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Chapter 61
#8. Being a Married Couple
Richard went to the Imperial Palace. Elisha saw the delicious food set before her eyes.
Freshly baked bread, deliciously cooked meat, fish with cream sauce, etc. Elisa had been unable to eat because of morning sickness lately. After a few days, the morning sickness symptoms had improved a lot and she was finally able to eat, so Richard instructed the chef to prepare a lot the food Elisha liked.
“…”
But Elisha just stared blankly at the food and did not want to start eating. It was because of the thoughts that filled her head recently.
‘Lips…’
Not long ago, from the day that Richard read a children’s book to her, she started to be conscious about his lips.
A soft and supple feeling. Their hot breath that was dizzyingly entangled…
In addition to that, even his handsome face added synergy to stimulate Elisa’s heart.
More than that, she started to pay attention to his body as well. A wide back, a firm chest with strong abs below it, arm muscles that clearly reveal their presence with every movement, and strong thighs. Every time she looked at his body gleaming through his shirt, her face flushed with memories of the night she spent with him.
At the same time, her heart was pounding wildly.
‘Because I’m like this, I’m sure Richard…’
Elisha thought involuntarily and shook her head, startled by her thoughts.
‘No, no. That can’t be.’
Elisha picked up the fork. Then she began to eat as if she was pressing down her thoughts with food.
“Eat a lot, madam.”
Anne, unable to understand Elisha’s inner feelings, was delighted to see Elisha eating well and brought other foods closer to her.
“I guess your taste buds changed after you got pregnant. You’re also eating foods you have never eaten before.”
At Anne’s happy words, Elisha stopped.
‘Have your tastes changed because you’re pregnant? Come to think of it, a lot has changed with pregnancy.’
She usually cried even though it wasn’t something to cry about, and even though she didn’t take a lot of naps before, she was taking a nap like a daily routine these days.
Elisha found a clue in Anne’s words as to why her heart was pounding when she recently looked at Richard.
‘Is this also the effect of pregnancy hormones?’
Elisha pondered throughout her meal, and after she finished it, she went straight back to her bedroom and headed to the desk.
There, a lot of books about pregnancy and childbirth, which she was reading in her spare time these days, were scattered around.
As she flipped through them, she finally found her answer.
[Most women have decreased libido after pregnancy, but sometimes the libido that did not exist soars. This can make a person with strong sexual desire become a person without sexual desire due to the influence of hormones, or vice versa.]
‘Then what I feel for Richard is sexual desire!’
Elisha nodded her head as if she understood and read the explanation attached below.
[When mom and dad are happy, it has a positive effect on the child in the family. Having a pleasant married life without overdoing it is also a good way to spend a difficult pregnancy.]
After reading that, Elisha took a deep breath.
‘I want to do that too…?’
It wasn’t just that her heart was pounding, she wanted to steal his lips and touch him.
At times, she dreamed of kissing him and sharing their body temperature with each other.
‘I’m going to wear out my baby like this. If I’m stressed, it’s not good for the baby either.’
As long as they were married, having children, or spending the night together, there was nothing wrong with that. But unfortunately, it seemed that Richard had no intention of doing so, and he was even still cautious about just putting his hand on Elisha’s belly.
‘How do you grill that kind of fool?’
(e/n: she means that the difficulty is set too high as she can’t even manage to have a small amount of physical contact with him, much less anything sexual/romantic)
Just as Elisha was rolling her head with a serious expression on her face, a knock was heard.
“Madam, I have a letter.”
“Come on in.”
Anne entered the room, walked over to the table where Elisha was sitting, and put some letters down. Elisha replied with a smile.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll bring you a cup of tea that you can enjoy while reading a book.”
Anne quietly left the bedroom again. After she read a book for a while longer, Elisha closed the book and turned her attention to the letters in front of her.
Of the three letters, two were tea party invitations, and the other was a catalog.
As if symbolizing summer, the catalog, decorated in a refreshing light blue color, caught Elisha’s attention. She picked it up. It was a catalog sent from the boutique where Elisha recently customized some dresses.
[Anes boutique summer new release for the first time!]
As she browsed through the catalog without a second thought, Elisa stopped her hand from flipping the pages.
