Rebirth Of The Witch Queen

Chapter 6 - Marital Duties Under Question

“Let’s all sit down since we have a lot to cover,” Dugley suggested, laughing awkwardly while pulling his chair and gesturing towards the table. The girl ignored him, her glare so intense Kaden almost laughed. Despite her angry expression, she looked so pretty, it made him even more excited. She had put a lot of effort into today’s appearance, probably thinking she could give her future contract husband a good first impression. Maybe even hoping to charm him and make him trip over his words while she stated conditions that would benefit her most of all.

If he didn’t know the circumstances, Kaden might have fallen for those big hazel eyes, full pink lips, and long, lush hair. But unfortunately for her, he was a businessman first, so she was not walking out of there with a contract that only worked for her.

“I am not discussing anything before you tell me what is going on here!” She snapped, looking between the two men before returning her attention to Kaden. “First the names, now this. And who the hell even are you?”

Kaden sighed, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on the back of one of the unoccupied chairs. Taking a step towards her, he made sure he adhered to all of the etiquette requirements as he bowed down with one hand behind his back while the other touched his chest. He didn’t try to take or kiss her hand - she probably wouldn’t let him at this point and he didn’t want Dugley to know of her special circumstances. Not yet.

She looked taken aback for a second, her small mouth almost disappearing as she pursed her lips together.

“Let me introduce myself first and then I’ll clear the misunderstanding from the other night.” He said, waiting patiently for her to nod. Once she did, he straightened up, looking back into her eyes. “My name is Duke Kaden Knox. I am the sole heir and last member of the Knox family that has been responsible for the care and maintenance of the west of the country for over a century.”

“You’re a Duke?” Adeline exclaimed with a mix of shock and disbelief. She looked him up and down again, as if searching for something to show he was lying. Kaden had made sure to present himself well too - he even let his butler pick his outfit for him. He couldn’t fix her first impression of him, but he could at least show her there was more to him than she initially saw.

“Surprisingly, yes.” He laughed.

“Then why did you say your name was ‘Dugley’?” She snapped, glancing at the real Dugley.

“Technically, I didn’t,” Kaden said, raising his hands in the air. “You asked me if I was Mr. Dugley and the owner of the Information Agency. I said yes since, technically, one of those things is true. I do own the Agency. I just didn’t correct you about the name then for which I apologize.”

Adeline closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out as if to calm herself. He expected her to react like this after their previous meeting. He also expected her to leave which was why he arranged the meeting to be on the last day of the deadline - this way she would have no time to look for other options and he’d be holding the upper hand because she’d need him more than he needs her.

“Alright. Fine.” She said, raising her hands in surrender. “But what are you doing here? And where is…?” She looked back at him, her eyes widening as the realization finally settled in her mind. “Don’t tell me…”

“Well, with your insane requirements and the short timeframe you gave us, you should consider yourself lucky I am a perfect match for you.” He said, tilting his head. “And a little bird told me His Highness is making a move already, so you don’t really have much time left, do you? Maybe you even got the proposal already?” Adeline tried to keep her face blank, but she failed and he chuckled. She was trying really hard to act all serious and composed, but she was so easy to read, it was adorable. He circled her, standing behind her chair and pulling it back for her to sit. “So let’s proceed with the contract, yes?”

She stared at him with her lips pursed, trying to find some kind of response, but in the end, she just sat down without a word. He could sense her eyes on him as he made his way to his seat, both of them facing Dugley, who was watching them with a weird expression. Kaden cleared his throat and Dugley gathered the pile of papers in front of him, pulling a quill and a bottle of ink from his inner pocket.

“I allowed myself the liberty of preparing a standard prenuptial contract, but I’ve left space for the conditions that need to be fulfilled during the time you two would be legally married. So let’s go over the usual points and then if either of you has anything to add…” He looked up at them and Adeline nodded at the same time Kaden did. “First, the duration of the contract would cover the time you two are engaged plus one year exactly from the date of your wedding. Correct?”

“Yes.” Adeline nodded first, regaining some of her confidence. “Standard engagement is six months to a year, so let’s go with the minimum of six months.”

“Make that three months,” Kaden interjected, and Adeline looked at him with suspicion. Before she could even open her mouth, he continued. “Since we’ve never had any kind of interaction or even met publicly, our engagement will surprise everyone. The only way we can explain it is by saying we fell in love at first sight. And a couple that is madly in love wouldn’t want to wait so long to get married. Unless you have another plausible explanation for turning down the crown prince and marrying a mere duke?”

