“How about ‘I love you’?”

“That’s good.”

Rachel, holding a quill pen, carefully wrote the words “I love you” on the parchment.

“How’s that?”

“Well done. Now write ‘Kaiden’ after it.”

“…”

Rachel’s hand, which had been about to write with enthusiasm, stopped. She looked at Kaiden with eyes full of dissatisfaction.

Night, when darkness had fallen thick. Rachel was learning to write from Kaiden.

Since she was embarrassed to be caught by others, she was secretly learning from him like this. She was grateful for his consideration, but the problem was that Kaiden kept trying to satisfy his dark desires like he was doing now.

“This isn’t the time for jokes. I’m in the middle of learning.”

“I’m not joking either.”

“Yes, you are. I’ve already written your name more than ten times, so there’s no way I’d get it wrong.”

“I know.”

“You know, yet you’re telling me to write it?”

“You haven’t said you love me at all lately.”

“Fine. I love you. Happy now?”

Even though he heard the words “I love you” in such a perfunctory way, Kaiden’s lips curved up considerably.

‘What’s so special about saying I love you…’ 

At times like this, he seemed like an innocent boy. Smiling along with him, Rachel asked.

“Now that you’ve heard what you wanted, what word should I write next?”

“Wait. The word you wrote earlier is wrong.”

“Which one?”

Kaiden pointed out one of the words Rachel had practiced that she’d written incorrectly.

“Oh my! I’ll fix it.”

“No. It’s too late. You’ll have to receive punishment for getting it wrong.”

Like he’d been waiting for this, Kaiden’s hand moved between Rachel’s legs.

There was one condition for him teaching her to write. That was receiving punishment every time she made a mistake.

She’d thought the punishment wouldn’t be much and accepted with a simple heart, but what was this? The punishments he gave were full of lewdness.

Every time she made a mistake, Kaiden groped Rachel’s body. Since nothing was specifically decided, the area changed according to his mood.

And seeing him grope her body quite blatantly now, she had an ominous feeling that the writing lesson time was about to end.

“No. I still have many words left to write.”

Rachel grumbled with a dissatisfied face. Their wedding ceremony would be held soon. So she wanted to learn all the letters before then.

“Why the rush? You can learn to write after we’re married.”

“Once we marry, I’ll really become the Grand Duchess. I’ll have to carry heavy responsibilities, so shouldn’t I naturally be able to read and write before then?”

“Nothing changes just because you become the Grand Duchess. The only thing that changes is your surname becoming Waterford. You’ll continue to be by my side, so what’s the problem?”

“It’s not something to think of so lightly. Besides…”

“Besides what?”

“I also want to read the romance novels you like.”

Rachel answered with her face slightly flushed.

Kaiden had revealed a secret he’d kept hidden as a way of apologizing to Rachel. That he enjoyed reading romance novels.

He must have been embarrassed about reading books that didn’t suit him at all, but he seemed to think that revealing his shame like this would help her understand his sincerity.

“I’ll read them to you every night, so no need to worry.”

Kaiden grasped Rachel’s chest like he couldn’t hold back anymore. He deliberately circled the tip of her n*pple, trying to stimulate her.

“No. If you keep this up, we’ll continue sleeping in separate rooms until the wedding day.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Rachel answered with a confident expression.

Kaiden immediately let her go. She thought he was obeying, but no. Instead, he lifted her chin and kissed her directly.

“Kaiden!”

Since he wouldn’t listen to her, Rachel had no choice but to get angry. But she had to stop because unexpected words flowed from Kaiden’s mouth next.

“I love you.”

“What are you suddenly saying…”

Before Rachel could finish speaking, Kaiden kissed her again and began groping her body. 

She tried to push his chest away to tell him to stop bothering her, but the moment she heard him say he loved her again, she ended up laughing.

‘Why does he look so cute, begging for love like a child?’

Rachel, who stopped resisting, wrapped her hands around Kaiden’s neck and kissed him again.

He lifted her up and carefully laid her on the bed, but his movements removing her clothes looked urgent.

“It’s okay. We still have plenty of time.”

Even though she said it was okay, Kaiden removed her dress without hesitation, then took her br*ast in his mouth. He seemed to s*ck on it like sweet candy, then devoured it roughly.

