Chapter 014
Creeeak—.
The door soon opened, revealing the star of the day in a pure white dress.
With each step Dahlia took, her silver hair reflected the light, casting a soft glow in the air.
Those witnessing the scene up close blushed and whispered among themselves.
“Was Lady Feldro always like this…”
“Yes, she seems different from what I remember. There is something different about her.”
The Dahlia, they recalled, was always looking grim while staying by Delos’s side.
Yet now, Dahlia looked distinctly transformed.
Her clear gaze and vibrant face highlighted the beauty she had always possessed.
While people were surprised by her changed demeanor, Dahlia had already reached the podium.
Dahlia took Evan’s hand, who was standing before her.
Then the priest began the ceremony.
How much time had passed?
“Now, a kiss to seal the vows.”
The ceremony was nearing its end, with only the kiss remaining.
“Hmm, groom?”
However, as Evan showed no signs of moving despite the wait, the priest called him once more.
Meanwhile, Dahlia anxiously glanced around, leaving the groom, who had turned to stone right in front of her.
‘Could this man not know that the ceremony ends with a kiss?’
Despite her worries, it seemed almost certain that the duke had started to freeze up the moment the kiss was mentioned.
As Evan remained rooted in place, murmurs began to rise from the guests.
Seeing the duke standing motionless with his jaw clenched, Dahlia felt awkward and nervously bit her lip.
‘I didn’t expect him to be so disgusted by the idea of a kiss.’
But it wasn’t like she could just stand there doing nothing.
Swish.
Dahlia glanced briefly toward the guests, then pulled out her veil and draped it over Evan’s head.
“What…”
“Shh, just stay still.”
Dahlia had no intention of making things awkward for him, who clearly didn’t want to kiss her.
Soon, the two figures covered by the opaque veil drew closer together.
Dahlia skillfully angled her head to the side, wrapping Evan’s face with hers at just the right moment.
From a distance, it looked unmistakably like a couple sharing a kiss.
Finally, a huge cheer erupted, echoing up to the ceiling of the temple.
It was the sound announcing that they were now officially husband and wife.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
That evening.
“Ugh…”
I flopped onto the bed, slapping my shoulders.
The wedding had been arranged so suddenly that I had been overly anxious for the past few days.
The soft texture of the bed against my face brought a wave of exhaustion that had been building up.
Moreover, the gentle glow of the scented candle in the room made my body feel increasingly drowsy.
“I’m so tired…”
My eyelids were about to close when I heard a soft sound.
Tap─.
I heard the soft sound of the door opening.
The consciousness that was trying to sink heavily into sleep suddenly jolted to the surface.
I quickly turned my head toward the door, where I saw the Duke, now my husband, standing.
With damp hair, as if he had just washed up.
As he entered the room, he noticed the softly glowing scented candle and immediately frowned in displeasure.
Although the maids had put a lot of effort into preparing it, at that moment, it only served to make the air in the room feel awkward.
Since we were in a relationship where we didn’t need to fulfill any marital duties, nothing was going to happen tonight, but still, the fact that I was in the same room with a man naturally stirred a sense of tension.
“The scent is nice, isn’t it? It’s supposed to help with fatigue.”
Worried that staying silent would make things even more awkward, I hurriedly got up and spoke to him.
“Is that so?”
He responded indifferently, his gaze lingering on the candle before he turned away.
As the awkward silence settled again, he began to slowly approach me.
Perhaps because of the dim light from the candlelit bedroom, I found myself holding my breath and looking up at him as he drew closer.
‘Isn’t marital duty supposed to be something separate from this?’
Since he had indicated from the start that he didn’t expect marital duties, I assumed it included the wedding night.
Watching the man approach in a damp gown made me inexplicably dry-mouthed.
Swoosh.
As the duke reached out gently toward me, now just inches away, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
“……”
I stayed still, feeling a sharp gaze on my face, which eventually seemed to withdraw as his low voice reached me.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
With polite words, he lifted the pillow from beside me.
Then he approached the sofa in one corner of the room and lay down on it.
“……What are you doing?”
I asked, glancing at his feet sticking out awkwardly from the sofa’s edge.
“Don’t worry about me. You should just get some sleep.”
“No, that’s not—”
I stopped mid-sentence, closing my mouth.
‘Is he being considerate? I thought he wouldn’t care and would just lie down on the bed.’
Considering his rough nature, I was prepared for anything, so this situation was somewhat surprising.
‘Still, the sofa must be uncomfortable.’
Despite the long sofa, seeing his feet pitifully sticking out made me unable to hold back any longer, so I finally spoke up.
“Or, I can sleep there. I’m smaller than you, so I won’t feel much difference from the bed.”
Even though it was a sofa, it was large enough to be about the same size as a single bed.
At that moment, I heard him chuckling from beyond the sofa.
“Stop talking nonsense and just go to sleep.”
With that, there were no more words coming from his direction.
I continued to look at his legs sticking out from the sofa before finally lying down on the bed and saying,
“Alright. Sweet dreams……”
As expected, there was no response from him.
Lying there quietly, staring at the ceiling, the hectic days leading up to today’s wedding flashed through my mind like a passing parade.
‘I really got married.’
For me, marriage was one of those things in life that I regret so much that I definitely want to turn back.
It was something I did impulsively, but it was strange that I didn’t regret it.
Maybe it was because he was the other person.
I slightly lifted my head to look at the man’s feet peeking out from the sofa, and thought.
‘I want us to get along well, but there’s no opening…’
Looking at the duke now, it seemed like there would be no problem if I handed him divorce papers a year later.
How long was I lost in thought?
Suddenly, the image of the duke lying on the sofa and trying to sleep kept bothering me.
‘He’ll be cold without a blanket.’
Thinking about it, I recalled that he had laid down on the sofa without covering himself.
Once that thought crossed my mind, I could no longer lie still. I got up and picked up a nearby blanket.
He must have been drained from the wedding preparations, so he would have fallen asleep early.
I approached him carefully so as not to wake him.
Finally, standing in front of the sofa, I saw the duke sleeping soundly without moving.
“But the blanket is a bit short.”
It seemed like I had brought the longest blanket, but looking at his legs stretched across the sofa, it appeared woefully inadequate.
However, it was still better than nothing, so just as I was about to cover him with the blanket,
“What are you doing?”
“Ah!”
In the darkness, I locked eyes with his ash-gray ones, which seemed to shine even brighter.
They say that when you’re too surprised, you can’t even scream.
“Ah, you’re not asleep… Ahh!”
In that moment of shock, I stumbled backward, tripping over the blanket that had fallen to the floor.
With my center of gravity shifting backward, I braced myself for the impending pain and tightly shut my eyes.
