Chapter 51
Raven carefully laid Molitia down on the bed. Nevertheless, her small mouth was still in his captive, gulping her down until he finally let her go.
“I didn’t mean to make you that nervous.”
“What?”
“I usually bring the knights inside, so I didn’t think you’d mind them so much.”
It was done at a purely subconscious level. He didn’t think she would care as he just thought that he was missing her deeply. Plus, he was being blunt because he hadn’t thought much about others’ sensitivity in the first place.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t mind at all.”
“Still, I don’t want you to push yourself too hard.”
He caressed her cheek gently.
“The fever had almost subsided.”
“That’s because it has been a long time since I woke up.”
“Do you really not need a doctor?”
“Really, I don’t.”
Molitia firmly emphasized the fact.
“And also, I don’t mind at all. It was just a natural deed as the Duchess.”
“You don’t have to do that, either.”
Molitia gave a slight frown to Raven’s words. Yet again. It seemed that he was subtly driving Molitia away from being involved with the concerns of the Duchy.
“You don’t want me to?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
He responded with a deep sigh. He was never used to pleasing people around him. It was actually quite a common trend to conceal sarcasm or even one’s inner thoughts when speaking.
However, he was surrounded only by servants and knights, whom he had been together since his childhood days. He was more comfortable in giving out orders rather than engaging in a typical conversation. For him, who had never tried to win over a woman, often found his conversations with Molitia to be even more difficult than the case of politics.
“…what I meant is that you don’t have to push yourself too far.”
“It’s not too much, really… You are just being too overprotective.”
“That’s…”
That’s because he couldn’t hold onto her all night. Raven swallowed his words that were running up his throat. He had embraced her every night, yet that was never enough.
Actually, just after he had thrusted her insides as her waist shuddered uncontrollably, he would start to get hungry yet again. She couldn’t have known how much he had to endure every time his desires had propelled him to envelop her slender body before embracing her until Molitia’s face had turned into a hot mess.
As he was unable to tell her this whole truth, Raven grumbled for no particular reason.
“I saw that you didn’t eat properly before. That’s why I can’t help but worry.”
“What? I ate enough though.”
“That was never enough.”
He was being very adamant. In comparison to the amount of food Raven ate, she had eaten far less.
Perhaps her sheer lack of physical strength stemmed out from that very small amount of food that she consumed. The deeper his line of thought pervaded, the more Raven had eagerly expressed.
“What’s your favourite food? I’ll ask the chef to cook for you.”
“Duke, I really am fine…”
“By the way, a man of the duchy will be coming tomorrow. If you have any interest in foreign cuisine, ask him for some spices or ingredients…”
“Raven!”
Raven had to reined in his thoughts and words that were running free like a horse.
“I’m really fine. I enjoy it here.”
Molitia had no such desire to increase the workload of those in the kitchen any more. Still, watching him enjoying his meal with the knights made her seriously wonder if he should increase the number of people in the kitchen.
“Then, why don’t you eat more?”
“It’s because I don’t eat much. That’s just how I usually ate back at the Count’s.”
“Count Clemence……..”
Unaware that Raven’s voice was getting an octave lower, Molitia tried really hard to explain her situation.
“The food here is so delicious that I tend to overeat them unintentionally. So please, don’t worry too much. It’s more than enough for me to watch how much the Duke enjoys his meal. Just like with the cookies I had baked.”
“So, how exactly did you make those cookies?”
Molitia fumbled into her memory before she started explaining. Raven held his gaze upon her behavior when she kept on folding her fingers one by one as she talked.
Raven only responded when she was finished talking.
“I’ll have the cook make it for you whenever you take the medicine.”