01

Ding dong. The clear sound of bells announcing the morning came along with the chirping of birds.

The resonant bell sound of the grand church near the Magic Department always rang so loudly that it reached the neighboring village.

Aris frowned deeply, tossing and turning under the covers before resignedly opening her eyes.

It had been 5 years since she started living at the Magic Department. She was already as accustomed as she could be, so it wasn’t just the bell sound that woke her up.

‘My whole body aches…’

Aris rubbed her stiff, tingling waist. She had only tossed and turned a few times, but her entire body felt off, as if all her muscles were screaming.

‘I remember drinking too much at yesterday’s ceremony, but I don’t think it was this bad.’

She sighed and rolled over. Even the pillow felt hard, perhaps because her neck muscles were also stiff.

Thinking this, she slowly opened her eyes, still not fully awake. Then, something that shouldn’t be there entered her field of vision.

Aris stopped blinking. Soon, her eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

‘S… skin?!’

An excessively explicit color was spread out before her eyes, along with taut muscles curved according to the shadows. Aris gently raised her hand and poked the enormous thing in front of her.

It’s warm. And, it’s firm.

“Oh my…”

Until now, she thought this was a dream. Although it’s a bit inappropriate, one might have such a dream once in a while in life.

Who could it be to have such an amazing body?

As Aris raised her gaze, scanning upwards, her movement suddenly stopped. She stared at him blankly for a moment.

“……!”

Aris took a deep breath and reflexively withdrew her hand, backing away.

Having secured some distance from the man lying next to her, she rolled her eyes in confusion, not understanding the situation.

‘Why is this person next to me?’

Amidst the confusion, Aris tried to grasp the situation.

The man with a very familiar face right in front of me. What I was using as a pillow was this person’s arm. For some reason, this person is n*ked.

And, and I too…

Feeling uneasy, Aris lowered her gaze and discovered her own body without a stitch of clothing.

She closed her eyes tightly in shock, then opened them and turned her head to look around. She saw clothes scattered here and there on the floor. More precisely, they were torn clothes strewn about.

‘Oh my goodness…! What have I done!’

Aris, who had been sneaking glances around, swallowed hard. Soon, she began to crawl towards the corner of the bed, careful not to wake the man.

‘It’s, it’s okay, Aristena. There’s no way this isn’t a dream.’

Yes, first, I’ll put on whatever I can find and leave this place, then I’ll slap my cheek.

‘Then this nonsensical situation, and that person, will disappear like melting snow…’

Just as she was rationalizing to herself and turned slightly to look back, it happened.

Suddenly, an arm grabbed her, and Aris’s body was dragged right back to the center of the bed. It happened in an instant, without giving her time to react.

Aris raised her stiffly frozen gaze. The man, with drowsy violet eyes, was visible. He was staring intently at Aris.

Her heart was beating as if it would shatter at this strange confrontation of gazes. Trembling with fear, she suddenly frowned slightly.

The moment she met his eyes, the certainty that this was not a dream poured over her like cold water. Aris faced the man before her with an utterly disbelieving look.

The man she had always tried to avoid, but ultimately couldn’t forget.

The man who would one day become Emperor.

And, the man who had been her husband.

Observing her helplessly trembling eyes, the man let out a languid sigh and pulled Aris into his embrace. A vivid body heat, too real to be a dream, was transmitted through their bare skin.

“Aristena.”

A gentle baritone settled in her ear. In a voice still seemingly intoxicated with sleep, he whispered consecutively.

“This time, don’t try to leave me.”

At the touch of his hand embracing her back, Aris’s mind went blank.

She had sworn never to get involved with this man again, but in this life too, she had become entangled with him. And in a completely different way from her past life.

In a way that she absolutely could not avoid.

* * *

“That Glass Empress, you know. Hasn’t she been deposed yet?”

In Aris’s memory, there are days that stubbornly remain, though they should have been forgotten by now.

At that time, Aristena was the Emperor’s wife and was called the Glass Empress. Fragile and powerless, who could break at any moment. A mere means, an insignificant existence.

