Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 137: Spark (4)

"Oh, before you go. When you are done torturing the men, could you be so kind as to write the letter to Mary for me? My handwriting is not the best, and I would still need someone to look over the words. I know others could do it, but I would prefer it if it were you to help me," Ophelia requested.

Ophelia didn’t want to face the judgmental stare of others, realising she was not as good as expected when it came to writing.

"My tutor hasn’t come for a visit yet," said Ophelia.

"I haven’t sent for her because I wanted to give you time to rest before you get back to your tutoring. If you could wait a little, I can help you write it tonight and have it sent to her right after. I am willing to help you when your tutor is not present," Dante offered.

"I don’t want to take you from your duties," Ophelia said, even though she wanted Dante to help her.

"You are my first duty. There is nothing in this castle I must tend to before my wife. It is set that we have plans for tonight, so don’t forget them. Don’t overwork yourself as well," Dante said, taking notice of the mud on Ophelia’s shoes. "The gardeners will care for the garden."

"The point of my wanting to start a garden was to have something to busy myself with in the castle, but it is a good gift, and I appreciate it. I am going to make the tower off-limits. I will be the only one to tend to the pots there. Why do you keep smiling when I am not saying anything worth a smile?" Ophelia asked, annoyed by Dante’s smile.

"Can’t a man smile?"

"They can, but when you do it, I know you are plotting. What has become of you? I cannot be the reason you are like this," Ophelia said, stepping away from Dante. "I am afraid to be courted by you."

"It is not good to lie, Ophelia. I saw how much you enjoyed the gift, and I have more. I picked out the home that will belong to you and Theo. Would you like to see it tomorrow? You will need to move some of your belongings there for when you want to escape the castle."

Ophelia was puzzled about when Dante had the time to make all of these plans.

"Did you just fall for me?" Dante asked, noticing her stare. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Yes. No!" Ophelia exclaimed, covering her mouth.

Ophelia’s confession took Dante by surprise since he was too stunned to respond.

"That’s not. I mean," Ophelia tried to explain, but the words wouldn’t come out right. "I need to get back to my duties. I have much to see."

Ophelia started to walk around Dante, tapping her mouth as she scolded herself along the way.

Dante grabbed Ophelia’s arm to stop her from leaving. "If I let you go like this, you’ll convince yourself that you didn’t feel a spark in the moment. I can’t let you leave just yet. You would agree that we should be honest with each other, right?"

Ophelia lowered her hand from her mouth and answered, "Yes."

"You have a competitive spirit to you. I’m sure you don’t want to admit so soon that you have feelings for me, and I can be patient, but throw me a bone once in a while," Dante pleaded.

"Dante," Ophelia started to say.

"Yes?"

"Is it not wrong to say to throw you a bone when you are a beast? It sounds like it would be insulting," Ophelia said, her thoughts slipping out.

Dante stared at Ophelia for a moment. He laughed, amused by how she switched what they were speaking of. "See, this is why I find myself drawn to you. I never know what to expect from you. It would not be insulting."

"I don’t know why I said that out loud," Ophelia muttered.

Ophelia wanted to melt into the floor and slip away from Dante’s sight.

"I surprised myself with my answer. My lips acted faster than my mind, so you got the truth. I do like all of the gifts you have prepared. It doesn’t help that you stand before me as a sweaty mess. Can’t you train in different attire?" Ophelia asked, trying not to stare.

"My dear wife has finally confessed she is attracted to me, and her eyes wander to my body. Why would I be so foolish as to cover myself? I should cover up the others," Dante considered.

Dante couldn’t have Ophelia’s eyes going to someone else. Dante respected his knights, but they weren’t safe from his jealousy if Ophelia ever looked in their direction.

"Why would you need to cover them when I only look at you? No!" Ophelia covered her mouth again. "What have you done to me?"

"Apparently, being shirtless gets you to be honest. I will keep this in mind for the future. Does that mean I would be so blessed to get a full confession if I strip down to only what I was born with?" Dante asked, resting his hands on his pants to tease Ophelia.

"You are a sweaty brute," Ophelia said, but she also partly blamed herself. "You are distracting the maids when you are like this."

"The maids are not allowed to come to the training grounds. You brought yourself here and gave yourself a distraction. Let us go back to how you look at me and no one else. I would like to hear more of it. Please," Dante pleaded.

"Your knights have been staring since you came to me. They must miss you and want to get back to training, so I won’t keep you from them. Have a good day," Ophelia said, excusing herself before she confessed too much.

"No kiss goodbye?" Dante asked, tapping his cheek.

"When have I ever kissed you goodbye? I urge you not to push your luck. It is the warm weather that affected my judgement," Ophelia said, deciding to be in denial.

"There is a cool breeze, but if the weather is so warm that you feel affected, should I lift you to carry you to bed?" Dante asked, taking a step toward Ophelia. "I will be so kind as to tuck you in."

Ophelia was quicker than Dante and slipped away so as not to be held by him again.

"I will stay out of your way until dinner. Please be properly dressed by then. Goodbye!" Ophelia yelled as she ran away.

Dante smiled and thought of how soon Ophelia would have to admit her feelings. She couldn’t run forever.