“My dear, this is only the beginning of your journey together. You must give love a chance to blossom between the two of you. I am sure that things will change once you start to live together,” Aunt Rose assured.
“But it is so unlike the romance novels. In the novels, love always happens first. I think the Duke is a fine gentleman, but he has not made any attempts to sweep me off my feet…”
“I am sure that will change with time. Real life is seldom like the novels,” Aunt Rose said.
Sophia shook her head. She had to stop herself from fantasizing about finding love with the Duke. After all, she knew that as long as she kept her distance from him, he would remain protected from the curse.
Their marriage was only one on paper. It did not mean that they had to live as husband and wife. However, Sophia could not stopherself from feeling a tinge of disappointment as she thought that.
A normal love story is reserved for women who are not cursed. I should consider myself lucky that he even wants to marry me in the first place.
“It is often the case that love arrives after you share children together,” Aunt Rose continued, oblivious to Sophia’s internal monologue. “I am sure that the Duke will want an heir soon, so I suspect that you will embark on that stage of life soon.”
Sophia felt her heart rate quicken as she listened to her aunt’s words, a sense of nervousness steadily building up inside of her.
“Children?” she repeated. “Oh heavens, I had not even thought of that.”
“It is only natural. He is the Duke, and he is expected to produce an heir to preserve his family’s legacy,” Aunt Sophia noted matter-of-factly. “You are to be his wife, and you will provide him with the heir.”
“Oh, but I… I do not even know what I am expected to do. Producing children? The idea sounds daunting. Aunt Rose, you must help me prepare for this outcome if you say that it is inevitable…”
“Well…” Her aunt’s face flushed with embarrassment at having to discuss such an intimate topic. “I cannot tell you anythingwith great detail as you will have to learn for yourself in the moment.”
“But I must be prepared, dear aunt,” Sophia argued, anxiously. “You must help me. What will be expected of me?”
Sophia’s lack of experience meant that she had never even felt the touch of a man, but she was not naive enough to be ignorant of what it took to produce children. The idea of being expected to be intimate with a man filled her up with nervousness, and she felt her palms go clammy.
“Well… it is a tender process,” Aunt Rose mumbled. “You must expect it as it marks your transition from a girl to a woman.”
“Are you sure that it will be expected of me to provide him with an heir?”
“Of course, my love. It is your duty as a wife and a duchess.”
“But what can I do to prepare?” Sophia groaned at the thought.
“My dear…” Aunt Rose looked away into the distance. “I have just realized that I left the tea on the stove. I shall be right back.”
Sophia watched her aunt dash away, embarrassed. Feeling unfulfilled by the answers given to her, she turned her attention to Clara, who had been standing beside them all this time and listening to their conversation.
“It seems that Aunt Rose does not have much advice to give me,” Sophia lamented to her. “Clara, you must help me instead.”
“My Lady, I am afraid that my expertise on the matter is just as limited as yours,” Clara admitted. “I have never married and therefore have no experience in the matter.”
“But you must have heard something from your friends, sisters, anything…”
“I know only that it will feel natural for you,” Clara observed. “Please do not worry. How difficult could the process even be? After all, almost everyone has a child. Most have them in the first year of their marriage. I am sure you will be able to deliver an heir to the Duke just fine.”
But Clara’s words only served to make Sophia’s nervousness even worse. Till now, she had only thought about what it would be like to transition to her role as the Duchess, but now that she knew that she would be expected to produce an heir, it filled her up with anxiety.
She felt worried that she would pass on the curse to her children. The realization began to eat her up inside.
Cecil came and sat on top of her lap, purring gently as Sophia began to absentmindedly comb through its soft fur.
“At least I will have you with me,” she whispered to the animal gently. Moving into a new house and living with her husband tobe was uncharted territory. Sophia knew she needed anything she could get to evoke a sense of familiarity.
The cat looked up at Sophia and blinked before nestling its head on her lap once more.
“If only animals could talk,” Sophia muttered, “I am sure I would have been asking Cecil on advice, too.”