“What deposition? The eastern nobles will surely protest vehemently! Isn’t His Majesty enduring and keeping the Empress for the sake of harmony?”

Insulting the Emperor’s wife is certainly an act that would not be surprising if they were summoned to the Imperial Palace for punishment. However, this was an exception only for the current Empress, Aristena.

She was an unprecedentedly incompetent Empress. And the Emperor was excessively indifferent to her.

Such rumors even circulated implicitly. That the Emperor despised the Empress. Or, even worse, that he treated her as if she didn’t exist at all.

‘…They’re all so cruel. They criticize even more loudly when I pretend not to hear.’

They always wagged their tongues, and Aris always pretended not to hear and got hurt.

There were many who tried to scratch her, and no one who cared for her. As if such treatment was natural for Aristena. As if it could only be justified because she was the target.

But Aristena had done nothing wrong. Although she was condemned by everyone and hated by all the empire’s people…

She truly had done nothing wrong.

She just loved her husband.

She hoped for his love despite it being a political marriage.

So she tried. And then she fell.

That was all.

The memory went back to the past.

About half a year after the new Emperor of Belvaiden ascended to the throne. The people of the empire welcomed the auspicious day they had been longing for.

It was the day when Kalaian Etenbarke, the Emperor of Belvaiden and the supreme sword of the Etenbarke Imperial Family, finally married the daughter of Marquis Eldeiz after a 6-year engagement period.

Many people flocked to the chapel of the royal palace.

“In times of hardship or joy, in rain or shine. The groom and bride will always be by each other’s side…”

Listening to the wedding officiant, Aris tightly gripped the pure white lisianthus bouquet in her hand. Then she glanced sideways at the man standing next to her.

Dressed in formal attire, he was a very handsome man. With a sturdy yet slender physique. Born with a visibly robust constitution and even handsome features.

Aris bit her lower lip slightly out of shyness.

‘Even though it’s an unintended marriage, to think I’m standing here with this person.’

For a very long time, he had been Aris’s idol.

Except for the engagement ceremony, she had only been able to see him in newspapers, but even so, she held him in her heart. Because he, the hero of this country, was truly wonderful and great.

As the officiant’s words, which she had been listening to half-absentmindedly, came to an end, Kalaian approached Aris. He cupped her cheek and leaned in close. Aris received his courteous kiss with a trembling heart.

Applause celebrating their marriage rang out like thunder or cheers.

This celebration was not just for their marriage, but also for the reconciliation between the eastern noble faction and the western royalist faction, which had been on bad terms.

The marriage of Kalaian Etenbarke and Aristena Eldeiz was a kind of token, officially sealing that reconciliation.

“Your Majesty the Empress, I will assist you with your bath.”

Aris immersed herself in warm water sprinkled with roses, receiving the care of the imperial maids.

She was still not used to the title ‘Your Majesty the Empress.’ It felt like too grand a title, and when addressed as such, Aris felt a little shy.

‘I need to get used to it. I’m now the Empress of Belvaiden.’

Aris, trying to compose herself, recalled her husband from the wedding reception.

When she chatted and spoke to him, he often engaged in the conversation. Occasionally raising the corners of his mouth in a somewhat lukewarm but infinitely handsome smile.

‘His Majesty is really so handsome…’

Aris, her cheeks flushed, looked at the rose petals floating on the water.

‘After finishing the bath and preparing for bed, I’ll see His Majesty. And then…’

Today was the day they would consummate their marriage. Aris inwardly let out a very girlish scream.

Since the engagement ceremony with Kalaian, Aris had received a lot of education from her family. For the upcoming wedding night.

Although the marriage had been postponed again and again, leading to the wedding night only after 6 years since the engagement.

After completing various preparations including the bath, Aris entered the bedroom first and sat on the bed. She looked down at her attire with disapproval.