But unable to be satisfied with just that, his hand that had been stroking her spine traveled down her waist and headed between her legs.

He began slowly stimulating the place that wasn’t yet ready to accept him.

“Ah! Ugh!”

The urgency could be felt in his hand movements too. The hand that entered the narrow inside deliberately stimulated only the weak spots.

His plan was to quickly heat up Rachel’s body so he could enter inside.

Rachel moaned in Kaiden’s arms, whimpering and feeling ecstasy. Her breathing gradually quickened and her cheeks also flushed peach-colored.

Her gaze looking at Kaiden while exhaling hot breaths relaxed languidly.

Just before reaching cl*max, the man’s movements stopped. Kaiden, who had no mental capacity to leisurely enjoy himself, thr*st his fierce member all at once into the sufficiently wet inside.

“Mmm!”

Accepting the still large object was difficult, but it was okay. The pain he gave would soon bring ecstasy.

As Rachel embraced Kaiden’s neck, their hot night began.

* * *

On Rachel and Kaiden’s wedding day, fortunately the weather in the North was clear. A bright sky spread out brilliantly, like it was blessing their marriage.

Kaiden wanted to hold a lavish wedding in the mild weather, but he couldn’t actually do so because Rachel strongly opposed it. She thought there was no need to make it fancy when there weren’t many guests.

So the wedding was scheduled to be held in the greenhouse, luxurious and solemn instead of flashy. That was definitely the plan, but…

When the wedding day actually arrived, the castle was crowded with many people.

The people they’d invited to the wedding were definitely only the Emperor and nobles who used magic, Kaiden’s vassals who protected the North together, and Baron Haverton, so the rest were uninvited nobles.

Though it was crowded with unexpected numbers, fortunately the Waterford family castle was large enough that accommodating them wasn’t a big problem.

However, the problem was insufficient prepared food, but even that was manageable to prepare throughout the ceremony.

Because the number of maids and servants working at the northern castle had somehow increased.

The increase in those applying to work at the castle was largely Rachel’s achievement. The village residents who’d conversed with her when she attended the village festival felt favorable toward her and wanted to work at the castle that was short-handed.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. Kaiden’s completely changed appearance also greatly helped eliminate the fear of working at the castle, making it possible.

So with their help, they could prepare to welcome even the unexpected guests.

The reason uninvited people attended the wedding was because of news shocking enough to shake high society recently.

That Lady Granby, who was supposed to marry the Grand Duke of Waterford, ran away because she didn’t want to marry, and sent a fake to the North in her place.

Until recently, rumors spread that he’d changed because of Lady Granby, but the person who actually changed him wasn’t Lady Granby.

This news itself was surprising, but what was more surprising was the fake lady’s identity.

That the fake lady was the eldest daughter of the Haverton family, whose reputation in high society was bad enough to be buried, gave them a huge shock.

Along with that, the fact that the rumors until now were false was also shocking.

The person who revealed that the rumors about Rachel were false was her father, Baron Haverton. So he could confidently come to the North to attend his daughter’s wedding.

“Congratulations, Rachel.”

After the ceremony ended and the reception began, Baron Haverton came to greet Rachel.

“Thank you for coming all this way.”

“It’s your wedding, so isn’t it natural?”

The Baron made an embarrassed expression. Since they hadn’t had such a warm relationship before, having an affectionate conversation seemed to feel awkward.

Though there might be some awkwardness, Rachel had already reconciled with Baron Haverton.

The reason she could forgive her father who’d neglected her all this time was because he acknowledged his wrongdoings and apologized.

The trigger was the carriage accident Count Granby orchestrated.

Though there was a carriage accident, since no body was found, Baron Haverton became suspicious. Even though he’d neglected her, once Rachel disappeared before his eyes, he seemed worried.

As a result, the Baron began investigating everything that happened around the day Rachel disappeared, and learned that Rachel’s disappearance was connected to Baroness Haverton.

Feeling greatly betrayed by his wife, he confronted her, and she spouted nonsense that after fighting with Amy, Rachel said she didn’t want to live at Haverton Estate anymore and left boasting she’d marry a rich man.

Since she lied to the end even after orchestrating the carriage accident, Baron Haverton immediately kicked both of them out because their behavior was detestable.

Then he regretted being indifferent to Rachel all this time. To pay for his sins, he kept searching for her whereabouts. With a heart hoping she was alive.

