Adeline returned to the toilette room feeling nauseous.
No matter what she said, it was clear the Duke was intent on presenting her at the banquet.
‘To be displayed in such attire.’
Overwhelmed with emotion, Adeline’s hands trembled as she clutched the hem of her dress.
The room was still filled with dresses for her to try on.
Adeline didn’t have the chance to notice anyone else entering the room; she was too lost in her thoughts.
‘Mocking me?’
Madame Violetta seemed offended by Adeline’s actions.
She stopped measuring the dress for alterations and reproached Adeline.
“Oh, my Lady. You shouldn’t clutch the dress like that. You may not realize it, but this is a delicate fabric that even a commoner couldn’t afford in a lifetime.”
Her words clearly implied that a commoner, now the Duke’s concubine, was out of her element wearing such extravagant dresses.
However, Adeline couldn’t argue with Violetta; after all, she was currently portraying the commoner Del.
“Madame. Can we raise the neckline a bit?”
Adeline tried to calm her rising anger and requested a design modification, hoping at least Madame Violetta might accommodate her if she couldn’t persuade the insane Duke.
At Adeline’s request, Madame Violetta, scanning her from head to toe, responded.
“Normally, a lady from a noble house would prefer a more modest outfit. But aren’t you a concubine?”
Violetta’s fan hid her smugly curled lips.
“A concubine’s virtue is to please the Duke’s eyes. How about this one? It’s the latest style in the brothels.”
With a snap of her fan, Violetta signaled the staff to dress Adeline in the outfit she indicated.
Far from accommodating her request, Violetta was suggesting even more revealing attire.
Adeline trembled with humiliation.
She was appalled at the last dress, even more revealing than the others.
“A splendid design, isn’t it? This is one I’ve been unable to offer to the noblewomen I usually serve.”
Violetta showcased a design that left the shoulders bare and cut daringly low at the back and chest.
“From the shoulders to the back and down to the collarbone line. It’s optimized to reveal a slender figure.”
As Violetta enthusiastically described her dress, the Duke casually entered the toilette room.
Approaching Adeline, he took his place beside her and caressed her back.
“My Del’s back and waistline are exceptionally beautiful.”
Snap.
With each glide of the Duke’s large hand, small buttons popped off one by one. Adeline hastily grabbed his hand.
“Your Grace. This is!”
“Hush. Haven’t you agreed to please me? If you disappoint me, I might not be able to hold back. My Del.”
It was a clear threat.
Though it seemed affectionate on the surface, it was a warning that if she didn’t fulfill her role as a concubine, he could easily throw her to the Duke or the Crown Prince.
Adeline had no recourse in this space, only to watch as the buttons rolled away.
“Only by revealing this much can I highlight the beauty of my Del. Right, Madame?”
As if seeking confirmation, the Duke turned Adeline around to display her back to Violetta.
“Exquisite, Your Grace. We should lower the neckline to match the back.”
To the Duke’s demand, Violetta suggested even more exposure.
Like a mannequin, Adeline was helplessly subjected to this ordeal, trembling with humiliation, only felt by the Duke holding her.
“Ah, my Del looks beautiful even when unclothed, but let’s leave the rest to Madame.”
At the Duke’s command, Madame Violetta’s lips curled up on one side.
“I’ll present a design that won’t disappoint you, Your Grace.”
After leaving a kiss on Adeline’s forehead, the Duke exited the toilette room.
The designer, witnessing this, was itching to spread the tale of the concubine who drove the cold-hearted Duke mad.
Adeline later learned that this designer was chosen for her loose tongue.
Exhausted from the dress fitting, Adeline headed to her usual guest room.
However, upon entering, she was greeted by an empty room.
Her belongings and clothes were gone.
Startled, Adeline stopped a passing maid.
“Where have all my things from this room gone?”
The maid, looking at the empty room, gave Adeline a smile.
“Your bedroom has been prepared elsewhere. I’ll guide you there.”
Adeline followed the maid, deep in thought.
It had only been a few days since her arrival, yet a bedroom was already prepared.
Surely, Cassius was behind this.
As Adeline sighed, the leading maid stopped.
“Here it is.”
Adeline blinked in surprise at the sight of the bedroom.
Then she called out to the maid who was leaving.
“Wait. This is my bedroom?”
“Yes, the Duke said you would be staying here from now on.”
‘Impossible.’
Adeline couldn’t hide her astonishment.
The maid had led her to none other than the Duke’s bedroom.
Sharing a bedroom with Cassius was unheard of, even among married nobility, let alone an unofficial concubine.
Seeing her belongings already arranged, Adeline chuckled cynically.
Cassius planned to keep her under watch even at night.
“Where is the Duke now?” she asked, her voice quivering.
“Why are you looking for me?”
A familiar voice came from behind. Adeline quickly turned around.
“I want a separate bedroom, Your Grace.”
“A separate one? This bed is large enough for both. Why separate?”
He smiled slyly, as if expecting her fiery response.
Infuriated by his brazen attitude, Adeline fumed.
“No! It’s inappropriate for me to share a bedroom with you.”
“Del, you seem to forget. We already shared a bed at the lodge.”
“That was…!”
Adeline was at a loss for words.
“I’m moving back to the guest room,” she declared, starting to pack.
“The guest room? That’s not a place for you.”
“Then I’ll go to the servants’ quarters.”
“The maids’ quarters?”
“Yes. Everyone here thinks I’m a commoner anyway.”
Cassius laughed heartily at her response, then swiftly wrapped his arms around her waist.
Adeline, helplessly enduring the ordeal like a mannequin, trembled with humiliation, a feeling only the Duke holding her could sense.
“The maids will certainly welcome you. It will be quite the talk. A clueless commoner concubine staying in the maids’ quarters without considering their inconvenience,” the Duke mocked.
Adeline stood agape at his sarcastic words.
The Cassius with regained memory was nothing like the gentle Mel.
He cornered Adeline with such sharp words, feigning affection one moment and then being so cutting.
“What shall I do? Shall I move your bedroom to the maids’ quarters as you wish?”
Adeline, witnessing Cassius’s chilling smile, pushed his hands away and stepped back from him.
“Showing the concubine running to the Duke’s call every night wouldn’t be bad either.”
“You’re cruel! How much more will you torment me?” Adeline recalled Cassius, pretending to be a loving partner in front of designer Violetta and the maids, only to torment her when they were alone.
Adeline shuddered at the Duke’s changing gaze when they were by themselves.
“Cruel? You don’t know what cruelty is, my Del.”
He approached her, lifted her in his arms, and laid her on the bed.
Then, he climbed over her and restrained her hands.
“Keep talking if you want to see something even more cruel.”
“…….”
“You’re my concubine. You have duties to fulfill as one.”
He leaned close to Adeline, stopping just short of touching her.
“So you have a duty to warm my bed every night. I’ll be expecting you, my Del.”
After whispering in her ear, he stood up and quickly left the bedroom.
Adeline, watching him leave, exhaled a heavy breath.
‘Ha.’
Her eyes reddened from the endless coercion of Mel, now a completely changed man.
It was too much for her, only wanting to escape the Crown Prince.
The Duke she encountered again here was a completely different person.
Should she have never come to the Duke of Thorpeio’s territory?
Regret overwhelmed Adeline, and she buried her face deep in the pillow.
Silently, so that no one could hear, her shoulders shook as she swallowed her tears.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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