“Mmm.”

“Oh, you’re awake. I was worried you might fall asleep completely.”

“……”

“Go to bed! The massage is finished.”

At Sherry’s words, I looked around and saw several other maids surrounding me besides her.

“Did I fall asleep…?”

“Yes. As soon as we started……”

My face involuntarily heated up at Sherry’s honest answer. I cleared my throat and got down from the massage bed, stepping onto the bathroom floor.

“I should go to sleep.”

My mind was hazy from waking up from sleep. When my feet touched the floor, my body swayed slightly.

“Oh, Miss, you can’t just go like that!”

I tilted my head at Sherry’s words trying to stop me, but only for a moment.

“You’re still in your robe!”

Soon realizing my situation after hearing her words, I spread my arms.

Swoosh. The robe slipped off, and a thin nightgown dress was draped over me.

Perhaps because I was tired. Even the touch of the silk nightgown felt bothersome.

Afterward, I left the bathroom and headed straight to the bedroom, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

When I was half-asleep, it seemed like someone squeezed my hand and whispered:

“Levedi, be happy.”

That whisper carried a faint citrus scent.

Surprisingly, it was exactly the same fragrance my father liked.

❀❀❀

The next morning dawned.

Rising early just as dawn broke, I was truly a living doll.

I was immersed in a fragrant bath sprinkled with flower petals by the maids’ hands, then moved to receive makeup, and finally trapped in a dress that was gorgeous but thick as armor.

‘Wearing’ would be more accurate, but there was a reason I specifically used the term ‘trapped.’

Not just me, but anyone who has worn clothes packed with corsets would understand. It doesn’t feel like you’re wearing it even though you are.

But since the reflection in the mirror looked quite presentable, I was somewhat satisfied.

Having dressed in my wedding gown in such an exhausted state, I headed to the reception room.

There was no particular reason for going there.

Traditionally, noble family weddings were usually held at the bride’s home, and we were among those who followed that tradition.

Accordingly, the reception room for receiving external guests would serve as a waiting room for the bride and groom just for today.

Upon entering the reception room, a man sitting on the sofa came into view.

The Duke had already donned his tuxedo and completed his hair styling.

Judging by his overly relaxed, almost bored appearance, he must have arrived quite some time ago.

Looking at this, it’s clear that bridal preparations really do take twice as long.

‘Though it’s more like disguise than preparation.’

I thought, recalling my appearance I had seen in the mirror just before coming out. ‘Surely the Duke won’t fail to recognize me.’

By the time my steps had brought me close to the sofa where the Duke was sitting,

“Your Grace.”

When I called him, the Duke flinched and turned his head. But why? His eyes trembled when he saw me.

As if he had received a shock.

‘…Does he really not recognize me?’

Just as I was letting out an awkward laugh feeling somewhat embarrassed, the Duke, who had returned to his usual self, said:

“You’ve arrived?”

“Surely you didn’t just recognize me now?”

“Of course not.”

The Duke laughed softly as he said this. It was a cool, refreshing voice, just like his characteristic mint scent.

“Then why did you make that expression?”

I asked, sitting down beside him, and soon received an answer.

“……You don’t need to know.”

“Why not?”

Just as I frowned at his vague answer, the Duke suddenly pointed at the clock and stood up.

“It’s already this time.”

His behavior of changing the subject was suspicious, but as he said, the hour hand of the clock was approaching 1.

In the Ricardo Empire’s weddings, there is no culture of entertaining guests other than close relatives before the reception.

Especially in my case, being a remarriage, we decided not to do even that. I didn’t feel the need to gather people and hear all sorts of comments just for this one day.

Moreover, the end of this marriage is predetermined.

Perhaps because he knew this, when I suggested having a small wedding, he accepted it surprisingly calmly.

“Does the ceremony start at 1 o’clock?”

Right at the moment I asked the question,

Knock knock!

The sound of knocking echoed throughout the reception room.

“Your Grace, Miss. It’s time for your entrance!”

❀❀❀

The wedding was held in the party hall of the Ophelia residence.

Looking at the party hall transformed into a wedding venue, I felt a strange sentiment.

It was unfamiliar yet somehow sad.

Perhaps it’s because I could imagine my father’s back as he decorated the party venue, excited about his daughter’s wedding without knowing it was a fake marriage.

“Are you nervous?”

Standing outside the door waiting to enter, the Duke asked in a low voice.

“A little.”

“Even though it’s a contract marriage?”

The Duke whispered in a lowered voice, bringing his lips closer to my ear.

In a voice that somehow seemed desperate.

Perhaps because I could imagine how his eyes would follow me at this moment?

I responded calmly while avoiding his gaze.

“I think it’s because I haven’t appeared in front of people for a long time.”

“I see.”

Our conversation ended with his voice that sounded calm yet tinged with disappointment.

More precisely, because it was the groom’s turn to enter, and he left his position.