Adeline bit her lip. A small wrinkle appeared between her eyes as she stared thoughtfully into the distance. A few seconds later, she nodded.

“Three months it is.”.

“Next is…” Dugley continued, going over the rest of the things on the list like living arrangements, social appearance, engagement party and wedding, and even the responsibilities she’d have to take as Duchess Knox. Kaden leaned back in his chair, keeping to himself while she replied with well-prepared answers and just nodding when Dugley looked at him for approval. He didn’t particularly care about all those things - she could do whatever she wanted. He didn’t care about her money or the allowance, he had more than he needed. What he cared about was her being in his mansion so he could keep an eye on her and find out all those juicy secrets.

Most of all, having her close meant he could touch her again. He had spent all his life unable to get close to others without hurting them. Even the servants that raised him and made sure he was well cared for were reluctant to touch him, even when fully clothed and wearing gloves. At first, he didn’t get it and their distance hurt him, but as he grew, he realized why the wall between them was there and why he must always keep it up.

But with Adeline, he didn’t have to. After twenty-five years, he could finally feel the closeness and the touch of another person.

The room grew quiet, and he focused back on his companions, afraid he might have missed something important while he was busy with his own thoughts. He noticed Dugley had finished putting more of the conditions down, dipping his quill into the ink bottle before looking up at them again.

“Next would be... marital duties,” Dugley announced, keeping his eyes on the paper. Kaden glanced at Adeline, curious to see her reaction, and barely held back his chuckle as he noticed how red her face had become despite her serious expression. She sat stiffly in her chair and stared at Dugley as if expecting him to say something else.

This was too funny to pass and a great opportunity to rattle her even more, so she was the one stumbling over her words. He leaned towards her, expecting her to look at him, but she was so focused on Dugley, she didn’t even glance aside.

“He means s*x,” Kaden whispered in her ear and she jumped, covering her ear and pulling away. Her face turned two shades redder as she looked at him, and she was wearing this embarrassed look that made him want to tease her even more.

“I know what that means.” She snapped at him, scooting to the other end of her seat. Kaden suppressed his laugh, thinking how much fun living with her would be. Adeline returned her eyes back to Dugley, who was now giving Kaden a disapproving look. “There will be no s*x or any form of skinship between us unless absolutely necessary.”

Kaden’s heart skipped a beat as the words rolled out of her mouth and for a moment he stared at her profile, panic gripping his chest.

“I object,” Kaden said without thinking, and both she and Dugley looked at him. He never planned to demand anything s****l from her if she didn’t want it, but if he couldn’t even touch her hand or face or anything whenever he wanted, there was no point in going through all of this trouble. There were other ways to find her secrets, even though it was probably going to take longer. “Intimacy is an essential part of any relationship. I won’t do it otherwise.”

“Are you just doing this to sleep with me?” Adeline asked, her voice dripping with indignation. Kaden wanted to roll his eyes.

“Well, it’s not like you’re doing it because you love me.” He smiled, shrugging. “You have your reasons, I have mine. Just like you have your conditions, I have mine.”

“No,” Adeline said stubbornly, holding his gaze for a few seconds before lowering it to his shoulder, licking her lips nervously. Kaden stared at her, wondering why she was so against being touched. It was a marriage contract after all, even if it was a contractual one. Most contractual marriages included way more than what they had agreed on so far. Most often, those contracts revolved around an heir being produced for the household before dissolving.

Was it just embarrassment because it wasn’t something women usually talked about openly or was it him she was afraid of for some reason? He hadn’t threatened her or acted threateningly in front of her. He had no reason to feel bad about wanting something so simple as touch.

“Then we are done here,” Kaden said with his throat tightening, rising to his feet and grabbing his jacket. Her eyes widened in panic as she stared at him, so he bowed down to make sure she didn’t see his disappointed expression. “It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Duchess Talwen. I wish you luck in your marriage to the crown prince.”

He headed towards the door, glancing at the maid standing in the corner, who quickly lowered her head. He could feel their eyes on him, but he crossed the room without hesitation, reaching for the door with his stomach tied in a knot.

“Wait!” Adeline shouted, and Kaden felt relief pour into his body. He remained with his hand to the doorknob, taking a second to compose himself. “Fine. I’ll… I’ll allow it.”

Kaden took a calming breath, giving himself a carefree expression before looking over his shoulder and smiling at her.

“I’m so happy my future wife is such a reasonable person.” He said, closing the door and returning to his seat. Their eyes met for a second while he was sitting down, then Adeline turned to Dugley again, her fingers intertwined in her lap.

