Chapter 1: Consummation on the Night of the New Moon (5)

“Huup…”

A helpless sound escaped her lips at the searing warmth of his touch.

When she let out that foolish sound, Terian’s hand abruptly stopped. Larie was suddenly filled with dread—worried that he, already reluctant about this night, might leave her altogether.

Then, after pausing for a while, Terian leaned in close to her ear and called her.

“My lady.”

That single word, inexplicably, released the tension that had bound her throughout the entire wedding ceremony.

“……”

Only then did Terian begin to move his hand again. His large hand, now softer than before, gently rubbed her shoulder in a circular motion before trailing down to her forearm. She felt as if the softest part of her arm was blushing under his touch.

After slowly massaging from her forearm to her elbow for a while, Terian moved a little closer to her. They were now so close that, if she lifted her head even slightly, their noses might touch. The sheer intimacy of it made Larie instinctively draw back.

Terian gently pressed her shoulder further down.

“Ah…”

The moment her body fell back onto the bedding, it felt like sinking into water.

Even as a heavy sense of descent engulfed her, Terian remained upright, looking down at her. Their eyes locked, his deep blue gaze boring into hers.

In that posture, Terian slowly undressed himself.

Realizing that, Larie quickly shut her eyes. Awkwardly lying there, her body tensed again. Her mother’s harsh instructions echoed in her ears, but she couldn’t bring herself to act any differently.

She heard his clothes drop to the floor with a soft rustle, once, then again. In the utterly silent room, Larie took deep breaths, tense with anticipation.

And then, something she had never felt before descended gently onto the nape of her neck.

“Uht!”

Startled by the moist and suggestive touch, Larie’s eyes shot open. Terian, his head lowered, was now kissing the nape of her neck.

The kiss that had begun at the nape of her neck slowly descended. His lips traced the line of her collarbone, gradually moving toward the swell of her chest. Where his moist yet heated lips passed, a ticklish sensation lingered, foreign and persistent.

After gently and repeatedly stimulating the skin above her chest, Terian’s hands began to roam other parts of her body. Alongside his lips, his warm hands pressed and glided over the area near her hips.

With each downward movement of Terian’s lips, Larie’s breath grew shallower, like that of a runner in motion. Afraid her breath might touch him unpleasantly, she forced herself to suppress her lungs. But the more she did so, the more dizzying the sensation became, to the point that her vision blurred white.

His breath touched the skin beside her navel. Even through the sheer fabric of her chemise, it felt searing. Her senses became so heightened that Larie could no longer keep her eyes closed.

Trembling, she finally opened her eyes and saw Terian’s bare, broad shoulders.

Hoo…

At last, he gently slipped just a fingertip beneath the hem of her chemise.

Between the sheer fabric and the bare skin of her thigh, Terian’s finger moved slowly, like the tail of a fish gliding through a lake. Even such a small motion made Larie feel oddly breathless, a tingling warmth blooming deep in her belly.

“If you wish to stop, just say the word.”

At last, as he fully slid his hand in, Terian spoke. When the thin chemise was pushed up and her bare body was completely exposed, fear washed over her again. But even amidst that fear, Larie pressed down on her impulses, refusing to say she wanted to stop.

Her mother had told her to ensnare Avnir even if she had to act like a wh*re. It was an unbearably degrading and suffocating order, but Larie had no choice.

Of course, she had never believed someone like her could accomplish such a thing. Even now, she was nothing more than a stiff, unyielding tree planted awkwardly in his bedroom.

However, at some point, Larie found herself flustered. As Terian’s slow hand slid up the inside of her thigh, a ticklish and urgent sensation began to spread from her core.

“Ah, Y-Your Grace…”

“Haa…”

Within an act she had thought was only filled with fear, she began to feel something else. Unable to endure it, Larie instinctively curled her toes and tightened her thighs.

In that instant, Terian spread her legs wide and pushed fully inside.

Something blunt and hot pressed against a place so deep she’d never imagined another’s touch would reach.

“Ah…!”

Her vision suddenly began to shake violently.

“Hngh…!”

With her eyes closed, the sensation felt overwhelming, as if it were everything in the world. Unable to bear it, she opened her eyes—only to have her view filled entirely by Terian’s broad shoulders and blue eyes.

Though the act itself was rough like a storm, his touch remained endlessly gentle.

“…Larie.”

“Ah…!”

For the first and last time, he called her name.

In the blue eyes looking down on her, there was no longer the rage from their first meeting at the wedding—only deep, burning desire.

The act that lasted until sunrise felt like far more than just fulfilling a duty. Larie even dared to sweetly hope, just for a moment, that perhaps this marriage might hold a sliver of promise.

Perhaps because of that, Larie realized something. The suffocating pain that used to torment her regularly had disappeared.

“Your Grace…”

And when morning came, Terian—who had embraced her pain—was gone. The hope she had briefly held shattered brilliantly in the morning sunlight.

