Your Grace, It Was a Mistake! - Chapter 16

“I’m not going to eat you, Vivian.”

“…”

Grand Duke, I think your eyes are saying something very different from your words.

No matter how I looked at him, he had the eyes of a beast eyeing its prey.

“Ha, honestly. Do you have any idea how many years I’ve waited?”

Striding toward me, the Grand Duke picked me up, regardless of whether I flinched or not, and sat me on his lap. He buried his face in my shoulder and took a deep, lingering breath.

“Hng, Grand Du,”

“Stay still.”

The sensation of his breath grazing my skin was so ticklish that I couldn’t stop squirming, but he used his large hand to stroke firmly down my back. A cold shiver ran through my entire body.

Soon after, his lips brushed against the nape of my neck. I trembled. No matter how I thought about it, this felt exactly like being eaten.

“Vivian.”

The Grand Duke’s blue eyes watched me from inches away. I felt utterly helpless and afraid. Whenever he looked at me like that, I felt as if my very soul were being stripped bare.

Unconsciously, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he said with a faint smirk.

The way he brushed back my hair and caressed my cheek was incredibly tender. It made us feel like a real couple.

The conversation the Grand Duke had with the Dowager Duchess was.

My thoughts drifted there for a moment, but I shook my head to clear them. I didn’t want to harbor vain expectations.

There’s no way the Grand Duke truly intends to marry me.

“Vivian, shall we get married?”

“?”

My eyes snapped open reflexively. As I blankly looked up at him, the Grand Duke was smiling softly.

Just now.

“Let’s get married, Vivian.”

“Grand Duke?”

“I told you from the very beginning. The hugging, the kissing; let’s do it all and get married. Don’t you remember?”

W-well, of course I remembered, but you were actually serious?! I could only blink, dumbfounded. It felt like I was trapped in a dream I couldn’t quite comprehend.

“Vivian. Listen closely.”

“…”

“The person I,”

He slowly lowered his head, and our lips overlapped gently.

“The only person I want to do this with,”

The sensation of him lightly licking my upper lip made me gasp, unintentionally opening my mouth.

“Is you, Vivian.”

Immediately, his tongue pushed inside, accompanied by a rush of hot breath.

“Mnh!”

A strange sound escaped my throat. I dug my toes into the sofa and pushed against his shoulders with both hands.

However, he didn’t back down so easily this time. The arm wrapped around my shoulder tightened. Half-reclined on the sofa, I couldn’t move an inch. He explored every corner of my mouth. The feeling of being so forcefully entwined was painful yet strangely intoxicating.

“Haah.”

After licking my gasping lips again, he even gave them a light, playful bite. Startled, I flailed my legs. When I looked up at him with teary eyes, he laughed as if he were enjoying himself.

“You sadist!”

“Hmm?”

“What do you think you’re doing all of a sudden?!”

Slap, slap!

Losing my mind, I began to hit the Grand Duke repeatedly. He stayed still and took the hits with a peculiar expression before speaking.

“That’s refreshing. Do it more.”

“…”

It was so absurd and upsetting that tears began to fall. Was he being serious? Or was he just bullying me?

The Grand Duke watched me quietly for a moment, then leaned down and slowly licked away my tears. When I whined for him to go away, he gave me a quick peck on the lips.

“I haven’t even started bullying you in earnest yet.”

“Sniff; what on earth do you mean by that?”

“It means I’ll bully you even more once we’re married. My cute Vivian.”

My eyes widened. At this point, I was confused as to whether he was being sincere or just teasing. If, just if, he was serious.

“Did you forget what I said before I kissed you?”

“?”

“The only person I want to do things like this with is you.”

I was momentarily speechless. He helped me sit up and then kissed the knuckles of my fingers.

“And the only person I want to put a ring on is you.”

“…”

“Vivian, it might be a bit less than your seven years,”

“…”

“But I’ve liked you for five years.”

My head spun at those words. It felt like a physical blow to the head. It sounded so impossible that I could only move my lips soundlessly.

