My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 63: Acting Like a Man in Love

Chapter 63: Acting Like a Man in Love

Duke Desmond pushed the table that sat in the center of the room closer to Leonor where she sat on her bed.

"I have something to take care of," he said. "I will be back momentarily. A guard will remain by the door."

"Thank you," she responded genuinely.

She would have been fine to go to sleep without a last meal, but she was grateful that she didn’t have to. Most of the time she had two meals a day while in school for the sake of ease. While she was in Burien, she had two meals a day simply because she didn’t want to be around her father or sister more often than necessary.

Leonor was left to herself and she looked around the modest room. It was nice for such a small village but it was still below someone of the duke’s status. Normally noblemen demanded to stay with other nobles so they would have the convenience of servants waiting on them.

It was another way he deviated from her father.

That, and the care he kept giving her.

It was so awkward and immature, but it felt genuine.

Leonor placed a cloth napkin on her lap so food wouldn’t get on her nightgown and she picked up the two-pronged fork left next to her plate.

There were herbed potatoes, some sort of meat with a brown sauce drizzled over it, and dark purple carrots that seemed to be roasted. A small woven basket held a couple of rolls and they were what she was eager to eat the most considering the butter melting over the top of them.

Her stomach growled and she realized she was fooling herself into believing she wasn’t hungry. She was elated to eat and dug in promptly.

Normally she was prim and proper while she ate, but she scarfed down the meal embarrassingly quickly. By the time she was finished with it, her stomach felt like it had grown a few sizes. The clothing on the floor would hardly fit over her torso anymore.

Since she was finished eating, she pushed the table back to where it stood in the center of the room. She also decided it would be wise to pick up her clothing and put it away without needing help from anyone.

For the past few years, she had been living without the help of maids until she lived with her father for a few months after graduating from the Academy. Even then, it was only ever Francia dealing with her. She could do most everything on her own.

She told Desmond she wasn’t like other noble ladies and she wanted to prove it to him through her actions. She would be easy to be married to because she would keep to herself. Any duties she was forced to oversee, she would see to them as diligently as she could without being educated on ways to be the wife of a powerful noble.

He never expressed his expectations of her. She didn’t know what he needed her for.

In an ideal world, he would need her for her magic. However, there wasn’t a man who sought a noble lady for magic. The very thing happened to her mother when she was forced into the life of nobility rather than the free-spirited mage she was before she was married.

She told Valerio in the past that she didn’t want that life for herself, but she found it so much harder to break the cycle than she could have ever realized. As she agonized over her choiceless life, she wondered if it was too late to deviate from the fate of her mother.

So far, the only divide in their paths was the duke’s kindness compared to the Count’s. She had gotten lucky so far.

Deciding the thoughts she had weren’t serving her and her body was getting tired after eating such a large meal, Leonor decided to settle back into bed. Even if the duke returned soon, it wasn’t as if they would have a conversation.

When she was tucked into the bed, she rolled to her side so she wouldn’t bother him and he would feel she was affording him the privacy he had afforded her.

Time dragged on and she realized she was waiting for the duke. She wouldn’t feel settled until he was close by. It had been their habit for a week. Whenever she slept he wasn’t far. Even if he was outside the carriage, he was still close.

The thoughts led her to others.

She was dying to know something and knew she wouldn’t rest well until she got an answer.

Duke Desmond returned to the room and locked the door behind him as soon as it was closed. He did things almost silently in case Leonor was asleep.

He removed his boots first then he went to the partition and used it for what it was there for. He changed out of his well-traveled clothing and into something comfortable since they were sleeping indoors for the night.

He was taller than the partition and could make sure Leonor stayed asleep while he changed and got into a lighter robe.

His face was sore from having been bandaged for so long but he wasn’t going to change them now since they were sharing a room. A healer had told him it would hinder his healing rather than help but he didn’t care.

Once dressed for bed and with a silky hood on that he could hide in for the night, he sat down on his bed. It creaked under his weight and he cringed.

Leonor turned over and it was clear to him she hadn’t been sleeping at all in the first place.

"Could I ask you something?" she requested in a tired voice.

With the faint light of the moon filtering into the room, he thought she looked beautiful. Since he was closest to the window, he hoped that his face was completely shaded so she wouldn’t have to subject herself to his appearance.

"Of course," he responded.

While she thought about what she wanted to ask, he settled into his bed as well. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling until Leonor’s voice could reach his ears again.

She sat up slightly, propping her head up with her hand. Since he always listened to her attentively, she wanted to return the care. Even if they didn’t love one another, if he continued to treat her like that, she would treat him the same way.

"Why did you guard my carriage each night we were in the forest?" she asked. "Any one of your soldiers could do it for you. You would have certainly been more comfortable in a tent."

She surprised him enough that he turned towards her. His heart was racing as if he had been caught doing something bad.

Even if he wasn’t Valerio, he was certainly acting like that lovesick man.