‘Is this…’
A smirk was drawn on Elisha’s lips while looking at the catalog.
“Then, visit again, madam.”
“Have a safe trip!”
That afternoon, Elisha left the store with a very satisfied look, after being assisted politely by Anes Boutique’s owner and all of the employees.
Anne, who followed Elisha, was holding a velvet box with the items she wanted.
The knights of Rubellin, who were waiting in front of the shop, opened the carriage’s door for her.
The coachman asked Elisha who got in her carriage.
“Are you sure you want to go back to the Duke’s mansion right away?”
Elisha, who had been habitually answering yes, thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
“No, I’ll stop by the bookstore for a while.”
There were all sorts of books in the library of the Duke of Rubellin, but most of them were new books purchased from there.
Books containing information on some topics, which were no longer published or distributed on a small scale, were sold only to bookstores.
Second-hand books were also sold at the bookstore in the square, and it was also interesting to find notes left by the person who read the book before her. Elisha went to the bookstore to browse through books in her spare time.
According to her will, the carriage headed towards the shopping street in the square. Elisha looked at the familiar scenery outside the window.
The people of the lively shopping street, the busily passing by, and the children playing brightly in the scenery.
At that time, something unfamiliar stood out in the familiar landscape.
‘…The knights of the Imperial Palace?’
Knights in uniforms with Imperial designs were roaming the square. Elisha noticed that there was something unusual about their appearance.
In general, it was the soldiers’ job to patrol the public square. The knights rarely paid attention to the security of the square. They definitely don’t usually run around like that either.
‘Why are they in the square?’
While Elisha was wondering about it, the driver’s voice was heard from the driving seat.
“We have arrived, madam.”
Elisha and Anne got out of the carriage, while leaving behind her doubts. The bookstore located on the corner of the shopping street in the square was small and compact.
As she entered the store, the small bell hanging on the door rang with a clear sound.
But there was no one at the store counter.
Instead, a voice presumed to be the owner was heard from inside.
“Hey, I’m a little busy right now, so take a look for a moment!”
It was followed by quiet noises, including the rattling of ladders and the sound of dust rising and coughing. While Elisha waited for the owner, she decided to scan through the bookshelves. At that moment, she felt something moving at her feet.
‘Huh?’
When Elisha looked down, startled, she saw a red-haired boy who had been there since before.
The child, who appeared to be at most four or five years old, was wearing ragged clothes with holes in them, as if he couldn’t eat properly, revealing his skinny body.
Nevertheless, the red hair and gold eyes were shining like a blazing flame. The boy stared at Elisha, took any book out of the bookshelf, put it in his clothes, and went out of between the bookshelves.
Elisha, who had only blinked in embarrassment at the blatant robbery, came one step late and blocked the child in front.
“Will you give me that?”
However, as if the child had no intention of doing so, he hugged the stolen book and glared at Elisha with displeased eyes. Then, he tried to pass by Elisha, but it was a futile attempt.
Elisha sat at his eye level and gently grabbed the child’s shoulder.
“Baby, stealing is bad. If you don’t pay and try to take other people’s things, the scary uncles will come to catch you.”
Just then, she heard the owner’s footsteps returning from behind her. Upon hearing the sound, Elisha hurriedly reached out to the child.
“Hurry.”
If the owner finds out about the kid’s theft, things will get bigger. Unfortunately, the child had no intention of handing over the book.
“Oh my, I’m busy, but guests keep coming…”
The owner of the bookstore approached the cashier counter with a troubled expression on his face, muttering. Then, seeing Elisha’s expensive clothes and accessories, he hastily changed his attitude.
“… I’m so grateful for it. Welcome, madam. What book did you come to buy?”
“It’s not like there’s a book I’m looking for. I just want to look around.”
“Aha, then I’ll recommend something. Let’s see, I have a collection of lyrical poems that beautiful wives enjoy…”
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The owner, who was approaching the bookshelf to find a book of poetry, found the child at his feet.
He grasped the situation when he saw the child hiding a book he stuffed under his clothes, and then his expression became terribly contorted.
“Hey, you thief bastard!”
The moment the owner was about to slap the child on the cheek, Elisha hurriedly took the child into her arms. Rather than a calculated action, it was an instinctive move to protect the small child.
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