I Didn’t Tame The Beastly Duke!

He was the heir to the duke by birth, so he never listened to anyone else. However, since he had been served many times, he knew roughly what to do.

“I’ll do this….”

Do you want me to cool down the soup? The words were on the tip of his tongue when he met Celia’s bright eyes that were looking up at him. It was his illusion that she looked innocent, but suddenly she looked at him as if to say, ‘then I’ll do it?’. Leonis stared at Celia with his lips pressed together.

A woman who took poison because she hated him, and he had to take care of her body as a result of that poison!

He had, however, brought Celia to this battle, and it was he who had forced her to marry him by breaking the engagement to her fiancé.

“…I’ll let it cool.”

Celia was surprised to see Leonis cooling the soup with his hand. His face was good but his expression was displeased and distorted.

‘Is it true that this man is the male lead?’

Celia also admired the way he easily followed her despite the fact that she knew she was losing points. She doesn’t know how long it’ll last, but….

A spoonful of broth quietly approached her lips. Celia opened her mouth slightly and ate it. It was moderately warm and a little plain. It tasted good because she was hungry.

When Celia was eating well, Leonis put the soup back with a heavy face. His face was dense as he brought the cooled down soup, but after he saw Celia eating well, he didn’t feel so bad.

He didn’t move the table chair to the front of the bed, but as she sat on his bed with their shoulders touching, he felt Celia’s refreshing energy.

‘Is this her ability?’

Leonis thought this was fine because the curse seemed to soften when they were in contact. He even thought it was a little cute to see her eating like a baby bird.

Leonis’ throat tightened as her small lips parted and the spoon went in. Unfortunately, they stopped before the oath’s kiss. It was also because the knights came, but the bride fainted, so it must have been too much anyway.

What would it taste like if he had swallowed those soft, plump-looking lips in one bite? It would taste like this broth she’s eating now.

“…….”

As he watched the spoon slowly slip away, Leonis wiped her lips. He wondered what he couldn’t do. Aren’t they a couple? Even though he was the first thing she saw after regaining consciousness, she didn’t seem to dislike it.

“…Your Excellency?”

Leonis lowered his gaze to her. Her blue eyes looked puzzled. Their height difference was so big that even though they sat side by side, their eye level was different.

There was a sudden tension in her eyes that were blinking slowly. Something had changed in Leonis’s expression, who was staring at her.

Leonis leaned in slowly. It was against his nature, but she was his wife, and he wasn’t the kind of person who believed he could control his wife simply because they were married. His spouse, the Duchess of Cardian, had to be respected at all times.

As she observed why his hand had stopped feeding her, Celia’s eyes widened. His handsome face was getting close enough to strain her heart.

This atmosphere, this angle…No way?

‘I’m eating right now!’

She has heard that there was someone who threw a spoon during the meal, but still! [1]

‘Even if I’m not the heroine, read the mood!’

Nevertheless, her face was likely burning, and her heart was pounding like a fool. Celia tried not to let her face burn, not even thinking of calming her heart. From a distance that seemed to be within reach of Celia’s breath, Leonis’s red eyes gazed into hers.

He liked how the relatively pale complexion had a flush to it. Leonis looked at Celia’s face and whispered: “The kiss of the oath… Can I do it now?”

Leonis’ breath touched Celia’s lips. She couldn’t even take a deep breath as she stared at him. What should I say? Can I do it? Or…

Celia’s head was moving before her overloaded head could even get the answer. She didn’t know whether she nodded or shook her head as she looked at Leonis. She thought his red eyes were a little pleased.

“Humph!”

His folded lips were completely different from what Celia thought. She expected the first kiss to overlap gently, but Leonis’s lips were hot, wet, and intense.

She had no idea when the bowl of soup was placed on a small drawer next to the bed. Celia didn’t feel any sense of crisis as she was pushed into bed. With her lips open, she couldn’t think of anything about the warm tongue that came in.

“Huh, eup…mmhh…”

A squelching sound of saliva was heard. Celia was surprised by the hot and large tongue that tangled in hers, but Leonis was already tasting every inch of her mouth. It was so persistent and greedy.

He expected the taste of soup, but his kiss with Celia produced something else. He could feel his mind, which had been constantly clouded by the curse, clearing up. In addition to that, the softly blooming sweet scent, along with the refreshing scent, made his mouth crave for it.

“Hmm…”

Smooch, Celia’s face was redder as he sucked her saliva. Leonis’s strong arms gripped her tightly as she lay on the bed. He was already hugging her with his whole body as if bounding her to him.

As he gripped her chin and fiercely sucked her lips and tongue, an ecstatic heat surged through her.

