The schedule for the day after the imperial wedding was more flexible and relaxed compared to the first day. From the second day onward, only a select few high-ranking noble families with deep ties to the imperial house could enjoy the banquet.

“We greet His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

“Who was that again…”

Nikolai’s eyes narrowed at someone’s greeting.

“Was it Duke de Noeur?”

“It’s de Noeve, Your Highness.”

“Ah. Right.”

Nikolai replied indifferently. Though he had willingly thrown himself into the battlefield for the empire, he seemed to have little interest in the power struggles of old men and political affairs.

Elizaveta quietly gazed at Nikolai’s cold profile.

This morning, when she awoke from sweet slumber, Nikolai, who should have been lying beside her in bed, was nowhere to be seen.

“Your Highness?”

Elizaveta’s voice searching for him was still drowsy with sleep.

That’s when Nikolai appeared. Not only had he already risen, but he was also perfectly dressed in his formal uniform.

“Your Highness, already…”

To think he had quietly finished preparing alone without even waking his young wife, who needed rest after her intense first experience. His Highness is truly such a warm person.

Elizaveta made an apologetic expression before smiling shyly.

Nikolai walked to the bed with an emotionless expression. That blank look was an entirely different kind of coldness from the quietly contemplative gaze he’d had when he slipped Red Pleasure onto her finger on their wedding day.

“Elizaveta Diker.”

His voice, pronouncing her name and family title clearly, was particularly sharp.

Elizaveta swallowed involuntarily.

“You’re the same too.”

“…Pardon? What do you mean, the same…”

“That expression.”

What Nikolai gestured toward with his chin was Elizaveta’s hazy face, just woken from sleep.

“That lustful expression only women who’ve had their fun can make. I thought you were nothing but chaste, but you Diker are no different from any other lewd b*tch. How boring.”

His tone turned nasty.

Wasn’t this the same Nikolai who had called her name in a gentle voice?

Yet now he was suddenly being spiteful, deliberately spitting out her pre-marriage surname in such a cruel way that Elizaveta didn’t know how to respond.

“Your Highness… If there was any mistake in serving you, please forgive me with a generous heart…”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“What… I don’t quite understand what you…”

Elizaveta’s answer trailed off at the incomprehensible question.

Nikolai smoothly pulled away the blanket she’d been clutching. The bruises blooming in reds and purples across her snow-white body filled his vision.

For just a moment, one of his eyebrows twisted. But he quickly composed that expression and turned away.

“If you’re awake, get ready. Today will be just as busy.”

Then he left the bridal chamber alone, leaving Elizaveta n*ked.

And there had been no conversation since.

Elizaveta thought Nikolai’s capricious coldness was simply the dignity a ruler must possess, so she voiced no complaints while keeping her place at his side.

“Rumors are spreading throughout the capital that His Highness the Crown Prince fell in love with Her Highness at first sight.”

The man—de Noeve or de Noeur or whatever—stared intently at the youthful and pure Elizaveta as he continued.

“With such a beautiful lady, I fully understand His Highness’s excitement…”

“Fell in love at first sight. At first sight. Hmm…”

Mockery colored Nikolai’s voice as he repeated the Duke’s words.

“Let’s go with that. Let’s say I fell for our pretty and chaste Princess.”

Nikolai laughed. Then he cast his gaze toward Elizaveta.

Those eyes swept down in order—Elizaveta’s golden hair, red eyes, white nape—before stopping at the chest decoration of her dress. 

It was an H-line dress that revealed her round shoulders, prominent collarbones, and the swell of her br*asts before cinching at her slender waist and cascading down like a waterfall.

Especially the ornate ruffles decorating the chest area, made of sheer material, drew attention in a way that felt provocative. 

Though it revealed the beautiful curves of her br*asts without reservation, the design itself was more conservative and modest than any other dress, giving it an almost sacrilegious feeling. Yet it maintained an elegant bearing without a hint of vulgarity.

For such an extraordinary dress to suit her without any sense of discord was proof that the woman wearing it had a perfect figure.

How did that greenhorn fool with no experience with women figure out she had such a lewd body?

A light sneer and deeply rooted inferiority complex flickered through Nikolai’s pale blue pupils.

Then Elizaveta’s eyes met his head-on.

“If I could dance a waltz with today’s bride, it would be the greatest fortune for me.”

Nikolai extended his right hand with a bright smile. Large and exaggerated.

Elizaveta hesitated for a moment, looking at his outstretched hand.

This man was definitely her husband, who had mingled bodies with her countless times last night. When he entered her, Elizaveta had clung to him desperately, swearing to God that she would love him forever.

Yet the unfamiliar sense of alienation and fear enveloping her entire body was enough to make her loyalty seem trivial.

“My. Are you planning to make me the first Crown Prince to be rejected by his Princess?”

Nikolai smiled again. Elizaveta lightly placed her left hand on top of his right.

As the Crown Prince and his bride entered the hall, the cheerful music shifted to something heavier and slower.

“So. Did you sleep well last night, my wife?”

