The Devil's Betrothed-Chapter 765: Unintentionaly Bold

Lucian and Erin were dressed in fresh sets of clothes. While Erin sat in front of the dresser to do her hair, Lucian stood behind her, watching her through the mirror.

She gave him a questioning look, wondering why he was staring at her.

"You have beautiful hair," he said, reaching out to touch it. "I can help you with it."

She was delighted that he was beginning to express himself. What woman wouldn’t love being praised by her man? Erin’s heart swelled with happiness.

"Do you know how to?" she asked curiously.

"I used to make braids for Rina," he replied, then began working on her long hair. Within minutes, he had crafted a beautiful braid, leaving Erin pleasantly surprised. Her caveman was showing new and unexpected sides. Not bad, she thought.

Once ready, they headed downstairs. Lucian noticed the slight discomfort in her steps and promptly scooped her up into his arms.

"Lucian, I can walk..." she protested.

"I caused it, so I shall be the one to take care of it," he replied firmly, leaving her too embarrassed to argue further.

"When we get home, I’ll ask my mother to send a lady physician to check on you..."

"No!" she exclaimed quickly, her voice almost panicked. "You are not doing anything like that, or I won’t talk to you anymore."

"I was just worried..."

"You don’t have to," she interrupted again, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "It’s nothing much..." she insisted, despite how mortified she felt.

The thought of Gwen bringing a lady physician to examine her after what had happened made her cringe. Not going to happen, she resolved firmly.

"As you say," Lucian said, his voice calm.

Erin let out a sigh of relief. He clearly doesn’t understand what shame is. He’s always so blunt with his words and thoughts. Ahh, my husband needs to develop some sense of shame for my sake, or I don’t know what I’ll have to face in the future.

------

Meanwhile, at Aaron’s residence, Rafal was pacing around the drawing room while the others watched him.

"Rafal, will you stop now?" Rowan said. "My head is spinning just watching you pace like this."

Rafal frowned and shot him a look. "Rowan, how can you be so calm? Erin has been gone since yesterday, she didn’t return last night, and there’s still no sign of her..."

"So?" Rowan replied nonchalantly. "She’s not a child for us to keep watch over her."

Rowan’s casual reply angered Rafal. Normally quiet and stoic, his protective side surfaced whenever it came to his sister.

"Rowan, she is our sister, and she’s out there with a man. They’re not even married yet. What if..." Rafal trailed off, his anger barely contained.

"What if what?" Rowan challenged. "She’s an adult woman and can decide for herself."

Rafal’s frustration boiled over. "I can’t be like you, Rowan. To me, she’s still my little sister—a noblewoman who shouldn’t be with a man before marriage."

"Rafal, calm down," Aaron interjected. "If anything happened, Lucian is a responsible man. You don’t have to worry about Erin. He loves her—we all know that."

Rafal shook his head. "I know, but..."

Nathaniel stood and approached him. "Rafal, she’s my sister too, and I care about her just as much. But right now, you need to stay calm. You can’t control the decisions she makes for herself. What matters most is her happiness. Can’t you see how much happier she’s been since she’s been with Lucian?"

"We understand your concern," Arthur added. "I have a sister too. But calm yourself now, and whatever the situation is, accept it. Don’t embarrass her when she comes back."

Rafal could only nod, though his worried expressions still remained the same.

The butler entered the room and informed them, "My Lord, Lord Lucian and Lady Erin have returned to the Rainier residence."

Rafal immediately perked up and almost moved to leave, but Nathaniel placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Are you planning to embarrass her the moment she returns?"

Rowan, who had remained calm and unwilling to deal with his overprotective younger brother, finally spoke up. "She’s probably already wondering how to face us. Give her some space and suppress those brotherly instincts of yours. And just imagine this: the woman you marry one day will also be someone’s sister. How I wish you’d end up with a wife who has a flock of overprotective brothers who won’t even let you near her, even after you’re married."

"As if I’m going to marry," Rafal countered. "Why don’t you think about yourself first? You’re older than me, and Father has already started considering proposals for your marriage."

