Chapter 65: Marital Relations

He swiftly pulled off the negligee draped over her shoulders.

Damian’s persistent touch did not stop.

Soon, the negligee fell to the floor by his hand.

Her face flushed hot from being completely exposed, with no time to cool down.

With just a brief movement, their body heat mingled and the distance between them completely collapsed.

Edelweiss writhed in his arms. Bruises spread across her skin like flowers.

As Damian bit down on her neck for a long while, he lowered his face to her collarbone and buried his nose there. He inhaled deeply into his lungs, taking in her scent, then tilted his head at an angle.

Her blurred vision stopped on Damian’s face and gradually came into focus.

The blue eyes that met hers from the front were sunken dark like the sea before dawn.

Perhaps the alcohol he drank earlier was finally taking effect—his gaze was completely hazy.

Yet within them, there was unmistakable heat, as if he might fiercely devour her at any moment.

Damian twisted his freely moving body and pressed in deep.

“Ah!”

Her arched back straightened in an instant, convulsing. Her vision blurred, and, embarrassingly, an uncontrollable m*an scattered into the air.

It was incomparable to merely kissing.

Though only a little had entered, she already felt completely filled. Edelweiss tried to pull away in fear.

“What’s wrong?”

Edelweiss, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensation, shook her head and whimpered.

Moisture gathered in her eyes. Worried he would be displeased if he noticed her fear, she turned her head.

“I thought it was something serious.”

Damian, holding her shoulders to keep her from retreating, pushed in all the way, scraping through the narrow space.

“Uhk—”

The sound escaped her lips unintentionally, and she blushed red with embarrassment. He stared silently at Edelweiss’s face, almost as if watching a spectacle.

Her breath caught at the base of her throat and quickened. The nape of her neck grew damp with sweat.

Filled with pain, Edelweiss shed tears along with her m*ans.

He grasped Edelweiss’s hips with both hands.

Even as she pleaded, please, stop, again and again, he kept moving faithfully.

A dull sound overlapped with Edelweiss’s incessant m*ans.

From some point on, the pain that wrapped her entire body slowly spread into pleasure.

Damian’s pupils, once sharpened like shards of glass, slackened languidly.

The prickling sensation that finally arrived enveloped her whole body, and Edelweiss involuntarily tilted her head back.

As her entire body trembled, strength gathered on the tops of her feet. The bliss pooled in her lower abdomen swirled dully.

“……Why.”

I thought it was over now, but it wasn’t. Still unable to regain his reason, he instead explored Edelweiss all through the night, even more aroused.

Until dawn rose.

****

Sunlight squeezed in through the gap in the curtains.

Edelweiss, who had been sleeping soundly, slowly opened her eyes, squinting.

She stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment. Her whole body felt languid.

Then suddenly, an empty feeling settled in her chest.

She turned her head slowly.

‘Where did he go?’

Damian was gone. She reached out, groping the spot beside her.

There was no warmth left, as if he had been gone for a long while. She had fallen asleep exhausted, not even noticing him leave.

As soon as she threw back the covers, a stabbing pain spread through her waist, and she sucked in a breath. She couldn’t possibly get up.

Edelweiss bit her lip as she looked at the traces still left inside.

‘If only he’d taken it easy.’

The heat and ragged breaths that had filled her all night had vanished without a trace, leaving only silence in the room.

Edelweiss picked up the negligee that had fallen to the floor and slipped it back on. She let out a short sigh and tugged the bell pull with strength in her wrist.

A moment later, footsteps sounded beyond the door, and Anna poked her head in.

“Did you call, my lady?”

“Where is His Highness?”

“His Majesty the Emperor sent for him urgently. He went to the palace early and hasn’t returned yet.” While answering, Anna cast a slightly startled glance at Edelweiss’s neck and shoulders. The marks Damian had left were even darker.

“My lady, shall I bring some ointment?”

Anna asked only the necessary question, avoiding anything that might embarrass Edelweiss.

Edelweiss nodded weakly.

After applying ointment, she stayed in bed until the late afternoon.

Princess Charlotte returned from the Marquis of Riche’s estate.

Edelweiss put on a high-necked dress and went downstairs to greet Princess Charlotte.

A heavy pain followed every step she took down the stairs. When the front door opened, bright sunlight flooded along the corridor.

“Sister, I’m back!”

Princess Charlotte, with a baby parrot perched on her shoulder, waved energetically.

“You’re here, Lady Shasha? His Highness Damian went to the palace for a bit.”

“Hmm, brother’s not here.”

Princess Charlotte didn’t seem to care that Damian was absent. Her total lack of interest was so cute that a laugh slipped out.

“But sister, why do you look so tired? Are you sick?”

“…..Hmm, I guess the fatigue from the wedding hasn’t worn off yet. Nothing hurts, so don’t worry too much.”

It was a relief that the still-young Princess Charlotte knew nothing.

“Yeah, it must have been tough. But you were so pretty yesterday, sister. I really thought you were a princess!” Princess Charlotte believed Edelweiss’s words exactly. Her excited chatter about the wedding was pleasant to hear.

“Sister, the weather’s so nice—let’s go eat a snack in the garden! I asked the chef at the Marquis of Riche’s to make a fig cake just for us! But if you’re busy, it’s okay to eat it later.”

The small shoulders that had been raised in excitement drooped.

“Busy? Of course I have time for that. Anna, get everything ready in the garden.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Edelweiss motioned to Anna, thinking to herself. Maybe because she’d been so busy for a while, she now had time to breathe.

“Hehe, I’m glad. My brother told me not to bother you… He even told me not to write you letters anymore, hmph.”

She seemed to suddenly become self-conscious, likely because of what Damian had said.

“I really enjoy being with you, Lady Shasha. I’ve never once thought you were a bother. Don’t be too upset.”

Princess Charlotte’s smile brightened again.

“Hehe, I’m so happy you’re here. My brother’s always busy with training, so I was always alone, but not anymore.”

With her weak body, she likely had no playmates, and with her only family being Damian, the Grand Admiral, always preoccupied with leading the navy, she must’ve been terribly lonely.

‘He’s not exactly the most attentive person, either.’

Edelweiss held Princess Charlotte’s hand and went to the garden, where they ate fig cake.

“Sister, when I get married, can I wear your wedding dress? Umm… Chloe said she’ll wear the dress the Marchioness of Riche wore when she gets married…”

Perhaps envious of the idea of inheriting a wedding dress, Princess Charlotte asked carefully.

“Of course, I’ll keep it safe for you.”

She still had a long way to go before marriage, but imagining her grown-up brought a quiet pang of sadness.

“Still, Lady Shasha… please stay by Damian and me for a long, long time.”

“Huh? What did you say? I didn’t hear!”

In that brief moment, Princess Charlotte was already chasing the baby parrot flying through the sky.

‘Children really disappear in the blink of an eye.’

As Edelweiss watched the innocent smile on Princess Charlotte’s face, she sensed someone’s presence and turned around. Damian was approaching with a shadowed expression.

“Your Highness, is something the matter?”

He glanced briefly at Princess Charlotte playing with the baby parrot, then sat down across from Edelweiss.

“Aren’t you hot?”

Damian looked at Edelweiss, who had buttoned her collar tightly, and asked with a low laugh. The darkness on his face melted away in an instant.