After enduring this time of patience, finally this morning, when the priests lit sacred candles throughout the chapel and the High Priest gave permission to bring in the bride, Kais was able to see Lariella in her wedding dress.

Wearing an elaborate dress with her golden hair elegantly braided up, she was dazzlingly bright, like she had gathered all the light in the world.

But her dazzling beauty wasn’t due to the dress adorned with jewels and gold thread, nor the hair ornament made of hundreds of diamonds. It was because of her blue-green eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation, and her cheeks flushed with excitement and shyness. Especially her red lips, smiling freshly at him, were unbearably pretty and lovely.

The moment he saw his beautiful bride, Kais was speechless. He couldn’t move his body, like a person bound tightly with rope. If the servant standing beside him hadn’t instructed him to take the bride’s hand, he probably would have stood there for a long time.

Just like the knight in the storybook Lariella had read to the children, who turned to stone when a witch bewitched his very soul.

Knock knock.

When he heard the polite knocking, Kais was leaning his arms on the terrace railing, recalling the moment he had kissed the bride after the marriage vows ended. While reminiscing about that moist and soft sensation and tracing his lower lip with the tip of his thumb, he was startled by the knock and accidentally bit the inside of his lip.

“Ah……”

Kais frowned at the rather stinging pain. When he rubbed the inside of his lip with the tip of his tongue, he found clear teeth marks. Finding his own mistake of standing there like a fool ridiculous, Kais let out a hollow laugh.

“Come in.”

He answered the knock while re-entering the room from the terrace. Willis, who opened the door at his permission, delivered the news Kais had been waiting for.

“Master, the madam has completed her preparations.”

Hearing those words, his heart pounded rapidly, and his mouth went dry. Kais slightly stuck out his tongue to moisten his lower lip and answered nonchalantly.

“I see.”

“I will escort you right away.”

“No. I’ll go alone. You may leave now.”

Kais waved his hand outward, gesturing for him to leave. He didn’t want others to see his foolish behavior or the corners of his mouth that kept twitching upward.

“Yes, understood, master. I pray that the moon’s blessing fills your bedchamber tonight.”

The head butler, with a gentle smile, conveyed his sincere blessing and quietly withdrew.

When Willis left the room and he was alone again, Kais exhaled a long, tense breath.

Now the time had truly come.

Kais picked up a long robe from one side and put it on over his nightclothes, then opened the door and went out into the corridor.

Originally, the Duke’s room and the Duchess’s room were on the third floor. Those two rooms were the rooms with the best view, the largest, and the most splendid in Elmano Castle.

Between the two rooms was a secret door allowing easy access to each other’s rooms, and a separate staircase leading only to these two rooms, ensuring safety from outside intruders.

But even after inheriting the title, Kais continued to use his original room on the second floor rather than the Duke’s room on the third floor. He didn’t want to use the room where his father had brought in countless women and engaged in all sorts of debauchery, the room where women’s moans never ceased even until the moment his mother’s breath ended.

But just because he didn’t want to use the Duke’s room didn’t mean he could tell Lariella not to use the Duchess’s room.

Using the Duchess’s room meant more than simply using a large and splendid room. By occupying a room equal to that of the Duke, the castle’s owner, it confirmed to people what her position was in this castle.

If Lariella were made to use a room other than the Duchess’s room, the servants or society’s gossips might misunderstand that Kais didn’t fully recognize her as the Duchess.

Since Kais didn’t want to use the Duke’s room, but couldn’t tell Lariella not to use the Duchess’s room, he ended up in the ridiculous situation of having to climb up and down the stairs in his nightclothes every night.

But what did it matter? Once he went up, he wouldn’t come down until morning anyway.

Kais walked briskly down the corridor, matching his eager heart. But he had to stop after going only a short distance.

Worklan, with a disgruntled expression, was walking from the other end of the corridor.

“Sir Worklan. Are the preparations for the territory inspection going well?”

Kais asked Worklan, who had stopped in front of him.

“Yes, thanks to you, Duke, they’re going veeeery well. I couldn’t even attend the wedding reception and had to prepare until this hour, so they’re going veeeery well indeed.”

Worklan answered obediently, but his expression and tone were extremely insolent.

This was understandable, since the territory inspection should have been undertaken with Kais several months ago.

But after being dragged to Polar territory for months without knowing why, then making several trips to deliver the proposal letter and box of gold coins and escort Lady Polar to Elmano Castle, and then making dozens more trips to the capital for the hastily arranged wedding preparations, the date had been greatly delayed. Now Kais had ordered Worklan to go on the territory inspection alone, saying he couldn’t be away long because of his honeymoon.

With his mind already busy thinking about moving before winter came, and now suddenly having to take on all of Kais’s duties as well, Worklan’s irritation had naturally swelled considerably.

But Kais pretended not to understand Worklan’s complaints. This was no time to humor Worklan’s grumbling.

“Good, you’re leaving early tomorrow morning.”

Worklan sneered in response to Kais, who was trying to quickly wrap up the conversation.

“Yes, I thought I should at least see the Duke’s wedding before leaving, no matter how busy I am. I’m truly sorry I can’t stay to confirm whether you’ll safely consummate your first night. I find it most regrettable.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage just fine without you worrying about unnecessary things. I’ll likely be in bed late tomorrow morning, so I won’t be able to see you off. Anyway, travel safely and come back well.”

After appropriately playing along, Kais tried to move on, but Worklan looked around the corridor and brought his lips close to Kais’s ear.

“Be careful not to get too excited since it’s your first time. If you’re not careful, you might have the unfortunate accident of finishing before you even get it in. That would be a bit embarrassing, even for a first time.”

At those words, Kais raised one corner of his mouth crookedly.

“Do you think I’m you?”

“Wh-who said anything about me? It’s not me!”

Worklan raised his voice abruptly. His neck instantly turned red, and he frantically waved his hands, looking to anyone like someone who had been hit right on target.

Seeing this, Kais let out a chuckle.

“Alright, go and rest now. You need to leave early tomorrow. Don’t pressure the minor lords too much, don’t get hurt, and travel safely.”

Worklan stared with a bewildered expression at Kais’s mouth corners, which remained gently curved throughout his speech.

“Huh? Uh, yeah, okay.”

Kais patted Worklan’s shoulder a couple of times and then began to walk down the corridor again.

Left alone behind him, Worklan scrunched up his face as if he had witnessed something unbelievable.

What did I just see? That cold, detached, emotionless, unpleasant Kais Elmano smiling? And what’s with that warm greeting and awkward patting?

Worklan shuddered his shoulders as if getting goosebumps and watched Kais’s retreating figure grow more distant.

Whatever the circumstances that led him to send a proposal letter to that family in the countryside, it seemed clear that the bright and spirited new bride had softened the heart of Duke Elmano, which had been frozen like ice.

A man who wouldn’t use even a handkerchief if the corners didn’t match, who always kept the length of his shirt sleeves protruding from his jacket perfectly even on both sides, who tied even a cravat to perfect symmetry—seeing him hurrying to his bride so hastily that he didn’t even notice his robe was completely inside out.

Haha, Worklan laughed as if finding it absurd, then turned and began walking in the opposite direction from Kais.

But after taking a couple of steps, Worklan stopped again and glanced back slightly.

Kais, who had already walked to the end of the corridor, turned right and soon disappeared from his view. That was where the stairs connecting to the Duke’s and Duchess’s rooms were located.

……Will he be okay?

After anxiously staring at the end of the corridor where Kais had disappeared, Worklan shook his head.