Chapter 5

“To be honest, I’m still not sure about marrying this guy. He hid his true identity and hovered around you, so I keep worrying about what kind of sly thoughts he might be having.”

The Earl crossed his arms and frowned.

“My intuition says the same. He seems to be hiding something. And why did he have to kiss you for so long?”

Illen clicked his tongue.

With those words, the doubts Letina had heard earlier from her classmates resurfaced.

“We let you marry since you said you were fine with it…. But if things seem strange, don’t hesitate to divorce him right away.”

“Dear!”

The Countess called out in surprise.

“How can you say that at the wedding? You should wish them happiness!”

“Hmph. Of course I do.”

“If he makes my sister cry, I’ll kill him. You must tell me, understand?”

If they knew she’d already cried several times because of him back in the academy, what would they think? She’d been too proud to mention it, so her family didn’t know at all.

Kiaros would probably face Illen’s wrath many times.

‘You owe me, Kiaros Gatiel.’

Letina smiled at her family, who cared so much for her.

***

Thump thump.

Kiaros washed himself more thoroughly than ever. He checked his clean, soft skin and drenched himself in a pleasant scent.

He was so anxious because he was about to spend his first night with Letina.

His heart was pounding so hard, he pressed his palm to his chest.

He remembered Letina walking toward him in a pure white wedding dress.

‘She was dazzling.’

He barely heard what the officiant said, dazed and overwhelmed. He wondered if this was really happening.

Only when it was time to answer whether he would respect and love Letina for the rest of his life did he come back to himself.

When Letina also said “Yes” to the same vow, his palm tingled.

He finally calmed down and took out the ring to put on her finger. After Letina put the ring on him, it was time for the kiss.

He knew about the vow’s kiss, but when the moment came, his mind went blank. With trembling hands, he barely lifted the veil, and Letina’s face became even clearer.

‘She’s my wife now.’

Letina.

Kiaros couldn’t suppress his overwhelming emotion and looked away for a moment.

Then, suddenly, Letina pulled his arm. Before he was ready, her soft lips touched his.

Kiaros hurriedly held onto her as she tried to pull away. He completely forgot they were in front of so many people and greedily savored Letina’s sweetness.

‘I was going to apologize, worried she’d be surprised, but she thought it was acting…. That’s bittersweet.’

Kiaros smiled wryly.

‘But do I even have the right to be sad?’

He was the one who made her think it was acting, because of everything he’d done so far.

‘…Anyway, I shouldn’t lose control now.’

If he got too excited and pushed too hard, Letina would be startled. He reminded himself over and over to be gentle and slow this time, learning from his earlier mistake.

“Let’s go.”

Kiaros took a deep breath and headed for the bridal chamber where Letina was waiting.

Knock knock.

“…Letina. I’m coming in.”

As they prepared for the wedding, they’d started calling each other by name. But it was still awkward and embarrassing.

There was no answer from inside, but he opened the door anyway.

He went to the large bed scattered with flower petals. In the middle, Letina was lying with her back turned.

Her delicate shoulder line was visible beyond her long hair.

“…Hm?”

A completely unexpected sound came.

Snore.

“…Letina.”

Snore!

“Letina… Ga, Gatiel!”

His voice trembled as he called her new name.

That was one thing, but this was another!

“No way?”

Kiaros hesitated, then grabbed Letina’s shoulder to check his guess.

‘…She’s really asleep?’

Letina was sleeping soundly, even snoring….

‘Why is she sleeping?’

‘This is our first night together!’

Kiaros stared at the sleeping Letina.

‘Does she just not care about me at all?’

Maybe she was relaxed, thinking there was no need to act since it was all a show.

His excitement plummeted.

‘D*mn it.’

Feeling gloomy, he sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his face. Then he glanced at Letina again.

‘…She does look really tired.’

It made sense. Even he, stronger than Letina, was pretty exhausted.

“…….”

After some thought, Kiaros brushed away the hair that had fallen over Letina’s face.

Still, he felt a little resentful of her for sleeping so peacefully, not knowing his complicated feelings.

“…I’ll just sleep, too.”

It wasn’t the first time they’d shared a bed.

As a duck, he’d slept with Letina far more often.

But he’d never laid down in bed as a human. Whenever he turned human, he’d quickly get up.

But that night, since she’d seen him transform in bed, they’d ended up married and in the bridal chamber.

‘Well, we’re married now.’

They would have many days together.

Tonight, he could simply be happy about that and go to sleep.

Kiaros pulled back the covers and lay down carefully beside Letina. He glanced at her every five seconds, then finally turned his back to her.

It was too hard to keep looking at her.

Kiaros finally closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Rustle.

At that moment, warm body heat enveloped Kiaros.

“Liri….”

In her sleep, Letina hugged Kiaros and murmured.

Kiaros clenched his fist so hard his nails dug into his palm.

“Mm….”

Letina rubbed her cheek against Kiaros’s back.

“…….”

Kiaros froze, unable to do anything. Being so close in human form made his body heat up instantly.

After some internal struggle, Kiaros made a drastic decision.

Puff.

He transformed into a duck.

If he was going to be helplessly hugged and unable to escape, it was easier to sleep this way.

Of course, even as a duck, he couldn’t completely relax. He’d often turn human while sleeping, so he had to hurry and fall asleep.

Quack….

The small duck that was both Kiaros and Liri cried sadly. Maybe Letina heard it in her sleep, because she hugged him tighter.

And so, Kiaros spent his first night feeling troubled.

***

The Feymun Earldom and Gatiel Marquisate provided a mansion in the capital for the couple to live in. Since Letina firmly said she didn’t need a honeymoon, the two moved straight into the mansion.

“Are we sharing the bedroom?”