My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge -
Chapter 72: Begin Again
Chapter 72: Begin Again
At that moment, Leonor realized his majesty not only put the idea in Duke Desmond’s head but he would have also had to approve the marriage. After the king returned with the duke after the war, it was a clear sign of his support of him.
The duchess had to resist running from the study and writing a letter to the king herself. She had a few words about how he could approve such a marriage. He was supposed to be her friend.
Was his plan to let her divorce if Valerio returned? Did he know more about Valerio’s whereabouts than she did? After all, he went directly to the front lines and witnessed it all for himself.
Desmond’s words only brought up another angle that still didn’t add up in her head.
"You want to get to know me, but you won’t see me," she observed. "Now if you could excuse me."
Her voice was unenthused.
She wanted to know how much Stephano had told Desmond for him to believe he needed to get her out of her father’s home. The monarch wasn’t someone who easily told other’s secrets.
His taking her away showed that he truly had good intentions at heart, but the loneliness she experienced made the situation feel cruel. At least in Burien, she had Francia. If nothing else, she had her memories.
Her father hadn’t raised a hand to her since she started associating with the prince, then the king.
To Desmond’s horror, Leonor stood up and began to leave his study. The duke stood up and projected his voice louder than she had heard that evening.
"Wait," he said, his gruff voice making him seem angry even though he wasn’t.
She kept her mouth shut and erased her miserable expression before turning back towards the duke. She didn’t believe there was a misunderstanding because he laid everything out on the table.
Did he discover the woman the king spoke of was an overestimation? Perhaps he was disappointed.
She was confident in her abilities as a mage but completely untrained in the ways of a wife or duchess. Stephano couldn’t have led him astray, could he?
Since Leonor wouldn’t speak, Desmond had to continue forth.
"Tell me what you want," he requested.
It was clear she had come there for a reason even if she wasn’t entirely sure of it.
His heart dared to beat faster, giving him false hope that she would want to get to know him more than she did. He wanted to hide from her but he wanted to see her every second. How cruel it was that both thoughts lived inside of him simultaneously.
As Leonor met what she thought was his eye as his shadowed face turned towards her, she didn’t know what she wanted.
She didn’t know if she wanted to know him more because she didn’t know enough to decide. What others said about him lived on in her thoughts but the man before her was different.
She wasn’t scared of his appearance. He had gained such an appearance from dedicating his life to the battlefield. It led her to believe that underneath the cold exterior, he often wore was a man full of care. He cared enough to protect her while traveling.
The only part that scared her was what he was capable of that he hadn’t shown her. That was the entire reason she wanted to know more so she could decide if she wanted to keep knowing more. He must have possessed great strength to take on such a monster. That battle turned the tides of war completely. There must be something within him that was reactionary when pushed to it.
She wanted to get to know him because she didn’t know if this ferocity truly lived inside of him. She wanted to know if she pulled away the layers of his complicated personality and if there would be kindness and safety rather than the worry of someone constantly on the verge of explosion.
She had already repeated her mother’s married life in such a way, she didn’t want that aspect to be true as well.
However, he said that he took her away from the count because she wasn’t safe there. Did he truly think she was safer in his care instead?
Her thoughts were always cyclical. She was back to wondering the ’why’ of everything. Why was she there? Why her?
"I want to know who my husband is outside of all the horrible things that have been said about him," she admitted, finally being honest.
She realized there was no progress if she walked around the truth. Giving only hints to what she truly wanted wasn’t the way to approach things.
The duke’s hands were on the top of his oak desk. His eye fell to his hands. He saw one scarred hand and the other one with the thick banded sapphire wedding ring that confirmed that he was her husband.
If she pulled away enough layers would she hate what she found or would she be happy? He wondered.
"I don’t want you to be scared of me," he admitted, his rough voice heavy with emotion.
Leonor took a step towards him when she heard him use such a sad voice.
Another layer of his exterior seemed to crumble off when he allowed himself to be emotional in front of her for what felt like truly the first time. He hadn’t been particularly happy. He had been disarmed a few times. The sadness seemed like the most honest emotion he had ever expressed to her.
"If you would give me a chance to form my own opinion, I don’t think that I would be," she admitted. "You have been nothing but kind to me, your grace."
She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she was lonely and she thought he might be as well. If they couldn’t have a loving marriage, at least they wouldn’t hate one another or regret it.
To Desmond’s surprise, Leonor continued walking toward him. When she was in front of his desk, she held out her hand.
It was similar to when she and, then prince, Stephano reintroduced themselves as whatever their fathers had pinned them with.
"Then let’s agree to get to know one another properly," she said.
Desmond shook her hand gently with his scarred hand, hoping she wouldn’t be disgusted by it, but it was the pair to the hand she offered first.
He felt he couldn’t push her away after she insisted they get to know one another.
"Would you like to go on a walk in one of the gardens?" he asked her.
Caution be damned, he felt like being next to her.
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