“I didn’t know I’d be wearing such an indecent outfit…”

Aris felt embarrassed by the slip with a deeply cut neckline exposing her cleavage. Even though it would be taken off anyway, still…

After hesitating, she finally put on a robe. Just as she tied the waist string and lay down on the bed, the bedroom door opened.

Startled, Aris turned to look. Kalaian, wearing a nightgown, entered the bedroom.

His hair was slightly damp, probably from just finishing his bath, and the peculiar heat that entered with him made Aris nervous.

‘Oh no… He looks different from usual.’

The Kalaian she knew always preferred a neat and courteous appearance. To see him in such a relaxed state…

From this small change, she suddenly felt that they had become a married couple. Aris’s heart pounded excitedly.

“Empress.”

“Yes…!”

Aris answered with a start. And then regretted it. She must have looked like a fool.

Fortunately, Kalaian didn’t seem to mind particularly, and climbed onto the bed. When she came to her senses, he was positioned above Aris.

“Don’t be nervous. We’re just fulfilling our marital duties.”

Kalaian soothed Aris in a low voice.

Marital duties…

Although it clearly meant an intimate relationship, it felt strangely as if a line was being drawn.

As Aris nodded, his lips came down on hers. She accepted him without resistance, feeling her heart pounding.

“……!”

Unlike the polite kiss they had exchanged during the ceremony, this was a kiss where they could feel each other’s warmth from the heat that rushed in.

Aris barely managed to gather her wits and grasped the hem of his clothes.

As the passionate kiss continued, Kalaian untied and removed the robe Aris was wearing. And when he even took off the slip that Aris had been embarrassed about, she quickly became a shy figure.

“Ah…”

The heated kiss stopped, and Kalaian lowered his lips to Aris’s neck and shoulders. Aris shuddered at the moist and hot sensation touching her skin.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared. She had only learned about this, never having experienced it before.

‘But, if it’s with this person…’

If it’s this man, it’s okay.

Feeling her chest rise and fall, she felt Kalaian’s hand trailing down her waist. Aris tightly closed her eyes.

At that moment, his hand that had been caressing her waist and flat stomach stopped.

When Kalaian showed no signs of moving for a while, Aris gently opened her closed eyes.

She saw Kalaian, who had already straightened up, quietly looking down at Aris from above her. His gaze was slowly scanning Aris’s body.

“…Your Majesty?”

Aris cautiously called out to him. He raised his gaze to look at Aris’s face.

Kalaian, who had been looking at her with somewhat hardened eyes, suddenly got off from above Aris. Then, with his back to her, he began to neatly put his robe back on.

“……?”

Aris looked at Kalaian with eyes that didn’t understand what was happening. He was already back in the same attire as before.

‘What’s going on? Is it over already?’

No. If she hadn’t been taught wrong, she knew that they hadn’t even started yet.

Aris hesitated for a moment before calling out to him.

“Um, Your Majesty…?”

“Let’s consider the wedding night as completed.”

“Pardon?”

Aris asked back in bewilderment, but Kalaian had already laid down next to her.

Looking at his back, Aris felt unnecessarily ashamed to be n*ked alone. So, covering her body with one arm, she called out to him again.

“But Your Majesty, we haven’t yet…”

At Aris’s timid words, he let out a quiet sigh. Then, he spoke coldly in a dry tone.

“I’m not aroused.”

“…Pardon?”

Aris ended up asking like a fool again. She would have found herself truly pathetic for repeating the same words like a parrot if it were any other time, but right now, her mind was blank and she couldn’t think of anything.

Kalaian continued speaking without even turning back.

“So, I can’t do it.”

“……”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

At that moment, it felt like a guillotine had fallen on Aris’s dreamlike state of mind. Shocked by his sharp words, Aris couldn’t move an inch.

And that night remained like a thorn in Aris’s memory. Because after that day, Kalaian Etenbarke never once visited her bedroom.

Suddenly, Aris remained a wife who hadn’t even been able to fulfill her ‘marital duties’ that she had diligently studied for 6 years.

It was an unforgettable wedding night.

* * *