Bala: The Duke's Contract Wife

Price and Trust (1)

Rose's feet took her to the library in the west wing. As Soon as Rose opened the door, the smell of paper invaded her nostrils, calming her down. Since childhood, Rose had always loved reading books. Maybe it was because she had always been alone. Her mother was often sick, Rendre was more interested in seeking power, and Anisa... that girl never reads, the woman was very anti for everything that she thinks is unconventional for women. When Rose reads, she feels herself detaching from reality. Whatever the book was, whether it was history, chemistry, magic, or even about plantations. Who knows, right? Knowing plantation techniques might be useful in the future.

For Rose, no knowledge is ever a waste to learn. And if she can get carried away with the author's words, she doesn't care. Because imagining the world behind the paper is more fun than her own life.

The library in the west wing was not as big as the library in the Fullmeir residence. However, there were more reading variations. The room was also quiet, there was only one library guard. As soon as the guard saw Rose, the middle-aged man immediately understood. He bowed to Rose and walked out of the room. Rose has often visited the library to be alone, she does not want to be disturbed by anyone.

The guard suddenly gasped as he walked out, but Rose didn't really care. The girl continued to step inside the library after hearing the door behind her close. She entered the third aisle from the left. The scent of old books was increasingly becoming prominent. That was a special section for ancient books.

Previously, books in west wing libraries were quite derelict. Even the ancient books were just stacked in one corner of the room and left moldy. Rose, as the Duchess, had sorted the books and told the librarian to take better care of the books. She also added two special cabinets to display the ancient books. And until now, it has been her favorite aisle.

Rose trailed her fingers on the fragile spines of the books. She continued to touch the books' spines until she reached the end of the first shelf. Then she started the same movement on the second and third shelves. Until she got to the last shelf. Rose circled the shelf and appeared on the left side of the shelf. Again, she just walked while trailing her fingers on the spines, trying to evaporate her racing adrenaline.

The girl stopped on the seventh shelf that she passed. She began to pay more attention one by one to the book titles, looking for her next read. Her eyes were fixed on one title that read, 'Magic and Dragons'. The book was two shelves above Rose's head. She tiptoed her feet and stretched out her hands but her fingers failed to reach the book. She glanced at the shelf ladder that was far down the hall.

Rose sighed. She was ready to jump to reach for the book when a big hand suddenly picked up the book she wanted. There was a wall behind her back out of the blue. In shock, Rose's legs lost their balance. Luckily there was one more hand wrapped around her waist, supporting her body to stand up.

"This book?" whispered Victor in Rose's ear. Somehow the man's voice gave Rose a sense of heat.

She couldn't turn to see the man, so Rose just nodded. Victor took the book with ease. But when Rose was about to thank and take the book out of Victor's hands, the man pulled the book back away from the reach of her hand. The movement made Rose turn around, staring at the man.

Victor's green eyes shone. "You finally want to look at me."

"What do you mean, Duke?"

He clicked his tongue in displeasure. "I told you. Call me Victor."

"Why? That's a title you've earned." Rose tried to reach the book but Victor raised his hand even more. Annoyed, Rose stared at Victor sharply. "Duke, please. I'm not in the mood for this."

"Not in the mood?" Victor raised one eyebrow, "You've been avoiding me all day."

Rose jumped, trying to reach the book again. However, her body was too small and she couldn't win against Victor's body. Finally, she sighed in surrender. Then she turned her body out of Victor's grasp and went back to walking while trailing her fingers on the bookshelves again. She was looking for another book to read.

"Hey, don't you want to read this?"

"Not anymore," Rose said without seeing Victor. The man approached Rose and shook the book in front of Rose's face. As if he was baiting the girl with the book. "Are you sure?"

At high speed, Rose grasped the book with her hands. Then one of her legs slipped between Victor's legs and quickly she tackled the man's calf. Unfortunately, Victor's legs were too strong. Rose kept trying to bring him down, but the man didn't budge at all.

A triumphant smile emerged from Victor's face. His green eyes looked at Rose in amusement.

"Your technique is good," Victor said. "But, your strength is weak."

Increasingly annoyed by Victor's comments, Rose again tried to pull the book away from Victor's hand with more power Unexpectedly, Victor released his grip. The momentum made Rose's body staggered backward, losing her balance.

Deftly, Victor caught Rose's arm and pulled the girl from falling. He then put up her back on the bookshelf. The wooden shelf vibrated when it had to support the girl's body. Victor's hands squeezed the shelving boards on both sides of her body. One hand was on the shelf board that aligned with Rose's head, the other was on the shelf board near Rose's waist. The man looked so big compared to her. Like a lion cornering a red-eyed rabbit.

Unwittingly, Rose hugged the book tightly on her chest. Trying to hide her running heart.

"Are you okay?" asked Victor.

Rose raised her neck. There was no longer a bandage wrapped around it. "As you can see, the wound is gone perfectly."

"That's not it. I meant after the interrogation, are you okay?"

Rose blinked.

Did he follow me just to ask me that?

Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I've been better..."

Victor understood Rose's gaze. The girl was uncomfortable talking about her past. And the man didn't want to insist.

"You...," continued Victor, "... avoided me since you woke up."

"It's just your imagination."

"Oh, really?"

Victor's fingers suddenly pulled Rose's chin, forcing the girl to cut off contact with the floor and stared at Victor. "Rose... Did I say something wrong?" Victor's green eyes stared at her straight.

Rose averted her eyes again. "N– no..."

"Then why did you leave without waking me up?"

"Um... I feel uncomfortable... in your bed..."

"Why?" asked Victor, "We've slept together. Why are you uncomfortable now?"

"Duke." Rose made her voice sounded solid. "Our marriage is only a year. We shouldn't be too comfortable with each other."

Victor widened his eyes slightly and Rose found herself tightening the book on her chest. Quickly the man set his emotions back to neutral. The green beads were back to being cold. Impenetrable.

"You forget, Rose." Victor sighed. The guy looked tired suddenly. The man's head rested on Rose's shoulders, his blonde hair tickled Rose's cheeks. "One of the wives' obligations is to satisfy her husband. So we do have to be comfortable with each other, don't you think so?"

Victor brushed Rose's unraveled black hair with one hand, then out of the blue he bit Rose's ear.