Rubica felt the soft lips touching hers, but they went away quickly. Edgar had taken a step back in surprise. Rubica opened an eye, and it looked like his anger had vanished.

‘Good, now we will be able to have a conversa…’

However, she didn’t get to finish that thought. Edgar grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. A different kind of passion overtook him, and Rubica could feel something hot at the back of her neck. One of his big hands was supporting her head. His hands were usually so cold, but now they were hot like fire. Too late, Rubica realized she had woken up a sleeping lion’s wild instinct.

What was happening?

She had just aimed for a short kiss to calm him down. But now, there was no going back. No, there was going back if only she wanted that. Edgar was a gentleman, so he was going to back off if she said no. It didn’t seem right to describe the man who was looking at her with firing eyes that way, but he was clear about that kind of things. But she didn’t go back.

His eyes, his strong hand holding her waist high, his hand softly supporting her neck, his red lips, his scent. It all intoxicated her.

It wasn’t going to be a short kiss at all. It was going to be a long, deep kiss that would absorb her soul. However, she couldn’t move just like a fish trapped in a net. The only thing she could do was to close her eyes.

Soon, his lips touched hers. She could feel a different kind of passion and energy through it. In a corner of her mind, she was still thinking it wasn’t right. But soon, the passion filled her and erased that hesitation.

Creak.

The door was opened, but he couldn’t stop and she couldn’t either. They were absorbed in a swirling desire and they could only see each other. The door was quietly closed again. Edgar searched inside her, determined to find out what was inside there.

His lips went away only when she was about to faint out of breath. She gasped for oxygen and so did he. She could feel the hot breath on her head.

“Edgar.”

She found the courage and called his name.

“Yes.”

He replied, with the passion that remained. He had her in one arm and was gently rubbing her cheek with fingers as if he still wanted more. He would kiss her again immediately if only she showed the slightest sign of acceptance.

“I have something to tell you, and I want you to listen to me. Don’t ignore it or deny it.”

He nodded. Thanks to the kiss she had granted first, he looked like he would believe anything she said, even if she said it was possible to defeat a dragon with beans.

“I’m not pregnant.”

“What?”

He immediately frowned. She had just shattered his happiness. However, he didn’t get outraged like earlier. The fear about Rubica leaving him had somewhat disappeared after the kiss.

“I mean it. It happened just because Ann got the wrong idea about it. And when you listen to her, you would have to admit she had good reasons to misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand?”

“Call the doctor and have him examine me. I sent a letter to you two days ago… the servant said it would arrive this morning as he was using the fastest bird he had. I thought it would be fine as your relatives’ letters would arrive in the middle of the night.”

Rubica calmly explained how it all had happened and the anger, that had filled Edgar, faded away. He turned pale and asked in a shaky voice, “… really?”

“Yes.”

Rubica widely nodded. It didn’t look like she was joking. That was good. She wasn’t pregnant. The worst thing he had imagined was not going to happen and he didn’t have to fear her going to another man because of the baby. So, she was not guilty. She had done her best to take care of what had happened because of Ann’s understanding.

His head could understand that, but his body was trembling hard. He felt like he had been betrayed. He wanted to grab her and ask if she knew how worried, mad, and hurt he had been during the trip of eighteen hours. He wanted to accuse her of toying with his heart.

She had done nothing wrong. Really, she had done nothing wrong, but…

“Edgar?”

Rubica realized his change and carefully called him, but he looked away.

“Are you mad?”

“Of course I’m not. I shouldn’t be. It was all my misunderstanding and imagining all on my own.”

Well, to Rubica it was quite unfair. She had tried to explain to him many times, but he had been so mad and said what he had to say without giving her even a moment.

But in a way, she could see why he was doing this.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Although he was still looking somewhere else, Rubica could feel all of his senses aimed at her. She almost laughed out loud, but she couldn’t do that now. If she smiled, this arrogant duke could live with his head turned like that forever.

“For deciding to keep me and the baby, although I’m not actually pregnant.”

“That was only logically right.”

This man was cold but warm. It was quite strange how it was possible to describe a man with two incompatible words, but the world was never black-and-white. Everyone had both good and bad sides.

Now Rubica didn’t hate Edgar, even his dark side. During her stay at the mansion, she had got to know and understand him. He had had no choice but to turn cold.

“Most men would kick out their wife when she is pregnant with someone else’s baby. Like I said earlier, but you can’t be like that when you are outside.”

To be honest, she was a little worried. Maybe he had no sense of living after spending all of his time in his office working. Deciding to raise a baby that wasn’t his wasn’t an idea normal people would get. He looked like he was capable of controlling every profit and convenience in the world, but… Rubica feared something bad might happen.

“Oh, what if my duke ends up getting swindled by someone?”

She couldn’t help but speak like an old lady worrying about her little grandson, and it made Edgar look straight at her again.

“Really? You worry about me? I was going to accuse you if you really were pregnant. Why did you refuse to have physical intercourse when you were pregnant? You should have made me believe the baby was mine. Why are you not cunning?”

“But I wasn’t pregnant.”

Rubica couldn’t understand. He was saying things as if she was pregnant when she wasn’t, and now he was also saying she was naïve. Oh, it was so unfair.

“But I thought you were. Do you know how worried I had been on my way here? I feared you might have left in secret to take responsibility and it almost blew up my heart.”

Well, he was mad indeed. Rubica looked up at him. His face was red, and he was outraged but, for some reason, he wasn’t that scary. It was strange, but she didn’t find him uncomfortable like before. Was it because he had sided with her when no one could understand her?

“How can I run away after what I’ve started?”

Rubica let him know Edgar was interpreting her sense of responsibility in a strange way.

“My pregnancy has calmed down the uproar caused by mana quartz, so imagine what kind of trouble you would find yourself in if I disappear.”

Her last sentence calmed him down. She was feeling responsible for him, and it gave him some hope. He then asked her with expectation, “Then you wouldn’t have disappeared without telling me, even if you really had been pregnant?”

“If I really had been pregnant…”

Rubica tried to use her imagination, but it wasn’t easy. Actually, her heart easily fluttered when she saw handsome men, but she had never felt a desire to date them or make love with them.

She just wanted to be near beautiful people to examine and praise their beauty. And for that, being in love wasn’t a good choice. That would let her examine the man in the closest distance, but only till the relationship ended. Plus, she wanted to enjoy seeing as many beautiful people as possible, but that wouldn’t be possible once she got herself a lover. Even Edgar had been offended by her examining some dashing knights at their wedding feast.

Actually, Edgar was the first man she had gotten this close to. Of course, she had known Arman for a long time, but she hadn’t even shared a kiss of friendship with him. Plus, he had never held her tightly with his strong arms like Edgar was doing right now…

“But for how long are you going to hold me like this?”