Chapter 1: Consummation on the Night of the New Moon (10)

At that moment, everything he had been suppressing surged to the surface. Terian couldn’t resist the self-loathing urge.

Whenever she came to him first, always—

“Ah……”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her inside the room. The door that had been between them slammed shut behind Larie with a harsh sound.

“You only invoke the duties of a wife when it suits you, don’t you.”

“……I’m sorry……”

Her small body fit perfectly in his arms, and tonight, her scent was particularly strong. He barely managed to move his hand to press against the closed door.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her face, with its rapidly fluttering silver lashes.

He forced himself to recall the hatred that kept slipping away. He struggled not to forget the weight of the name her family bore.

Finally, he poured out the unfiltered thoughts he had been holding back toward her, who had grown increasingly irksome lately.

“I heard you’ve even been skipping meals. But now you show up like this—was that a lie too?”

“……”

“Just like the name your family bears.”

He felt her body flinch beneath his touch, but instead of feeling satisfaction, his mood only worsened. The discomfort snowballed, pressing on his chest like a heavy weight.

And yet, a part of him grew anxious not seeing those green eyes meet his.

“Fine. Let’s fulfill our duties as husband and wife. Who knows what you might swallow next.”

Only after spitting out those sharp words did Larie slowly lift her head.

Would her face twist in anger again? Or would she slap him, humiliated?

“……”

“……”

But all she did was quietly raise her head, then look away. For a fleeting moment, the green eyes that met his seemed faintly moist.

It was a dark night with no moonlight. Terian chalked it up to a trick of the eye. He berated himself for foolishly entertaining useless thoughts, wondering what he could possibly be hoping for.

“……Come here.”

Clenching his teeth, Terian pulled her close.

He couldn’t understand her.

He didn’t want to understand her.

……He mustn’t understand her.

After those bitter words, no more conversation passed between them. In the moonless room, the two climbed onto the bed, their bodies overlapping.

“Nhngh.”

Larie’s tense, delicate form collapsed onto the bed with a soft thud. Her silver hair scattered across the sheets, stealing Terian’s gaze.

He looked down at her silently. Her eyes darted restlessly around the room in unease, her silver lashes fluttering with every flicker. Even that minuscule movement stirred a strange anxiety in Terian, fanning the flames inside him.

Then his gaze fell upon her thin chemise.

“…….”

She had walked through the halls like this, in such a dangerously sheer outfit?”

“Though it wasn’t an hour when servants would be about, Terian felt a strange emotion flare inside him.

Even just imagining someone else’s gaze falling on her like this unsettled him.

Larie, who surely hated even coming to this room—how could she act so carelessly?

The feeling gnawed at him, incomprehensible.

Like a man wanting to return the strange emotion to its sender, Terian slowly lowered his head. As her delicate features neared, something about it made his breath hitch.

And then, hot lips met hers.

“Ah……”

The soft sound of skin brushing skin echoed faintly in the dark room before fading.

At first, his lips merely hovered, grazing the edge of hers like a hesitant touch. Then, suddenly, he broke through, plunging inside with hungry heat.

Larie’s skin, after so long, was searing.

As if her tender mouth held a fire that could melt his tongue, Terian swept through it like a conqueror, his movements feverish and deep.

Every time that damp warmth met his, it felt like her heat was setting his soul ablaze.

“Hah……”

Even the breathy sigh brushing his cheek became a kind of provocation.

Terian, who lived his entire life with rigid self-control, could never seem to restrain himself when holding her like this.

Like on their wedding night—messy, consuming—he was always helplessly pulled in.

With greedy hands, he pulled the thin chemise from her body. The sound of the fabric sliding off her milky skin whispered against his ears.

And then, her bare form filled his vision.

“……”

Even on a night with no moonlight, Larie glowed softly, as if she herself was a moon.

His eyes trailed her delicate, ephemeral curves like one caught in a spell.

His chest ached, breath forgotten. He was wholly seized by the sight of the gentle swell of her silhouette.

He slowly discarded the clothes he’d been wearing. The moment he stood in his most essential attire, Terian reached for her again. He was thankful the darkness hid how terribly his fingertips trembled.

His mind went blank at the feel of her soft flesh against his fingertips. He bowed his head in a daze and pressed his lips to her rounded shoulder. At the quivering touch, strength returned to Terian’s gaze.

Every time, he could clearly feel how unwilling Larie was to welcome his touch.

“Hoo…”

He found that somehow irksome, so he opened his mouth wide and bared his teeth to her delicate flesh.

“Ugh… M-my lord…”

Like a predatory beast, Terian grew impatient at not being able to leave his mark, until her snow-white skin blushed in crimson like blossoming flowers.

He grasped her body greedily, but only to the point that it wouldn’t hurt—from her impossibly slender waist to her soft br*asts that quenched his thirst with just the sight. He kept rubbing and clutching, leaving his foolish imprint.

After moving like a crazed, thirsty beast, at some point Larie’s body relaxed completely. Only when her intoxicating scent grew even stronger did Terian push himself between her legs.

