How to Survive as the Wife of the Monster Duke - Chapter 188 (18+)

“Put it down and leave,” Aden commanded, and the maid obediently placed the tray on the desk and left.

Ilyin tensed up again as Aden shifted, and he groaned with deep stimulation. Lightning seemed to strike his head, and Ilyin barely suppressed another moan. She worried that the maid might have noticed something strange, but as the sound of her footsteps faded away, Ilyin couldn’t relax, still tense with arousal.

The sound of the door slamming shut reverberated through the room. Ilyin let out a brief exhale as the maid entered and then swiftly departed, but to her, those few seconds felt like an eternity.

Finally, she called out to Aden, the tension leaving her body. “Aden!”

Her husband chuckled lowly in response. “Yes?”

Ilyin’s words caught in her throat, her face flushing with embarrassment. “The maid…!” she managed to blurt out before trailing off.

Aden pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck. “Do you think I would ever do anything to make you uncomfortable?” he whispered.

Unbeknownst to them, the maid left the room with a stony expression on her face.

Aden left a trail of kisses along Ilyin’s neck, his body moving against hers. The pleasure that surged through her made her moan.

“You’re so wound up over a simple letter. Don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?” Aden murmured as he rose up. With a sharp breath, Ilyin felt him enter her, stretching and filling her.

A gasp escaped her lips, and Aden’s eyes flickered over to the letter lying on the desk. Seeing the sender, his expression darkened. He didn’t want Ilyin to be anxious about anything else.

He nipped at her earlobe, his movements growing more forceful. “Don’t worry about that letter,” he breathed into her ear.

Ilyin moaned as he continued to move inside her, her fingers gripping tightly at his arm. The sound of their wet, secret moans filled the room, a sound that had no place in a study.

Aden maintained his rhythm until Ilyin’s body finally relaxed, spent from their lovemaking.

* * *

Aden’s tender voice whispered into Ilyin’s ear, lingering and sweet. With his gentle touch, he guided her onto the bed and ensured she breathed shallowly but steadily.

As Aden glanced at the letter in his hands, he could feel his heart racing. The envelope bore the name Ilyin De Arlen, and Aden held his breath. He wondered what kind of expression he had on his face.

“Is it an important message?” Ilyin’s voice was soft, almost a whisper.

Aden’s head lowered as he contemplated how best to answer. He longed to protect Ilyin from anything that might cause her discomfort, yet the letter was hers. He could not decide for her, so he reluctantly turned around and offered the envelope to her.

“Can we read it together?” Aden asked.

He knew that Ilyin understood the implications of his question. She accepted the letter with a puzzled expression, glancing back at Aden with a quizzical look.

Ilyin’s eyes moved over the sender’s name and her face grew blurred with emotion. She hesitated for a moment before tearing open the envelope, with Aden looking on.

As she unfolded the letter and began to read, Ilyin’s fingers lingered on the top of the page. Aden’s eyes scanned her face, trying to gauge her reaction to the words of the letter.

“It’s gotten very cold these days. Are you doing well? I wonder how cold the weather is in the northern region. It seems like a good idea to come and look around once in a while.”

Ilyin’s eyes darted back and forth between the letter and the envelope, searching for any signs of tampering. Yet, there were no traces of anyone else having read it.

“I guess he thought someone else might read it,” Aden commented, voicing his thoughts.

Ilyin giggled softly as she replied, “Yes, my father is such a person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t use a soft tone in his letters.”

He likely assumed that Milo would be the one to open and read it. After all, who else would dare to tear open a letter addressed to the host of Delrose? Anyone else who tried would surely have frozen to death in that snowfield.

“I’ve been hearing that the weather in the territory has been getting much colder lately. It feels like a completely different place without you there. I was thinking maybe I could come take a look around once.”

The tone in which the letter was written was one that Ilyin had never heard before. She felt a sense of embarrassment wash over her and swallowed hard.

“I’m not sure if the man you’re meeting has mentioned it, but our family recently expanded our business by cultivating carrots, taking advantage of the weather in our territory,” her father’s letter began.

Ilyin quickly scanned the rest of the letter, skipping over the irrelevant parts. “So our territory is facing a bit of a crisis. Of course, we could easily recover by seizing recent opportunities, but if the family’s position becomes precarious, it could also affect your married life.”

Aden read the letter with her, but then laughed. If it were a strategic marriage, it might have been different. But Ilyin wasn’t like that. Even if Count Arlen’s position completely collapsed, Aden didn’t care. Ilyin already belonged to Biflten. This land, the people, and even a single snowflake here belonged to her.

“Your man seems to be quite respected even at the top of Acid. He seemed to know a woman named ‘L,’ who is a northern distribution manager,” her father’s letter continued.

Ilyin burst out laughing. He really has no idea, does he? He couldn’t even recognize the person who had lived in the same mansion with him for over two decades with just a thick veil covering her face.

“For the sake of our family’s honor, please talk to that man well. Then, contact me again,” the letter concluded.

Ilyin folded the letter, feeling a mixture of annoyance and resignation. As expected, whoever she married would try to use her and benefit from her husband’s position. It made her sick to see through their intentions so clearly.

Aden was right. Ilyin felt a bad thought begin to creep into her mind.