“Haa…”

Leonis let out a soft sigh through his saliva-soaked lips. With a ravenous gaze, his red eyes looked at Celia’s face. Her rosy complexion looked like an appetizing fruit. He was tempted to lick her watery blue eyes, but he laughed at himself for even thinking about it.

A smile on Leonis’s lips caught Celia’s eyes. He suppressed a rising smile as he licked her lips slowly. It could be seen that Celia’s eyes shook with bewilderment.

‘Wouldn’t spending the night like this be too much?’

He didn’t stop because he had to, but he reasoned that it would be more difficult if he relaxed a little. Not her, but him, very much.

Leonis looked at Celia with burning eyes. She also noticed that he was measuring. Now’s not the time. She is dying!

She won’t die in that way but she was physically exhausted. Leonis’s eyes narrowed as Celia looked desperately into his eyes, unable to open her mouth. It was a tongue-in-cheek look.

“Mo… Monsters!”

It must be the voice of the soldier standing on guard. Leonis’s head, which had been focused on Celia until now, turned away.

“I’ll be right back.”

Leonis had detached himself from Celia’s body and went out with a long sword, which was leaning on one side of the tent. Celia sighed deeply as she was left alone. It seemed as if Leonis’s heat was still on her tingling lips.

✦ ✦ ✦

It was not uncommon for a monster to attack when seeing the lights of the camp, but it was the first time that such a large-scale attack had occurred.

The soldiers of Cardian moved in unison at the urgent shout of the guard. They were familiar with monster subjugation as well as night raids. Heavily armed knights stepped forward as some soldiers took their time. There were a lot of monsters, but when the elite knights came out, the victory was quickly secured.

Leonis’s promise to return soon were not just words. He was used to slaying, thus he quickly slaughtered the surrounding monsters, providing the knights and soldiers an opening.

But…

The queen ant was sitting in the middle of the monster. The moment he cut her neck and stabbed her in her heart, he felt a strange sensation on the tip of the sword.

‘Magic!’

It was already too late when he noticed it. The 3m queen ant’s huge body burst, scattering debris all over the place. Leonis momentarily drew up mana to protect himself.

“Your Excellency!”

“Duke!”

The queen ant’s hard shell fell like a piece of metal on Leonis’s body, but it merely cut his armor and clothes. She couldn’t make a single scratch on his body.

The calm appearance of the duke elicited cheers from knights and soldiers. Now that he has killed the queen ant, all he has to do is kill the remaining giant ants.

Leonis concentrated on slaughtering the remaining monsters as if nothing had happened, but he sensed something was wrong.

‘What is this?’

He wore armor and helmet, yet the fluid continued to seep through the gaps in his armor. He could feel the curse, which seemed to fade away when he was in contact with Celia, beginning to seethe again.

‘Keu…Uh…’

The monsters’ bodies disintegrated into three or four pieces due to his quick hands. Although, the thirst did not go away even if the body fluid of the devil was turned over. Leonis was embarrassed when he felt madness go through the mulls of his mind.

The fragments of the queen ant were a trick, but the fluid side was real. He felt the disgusting energy of madness spread through his body, and he reflexively thought of her.

Celia!

✦ ✦ ✦

Celia, who had been left alone in the barracks, was startled by the person entering the tent. She came to a halt as if embarrassed by Celia’s reaction.

“Sorry. I came in without asking because I was afraid that the noise outside the barracks would drown out my voice.”

Celia gave a puzzled glance at the appearance of the maid with her hair neatly tied up.

“Pardon….”

“The Duke ordered me to escort his wife.”

The shadows outside the barracks made her realize she wasn’t alone. The soldiers seemed to be standing guard at the barracks’ entrance. Celia nodded, relieved.

She thought Leonis would just leave her alone in the barracks and focus on killing the monsters, but he seemed to care about everything.

“I will wait outside so you can rest comfortably.”

Celia allowed it after she was greeted by the maid, who introduced herself. When she was left alone in the barracks and listened again, she heard the strange cries of monsters and the shouts of the soldiers.

‘Y-you’re winning, right?’

How was this part of the original?

Celia committed suicide so Marquis Montague was unable to attend the wedding. Meanwhile, Leonis leaves the capital after hearing the news from the knights and returns to Asylus to subdue the monster. And…

‘They rush to Marquis Montague’s house in rage.’

It was late on the day of the wedding. Celia’s maid was shocked by Celia’s death, and released Lily from the warehouse later than Celia had ordered. It was Leonis who came into the Marquis’ house. He had seen Lily exit from the warehouse with a weary face.

Notes:

[1] “Throw a spoon during a meal” means being disrespectful.