Count Cavan knew all these facts but kept silent.

He worried that if Rachel noticed she had a place to return to, she might not come to the North anymore.

Then when Rachel and Kaiden reconciled, he told her all these things so she could reconcile with Baron Haverton.

In this process, Kaiden exposed what he witnessed to the Imperial family. That Count Granby tried to kill the coachman and servant sent to the North together with Rachel, disguising it as an accident.

As a result, Count Granby became a criminal guilty of attempted murder and murder, and was dragged to prison instead of working in the mines.

And Baroness Haverton and Amy were recognized as his accomplices, so they also went to prison.

With these facts revealed, Rachel’s rumors could be corrected.

That it was actually Amy who bullied her, and that her sister with a complex about her face coveted much and lost everything.

Young Lord Dartmouth, whom she liked, had gotten engaged to another lady in the meantime, so Amy would have to spend her life in prison without achieving what she wanted.

As soon as Baroness Haverton and Amy were caught, what had happened to Rachel all this time spread through high society. As a result, uninvited people attended the wedding to apologize for their wrongdoings, like now.

Since it might seem rude to visit suddenly, they came to apologize while congratulating the wedding on this auspicious day.

So most of those who attended without invitation were those who gossiped behind her back and those who spread false rumors about her.

“I’m sorry. I gossiped without checking the facts.”

“I didn’t come hoping for forgiveness. I just came to apologize for my wrongdoing.”

“I shouldn’t have been swayed by others’ words. I’m truly sorry.”

Rachel didn’t remember the faces of all the ladies apologizing to her. It was even awkward since ladies she didn’t even know had gossiped were apologizing.

“I’ll probably attend banquets hosted by the Imperial Palace from time to time, so please take care of me then.”

“We should be the ones asking that.”

Rachel had many shortcomings to live as a Grand Duchess. Normally she should have received bride lessons, but she’d never received any except etiquette education, and didn’t even have close lady friends, so she had much to learn going forward.

Of course, Ellen, Count Cavan’s wife, helped, but since she was a northern woman, there were limits to the help she could give, so help from other ladies was also needed.

So Rachel was simply grateful to the ladies who sincerely reflected on their mistakes and approached her first.

After greeting all the uninvited guests one by one, Rachel stepped back to rest briefly.

Looking around with a relaxed mind, she saw Kaiden conversing with great nobles including His Majesty the Emperor. Next to them, she also saw guests smiling brightly.

The harmonious atmosphere emanating from the banquet hall was gently melting the chill inside the castle that couldn’t be completely removed.

‘Is it okay to be this peaceful?’

At that moment, memories of living at Haverton Estate in the past came to mind. The days when no one spoke to her after all the maids she’d been close with were kicked out.

Every time they passed in the corridor, the maids’ gazes glancing at Rachel were various—fear, contempt, indifference, etc.—but the common thread was that their looks weren’t kind.

But now it was different. Their gazes looking at Rachel had softened, and everyone welcomed her.

The more she looked at the peaceful scenery, the voices reaching her ears felt like melodies carried on the wind.

Everything happening to her felt like a dream. Like she was seeing a final fantasy just before closing her eyes.

‘Why are my eyes getting hot when I’m enjoying happiness?’

She tried to hold back tears by putting strength in her eyes, but Kaiden had already approached her side. His eyes widened when he saw the tears welling up.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know if it’s okay to be this happy.”

Rachel smiled brightly at him.

“It’s your right to enjoy. It’s all yours, so why think that way?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I can’t adjust because so much happiness came at once.”

“We’ve reached our happy ending, and our love story is just beginning. What will you do if you get tired already? There are many more happy days remaining ahead.”

Kaiden carefully wiped Rachel’s eyes and lightly pressed his lips to hers before pulling away. Rachel’s eyes glowed softly.

“Kaiden.”

Calling the name of her only refuge and lifelong companion, gentle ripples rose in her heart, and her chest gradually swelled.

“I love you. And thank you.”

Rachel burrowed into Kaiden’s arms with glistening tears. A love that started with misunderstanding and came like destiny. She wouldn’t let go of that love anymore.

Kaiden also whispered that he loved her while carefully embracing Rachel. Soon dazzling sunlight poured over their heads and enveloped them.

fin.