Nikolai whispered slowly as his eyes roamed over her voluptuous figure. Even while doing so, his skill at leading her in the dance was impeccably excellent.

“I apologize, Your Highness.”

“No. That’s not the answer I’m looking for.”

Nikolai showed his irritation.

“I’m asking if my c*ck tasted good last night.”

The man who’d been sneering changed position to wrap his arm around Elizaveta’s waist.

How could he use such vulgar language…!

Startled, Elizaveta ended up stepping on his foot.

“I apologize, Your Highness.”

“You’re worse at dancing than I thought. I thought you were only terrible at s*x, but your dance skills are even more pathetic.”

His voice was bright, but it was a sneer full of hostility and malice.

Pathetic?

Didn’t you enjoy yourself far too much last night to be criticizing my lack of talent?

The whole time you were panting with pleasure, whispering that you loved me while climaxing—that image is still vivid, yet you call it pathetic?

Where did that affectionate, loving husband from yesterday go? Was this his true nature—rude and selfish, just like the rumors said?

Instead of answering, Elizaveta stepped on Nikolai’s foot once more.

“D＊mn…!”

Perhaps it hurt more than the previous step, because Nikolai showed his pain and glared at Elizaveta.

“I apologize. Please kill me.”

Elizaveta apologized quietly. Though her apology was very polite, Nikolai’s mood did not improve.

“You should hire a dance instructor to practice. If you continue with this level of skill, you’ll be laughed at by the nobles. You’re no longer some country bumpkin from the south—you’ve become the Crown Princess who must support the imperial family.”

The emphasis in Nikolai’s rambling was quite blatant.

“If you keep stepping on other gentlemen’s feet, even my position will become a joke.”

The song ended.

Applause erupted from the audience. As soon as the music stopped, Nikolai turned his back on Elizaveta and began walking away.

* * *

Elizaveta, exhausted from entertaining guests, was looking around the third floor for a place to rest.

“…!”

Someone roughly grabbed her arm.

“Who…!”

“Shh. It’s me.”

The one who used his palm to block the scream escaping her mouth was Nikolai.

“Your Highness. What are you doing here…”

Elizaveta removed his hand and answered, trying to calm her startled heart.

“You provoked me so much that my c*ck felt like it would die rubbing against my pants. I couldn’t concentrate on the banquet at all, so I escaped.”

Nikolai, who’d been grinning, pressed his lower body against Elizaveta as she sat down on the luxurious velvet chair. Just like he said, the bulge was twitching so much it seemed ready to burst through his pants.

“What if someone sees you doing this…”

Elizaveta turned her head and bit her lip, her cheeks flushing.

“Someone? Dare? This is my private space.”

The rest balconies were on the second and third floors. The third floor, located quite far from the central banquet hall, couldn’t be accessed even by prominent nobles—only members of the imperial family who used the imperial surname could use this exclusive balcony.

“And who would dare spy on the Crown Prince’s lovemaking? Even if they saw, they’d have to pretend they didn’t and run away if they wanted to keep their eyeballs. Everyone living in this castle knows that.”

“Your Highness!”

Before he finished speaking, Nikolai ripped the bodice of Elizaveta’s dress with a tear. Her abundant br*asts spilled out from beneath the torn chiffon fabric.

“Whoa.”

Nikolai smacked his lips quietly at the sight of her large br*asts.

“I thought you only had a pretty face, but your n*ked body is even more impressive.”

“Your Highness, what is this rudeness!”

Elizaveta desperately tried to cover her br*asts with the tattered fabric, swallowing back her tears as she cried out.

“To be this shy.”

Nikolai made an indifferent sound before tilting his head to the left.

“Yesterday… Yesterday you weren’t like this.”

“Yesterday?”

One corner of his mouth rose crookedly as he repeated the word. That smile sent chills down Elizaveta’s neck.

“…Respect me as your wife, as your consort. I dare ask this of Your Highness.”

“No. No, Diker.”

Nikolai smiled gently as he chided her. Like a man indulging an immature lover, in a mild tone.

“That’s not how you make a request.”

“…Pardon?”

“You should at least spread your p*ssy. Or if that’s too difficult, show some sincerity by sucking your husband’s c*ck.”

His voice was sickeningly seductive as he spouted vulgar words. The sacrilegious scene sent chills through Elizaveta’s entire body.

“Wh-what are you saying…”

“Don’t you know what a p*ssy and a c*ck are?”

Nikolai asked with a small laugh. Then he lightly pulled her chin.

“My. I wonder how Countess Diker educated her daughter about s*x at home.”

Then he unbuckled his pants. His protruding p*nis brushed precariously against Elizaveta’s nostrils and lips.

“Now that you’ve become a woman of the Horn family rather than a Diker, I’ll have to teach you my way.”

He moved his hips slowly. His stiffly er*ect c*ck tapped here and there against Elizaveta’s small, white features.

“Stop, Your Highness… I don’t want this kind of game…”

Elizaveta moved her head to avoid his cockhead. Each time she did, an innocent smile played across Nikolai’s face. 

It was a beautiful and selfish face, so much so that it created the illusion that no more noble work of art could exist.