My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 78: After Dark

Chapter 78: After Dark

Desmond was her friend at night.

The days were full of much of the same but she found herself looking forward to the evenings when she would have companionship and be able to talk to someone. Even though the words they shared were few, she felt happy at his presence.

She did all the talking while he only gave her very little of himself.

However, it wasn’t secrecy he displayed. He answered everything she asked him with what seemed to be honesty. After she found out that it hurt for him to speak, she wasn’t offended by one-sentence answers. Each time he divulged a bit more she was happy.

He didn’t find her to be a bother. She felt safe at his side.

Since she hadn’t been focused on her mana as much as usual, for the first time since she started visiting the library, Leonor went right for a section full of books about magic and mana.

Considering the great legacy the Montclair family held, the library was vast and full of tall bookshelves she occasionally needed a ladder to climb. She would climb that ladder many times during the week especially when she became fixated on a series of books on the higher shelves.

She was always told to ask someone for help, but she would wait until she was all alone before climbing to get what she needed and quickly hurry down so none of the maids or Gideon would be upset.

They were far too protective of her. She wondered if the duke saw her as fragile for their impression to be that. She was unaware the duke talked about her as if she was precious. The servants weren’t protective because they doubted her, they were protective because they hadn’t seen the duke warm up to another quite like that.

The breadth of time the books in the library came from was impressive. Occasionally Leonor would find a publish date or simply a date scrawled inside one of the covers and she knew to take particular care with some of the books.

She couldn’t help noticing that all of the magic books in the library were the most recent editions - even newer than the ones she had while studying at the Academy. Their corners were perfectly sharp and their covers lacked flaws.

Her heartbeat quickened at the thought that those books were put there only because of her.

Again, it felt like she knew the duke so little while he knew her so much.

The opportunity to know something else about him more presented itself when she heard footsteps against the hard, polished wood floor. They paused at the entrance of the library that Leonor had left open and continued more quietly forward.

He had a particular way of walking that she recognized. It was never overly fast but firm. If someone was close by he would walk more quietly. If he didn’t think anyone was there, he didn’t seem to hide his footsteps.

Even before she turned around, she knew it was him.

"Good afternoon, your grace," she greeted him when she finally turned with a book in her arms.

She had decided on a book with a few mana flowing exercises to make sure she wasn’t blocking off any part of her body with stress or otherwise.

"Good afternoon, my lady," he responded quietly.

The acknowledgment remained as only that and he continued into the library until he was in a section deeper than the one she was in. There were shelves between them, but she couldn’t help her curiosity since she already found what she was looking for.

Giving him a few moments to himself, and not wanting to overstep, she paused there for a while before letting out a quiet sigh and walking in the direction he had gone.

He had already made it back to the main aisle between the shelves and she approached him.

First, she glanced at the book he carried which seemed to be an old ledger of records. That was to be as expected. Although she wished it was something more interesting like a dramatic romance novel or an adventure story.

"I never see you this early in the day," Leonor said as she looked up at the duke who had no choice but to face her since she was in front of him.

His hood fell into the scarred side of his face since he didn’t need to see from that side. All she could see was his green eye against pale skin.

"You’re right," he agreed simply.

"Would you like to eat dinner together tonight?" she asked. "I can tell the maids when I return to my room. It may be nice enough this evening to eat outdoors."

It had become more obvious to her that he only saw her at night because he thought he could hide himself better if the world was shrouded in darkness. She couldn’t blame him for worrying about that considering the way people acted around him and talked about him.

She was even guilty of reacting to him when she first met him. All the preconceived notions she had made her seem like a bad person. Perhaps she wasn’t a good person because she believed others words so strongly without having met the man at all.

Even on the day of the homecoming parade, she hardly spared him a glance and only paid attention to others’ reactions to him, thinking it would be enough for her. Her mind was so full of Valerio that she didn’t know of any other possible future. It seemed like an impossibility that she would ever be anyone else’s wife.

Rather than having to tell him how she felt, it felt best for Leonor to show him how she felt about him. She wasn’t frightened of him and she respected him. He had never done anything that warranted her disrespect and she hoped they continued that way forever.

The small smile she gave him was natural and he knew it just as well.

As resistant as he was to having dinner with her because it would foster a sense of familiarity he didn’t particularly want, he realized it would most likely be harmless.

She and Valerio never had a proper relationship. They never ate with one another. They shared a teacup because no one was supposed to know he spent time with her. They couldn’t even do something as meager as hold hands in broad daylight or her father’s power would be questioned.

Now that he was free to do all those things with her, he couldn’t do it.

Any familiarity between them was too much.

And yet...

"That would be nice," he finally responded. "I will have it arranged."

Leonor’s small smile became much bigger. She was hoping he wouldn’t reject her even though it felt like such a huge step compared to the walks they had been going on.

The maids had finally stopped giving suggestive stares whenever she and the duke were with one another. The assumption that they did something on their wedding night had faded to the background. She wondered if she would have to put up with that yet again if they became a little bit closer.

Leonor decided it was worth it to put his companionship in other aspects of her day.

"I will look forward to it then, your grace," Leonor said. "Until then."

She gave a light curtsy at the duke with the book she was bringing with her tucked under her arm so she could only use her right hand.

As she turned away, she was shocked at the next words that came from the duke’s mouth.

"You can call me Desmond, if you’d like," he said.

"I would," she admitted. "Call me Leonor in return."