And yet, not even a stir.

If a wedding night could be ruined, could it possibly be ruined any worse than this?

“…….”

“…….”

A brief, meaningful exchange of glances followed.

Then a silent understanding took shape.

They were in full agreement that the union of two bodies was premature.

Forcing it in a state like this would only leave both sides with serious internal damage.

To begin with, they spent twenty years stuck together so thoroughly it was almost nauseating.

Dorothy covered for five-year-old Caden when he wet the bed, scattering tea leaves over the spot to mask it. Caden tied a string around Dorothy’s loose front tooth when she was seven and pulled it out for her.

It was Caden who noticed Dorothy’s talent as a magic tool artisan early on and gave her an introductory book on magical engineering. It was Dorothy who stayed by Caden’s side when he awakened as an elemental mage, helping him keep control so he wouldn’t lose himself in the surge of power. And of course, she was the first one able to congratulate him when it was over.

A relationship where they could see right through each other with their eyes closed.

There was no flutter, but that didn’t mean they weren’t precious to each other. They were bound tightly together by deep familial affection and solid trust.

But s*x was an entirely different matter.

They cared for each other and held each other dear.

But that dearness was rooted in something closer to family, and so, they couldn’t.

If family members had s*x with each other, that would be… ‘incest,’ wouldn’t it?

Incest was out of the question.

Incest was insane!

“Dorothy… you and I are basically family.”

“Emotionally, eighty percent. No. Ninety percent family.”

Caden crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling in silence.

His expression was impossibly serious.

“Common sense says family members shouldn’t do that sort of thing with each other, right?”

“Right, right.”

“We can’t commit an act that violates human decency.”

“Agreed. One hundred percent.”

Nod, nod. Dorothy nodded with great enthusiasm.

“We have plenty of time ahead of us. Let’s not stress ourselves out over nothing. Take it easy and think it through.”

Caden reached out without thinking and took hold of Dorothy’s arm. His palm was scorching hot.

Dorothy found it strange. But before she could even ask why his hand was so hot, Caden quickly pulled back.

The warmth vanished just as fast. Like it was all a mirage.

Caden wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and said, “Surely someday… it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah.”

“…….”

“They say obsessing over something like this actually makes it worse. Let’s not think about it any more tonight.”

“Okay.”

The two fell silent.

Now that the conversation has reached this point…. There was nothing left to do.

The truth was, there was only one thing a married couple was supposed to do on their wedding night, and they were avoiding it, so they had nothing but time to spare.

“Should we just sleep?”

“If we go to sleep right away, people might get suspicious….”

“Hmm. Want to play Othello? It’s been a while.”

“Sure.”

As if they were waiting for exactly this, the grid board and small black and white discs for Othello were swiftly and neatly laid out on the fresh bedding of the bridal chamber.

While Dorothy pushed the blanket aside to clear space for the game, Caden casually straightened his robe and went to find a women’s robe, thicker than his own and made of softer material.

He lifted the sleeve of the robe toward her, and Dorothy extended her arm back without even looking. Even so, Caden slipped the robe onto Dorothy’s body without a single wasted movement.

He tied the sash at her waist into a neat bow, then went and sat down on the opposite side of the Othello board.

A few hours later.

“It’s actually fun playing after so long.”

“Right?”

Dorothy laughed, hehe.

And so, the new bride and groom, shut away in their bridal chamber, did not do what they were supposed to do and instead threw themselves into Othello. They burned through the night wholesomely, with nothing but Othello.

* * *

Dawn broke.

By the time the ridge of the mountains near the horizon shimmered faintly in ivory light, the two of them put the game board away, returned everything to its place, and lay down side by side on the bed.

Caden pulled the blanket up to Dorothy’s neck. Then he carefully patted the surface of the blanket so the feathers inside would spread out evenly rather than clump together.

“You need to stay properly covered.”

Dorothy always caught a cold when the days turned cool and the temperature gap between morning and night grew wide. She needed to keep her body at a consistent temperature, slightly warmer than most people.

The blanket she was under was a fine piece made from the feathers of the Lagata bird. Lagata feathers had the property of generating their own warmth, making the blanket exceptionally cozy. The only drawback was that when the feathers clumped in one spot, that area would get unusually hot.

Caden, worried that Dorothy’s temperature would drop after sweating, always took care to spread the feathers evenly whenever he was nearby. And every time he did, Dorothy would lie still as a gentle country puppy, watching him from beneath the blanket with only half her face peeking out.

After a long pause, Dorothy said what she kept to herself.

“Hey, Cay…. What if you just went ahead and accepted that offer?”

“What? The Kirusha mission?”

“Yeah.”

In the hazy dark of early dawn, quiet words passed between them.

Everything around them was dark, yet somehow, Dorothy’s golden eyes, close and facing his, seemed to glow like a small source of light.

“Opportunities to earn this kind of merit without going to the front lines are rare.”

Dorothy didn’t want Caden drafted into a war as a combat mage.

But regardless of her wishes, the nine nations established after the fall of the old empire were in constant competition and conflict with one another.

This was not a time of complete and stable peace.

The Kirusha canal project was, admittedly, a long-term mission that many people were reluctant to take, with considerably demanding conditions.

But there were also a few advantages that couldn’t be ignored.

For one, the nature of the mission suited Caden, a water mage, in terms of compatibility.

Moreover, if he earned recognition for his work this time and received a mage title, he would have some degree of negotiating power even if the state demanded his participation in a war later on.

Caden originally received the offer to join the Kirusha long-term mission before graduation. He declined politely because his marriage to Dorothy was coming up.

“With your ability, I’m sure you can earn a mage title. Let’s aim for a Class 5 title.”

Caden made a crooked face. “Tch.”

“What do you mean Class 5? I can bring back a Class 4.”

“There you go again. Such a braggart….”

“Hey. You don’t trust your own husband’s abilities?”

Husband?

Dorothy paused at the unfamiliar title.

The honor and authority of a mage title rivaled that of a noble’s. Class 4 was as good as a viscountcy.

The strange sensation that came when Caden called himself her husband was quickly buried under the sheer absurdity of him already aiming past a barony straight for a viscountcy.

Dorothy reached out from under the blanket and pinched Caden’s arm hard.

“Ow!”

“You know what they say about a nail that sticks out? Don’t go charging ahead and making a scene. Just do your part quietly.”

“…….”

“You’d better not come back injured. I’ll pull out every hair on your head.”

“I won’t get injured.”

Caden stuck out his lip.

“And if all my hair gets pulled out, you’re the one who loses, having to live with a bald man.”

‘He’s got a point, actually.’

Dorothy conceded.