If I Disobey the Duke

Broken (1)

His eyes were dazed and unfocused.
“Actually, your brother didn’t say anything wrong.”

That day.
That word.
It was just one more time hearing what had always been said in his life.
He just hated showing her the other him.

“It’s true that my bloodline is unacceptable.
Half-human, half-human eating human flesh, a child resulting from rape.”

“No, no! Such words… Don’t say it.” She tried to hold back, but something hot rushed up.

It was like what she’d been through.
Unlike Lily, who couldn’t control her bitterness, he was calm.

“It’s terrible.
Why are you talking like that?  Why….”

That indifference.
It couldn’t have been anything but painful, not when this was the first time the two of them were talking about it.

Vlad had realized too early that stabbing himself first before anyone else could hurt less.

Lily saw a little child in him.

One that didn’t know what was going on and thought that he was a disaster.
Even though he knew his parents hated him, he was filled with desperation.

He couldn’t get out.

He was in a similar situation to a dog who got beaten but wagged his tail again at his owner.

Lily held his large hand tightly, afraid that he would disappear if she let go.

“How the hell, ah….”

His breathing stopped for a moment.
Vlad felt her hand trembling as Lily held him.

“How… did you survive? It must’ve been so lonely…” Her eyes gleamed.
Tears dripped down to the floor.

He gently stroked her trembling hand as if to care for wounds.

A bitter loneliness.
His raw solitude, which had become a part of him, had finally been revealed in front of her.

“It’s not terrible.
At least for me, never…”

A momentary force entered his hand, and then he quickly relaxed.
He seemed to be holding back something.

As soon as the wind blew, Lily’s cheeks were wet again.
Her whole face looked like it was going to explode.
The blurry vision was getting annoying.
She wanted to see what kind of expression he had…

Lily wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
New ones welled up in no time despite her efforts.
“I am on your side.
I am your wife.
No matter what anyone says to you, I…”

“…”

“Whatever you are…  I will never leave, I will be by your side.
I’ll protect you…” she said valiantly through her stuffy nose.

She closed her mouth in frustration, but her breathing was heavy.
After a while, she heard the sound of a small laugh.

“It’s not that bad.” Vlad covered her cheeks with his large hands.
His palms were warm.
His long thumb brushed her cheek a few times.
“There were times when I thought that I would like you to laugh in front of me too.”

She was a woman who did not only smile in front of him.
There was a time when his heart continued to soar because of that fact.

But it wasn’t bad that she cried.

Ah.

The ugly nature that he was trying to suppress spread its crouched wings.
He knew well about his lustful desires.

A woman weeping as she listened to his own story.
He shouldn’t have ruined this woman like that.

“…It seems it is already too late.”

He wanted to have her all.
His thirst was sure to never end no matter how much it was filled.

He leaned his head at an angle and kissed her, his tongue slipping into her mouth.

* * *

Lily rolled her eyes anxiously.

“When someone comes…  What should I do?”

Was it because she cried for a long time or for some other reason? Her cheeks were red as she knelt in front of him and looked up at him cutely.

Vlad stroked her hairline.
“No one can come in without my permission.”

Lily understood what he was saying, but her expression still looked awkward.
She was positioned near his legs, the two surrounded by garden trees.
It seemed like they were not a legally married couple, but rather in a forbidden relationship.

More than anything.
The scene that came into view was too obscene.
She breathed heavily in front of him.

Eventually, as she bowed her blushing head, he reached down and grabbed her chin.