When My Contract with the Misanthropic Duke Ended, I Filed For Divorce, But My Husband's Obsession and Doting Became Unbearable - Chapter 34

After I promised the Duke that we’d go on a date, the meeting came to an end.

Even though he was supposed to be busy, the Duke still showed up every single day after that. Because of him, I never really got a chance to mentally prepare myself for the promised date.

Then one day—something happened.

“The Duke has collapsed!?”

“Y-Yeah… honestly, that one’s kind of my fault,” Reed said, looking uneasy.

It was in the afternoon. I’d thought the Duke was finally too busy to come today, when Reed—who should’ve been busy himself—suddenly came to visit. The first thing out of his mouth was that the Duke had collapsed.

I stared at him, shocked and worried. If anyone knew what had happened, it’d be Reed—but he quickly averted his eyes, looking strangely awkward. I’d never seen him like that before.

Could it be… Reed did something? If the Duke collapsed because of Reed, it must’ve been from overwork or something like that, right? Maybe Reed made him push himself too hard?

But then, when it comes to work, that can’t be entirely Reed’s fault either…

“What exactly happened?” I asked.

“Well, you know how the Duke’s ridiculously good at his job?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head. That came out of nowhere—Reed, praising the Duke? That alone sounded suspicious.

“The truth is,” Reed continued, “not only did he finish all the work he was behind on, but he even helped me finish my late reports. Thanks to him, he managed to secure his three-day vacation today.”

“W–Wait, already!?”

That meant… if the Duke hadn’t collapsed, our date would’ve been happening very soon!
I didn’t know how much work there had been, but judging from Reed’s expression, he’d completed it at an insane speed.

Forget mental preparation—there hadn’t been any time for that at all!

“He worked so fast it made me realize how scary people can be when they’re motivated…” Reed muttered.

“Motivated,” huh? Does that mean he’d been that excited to go on a date with me…? Ugh, why am I feeling happy about this!? The Duke collapsed!

“He pushed himself too hard, didn’t he…? But why are you saying it’s your fault?”

“Oh—no, no, it wasn’t the overwork part. He collapsed after that, because of the ‘reward’ I gave him for helping me. It was kind of a joke, but…”

“A… joke reward?”

That already sounded suspicious enough. And what did he mean by ‘as a test’? What on earth did Reed do to make the Duke collapse!?

“Well, I knew the Duke wasn’t exactly a people person,” Reed said, scratching his cheek, “but one day I started wondering… does he actually have a normal s3x drive? I’d been meaning to test it out for a while, so I prepared something special.”

“…What… did you prepare?”

“Underwear,” he said casually.

“…Underwear?”

“Yep! I faked some—used-looking women’s and men’s underwear.”

“Reed… what are you doing…”

I sighed in disbelief. Reed sometimes did outrageous things, but this was beyond stupid. If anyone saw him doing that, he wouldn’t just lose his royal dignity—he’d be branded a total pervert!

“I guess I was a little out of it from working too much,” Reed said. “Anyway, I asked the Duke if he wanted the maid’s ‘used underwear’ as a reward. That’s when things went wrong.”

“Y–You actually asked him that!? That’s not fine at all!”

“He gave me the dirtiest look I’ve ever seen in my life,” Reed said with a grin. “Then he asked if I was offering a punishment instead of a reward.”

I could totally picture it. The Duke was known for his dislike of physical contact—there were even rumors he refused to touch noble ladies. I’d seen that cold expression before myself. If he was shown something like used underwear, especially from someone he didn’t know… of course he’d react that way.

“So then,” Reed went on, “I asked if he’d prefer your used underwear instead, and that’s when the incident—”

“WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?”

I yelled without thinking. What kind of insane conversation was that!?

“Well, you know, I was genuinely curious whether the Duke actually feels sexual attraction toward you,” Reed said. “I mean, it’s kind of important when it comes to same-s3x relationships, right? His feelings for you seem real, but I wanted to know if they went that far.”

“That doesn’t mean you test it with used underwear, you idiot!!”

How am I even supposed to face the Duke after this!? Forget the date—how do I look him in the eye ever again!?

“In the end, though, you don’t have to worry,” Reed said cheerfully. “The moment I mentioned your underwear, he froze… then got a nosebleed and fainted. So I guess he was pretty excited after all.”

“THAT’S NOT SOMETHING I WANTED TO HEAR!!”

A nosebleed!? I can’t even imagine the Duke doing that! And the fact that I’m wondering what exactly he imagined makes me hate myself even more.

I was worried about him, of course—but now, because of the reason, I had no idea how to even go see him.

If I’d known this would be the result, I never would’ve asked what happened…!