My Secretly Hot Husband

Chapter 7

The Monster Lord looked distressed, but he gestured for Letitia to follow him. They walked through a dark corridor and arrived in front of that very padlocked room just moments later. As he unlocked the door with a key, the Monster Lord said, “First of all, this is not a room for sacrifices.”

It’s not? Letitia stood stock still in front of the door. Then what is it for?

She was surprised at the sight that greeted her inside. A silver glow, soft and radiant, filled the space as light flooded in through the large window, where the especially bright moon of the north was visible. Although it was messy inside, she could still make out the details within. All the walls were in the process of being repainted and someone had drawn a rough sketch on the ceiling that seemed to be a depiction of a forest and animals.

What about the altar for sacrifices? That particular item she had seen during her earlier snooping was next to a bed with pink drapes. While it had definitely looked like an altar before, Letitia could now see that it was not. It was a large desk, which was accompanied by a small half-finished chair complete with a backrest that the servants must have been in the process of adjusting so it would be at the right height for the desk.

That was all. It was ludicrously far from the brutal scene inspired by her terror. Letitia continued to look around the room with bewildered eyes.

“Then what in the world is this room for?” she asked.

“It’s your room,” the Monster Lord replied.

“What?”

“I asked Alexa to prepare a room for you quickly. You are a guest in our castle, and the first one I’m hosting, at that. I have a duty to be a gracious host even if you’re only staying for a night,” he said brusquely.

This is my room? She hadn’t been expecting that. Letitia walked in through the threshold. A row of wooden dolls had been placed by the window, which tempered the wild landscape in the dark distance and made the scenery look a little more welcoming.

Small, circular step stools were also dispersed throughout the room to accommodate her short height so she could climb up to anywhere she liked. Everything in the room, every last detail, had been arranged with Letitia in mind. They had done their best to decorate even though she was a cowardly child who might run away at any moment.

I had no idea and had the most ridiculous misunderstanding! Letitia sheepishly scratched her cheek. How terribly rude she had been—she had to apologize to the castle’s owner immediately. However, the Monster Lord only stood there rigidly and, when their eyes met, he spoke to her just as stiffly.

“I know it’s very shabby. It must look like a maid’s room to you since you are a count’s daughter...”

“What?” Letitia was taken by surprise. She finally understood what was going on. As soon as she had brought up the room, he had become curter and that was because he expected Letitia would be greatly disappointed upon seeing it.

That also explained why the maids were equally flustered when she asked them about it. They had all assumed the room was too shabby for the daughter of a count from the capital. They had no idea how coldly Letitia had been treated or that she had once lived in an attic room that wasn’t even half the size.

“It’s not that we are neglectful to our guests. This is the best we can afford to provide,” he said, then turned his head sharply. Letitia was at a loss for words. He saw her as the count’s pampered daughter and seemed convinced she’d had the luxurious life of a noble lady.

If only that were true. Letitia wished she were that cherished child. She wanted people to continue thinking she was, even for a short while. In this place where no one knew her, she wanted to be seen as a daughter who had been loved. However, she couldn’t hurt another person for the sake of her vanity.

“No,” Letitia said quietly. “Everything in this room is new.”

“So what?” the Monster Lord said.

“I’ve never owned anything new,” she confessed in a trembling voice. She felt even more pathetic now that she had revealed the truth. Her face reddened in shame and embarrassment.

I feel like I’m going to cry. She bit her lip but it was no use, the tears broke through like a dam before she could do anything to stop it.

The Monster Lord stared at her in shock. He looked more taken aback than he ever had during their entire interaction and seemed panicked by the sudden crying.

Letitia knew her behavior was inexcusable for a twelve-year-old, so she hurriedly wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry.”

At that same moment, the sound of a slamming door reached her ears from somewhere else in the castle. It seemed someone had left their room, perhaps one of the old women who had good hearing.

“I think it’s best we leave,” the Monster Lord said, and he quickly led her out with the lamp in his hand. After he relocked the door, they walked through the darkness and returned to the study. The air had chilled slightly, so the Monster Lord threw some wood in the fireplace before turning his gaze to Letitia.

“Why did you say you’ve never owned anything new? Your family owns a house in the capital as well as land in the countryside, don’t they? That must mean they’re a very wealthy noble family.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then are your parents stingy with their children?”