“T-that makes no sense.”

“Why doesn’t it make sense? The living witness is right here.”

“But the Grand Duke; someone like me.”

The Grand Duke’s silver-grey eyebrows arched. He pulled me into his arms, trapping me, and spoke with a somewhat pouting, dissatisfied expression.

“What do you mean, ‘someone like me’? Where else in the world is there a creature as cute as Vivian?”

“Are you serious?”

“I am completely serious.”

His eyes crinkled into a bright, beaming smile. It was a smile so radiant it felt like it could wear down my eyesight.

“I feel like I’ll go crazy if I hold back any longer, so let’s have the wedding within a week.”

“What?!”

I was shocked by his reckless declaration. A week? Is it even possible to prepare in that time?

“G-Grand Duke. Please calm down for a moment. I think we should start with an engagement first.”

“How bothersome. Is an engagement really necessary?”

“But that’s how everyone does it?”

I had thrown out the idea of an engagement just to calm him down, but my mind was in a state of chaos.

He’s liked me for five years?

It was truly unbelievable. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that this was all a dream. What if I woke up from this sweet dream in an instant?

I’d spend the whole day crying.

“An engagement; true, if we rush things too fast, people might look at us poorly. Though, of course, I’ll just kill anyone who gives us a ‘poor look’.”

“…”

Grand Duke, you’re terrifying.

There’s no way this bloodlust is a dream.

So, was this actually reality? I dazedlly pinched my cheek. Ow, that hurts.

“Fine, let’s compromise and hold the engagement ceremony within a week.”

“I guess so.”

I wanted to say that was also incredibly fast, but his eyes were so intense that the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, I asked the question that had been bugging me.

“Grand Duke, did you really like me for five whole years?”

“You don’t believe me?”

I nodded timidly. At that, the Grand Duke made the most troubled expression I had ever seen on him.

“I wanted to protect you, Vivian.”

He began to speak with a very serious face.

“You were young, and I didn’t want to approach you too hastily. So, I waited.”

He gently stroked my cheek. His hand was warm.

“I heard you’ve liked me for seven years, too. So, who else would you marry if not me? Right?”

He whispered in a seductive voice. Thinking about it, it seemed he was right, so I nodded with flushed cheeks.

Marriage.

Marriage with the Grand Duke! It felt utterly surreal.

“It doesn’t feel real.”

“Is that so?”

“The fact that you liked me and that you proposed to me.”

As I fidgeted with my hands, the Grand Duke smirked. Then, he leaned down and lightly licked my ear!

“Gah! W-what are you doing?! All of a sudden!”

“You said it didn’t feel real, so I’m trying to make it feel real.”

“By licking my ear?!”

“Then how about this?”

This time, he bit my ear. It was just enough to be slightly painful, but for some reason, it felt strange. I pleaded with him as tears pricked my eyes.

“Ah, hng, stop.”

“Ha, I’m going crazy. I want to devour you entirely.”

“Stop biting!”

I slapped his chest hard, and only then did the Grand Duke let me go. My bitten ear felt tingly. I wondered if he had left a tooth mark.

What if someone sees?

I couldn’t raise my head out of embarrassment, but the Grand Duke gently took my chin and lifted it.

“Vivian. By the way, how long are you going to keep calling me ‘Grand Duke’?”

“Huh? That’s.”

His bluish eyes were sparkling with mischief.

“Try calling me by a nickname. You heard it earlier, didn’t you?”

“Ugh!”

Calling the Grand Duke by a nickname! That was impossible! It felt like my last seven years were being denied. Because to me, the Grand Duke was:

A Grand Duke, as high as the heavens and as far as the stars.

Calling someone like that by a nickname? Ugh, I felt like I was doing something wrong!

“We’re getting married soon; of course you should use a nickname. Bibi.”

“Kyaa!”

I jumped at the sudden use of my nickname. Hearing him call me ‘Bibi’ immediately made me think of my dark past.

Bibi Rabbit.