The virgin road beyond the open door, neither too long nor too short.

Amidst the gentle melody created by string instruments, how long did I stare at his back as he walked down the path decorated with flowers?

“……Miss.”

At Sherry’s brief prompt, I finally realized it was my turn.

After glancing at the maids helping with my flowing dress from behind, I began to move forward slowly.

After walking for a while, my father, dressed in a formal suit, stood at the midpoint I approached.

Father extended his hand to me with a faded smile.

Feeling both moved and heavy emotions, I joined hands with him.

There was no conversation, but perhaps due to that gaze and the warm temperature of our joined hands, I could feel that Father sincerely wished for my happiness.

At the end of the wedding road we reached walking side by side, the Duke was in place.

Father handed me over to the Duke and turned around to exit somewhat desolately.

But there was no time to worry about that as the officiating speech began immediately, and facing each other, the Duke and I recited vows to love each other forever.

After placing rings on each other’s fingers and ending with a kiss, all procedures were completed.

In the applause of the guests that felt like my heart would burst, I had to bite my lip invisibly.

At this moment when I should be happiest, I felt strangely unsettled.

❀❀❀

Most of the wedding guests were from the Duke’s side.

The human relationships that remained before going to Floredo gradually severed due to lack of interaction, and the collateral branches of House Ophelia lived too far away or had conservative tendencies.

They clearly wouldn’t come if they heard about my remarriage.

As a result, the reception revolved thoroughly around the Duke.

Despite being the bride of this wedding, even if only in name, I had to work hard to maintain a smooth smile while feeling like a stranger.

Then, as evening approached, I was finally freed from such labor.

Letting down my tightly fixed hair and changing into a silk nightgown dress, lying down on the bed felt like salvation.

But the liberation was brief; perhaps due to the heavy hair ornaments, various parts of my body ached, including my shoulders.

Eventually, I called a maid to receive a massage and returned to the bedroom, but I was still alone in the room.

The Duke had said he would stay to attend to the guests and told me to go ahead, but seeing that he hadn’t returned for over two hours, was he planning to stay up all night?

‘Well.’

Since there are cases where couples only hold hands on the first night in the bride’s home due to awkwardness, it seemed possible.

‘I haven’t seen this before.’

As I was heading to the bed while doing light stretches, I thought about the wine and finger foods placed on the table in front of the bed.

They must have been set up while I was receiving the massage.

It seems they were meant for both of us to enjoy together, but since the Duke wasn’t coming in tonight, could I eat alone?

‘This wine, they wouldn’t give it to me even when I asked for it.’

The wine was what undoubtedly caught my attention.

I knew well what this wine was.

Wine produced from the vineyard owned by House Ophelia was one of the highly rated wines in the Empire.

Among them, the cork of the selected highest quality wines was stamped with a star-shaped mark.

Since very few wines received this grade each year, Father rarely brought out this wine unless it was a special day.

Moreover, it was an 18-year vintage.

My appetite was thoroughly whetted.

I pulled out the already loosened cork with my hand and poured wine into a glass.

With a gurgling sound, the red wine in the bottle began to transfer to the glass.

❀❀❀

It had been a tiring day.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I certainly thought it would be a somewhat energetic day.

Now all I wanted was to quickly wash off the dust on my body and return to the bedroom in light attire.

‘Those insufferable leeches.’

Assel sighed, recalling those who had clung to him like leeches until just now.

The root of the problem was his desire to gather as many guests as possible.

Since there were no guests from Levedi’s side, he contacted people he wasn’t even close with, fearing it would feel empty without them.

Thinking this was their opportunity, those attending as guests had no intention of letting him go until late at night.

They were eager to build a relationship with him.

As a result, conversations without a hint of excitement continued endlessly. Until it reached the point where he thought this couldn’t go on as the night grew late.

At that time, how fortunate it was that his father-in-law appeared at the perfect moment.

He scolded the guests and Assel, asking if he intended to leave his daughter alone on their wedding night.

Thanks to that, having finally escaped from the party venue, Assel now entered his and Levedi’s bridal chamber.

Like the mansions where high nobles stay, the large room attached to the mansion was comparable in size to an ordinary house.

There’s a space no different from a living room, with the bedroom and bathroom separated.

As he entered the bridal chamber, maids waiting approached him.

“Would you like us to attend to your bath?”

“If you would spread your arms……”

Assel shook his head without the slightest reconsideration at the maids’ offers.

“I’ll wash alone.”

After flatly refusing, he immediately immersed his body in the bathtub.

He knew the maids had no other intentions.

He simply disliked the touch of another person’s skin on him.

Especially a woman’s touch made him shudder. Because the moment of contact brought back memories of a terrible past.

“Why is such a knowledgeable young master so picky?”

“Stay still. I’ll make you feel good.”

With a clear laugh, the heavy scent of powder unpleasantly permeated his nose.