Dugley cleared his throat before proceeding.

“Do we… specify the frequency of the act?” Dugley asked awkwardly, scratching his eyebrow with the edge of his quill. Kaden glanced at the girl just as her eyes widened. “It’s a standard question when contract marriages are concerned, Duchess.” Adeline closed her eyes, her hands tightening in her lap. “So. Do I put in an amount or just...?”

“No,” Adeline said.

“Yes,” Kaden said at the same time. Adeline looked at him and he had to use all of his composure not to laugh. “If you don’t, she’ll go back on her word. Not to mention she looks like a girl that can think of a few billion excuses to refuse.”

Adeline’s look turned into a glare, and Kaden decided that poking a little more fun at her wouldn’t hurt. She was too serious and high-strung, and he didn’t like either of those things. It was not like he was going to adhere to that number.

“Put three hundred sixty-five times,” Kaden said, turning to Dugley and pointing at the contract. Adeline let out a funny noise and when Kaden looked at her, she had this hilarious look on her face, he couldn’t stop his laughter this time.

“Are you an animal?” Adeline said, her voice trembling with indignation. “Who does it every day for a year? I refuse! I am not that desperate!”

“Nobody said it has to be every day.” Kaden shrugged. “We are talking about times, not days. You do know a couple can do it more than once a night, right?” Adeline covered her face with her hand and for a second, Kaden thought she might start crying. He cursed himself, swallowing the guilt that brought a bitter taste into his mouth. He had just wanted to rattle her, not to make her cry. “Alright, how much do you think is reasonable for one year?”

She looked at him through her fingers, then quickly pulled her hands away.

“T-twenty?” She said with the most unsure voice. Kaden continued to stare at her, raising an eyebrow. He was just going to tell Dugley to write it down when she spoke again. “Fifty?”

He blinked in surprise, their eyes meeting for a second before she looked away. He felt a strong kick under the table and had to hold back a grunt as he looked at Dugley’s reprimanding eyes.

“Put it down as fifty.” He said out loud, rubbing his leg. “But if you ask for it, it doesn’t count.”

“I will not.” She said almost immediately, her determination returning to her voice. Kaden chuckled.

“Kaden…” Dudley sighed, shaking his head. Once he was down with that, Dugley looked up at them. “This is it. Do any of you have anything else to add?” Kaden shook his head, glancing at Adeline, who did the same. “Alright then. One more thing. What about the proposal.”

“I’ve got that covered,” Kaden said with a smile. “I’ll come tomorrow around noon to make the proposal in person. Your Guardian will be there, I gather?” He asked, turning towards Adeline. She nodded. “Splendid. Make sure he doesn’t send a reply to the crown prince until then or we might have to elope behind his back and that would change our story and make things complicated.”

“I will.” She nodded.

“Alright then,” Dugley said, getting to his feet and turning the two papers towards them. “Please, both sign both of the contracts. Feel free to read them before if you like.”

Adeline pulled hers and started reading it while Kaden took the quill and put down his signature. He sat down and quietly waited for her to finish, offering her the quill once she set the paper down. She took it silently and put her signature on both copies.

Dugley took them and poured a bit of sand on them, blowing over them a few times to help them dry faster. Once he was confident the ink had dried, he rolled the two papers handing each of them one.

“Thank you for doing business with us. We hope that you’ll be happy with the arrangement.” Dugley said in an awkward voice, keeping his eyes on the girl. “If at any point the contract is broken by Duke Knox’s side, we’ll issue a full r****d on the charge and compensate you for the trouble.”

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that.” She said in a steady voice. The redness had disappeared from her face and she looked again in full control of her reactions. Kaden felt a pang of regret as he watched her - he much preferred the genuine persona that hid behind Duchess Talwen. “Good day then.” She was about to turn when she stopped and looked at Kaden. “We take our lunch at twelve. Be there before that. It would be good if you do not display such frivolity in front of my Guardian, he won’t take it well.”

“Anything for my beautiful fiance,” Kaden smiled, getting to his feet. She let out a low snort then headed towards the door. Her maid sprung to action, opening it even before her mistress reached it then the two women disappeared into the corridor.

“You really do have a terrible personality.” Dugley sighed. “Did you have to tease her this much?”

“No,” Kaden replied, turning to face him. “But her reactions were really funny so it was totally worth it.” Dugley shook his head in resignation. Kaden’s smile dropped and his subordinate tensed suddenly. “Find out everything you can about her family and their accidents. Also, keep looking into her connection to the crown prince. There has to be a reason she is so desperately trying to get away from him.”