Did the Grand Duke know about the novels written by the pen name Bibi Rabbit? I stole a glance at him. For whatever reason, he looked extremely entertained.

“Say it. My name.”

“Le.”

I summoned my courage to speak, took a deep breath, and tried again.

“Lennox.”

“Good girl.”

Lennox chuckled lowly as he pulled me, now beet-red, into a hug. He nudged me again.

“Now, with a nickname.”

“Ugh, that’s really.”

“What’s wrong with it? Before long, you’ll be crying and calling my name until your voice goes hoarse anyway.”

“Pardon?”

What did that mean? I peeked up at him, and he whispered against my cheek.

“In bed, Vivian.”

“? !”

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in, and when it did, I let out a shriek.

“Aaaaah! Stop saying things like that!”

“It’s going to be a problem if you’re this embarrassed over just that.”

I plan on saying much more, and doing much more. The Grand Duke added with a smile that was nothing short of angelic. I felt like I was about to faint.

“Do you know how long I’ve held back? It’s been five whole years.”

With both arms around me, he showered me with kisses again. I was terrified that I might melt away like ice cream.

“So, let’s try to keep holding back until the day I can properly devour you, Vivian.”

“.”

Many questions flooded my mind: what he liked about me, whether this was a dream or reality. But I couldn’t voice any of them. I constantly felt like I was caught in the fangs of a wolf.

The conversation I’d had with Emma echoed in my head.

Our lady; at this rate, you’ll be eaten before you know it.

E-eaten?

That’s right. The Grand Duke will take you with his fangs, snap!

Emma, what should I do? I’m in real trouble!

Isabel, the Dowager Duchess of Glenn, sat across from her modest husband, sipping tea. Whenever she looked at her husband, she wondered how a man like him could have produced that brat.

Lennox and Lucas were identical in looks, but their personalities were vastly different. Of course, Lucas had a sharp side to him as well. Isabel thought that if human personality had two sides, strong and soft, Lennox seemed to have inherited only the strong traits of both his parents.

Lucas, the former Duke of Glenn, watched his wife’s thoughtful face and asked, “So, is that child in Lennox’s bedroom?”

“I’m telling you. It’s a complete mess of kissing and doting.”

Lucas let out a small cough at his wife’s blunt remark. He recalled the blonde lady he had briefly seen that morning.

A daughter of Count Lewis.

Lucas was just as surprised by the existence of that child Lennox had brought home. What kind of lady could have possibly enchanted that son of his?

Lennox was a very difficult son to parent. He had a flawless personality, did everything perfectly on his own, and almost never made mistakes. He was perfection itself. Other parents would say, “You must be so happy to have such a brilliant son,” but:

He was always a worry. For both me and Isabel.

Perhaps because he was too brilliant, Lennox never looked around him. When he looked at others, he only saw their flaws, so he never liked anyone or built friendships. Even the few acquaintances he had were one-sided relationships where they pursued him.

He has a cold personality that radiates a chill.

On top of that, he was a ruthless battle maniac. Lennox’s combat ability was terrifyingly immeasurable. Even the commander of the Imperial First Knights, considered a legend, stood in awe of him. Naturally, as parents, they couldn’t help but worry.

Will he ever find a partner like that?

A marriage could always be arranged politically, but given Lennox’s personality, they were certain it would be a miserable union. At least, they had thought so until a few hours ago. But then:

To think Knox would actually bring a woman home.

And she seemed to be the exact opposite type from him. Though he’d only seen her briefly, she was tiny compared to Lennox and had a youthful face that hadn’t quite lost its childish charm.

He didn’t bring her here by force, did he?

Lucas grew anxious. Isabel seemed to have met the lady, but she showed no sign of telling him what they had talked about or what had happened. Feeling his wife’s gaze, Lucas finally asked in an anxious voice.

“Isabel. That lady; was it Vivian?”

“Yes. Isn’t her name cute?”

Lucas nodded quietly. It was indeed a name that felt cute and lively. Was her personality like that as well?

“Does it look like Vivian likes Knox? He didn’t just bring her here against her will, right?”

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