Her slender legs spread helplessly before him. Like a hunted doe, she displayed such vulnerability, yet his own urge strangely refused to subside.

At last, daring to invade that place, Terian drove his core forward.

“Ah…!”

“…ck.”

Terian clenched his teeth against the tight sensation constricting his core. His fists closed so hard they turned white as he tried not to get rougher.

Gasping for breath, Terian pressed his forehead against her soft br*asts. Though her depths were damply ready, she never granted him permission so easily, as if to reject him.

Even so, Terian managed to bury himself entirely within her once more.

“Hup…”

“Hoo…”

Larie’s warmth, after such a long time, was almost overwhelming.

Each slick, vivid sensation against his core made Terian feel as if his very soul was being consumed by fire. For once, her gaze—so often averted—was fixed solely on him.

Those damp, emerald eyes seemed to dig through his mind, laying him bare with their piercing intensity. Every time her eyes touched him, every time her body responded, his mind blanked out. He felt as though he might go blind in the brilliance of the moment.

Truly, the night was pitch-black.

The next day.

As soon as the sun rose, Larie fled back to her room. She didn’t have the courage to face him in the clear morning light.

She thought she could feel Terian’s gaze on her back as she escaped, but she didn’t dare look back.

“Sigh…”

Drawing her own bath, she sank into the warm water with a deep breath. Her muscles ached in protest from head to toe.

Still, the pain that usually tormented her for days before and after the dark moon was completely gone. This soreness was of an entirely different nature—it didn’t burn or choke her from the inside.

And yet again, she had done something terrible to him.

Curling into herself beneath the water, Larie blamed herself. Her pain had dulled her senses to the point that she went to him—knowing full well how much her presence disturbed him.

She worried belatedly whether she might have gotten pregnant, but it seemed unlikely. Given how intense her pain had been, even though she’d thrown up the medicine, it must have already seeped into her system.

“…It’ll be fine. Probably.”

She clung to the belief that it wasn’t poison. Her mother had been obsessively focused on preventing pregnancy in recent months—surely, she had only given her a contraceptive.

After nervously reasoning with herself, that cold drizzle of guilt returned.

She felt so sorry toward Terian. Just existing near him was enough to disgust him, yet she had used him like that.

With a gaze more sunken than water itself, Larie recalled that night.

After realizing on their wedding night that the pain of the dark moon vanished completely, she had gone to him for the first few months, shame be damned. It didn’t help that her mother’s medicine after marriage made her pain worse.

The agony she endured in the unfamiliar grand duchy tore her apart more easily than ever before. Crying quietly in the dark room, she couldn’t help but seek him.

And every time, he would clench his teeth and accept her. She could see the discomfort on his face, but since he didn’t push her away, she told herself it was okay.

But on that day, around eight months into their marriage, Larie overheard the truth.

“How do you stand something so filthy, Your Grace?”

”…….”

It was during a small garden party at the Tulip Palace, said to have the most beautiful gardens in the imperial palace. The event had been organized under the pretense of celebrating spring, but in reality, it was to introduce and observe a newly appointed concubine of the emperor.

Tulips in full bloom flaunted their vibrant petals, and from the center of the garden, the fountain’s nymph statue poured out streams of glittering water.

Larie had arrived late, ordered by her parents to make an appearance. She had been told to act aloof, to emphasize the poor relationship between her and her husband, but she had still wanted to at least greet Terian.

It was her first time at the Tulip Palace, and she wandered the garden for some time. Eventually, she found him.

He was tucked away in a quiet corner of the garden, speaking with someone.

“To think you’d take the filthy blood of Tromperie as your wife. My heart aches for you. If it were me, I’d be sick just having her nearby.”

Standing before him was a young lady dressed in a delicate spring gown. She looked to be of a fresh, youthful age, and spoke to Terian with a striking familiarity. Her innocent expression bore not a trace of malice, though her words dripped with it.

They stood far too close for it to be a casual conversation. The young lady even ran her fingers subtly along his arm.

“Did you think I was enduring it?”

Terian replied, not moving away.

Larie froze.

Their conversation, every word of it, wound itself like thorny vines around her chest. Her legs, which had moved so easily across the garden just moments before, now felt like soaked cotton. The shapeless feelings she had held inside her heart melted into a heavy, sticky weight.

Not knowing what to do, she instinctively stepped back.

And stepped on a branch.

The sharp crack of it echoed.

Terian looked up. Their eyes met.

“……”

“Of course. Everyone knows how much His Grace, with his well-known obsession with cleanliness, loathes that woman every single day. …Oh my.”

Terian’s eyes narrowed slightly the moment their gazes met—an expression she had seen often on nights when the new moon rose. The same expression he wore when they were alone.

The young lady followed his gaze and also spotted Larie. Her eyes widened in surprise, then curved into amused crescents. She even lifted her fan to cover her smile, as if the fact that Larie had overheard their entire conversation was of no consequence at all.

The moment she caught that subtle mockery, Larie turned away and walked out of the garden.