“No, that’s not the case,” she said. It sounded illogical, even to her, so the Monster Lord must have thought it was very strange.

He was only fifteen, but he had a dignified, commanding presence. He naturally assumed the air of someone demanding an explanation without seeming to be aware of it. Letitia realized she could no longer deceive him.

“The truth is I’m adopted.” She resigned herself to the situation and came clean about everything. “The current Lord Grey is my uncle, not my father. My aunt and uncle did not want to send my two cousins to the north, so they adopted and sent me in their stead.”

“How could they do such a thing?” he said in surprise. “Your parents permitted that to happen?”

“My parents are gone. They passed away ten years ago right here in the north. I was told they accidentally entered the land of the devils while visiting for business.”

“What? Then that makes things even more bizarre. That gives you even less reason to want to come here.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then why did you obey your uncle without putting up a fight? It seems like he wasn’t even nice to you. I hope he didn’t steal your support funds on top of what he did.”

“He did steal them. But my uncle believes I owe an exorbitant debt to our family because my father invested all of the family money we inherited from my grandfather into a mine. However, the deed to the mine went missing when he passed away.”

“That’s ridiculous and unreasonable! Everyone just let your uncle make that absurd decision? None of your relatives helped you? Nobody came to your rescue as he harassed you with that nonsense and sent you packing to the north?”

“Nobody was on my side.”

“Then you should have run away!”

“I tried. But...” Letitia hesitated. She had reservations telling him that she tried to run away because she didn’t want to marry him, but she also didn’t want to reveal the threats her aunt and uncle had made to her. She was extremely embarrassed about her family situation even though she was a child.

Despite that, she knew she couldn’t gloss over it. The Monster Lord was very sharp—and likely just as shrewd as the average adult—so she knew it would be impossible to hide the truth.

“I’m ashamed to say that my aunt and uncle threatened me. They said that if I didn’t act like a good replacement for my cousins… they would desecrate my parents’ graves so that they wouldn’t be able to rest in peace.”

The Monster Lord was silent for a long while. Letitia stood there without moving. It felt good to reveal all those embarrassing secrets. She had stopped crying a while ago and felt ready to accept whatever fate would befall her.

“It was wrong of me to lie about who I am. I suppose you have no choice but to send me back to my uncle’s house, right?”

“That was my original plan,” the Monster Lord said. “As I told you earlier, I was planning to have a sham wedding for formality’s sake when the count’s daughter arrived, then to send her back home after divorcing her. However, I’ve changed my mind.”

She could hear the unsuppressed rage in his voice.

“Your aunt and uncle aren’t good enough to raise you. They aren’t humans—they’re devils in disguise. We Halsteads will not let a single human fall into the hands of the devils. That’s how it’s been for centuries.” Then he confidently announced, “You requested my protection, so you are allowed to stay in my castle as long as you want. I give you my word as the Monster Lord. Nobody will be able to disagree now that I’ve said it. Not even your aunt and uncle can touch a single hair on your head in front of me without permission.”

His declaration was simply phrased and lacked decorum, but it was dignified, classy, and elegant. He also exuded so much confidence and arrogance she could not believe this was a fifteen-year-old boy. It seemed to her that he could force anyone into submission.

Letitia could finally let out a deep breath. A part of her had always felt pressured after her aunt and uncle’s horrific threat—it was tormenting her like a coiled snake waiting in the corner of her mind. But now it had been chased away without a trace.

I’m safe now. She felt as though someone had placed a large, warm blanket over her shivering body. Letitia relished that feeling of safety. But that wasn’t all.

“Come here,” the Monster Lord said, calling her to the desk.

She approached without a thought and discovered a very cute picture book on the desktop. Its title, The Chronicles of Elderberry Bunny, was embossed in large letters, and it seemed to feature rabbits who lived in a rabbit village. It was a welcome sight for Letitia, who was a bookworm.

“Wow, this is adorable! I wonder whose it is!” she blurted out, then paused.

She remembered the scene she had encountered earlier when she entered the study. The Monster Lord had been reading a book, which he had placed on top of his desk when she came in. Did that mean this was that book...? It was too late to remedy the situation. An awkward air already hung between them.

The Monster Lord gravely replied, “It’s for research.”

“Oh, I see...”

All right then.