ITD

CHAPTER LXlll

Chapter 63
The pen scratched softly against the gold-embellished paper, moving swiftly back and forth.

For over an hour, Courtney had been handwriting responses, declining invitations one by one. No matter how she worded it, each letter essentially conveyed the same refusal. Her head throbbed from trying to vary the phrasing.

Her hand hurt, her shoulder ached, and she was beginning to confuse the names. The letters started to blur together. Courtney glanced up, her gaze shifting to the man occupying the sofa, practically begging for her attention with his entire body. He was a distraction.

She set her pen down and spoke in a cool voice.

“You can sit there all night, but the answer is still no.”

“But why not?” [1]

Richard replied in a sulky tone. He had been hoping to attend the concert at the Seymour County’s residence tomorrow with Courtney, but she had flatly refused.

Courtney didn’t answer immediately, too focused on her task. She folded the letter, now dry, and slipped it into an envelope already addressed. She double-checked to ensure it matched. After all, sending the wrong letter would be a terrible embarrassment. Once satisfied, she sealed the envelope and added it to the growing stack.

It was clear that her work had her full attention, far more than her husband did. Richard felt frustrated, but all he could do was gaze at her with pleading eyes. After a while, Courtney finally responded.

“I need to build relationships with the noblewomen. Having you there won’t help.”

“But what if someone is rude to you…?”

“I’ll be with Madam Berricker. Now, let’s stop talking about this.”

How many times did she need to repeat herself? Courtney’s voice grew firmer, and Richard fell silent, though he still looked unconvinced.

Since their cold war—her one-sided cold war—had ended, Richard had insisted on accompanying her everywhere. Every meal, every spare moment, he appeared in her office without fail. Whether it was to have tea together or to bring her freshly picked flowers, he always had a reason. By now, everyone in the palace knew that the crown prince trailed after his wife like a loyal dog.

Courtney felt less like she was married to a husband and more like she was taking care of a very obedient dog. One that whimpered and refused to eat when its owner wasn’t around. And the strange thing was, she didn’t entirely dislike it—that was the real problem.

She glanced briefly at the closed door and spoke again.

“Richard. Come here.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Richard stood up immediately. Courtney watched him walk over to her desk. Despite the sulky expression on his face, he obeyed perfectly.

“Here.”

As she gestured to her side, Richard obediently circled the desk and stood beside her. He trailed after her like a puppy, completely devoted.

Turning to face him, Courtney crossed her arms and legs, raising her chin as she shot him a sharp look. His eyes instantly darkened with anticipation. What was he hoping for? She had done this on purpose, of course, but his reaction still amused her.

He was obedient, quick to pick up on cues, and attentive. All good traits—but he required too much attention. With an icy tone, she spoke.

“Why do you keep disobeying me?”

“I wasn’t trying to… I was just worried—”

“You’re standing so arrogantly that my neck hurts from looking up at you.”

Richard immediately dropped to his knees. Courtney smirked at the lowered gaze. Cute. Really, he was.

Courtney quickly glanced at the door again. From this angle, no one entering suddenly would see Richard kneeling beneath the desk.

She reached out and gently stroked his neatly styled blonde hair, watching as his eyelids fluttered. Handsome, even after all this time. She never tired of looking at him.

Sometimes, she felt a conflict within herself. On the one hand, she wanted to reveal the truth to the ladies who admired him from afar. She wanted to expose how this handsome prince turned into an incorrigible pervert at her slightest gesture, rising eagerly to her commands. He would strip if she told him to, crawl if she asked.

But on the other hand, she wanted to keep this side of Richard to herself. Not out of possessiveness, but because the thought of anyone else disrespecting him made her furious. Even now, the palace whispers about him grated on her.

If anyone was to belittle him, it would be her—and her alone.

As she toyed with his earlobe, she spoke again.

“If you behave, I’ll reward you when I return. How does that sound?”

“Yes… Thank you.”

His voice was thick with longing. Ever since their second night together, Richard had been in a constant state of desire. Every time he saw her, memories of that night would flood his mind, heating his body.

T/N:

[1] Forgot to say in past chapters, in the Korean language, there’s such a thing as politeness levels to their speech—ranging from informal, polite, and formal—and there’s a variation in speech levels between Courtney and Richard.

Under normal circumstances, Courtney and Richard have been speaking politely to each other, indicating that they’re on the same level (even before they got married). But in the bedroom, Richard starts talking deferentially to Courtney with the formal speech level, while Courtney either stays polite or starts speaking informally.

Here, while Courtney’s ignoring Richard’s lowkey begging, Courtney’s staying polite while Richard has switched to the formal level, even while they’re not in the bedroom.

I’m not very sure how I should convey this in English because there’s no speech levels here, but I’ll try my best. ↩