The duke added, this time his words were spoken more slowly, to emphasize his intent, "However, if you want to do any work because you are bored and need something to do, you can do bookkeeping or whatever."
At that, Sophie felt at a loss for words. She wanted to ask what he meant by his statement, but she was too shy to speak for fear she misunderstood him.
Perhaps, he meant to say that he would be responsible for her livelihood, together with her child, and that she didn't need to worry about her needs.
He didn't really mean to say that his money was her money now, did he? It was too absurd.
She was just his wife in name, a trophy even, to bring out to social events that required him to bring a partner. Even a full wife usually didn't have entitlement over their husband's wealth.
Their roles were just to serve their husband in bed and in his day-to-day life, raise their children, and manage the servants at home. Noblemen's wives usually were not educated to manage money anyway.
They just needed to look good and understood basic stuff about managing the allowance provided for them by their husbands.
"Do you understand me?" Leland could feel her confusion and decided to talk to her about it. "You don't have to work for money. I have enough money to support our family even for generations to come. If you decided to do the bookkeeping so you would know how much wealth we have, feel free to continue, but it's no longer a job."
He smiled faintly under his mask when Sophie's eyes bulged in shock. She couldn't believe her own hearing but her husband actually repeated the information twice now and there was no mistaking it… he did say that his money was her money too.
"I… I understand," Sophie bobbed her head. She had been poor all her life and she understood what money could bring to someone's life, so of course, she wouldn't pretend that she didn't like money.
In fact, now that she would have a child, who would need money to raise, she liked having money even more than before.
"Good." Leland didn't prolong the issue. He turned around and continued walking out of the dining hall, toward his study to do some work. Sophie stood rooted in her spot, watching the man's back view until he disappeared from sight.
He was like an enigma to her. It's hard to understand him and his motivations. Finally, Sophie decided to go to her chamber and think.
***
Days went by and things were back to how they were before the wedding. Sophie decided to follow Duke Romanov's advice to only do the bookkeeping because she wanted to find something to keep her busy. Especially because the duke was often away and she felt lonely in the castle.
Sophie also felt sluggish if she didn't do any work and she thought doing the bookkeeping helped her mind stay sharp. She could also slowly check and assess how much wealth her husband actually had.
Even after three days, she still had not done checking and accounting for so many properties and assets. There were so many of them...
And he said these were hers too…?
Sophie still couldn't believe it. It felt surreal.
***
It was dinner time and Sophie was once again dining with just Duke Romanov. They ate in silence again, as usual, but after half an hour, she realized she had not talked to anyone all day and it felt really lonely.
Sophie bit on her lip and decided to ask him a question about his whereabouts and why he was not taking her anywhere.
Didn't this man say that Sophie was going to be an asset towards helping him become more well-accepted in the noble society of Riga? Then why wasn't he taking her anywhere? Did the duke change his mind? Was it all actually a lie?
"Something is on your mind." Leland pointed out as he ate his food. The Alpha could feel the burning emotions of curiosity in Sophie's mind and he raised a brow to look at her.
"...I am simply curious when you'll start bringing me to social events, your grace," Sophie told the man. She didn't say anything else and didn't even actually know what to call him right now in the eyes of his own people.
"Do not worry about those things," Leland said. His gaze landed on her and he shrugged slightly. "Right now, most would expect that we are on our honeymoon so there is no need for you to rush out and mingle with other people except for me."
Sophie's eyes widened for a moment. She didn't expect that such a thing would dictate as to whether she appeared in polite society or not, but the duke happened to be right. She didn't want to admit it aloud that she wondered about his presence.
"Is there anything else…?"
Sophie chewed on her lip and shook her head. "No, thank you for answering my inquiry, my lord."
She would never purposely ask the man to stay with her or do anything with her, but she really was curious if the man truly did not want to engage in any activities with her whatsoever.
Didn't Duke Romanov say he was interested in her before? What happened now? Did Sophie lose the man's interest now that she was his wife?
Did he not enjoy the sex they did once? Not that she wanted him to approach her again for sex… It's just that... she thought he would at least show some struggle to avoid suggesting intimacy. At least that's what most normal men would do.
How could he sleep with her once and not even show any desire afterward? Was Sophie really that unattractive in bed?
He said he was interested in her before they got married but now that they had slept together, he no longer showed any interest.
Such questions bothered her in such a way, unlike before.
Leland noticed that Sophie's feelings began to become conflicted because she was bothered with two opposing ideas and the man wished to alleviate that.
The Alpha purposely kept himself busy with countless activities so he could remain in control of himself, but seeing her feel a bit irritated with herself made him want to do something for her.
"Come with me to my study after dinner," Leland told her.
Sophie's eyes widened for a moment and she looked at him. It was impossible to tell what the man was thinking at all and yet somehow he did the exact thing that she wanted him to do.
Invite her somewhere.
Did he read her mind?
Regardless of the duke's actual intentions as to why she was being requested to head to the study with him, Sophie nodded and said yes. She didn't know what he wanted to do in the study at all but now she started to eat a bit faster so the two of them could get there faster.
Curious about what would happen once they go there.
A part of Sophie might even say she was actually looking forward to the visit to his study and heard what he had to say to satiate her curiosity.
"Will do, my lord," Sophie replied respectfully.
"Hm." Leland nodded. He sipped his wine and didn't say anything. Silence resumed in the dining hall and they finished the dinner without another word.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel