she listened to the duke’s words.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What is there for you to be sorry about?”

“It’s just.”

She felt apologetic for everything, for her brother, who’d acted rudely, the fourth prince, who was crazy for women, and the duke, who had to suffer because of her.

“Well, if those things are worth being sorry for, shouldn’t I be more apologetic?”

“Why?”

“After all, he’s a member of your family.”

Leonhart examined her expression carefully.

“I should have treated him more politely.”

“No, you did well. I never thought of that punk as a member of my family.”

Dooha’s face turned dark as she drew the line firmly.

Even since her coming of age ceremony was held, she’d never considered Nihir a part of her family.

Although she’d once craved sibling affection, the past was only in the past.

Now, the only feelings left in her for Nihir was contempt and anger.

“Alright.”

Leonhart grinned as he picked up a handful of her hair that flowed down her chest.

“You only need me as your family.”

Dooha couldn’t help but look at him dazedly.

Family.

Yes, the duke was her family.

Before he became the first man in her heart, they were spouses, bound together by the system of marriage.

“…That’s right.”

Dooha nodded with a faint smile.

“It’s enough.”

“Oh, but now that I think about it,”

Just then, Leonhart came closer like he’d discovered a grave secret and whispered in her ear.

“I think we should have a successor.”

“…you said that you’re all that I need as a family member.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have more people around us?”

What’s this?

Dooha tried to hold back her laughter and asked.

“So what are you trying to say?”

“What I meant was, let’s both make efforts mutually so that our marriage is recognised by everyone.”

They are married anyway due to the alliance, so that the absurd words of ‘divorce’ can never appear again.

Dooha eventually burst into laughter at Leonhart’s serious expression.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but do you know that it’s rather vapid when you seduce someone openly?”

Leonhart’s eyebrows rose and dropped embarrassedly as she laughed.

You’ve never seduced someone.

Leonhart was also embarrassed to speak words that he’d never thought of in front of Dooha.

He asked back with furrowed brows.

“Is that why you don’t like it?”

“Who said I didn’t like it?”

Dooha pulled her husband by the collar and raised her chin.

“If a man is seducing me, he should take responsibility.”

* * *

After the uninvited guests’ untimely disturbance, time truly went by peacefully and tranquilly in the Esbaden castle.

Except for one place.

“No wait, did you come back early in order to do this?”

“Of course.”

As soon as Leonhart returned from monster subjugation, he threw off his armour, picked up the Duchess, who came to receive him, and headed straight into the bedroom.

Thanks to this, the numerous knights and servants that were waiting to receive him, including the head maid, couldn’t hide their embarrassment.

Dooha grumbled as she pushed him down on the bed while hugging him.

“Aren’t you tired? You just came back from the subjugation…….”

“You should be well aware about my stamina.”

Leonhart smiled while burying his face underneath his wife’s collarbone.

“Or did you bring it up because you wanted to test that?”

* * *