Duke, Please Stop Because it Hurts

Molitia shook her head slowly. Raven then smoothed over her dishevelled hair, which made her close her eyes at that gentle touch of his.

At that moment, the running carriage had finally come to a stop. As soon as the clopping of the hooves had ceased, the coachman’s words followed after.

“We have already arrived at the Duchy.”

“Such a good timing.”

He gazed upon her half-closed eyes before exiting the carriage first. Immediately after that, he reached out his hand for her.

Molitia tried moving her upper body while looking at him with such baffling eyes.

“Raven…”

Raven raised his eyebrows, as though he was questioning if anything was wrong. Her face flared up immediately when she saw the butler and the maid who were already standing right behind him.

Raven gave a faint sigh as he saw how Molitia was barely leaning against the seat.

He recalled the incident when they were at the wedding hall, where she couldn’t even speak that properly. If it hurts, just say that it hurts. But then, she was so desperate not to be a burden just for standing upright that she had then rooted herself in place.

The same issue was true even now. All she had to do was to ask for some help, but still, she couldn’t do that at all. Raven entered the carriage again for her—just like back then.

“Raven?”

When her sound of surprise had reached his ears, he quickly leaned back before embracing her. Startled by his sudden behaviour, she instantly gave a struggle, but alas, his grasp on her was much stronger.

“I’ll be alright in just a little while.”

“Really? That’s just great. If I carry you all the way, you’ll definitely be fine once we reach the bedroom.”

She clamped her lips at Raven’s nonchalant words. How could he be so calm? He seemed rather different from his usual cold demeanor.

However, she wasn’t the only one who was surprised at the moment Molitia came out, snuggled in his arms. The maids and butler who were standing by had also looked at the couple in astonishment.

“What can I do for you? Did Her Grace hurt herself?”

With a voice that exuded sheer concern, Molitia couldn’t bear to lift her face up. If she were to peek into those eyes of his, her flushed face would definitely be dripping with shame—just like a stream of red water.

“It’s nothing like that. I’ll carry her to the bedroom, so make sure to pack up her things in the carriage.”

“Understood.”

Raven quickly moved inside, leaving behind the butler who responded as he bowed his head. It was all because he didn’t want Molitia to feel even the slightest breeze of the cold wind.

***

A True Ally

Ever since Molitia had first entered society as the Duchess, minor changes had started to transpire within the duchy itself.

All of the Duke’s servants were suddenly given a ‘bonus’ to each and every one, for the first time in their lives. Although they were tasked with stable jobs with quite a high pay, the workplace didn’t offer them anything beyond that.

The amount that had been granted wasn’t small either. Of course, no one had displayed such dislike towards the sudden stroke of fortune. The benefits were bestowed towards all of the Duke’s servants, which included Lili and Pillen as well.

This was decided solely by Raven in order to not condescend over the maids who looked after Molitia, but only a few who actually knew of this truth.

Raven had also given out an order to the duchy, which specifically stated the ban of a specific person, ‘Lyn’ from entering. Lyndon had bawled over the injustice of it, but Raven still proceeded with his decision.

He had always been accompanied by Terrance and Lyndon to the duchy, but now, Terrance was his sole aide. This therefore, explained everything.

He kept his promise to present her with gifts every single day. The duchy was immediately thrown into a whirlpool of confusion when he first returned home with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

It was because the person who didn’t quite complement those flowers, had brought it with an attitude that was all too calm. In the beginning, Molitia was ecstatic as the first-ever bouquet she received from him was completely crushed due to his own actions when they were in the carriage before.