In a lavish room unsuited for a battlefield, unpleasant flesh mercilessly pressed down on him.

“No, I said no!”

He resists, but it’s useless. But what’s more terrible is his increasingly blurry consciousness and his body growing hotter.

Finally, that weak flesh yielding to those repulsive things.

At the fragment of memory that flashed through his mind, strength entered his clenched fist.

Dousing himself with cold water, he struggled to shake off the memories of the past.

Think of something else, something good.

For instance, Levedi.

A woman with purple hair and amethyst-like mesmerizing eyes.

Thinking of her, her scent, and the feel of their lips meeting, surprisingly, his pounding heart soon stabilized.

Assel pressed his chest, which had finally found its rhythm, and dried his wet hair with a towel.

His heart was unsettled at the thought of going to see her. Even though there was a greater possibility that she herself wasn’t thinking anything.

While changing clothes, Assel recalled the wedding that took place today.

To be honest, just before entering the venue, Assel was nervous.

Although it was the beginning of a ridiculous play rushing toward its end, different from his initial plan, he couldn’t deny that he was nervous.

The fact that he and she would now be husband and wife, the procedures that would publicly acknowledge it in front of people.

Just imagining it made his heart pound as if it would burst, and breathing became difficult.

So he wanted the woman in front of him to feel the same, even just a little.

“Are you nervous?”

“A little.”

When Levedi answered that she was nervous to his question, he couldn’t contain his joy.

But such joy didn’t last long.

“Even though it’s a contract marriage?”

“I think it’s because I haven’t appeared in front of people for a long time.”

Levedi answered while avoiding his gaze. Her answer was also far from the intention of his question.

Assel easily recognized that all of this was intentional.

She was finding him burdensome.

“……How did we end up in such a damned relationship.”

Assel murmured self-deprecatingly. He found himself laughably pathetic for getting excited as if something significant had happened just because she allowed him one kiss.

Even though it was merely the price she paid to maintain this contract.

Perhaps it was wrong from the start to have entered this venue, falling for that momentary sweetness she bestowed.

He clearly thought he was the superior party in this contract, but at some point, he had become thoroughly inferior.

But even knowing this fact, he didn’t want to cancel the contract. It felt like he could be deceived a hundred or a thousand times if he could gain even a little of her heart.

“……What a stupid b*stard.”

A curse that seemed like it would never come from his usually elegant lips flowed out.

In fact, Assel had acquired twice as many curses while rolling through battlefields. He just pretended to be refined in front of her.

He wondered what she would say if she knew this bottom side of him. But it seemed like they would never get close enough for that in their lifetime.

Along with his deepening thoughts, the moisture in his hair had almost dried. Stroking his fairly dry crown, Assel stepped out of the bathroom in slippers.

And finally, opening the door to the bedroom, he had to widen his eyes at the shocking scene that entered his vision.

❀❀❀

“Levedi…?”

The sight she showed as soon as he opened the door made even him, who thought he had become quite numb to most stimuli, open his eyes wide in surprise.

Inside Assel, doubt arose as to whether he was seeing something properly.

The fair skin revealed over the pulled-back blanket was excessively provocative.

If that had been all, he would have thought she was wearing clothes underneath, but the garments fallen mercilessly like autumn leaves below the bed.

“……”

Assel had to forcibly erase the trashy thoughts that suddenly came to his mind.

Around that time, the disheveled table that came into his view allowed him to roughly grasp the situation.

Half-eaten finger foods and a completely emptied wine bottle.

And…

“Mmm.”

Levedi, sleeping in a fetal position like an embryo. The problem was that she wasn’t in a proper state.

She had clearly taken off her clothes because drinking wine raises body temperature. But a twenty-six-year-old like her couldn’t possibly not know her alcohol limit.

Moreover, it was also impossible for her to think he wouldn’t come to the bridal chamber.

‘Does this mean she did this knowingly?’

Dumbfounded, he sat down beside the sleeping Levedi. She was sound asleep, even snoring lightly. As if mocking the tension he had felt until entering this place and the countless worries that had unfolded.

“…Are you really sleeping?”

He hadn’t expected anything, but he hadn’t imagined seeing her sleeping like this either.

“……”

Like someone who had passed out drunk, there was no response from her.

The fortunate thing was that several blankets were prepared in case of an emergency(!).

Just as he was about to get up to fetch a blanket piled on a sofa at one end of the room,

“…Don’t go.”

Grab. At the touch that wrapped around his waist, his body stiffened from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.

The warm heat and soft skin felt through the thin nightgown fabric.

But what was harder to endure was something else. Her voice, husky and slightly twisted from sleep, was cute yet maddeningly s*xy.

But he soon rose. It was because he couldn’t imagine doing anything to someone who was asleep. The thought that whatever they did should be done because they both wanted it was firmly fixed in his mind.