George had t a rchant for business. He had gone to the brothel on the request of a business partner from another kingdom.
The kingdom the rchant was from was notorious for indulging in pleasures, even when discussing business.
George agreed, telling the man in advance that even though he had agreed to his choice of venue, he wouldn’t be served by the courtesans and would only watch the dancers with him.
After quite so conversation between him and his business partner, one of the courtesans approached and served wine to them.
She picked up a glass of wine and handed it to the rchant, then began her work on his business partner, the both of them laughing at whatever they were talking about.
George ignored them, watching the dancers with disinterest, before averting his gaze and focusing on his drink. He couldn’t wait for their business eting to be done with so that he could make the trip ho as soon as possible.
However, after a few drinks, he began to feel tipsy which was odd as he wasn’t one to get drunk easily. He was drunk monts later.
He could vaguely hear the amused voice of his business partner as he said, "Hoho! I knew you were jesting, Marquis, when you said you would only watch the dancers..."
He felt like the voice was drifting away, but he was the one moving. His body heated up with a speed that was not normal.
"Let help you, my lord." A woman held his arm, leading him to a room.
"Charlotte." George stared at her, following her.
She felt like just what he needed to soothe his body that was burning up and he subconsciously pulled her closer to himself.
Unknown to him, the woman in his arms exchanged glances with the manager of the brothel and the two smiled smugly.
The next day, George woke up beside the woman. He was shocked, staring at the unfamiliar woman lying naked beside him.
He had no clothes on his body and it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened between them.
He strangled her neck as if wanting to kill her, forcefully waking her up. "Who are you? Why am you sleeping beside ?"
"Ack! L-let g-go." She struggled to breathe, her eyes bulging at the sudden lack of air, while at the sa ti explaining. "Y-you brought her. You...drank...a lot of w-wine."
Hearing that, George quickly released his hold on her neck. The woman hurriedly took deep breaths in, eager to refill her lungs with air. For a mont, she feared for her life.
"Get out!" George yelled.
He didn’t need to tell her twice. She quickly picked up her clothes and scrambled away.
He had no choice but to pay the courtesan and left the brothel, not wanting to spend another minute in it.
Unbeknownst to him, the courtesan he had slept with, Sana, was with the manager of the brothel, Madam Estienne.
"Look at you. The Marquis didn’t go easy on you." Madam Estienne remarked, eying the visible marks on Sana’s body.
"You don’t know, Madam." Sana replied, agreeing with Madam Estienne. Her hand caressed the painful imprint of the Marquis’s hand on her neck when he strangled her. It stung a bit.
Her face turned sour. "He kept calling another woman’s na." There was a twinge of envy as she spoke about it.
Even when the Marquis held her and was inside her, he kept repeating another woman’s na. Which woman wouldn’t be angry? She had no doubt he saw her as that woman while he ravaged her. Who wouldn’t be jealous?
"Stop thinking about that." Madam Estienne ignored her. A thoughtful look appeared on her face. "The lady will be pleased."
...
"I realized that there was more to the situation after I found Wade. After investigating, I discovered that a substance had been added to my drink."
He had been shocked when he found out that the substance would make a man strongly desire a woman and also make a woman desire a man. Its effect would only be stopped when intimate relations happened.
It was a new substance, quite different from a poison, and had been quite popular among people in shady dealings.
Charlotte was shocked hearing all this. A substance that made soone desire another to the point of losing control of oneself until the need was satiated by intimate contact.
"Why would you visit a brothel? You were at fault." She blad him.
"I know. I shouldn’t have gone to such a place just to suit the wishes of a business partner." George’s admittance made her look at him in surprise. "That is why I intend to make up for my mistakes; if you would let ." He quickly added.
"I... don’t know." Charlotte looked away, hesitating.
Now she knew that him sleeping with another woman was not intentional. She also knew that George’s parents were not the best, which was why he had a cold personality.
Should she really give him a chance? She hesitated. She didn’t want to live in a cold marriage. Like she had said earlier, she was tired of putting so much effort into the marriage when she felt that all her efforts were in vain.
But... maybe this one chance wouldn’t hurt.
George still didn’t give up. "Charlotte, please. Just give a chance to make things right. To right my wrongs."
He kneeled down in front of her to Charlotte’s astonishnt. He held her hands in his and pleaded. What was the use of his pride when he was about to lose the woman he loved? His wife, the only one who had ever cared about him.
He waited with bated breath, only truly realizing how much she ant to him when he was about to lose her. He only released the breath he was holding when she nodded.
"I... I will not seek a divorce for the ti being, until I am sure you an your words." Charlotte conceded. She paused and considered for a mont then said, "Her majesty gave a month to decide. She said that at the end of the month, whatever I decide, she’d support ."
George settled with that, releasing a sigh filled with relief. Thank Lord Nerin for her majesty. At least he now knew how much ti he had.
He looked up at her. "You are the one I love, Charlotte. I do not care about any other woman."
After George said that, the tears fell freely from Charlotte’s eyes. George stood up and quickly held her in his arms.
"I’m sorry." He slowly caressed her hair and tried to calm her down.
He had always felt disturbed whenever she cried, ever since they were little children, especially since he knew she had a weak constitution. He didn’t know how he had ended up being the cause of her tears. He had caused her much pain and sorrow.
"I’m sorry. Please, don’t cry."
He kept on whispering that he was sorry with each caress on her hair.
After so ti, when he heard even breathing, he realized she had fallen asleep. She had always been weak, and releasing all those emotions would surely have consud much of her energy.
A smile ford on his lips watching her sleep in his arms. She looked very peaceful. The tears had dried on her cheeks.
He laid her down on the bed and after so thought, stood up to leave instead of lying beside her. Just because she had agreed to give him a chance didn’t an he could be intimate with her.
He would take it one at a ti.
He respected her wishes. That was why he hadn’t touched her since they started sleeping in seperate rooms a year ago. He understood that she didn’t want to see him, therefore he had refrained from touching her. He did that even though he could have demanded to have intimate relations with her as her rightful husband. But he didn’t. He wouldn’t have been able to do it knowing that she didn’t want to.
It was difficult for him to restrain himself when it ca to his wife. She was like an addiction to him, so it took a great deal of effort for him to refrain from taking her and endure the need in the past year.
During the ti she left their room, Charlotte was thankful that George hadn’t asked her to fulfill her duties. As his wife, it was her duty to make sure her husband’s needs were t, and that included his needs in the bedroom.
However, George hadn’t once done that, which made her relieved as she would be heartbroken if they did it, knowing that he did the sa to another woman. He never forced her against her will.
George left the room, closing the door softly so that he would not wake his sleeping wife.
He neared his room and happened to see Wade coming from the opposite direction. He seed to have just returned from the tea party or whatever the butler said the third princess called it.
"Greetings, father." Wade greeted, looking slightly awkward, but that didn’t hide the joy he was feeling.
George nodded awkwardly. He didn’t know how to converse with his son without an awkward air surrounding them.
"How was her highness tea party?" He settled with asking that instead.
"Princess Aristia’s chill session was very enjoyable." Wade replied truthfully, while also correcting his father at the sa ti.
"I see." George nodded.
Wade nodded too.
The both of them stayed silent, neither knowing what to say.
With another nod, the father and son walked by each other. Even after a year of living together, they were unsure of what to say to the other.
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