Duke, Is This Your First Time?

Chapter 37

***

Elysia stared blankly at her own face through his intense golden eyes.

Who is that silly-looking woman with her eyes wide open in confusion?

Her eyes unknowingly lowered in embarrassment. Then they were trained on Iker’s mouth, which was closed loosely.

The manly and attractive lips, which were neither thin nor thick, even its colour was just perfect. Moreover, it looked moist.

Elysia thought it was the most perfect lips she had ever seen to be owned by a man.

Obviously, it was the same in other places, but that one part was just it for her.

In the past, she only thought of him as a handsome political opponent, so she just brushed it off, but once he started to look at him, she kept paying attention to every detail of him.

She believed it was the reason. If she kept looking at this man, she felt a lust that she never had before.

It was the moment her instinctive desire that rose from the depths of her body was about to derange her rationality and brought dizziness to her head.

The firm arms that were wrapped around her waist suddenly released, causing the cool air to rush in. Along with that familiar line.

“Oh, please excuse my behavior.”

The discourtesy of this guy. She wondered how much impoliteness he had committed all these times.

Elysia, who was mentally complaining as she had a hard time memorizing all of it, suddenly stiffened.

She was supposed to be glad that he released her before she protested, but what is this regrettable feeling that crept up to her chest?

‘I think I’ve gone crazy.’

She bit her lip at the embarrassment that surged through her heart and quickly released her lips again when she saw Iker reaching out to her, knowing her habit had bothered him.

Then, his low laughter erupted.

“The Marquess certainly learns fast. But this time, your guess is wrong.”

“Pardon me?”

Elysia looked up at Iker in bewilderment upon hearing his remark, saying that he didn’t intend to touch her lips. He reached out to her as if he was going to escort her.

“Give me your hand.”

“……?”

Elysia put her hand on his while wondering mentally.

She felt strange when the man’s smooth and elongated fingers wrapped around the back of her hand and palm, as if he had been waiting to do it.

Rather than being worried or anxious, the feeling of anticipation was rising slightly. What else is he going to do?

‘When did she start trusting a man like this?’

Elysia, who was attacked by a question she didn’t have an answer to, was startled by the cool texture brushing the skin on her finger.

Iker was putting a ring on her middle finger. The ring was gold with a hint of red in it.

Elysia soon regained her composure as the flood of embarrassment surged through her.

This man has not been selfish enough to put the ring with an attached emotional feeling in the other person’s finger without checking their intention, as he also knew what she has gone through.

Assuming that he would have given her the ring for a reason, she deliberately asked in a mischievous voice.

“What is this ring for? You’re not going to propose to me out of the blue, are you?”

“Will you accept it if I do?”

“Absolutely not if you do it with just a ring like this.”

“That’s a good piece of advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Reacting to Elysia’s joke, Iker gently pushed in the ring through the tip of her finger.

What surprised her was the fact that the ring, which seemed a little loose at first, could shrink according to the size of her finger as soon as he took his hand off.

“This ring has magic in it.”

Iker nodded as Elysia looked at the ring in awe.

“There’s magic in it that prevents the side effects of Heris. Wear it from now on.”

She was surprised again. It’s a ring that prevents the side effects of Heris. But there was another surprising fact.

“It’s made personally by the master of the magic tower, so you can trust its effectiveness.”

Only after hearing him did Elysia realize that this ring was the thing Iker asked Karzen to make.

At the same time, it reminded her of Karzen’s words that she heard a moment ago.

[Our Marquess should know about it, shouldn’t she? What you have done for her.]

[Fine. I’m just grateful that you cleared up my debt. It’s the debt that I have to pay even if you give the magic tower to me.]

Elysia’s purple eyes narrowed.

According to what she heard today, Iker had cleared up the debt owed by Karzen in exchange for being the false witness and this ring.

It must be a huge debt that he was even willing to do anything for it, not just a normal debt.

‘Why does he even bother to do such things for me?’

If Iker only wanted her body, he wouldn’t have saved her from today’s conference. He would have ran and hugged her even when she stayed still.

But he didn’t do that. He actually said this.

[Therefore, talk to me when you really want to borrow it, I’ll be waiting for you.]

A hot and enormous lump of desire was apparent on his lower abdomen. Even so, he said he would wait until she truly wanted him.

‘Does he really want my heart?’

She would be able to figure it out if Iker was someone she didn’t see frequently instead. He might have seen somewhere before and had her in his mind ever since then.

However, they have been at odds with each other for as long as two years in the parliament.

During that period, she had never thought he would see her as a woman. She never felt that way either.

‘Is it because I’m his first? It’s because for most people, the person they shared their first time with means a lot to them.’

Drowning in confusion, Elysia thought it’s better to ask about the debt Karzen mentioned earlier.

She was curious about how he felt about her, but she thought it would be difficult to ask that kind of question.

If he said no when she asked that, the shame would be hers to take.

‘Right, let’s get what I can bite first. Might as well say thanks while we’re at it.’