When she saw hatred and regret revived in his piercing blue eyes—just like that.

So began her bitter married life, alone in the bridal chamber.

After that, Terian never sought Larie again. As if the passion he had shown that night had been a complete lie.

Only when Larie, unable to endure the new moon’s pain, swallowed her pride and sought him out—only then would he not reject her. The same passion that would vanish again come morning always flickered in his eyes.

Because of that, for the first eight months of their marriage, Larie’s hope would sparkle and fade in a loop. Pathetically faint, her figure matched the waning moonlight perfectly.

But even that stopped after “that day,” when she learned of his obsession with cleanliness.

“Ugh.”

The pain stabbed sharply, now even reaching her chest. Before she could leave her room, Larie collapsed from the pain and lowered her head.

With no one to listen, sorrow leaked out quietly.

“…It hurts so much…”

She found herself wishing she could be like an old withered tree—unable to feel anything at all.

❖ ❖ ❖

“……”

“……”

As always, the luncheon was extremely quiet.

The dining room in the annex where the Grand Duchess resided was famous for the way sunlight passed through the stained glass. The vibrant colors spilled onto the pure white tablecloth, painting it in brilliant hues.

The food was delicious—too delicious, in fact, to feel worthy of being served to someone like her—but Larie couldn’t bring herself to eat much. She moved her fork just enough to avoid being rude, all the while looking across the table.

Though her eyes were the same blue as Terian’s, the Grand Duchess’s gaze was much gentler. Her signature golden hair, a trait of her family—the Marquessate of Fridas—was neatly swept up without a single strand out of place.

Like her proper posture, the Grand Duchess had a dignified nature. And yet, the softness in her eyes revealed her tender heart.

“I think it’s about time I start teaching you the duties of the Grand Duchess.”

Perhaps that’s why she was willing to say such things even to someone like her—a Tromperie.

That must have been the important conversation she had insisted on having today. In truth, it was a very late topic. Typically, these were critical duties and sources of authority that the lady of the house was expected to master within six months of marriage.

But Larie’s circumstances were unique, and the timing had been severely delayed. Even after the marriage, the imperial court’s constant pressure kept the Grand Duke’s household busy without end.

There had been an opportunity around the one-year mark, but it was postponed again after her family raised a fuss over her receiving medical treatment.

Larie, who had never received a proper noble education, didn’t find this reality humiliating. Instead, she felt a faint sense of relief.

“When you receive the keys of the house, tell me right away. Do you understand, Larie?”

She was too afraid of whatever her mother might be plotting next.

She hid her slightly trembling hands beneath the table. The Grand Duchess’s offer was full of goodwill, but her vision darkened with dread.

“…Please retract your words. I’m still not ready.”

That was the best response she could manage. It wasn’t right to answer the Grand Duchess’s kindness this way. Especially knowing that her words might sound like a refusal to fulfill a rightful obligation.

However, Larie knew well that she wasn’t particularly clever. So each time, all she could do was belittle herself and obstruct her own family—she simply didn’t know any other way.

“……”

She could feel the Grand Duchess’s gaze, as if trying to discern her intentions. The growing weight of that pressure forced Larie to barely lift her head, which had been sinking lower.

“By the way, are you familiar with the matter concerning the Bordi region?”

“…The Bordi region.”

It seemed to be a fitting subject to change the topic. The slight warmth in the Grand Duchess’s eyes quickly faded into coldness, after all. Larie wanted to flee this moment, but she repressed the impulse with effort.

Her father’s demands had grown more intense lately. He was desperate to gain more detailed insight into Terian’s intentions and movements.

Her parents rarely filtered their words around her. Since her earliest memories, Larie had been raised to obey the family without question. They believed she was incapable of anything—and to some extent, they were right. After she became more aware, pretending not to see or hear anything became second nature to her.

Thanks to that, what she had managed to learn this time seemed quite serious. She had heard that the national council had been embroiled in fierce debate over the issue related to the Bordi region.

“Father has taken a great interest in it recently. Something about building a new railway line.”

She remembered the day the railway, funded by the Grand Duchy of Avnir, opened. It was unforgettable—not just because it was astounding to see a massive iron structure moving on its own, but for another reason.

It was also the day her father returned home with a flushed face and beat her without pause. His fury had been over the Grand Duchy’s lead in this new enterprise.

Even now, the Grand Duchy’s train ran endlessly between the massive southern mountains and the capital, carrying timber. The Grand Duchess could not possibly be unaware of what Baron Tromperie’s “interest” in the railway—under the pretense of concern for its dangers—truly meant.

Larie hoped it would appear as though she had carelessly let something important slip. It was too overwhelming to think on a higher level. She simply wished that this piece of leaked information might be enough to stop her family from doing something wicked again.

“Sometimes, I truly can’t tell what the Grand Duchess is thinking.”