“Lenore, show Count Sillingdeer around the garden’s flowers. Don’t be rude to the man who will be your husband.”

“Yes, Father.”

Lenore didn’t seem surprised at being introduced to Daniel as her future husband, as if she had been informed beforehand. When Duke Bergis took Mironica inside the building, the two were left alone.

Once the Duke disappeared from sight, color returned to Lenore’s face. She examined Daniel with curious eyes. Daniel suddenly felt an indescribable embarrassment. It felt like standing n*ked alone before her.

When we marry, it won’t just be a feeling but will actually happen one day. And she too…

“I am Daniel Sillingdeer.”

That brief imagination made Daniel’s voice tremble with emotion. He tensed his stomach and spoke again.

“It is the greatest honor of my life to receive such a beautiful woman as my wife, wife.”

Daniel extended his hand. As he held his breath waiting for her to place her hand in his, he suddenly realized he had just made a mistake. Too conscious of her becoming his wife, he had carelessly called her ‘wife’ before they were even married.

Daniel’s lips began to dry up.

“I’m Lenore Bergis. Soon to be Lenore Sillingdeer, and I look forward to our future together.”

Fortunately, Lenore seemed to overlook his mistake.

While Daniel felt relieved, he was surprised by the power of the name combination ‘Lenore Sillingdeer.’ It felt like something was boiling in his chest. He counted numbers internally to calm his excitement.

As he counted to ten, Lenore placed her hand over his outstretched one. When she touched the limb he had forgotten he was holding out, Daniel lost track of what number he had counted to.

“Let me show you around the garden.”

Lenore woke Daniel from his daze. The two walked through the garden together.

As her father had instructed, Lenore told him the names of the flowers blooming in the garden. Though he was grateful for her explaining each one, the flower names didn’t register in Daniel’s ears. His eyes were too busy following Lenore’s face instead of the flowers.

Though he had come this far to make her his wife, his heart swelled at the thought that he had really achieved it.

“Ah, may I ask you something?”

Lenore, who had been talking only about flowers, turned to Daniel and asked.

“Is there a library in your mansion?”

“Do you like books?”

Lenore rolled her eyes around before shyly answering yes.

“Of course there is.”

Lenore was delighted. Daniel decided he should buy more books for the library, for her sake. Not just books, but anything else would be fine too.

“Is there anything else you like besides books?”

If she liked clothes, he would call the tailor and order as many dresses as needed. Perhaps she liked spices or tea? Thanks to Tegronica being a port city, they often received rare teas.

Daniel was desperate to win her favor even a little.

“Besides books?”

As if nothing came to mind immediately, Lenore furrowed her brow while making “hmm” sounds for a while.

How can even her thinking face be so lovely? Daniel felt happy just watching her contemplate, even if he didn’t get an answer.

“About what I like… Ah!”

Lenore, who had been tilting her head left and right with arms crossed, suddenly shouted at something she saw. Daniel thought she had found her answer, but her expression was concerning.

“The time is already–I’m sorry, Count. I think I need to go!”

“Lenore…!”

Before Daniel could stop her, Lenore had rushed away.

Though he wanted to spend more time together. Daniel, feeling regretful, watched her retreating figure for a while. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she had abandoned him.

It was much later that he learned she had good reason — that Duke Bergis would starve the entire family if they were even a minute late to meals.

The two held their wedding in Tegronica. Daniel, who had been worried that Duke Bergis might change his mind in the meantime, felt relieved like a bad tooth had been pulled.

Now there were no obstacles between him and Lenore. They would fall asleep and wake up side by side. The thought that he could wake her with a kiss while she slept peacefully made Daniel smile without realizing it.

“Could I have a separate bedroom?”

Then Lenore dropped a bombshell.

Having separate bedrooms wasn’t part of his plan at all. It absolutely did not exist in his mind. Just as he was about to say absolutely not, their eyes met.

“I’m not used to sleeping with someone else, would that be okay?”

He couldn’t say no. Daniel bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood and told her that would be fine. Of course, that was just internally — he couldn’t show his true feelings outwardly.

“Thank you for allowing it.”

How could he show his pain when she smiled so genuinely happily? All Daniel could do was silently resent how she could smile so cutely without knowing his feelings.

The maids became busy hurriedly converting an unprepared guest room into the lady’s bedroom.

“If bedrooms are separated like this, what happens to the wedding night?”

Sitting alone on the large bed he thought they would share, Daniel felt lonely and anxious.

“…Could she have asked for separate bedrooms because she doesn’t want the wedding night?”

Daniel pulled at his hair, feeling a crisis in his marriage from day one. He debated a hundred times whether he should change his mind now and say they should combine bedrooms after all.

Though getting intimate wasn’t his reason for proposing, still, they were husband and wife now…

While he worried, time passed and night fell. Contrary to his concerns, Lenore came hesitantly to his bedroom.

Her inside was too tight to accommodate Daniel. After much struggle, he barely managed to insert just the tip.

“Ugh.”

But after insertion was the problem. Her inside was so tight it was hard to move, and Daniel being inexperienced didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t say anything since she seemed to be having a harder time, eyes tightly shut and breathing heavily.

As he kissed her and slowly moved his hips, the hole that seemed too tight to take more gradually accepted him. Lenore, starting to adjust, let out a moan.

“Mmnh…!”

The moment he heard her erotic voice, Daniel lost his reason. He moved his hips as his desire dictated. He grabbed her legs and spread them, using force to go deeper. He stirred her insides which got wetter the more he thrust.

“Ahh, hh, stop, it hurts, ugh!”

Though Lenore pleaded, Daniel had already lost his reason. Her hole gripped so tightly that his inserted member felt like it might break off, but it felt so hot and good that he thought that might be okay.

While focused on the act, he felt something running from his nose. It was a nosebleed from too much excitement. Daniel wiped the nosebleed with his hand without stopping his hips. What’s more important than the nosebleed was her, bent over and moaning as he thrust into her.

I want to see more clearly. I want to see her disheveled face and kiss her.

“It hurts, stop, ahh…!”

Daniel leaned down and tried to turn her face to look at him. And then the accident happened.

Lenore’s elbow punished Daniel who kept trying to force full insertion despite her pain. The elbow hit near his right cheekbone. But because blood dripped from his nose again, she misunderstood that she had caused the nosebleed by hitting him.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“No, I should apologize for losing control and attacking you… I’m sorry.”

The awkward atmosphere made it impossible to continue. Daniel wasn’t skilled enough to recover the mood in this situation. And since he wasn’t the type to just proceed regardless, the wedding night was ultimately ruined.

If only the wedding night was all that was ruined. The next night when he visited her bedroom, Lenore had a terrified look.

‘Surely he’s not planning to do it again today?’

He could read her thoughts so clearly it was as if they were written on her face.

“I only came to see if you were feeling better.”

Daniel hid the fact that he had come with ulterior motives and tried to soothe her. He didn’t forget to put on a truly remorseful expression.

But Lenore wasn’t so easily fooled. She clutched her blanket tightly and glared at him.

“That’s good then. Now that you’ve seen me, please leave. I’m still not feeling well so I need to rest.”

Being asked to leave — surely she wasn’t refusing even just lying quietly together?

Daniel’s fear proved correct. Lenore kicked him out of the bedroom.

So this is how I pay for the sin of not showing restraint.