She really needed the ring that prevented the side effects of Helis, so Elysia must thank him with all sincerity.

“Your Excellency, I’m very grateful for the ring. And there’s something I want to ask…….”

“If that’s about what Kar said, then I’ll pass. The Marquess doesn’t need to be concerned about that.”

Iker blinked his elegantly and stopped Elysia from asking ahead of time.

But it wasn’t like Elysia to drop it so easily.

“I cannot let it slide. He said you paid off the debt that he couldn’t have paid completely even with the magic tower. How can you expect me to leave it?”

“It was a debt that had nothing to do with me. It was something that was forcefully passed to him.”

When Elysia heard the answer, she was mentally astonished.

‘So His Excellency wasn’t related to the debt, but the master of the magic tower. How the h*ll did he make that debt on his own and transfer it to His Excellency’s hand?’

Although she was curious about what happened between them, it wasn’t her business to ask, so she spoke again.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t change the fact that I owe you a lot. For today’s conference and this ring.”

Elysia paused for a moment to look at Iker with a serious gaze.

“Let me know if you ever want anything as a trade from me. I will do whatever I can for you. Oh, except politically related-stuff, of course.”

She meant it. She even would follow him without a single complaint if he asked her to sleep with him right now.

But Iker’s response was also beyond her expectations.

“What I want from the Marquess…… is only one thing, but it’s not something that the Marquess can give me now.”

His lips were soft and white, and raised her hand, where the ring was put on and brought it to his face, and then his slightly opened mouth.

Elysia was surprised and stiffened as she was when the back of her hand brushed the warm and soft lips.

His intense and piercing look turned to her.

His hot and sensual gaze sent shivers down her spine. Starting from where his lips landed, the skin on her whole body became sensitive.

Iker’s voice whispered in Elysia’s ear as she unconsciously swallowed into her parched throat.

“Then let me call you Elly. Only when we are alone.”

***

The current emperor of the empire, Ursia Ruke Chermann, was sitting in the desk chair in his office, pondering on his own.

It was all thanks to his youngest son, Rashian, who paid him a visit a while ago.

It was already a surprise that the child, who had been training by himself quietly, suddenly came and crouched down before him, but what was even more surprising was his request.

[Please appoint Marquess Camellia as my shooting teacher.]

It’s no other than Marquess Camellia, the leader of the nobility.

Of course, he was well-aware that Marquess Camellia has an excellent shooting skill. The shooting teacher who taught her used to be his shooting teacher when he was young.

The emperor remembered that he was so happy to have such a talented disciple in his later years.

The man, who had always criticized him for his lack of talent, unexpectedly praised the young Marquess Camellia, therefore he had a wicked thought of revoking the Marquess’ gun license several times.

‘If he resembles me, he wouldn’t have much talent in shooting anyway.’

The sullen emperor clicked his tongue and shifted his thoughts back to Marquess Camellia again.

If she was simply the leader of the nobility, there would be nothing to worry about. He would have thought it was a great opportunity to get acquainted with her and agree to his son’s request without wasting time.

But there was the Duke Russet behind Marquess Camellia.

To say it more precisely, Marquess Camellia is under the control of Duke Russet.

‘That means I should have moved a little faster at that time.’

The emperor began to tap the armrest of the chair with his pointed finger. It was a habit that occurred whenever he got lost in his thoughts.

When Duke Russet began to incorporate the nobles of the aristocratic faction with the Veramus Organization on his back, the previous Marquess of Camellia tried to escape the aristocratic faction with a small number of followers behind her.

Upon learning the gathered information, the emperor asked Iker for help. So that they could make it out safely and return to being neutral.

However, he didn’t expect Duke Russet would proceed with his plan sooner than he thought. He didn’t expect him (Duke Russet) to gobble up the Marquis of Camellia that fast.

Duke Russet eventually made the aristocratic faction his own and claimed the only successor of the Camellia Family, Elysia Camellia.

In a way, he had lost the rumble against Duke Russet.

Even then, he couldn’t tell Elysia Camellia the truth. If he did one thing wrong, he might lose the current Marquess of Camellia, just like losing the previous one.

There’s no way they would send a child who was not even ready to fight yet to the battlefield, right?

So he simply watched. Marquess Camellia, and her move.

Luckily, the young Marquess Camellia was very clever and bold, perhaps resembling her mother.

She was able to stabilize the family and gather support from the noble families who followed the Camellia Family. At this rate, it didn’t look too difficult to regain back the power they once had.

However, if she thought that she could get out of Duke Russet’s control, that’s not the case at all.

It wasn’t enough yet. Even if he helped her.

In this situation, Rashian asked Marquess Camellia to be his shooting teacher, therefore the emperor couldn’t help but to think.

He couldn’t figure out the meaning behind his youngest son’s request.

‘What to do……’

While the emperor was thinking, the voice of the head attendant came from outside the office.

“Your Majesty, Duke Deimos has come to visit. I will take him in.”

As soon as the door of the hall opened, the emperor’s finger, which had been tapping continuously on the armrest of the chair, finally came to a halt.