"Why won’t you marry?" Rowan shot back. "Even that stubbornly celibate Arlan Cromwell got married. What’s wrong with you? Or have you decided to build up the muscles in your arms from a lifetime of using them in loneliness?"

The others struggled to suppress their laughter while Rafal glared at him. "You and your insolent talk. Only if you weren’t older than me..."

"Then what? I speak the truth," Rowan replied. "After all, you’re a man, and we men need ways to let it out, or we end up sulky like you. Look at me—how chill I am."

"Keep that to yourself. Don’t try to teach me," Rafal retorted.

It was the first time everyone had seen Rafal talk so much, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Calm down and sit here," Nathaniel suggested. "I’m sure we’ll be invited to the Rainiers for an afternoon meal soon. It wouldn’t look good if you barged straight into your sister’s room. You’d only embarrass her."

Rafal understood the reasoning and finally sat down, though his grave expression remained. He didn’t talk to anyone after that.

------

When they arrived at the Rainier residence, Lucian helped Erin step out of the carriage.

Before Lucian could even think about carrying her, Erin quickly stepped away and said, "I want to walk."

She didn’t want to make it obvious to everyone what had transpired between them. With so many servants present outside, she didn’t want to become the subject of gossip, especially when she was going to be the lady of the estate.

Lucian hummed in agreement and walked alongside her. He glanced at the butler and said, "Ask all the servants to leave."

The butler immediately hurried inside and ordered everyone to vacate the area.

As soon as they entered the drawing room and approached the stairs, Lucian took Erin’s hand and stopped her. Before she could protest, he swept her up into his arms.

"Lucian, I told you—"

"No servants are around to see me carry you," he interrupted and began climbing the stairs anyway.

"You are impossible," she frowned, but Lucian remained silent.

He carried her to the bed, placed her down gently, and covered her with a blanket. "You need to stay warm," he said.

Erin lay helplessly in the bed, too tired to argue with the stubborn man.

She pulled the blanket over her face and turned her back to him, mumbling under her breath, "If you keep acting like this, practically announcing to the whole world what we did, I won’t be doing anything with you again."

"You won’t always feel this way. You’ll get used to it," he replied, his voice steady.

She froze, realizing he’d heard her. Peeking out from under the blanket, she turned to look at him. He was standing at the door. I thought he left, she mused.

"Rest," he said simply, before leaving.

’This man is so used to saying bold things with a straight face,’ Erin thought. ’My caveman is unintentionally bold.’

After a while, Gwen arrived in the room. Erin was staring out the window but turned her attention to the door as it opened. She immediately sat up as Gwen smiled warmly at her.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked.

Erin nodded lightly, though her thoughts betrayed her calm demeanor. ’I’m alright, but your stubborn son has turned me into a patient.’

"If you need anything, you can tell me," Gwen offered kindly.

Erin, feeling a little hesitant in front of Gwen, replied, "I will."

Gwen observed her quietly for a moment, as though contemplating something. Then, gathering her thoughts, she spoke anyway. "I do not mean to pry into your private matters, but since your mother is not here, I thought..."

Erin noticed Gwen’s hesitation and decided to ease her discomfort. "Please, feel free to say whatever is on your mind."

Gwen took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "If you and Lucian were together last night, would you like me to prepare a medicine for you?" she asked politely. "You two are not married yet, so I thought I should ask."

Erin immediately understood her meaning and responded, "There’s no need."

Gwen didn’t press further, respecting Erin’s decision. "Rest well, then," she said warmly.

Erin offered a polite smile and replied, "Thank you for worrying about me. I truly appreciate it."

Gwen smiled lightly in return and left the room.

After Gwen left, Erin wondered, ’Would Lucian want me to take that medicine?’ She thought about it and concluded. ’He would definitely let me decide on it. He doesn’t care about what world thinks, anyways.’

She smiled and lay back in the bed, covering herself well from the cold. She stared at the ceiling as she thought.

’It’s truly good to have a man who doesn’t care about the world and does what he thinks is right. Maybe a blockhead, he is a liberal man and I love it.’