***
Now that the wedding was over, all that’s left for the invited guests to do was eat, drink, play all night, and celebrate in a merry way.
Long tables were placed on both sides of the hall where food was set and guests could enjoy music and dance in the empty space.
It was an authentic imperial banquet, with so much food to the point of getting sick of it, and dancing so frantic that it made people burst into laughter.
When the banquet started and the excitement rose, everyone took off a layer of etiquette and formality.
However, the protagonists of the celebration were not the bride and groom. The two still had an obligation to become true husband and wife by entering the bridal chamber and spending the night together.
“Have they entered the bridal chamber by now?”
“Solaria!”
Even so, it wasn’t something that would come out of the mouth of a younger sister who had just debuted. Illasia urgently looked around.
Fortunately, everyone seemed to be distracted by the revelry.
“You can’t use your mouth to joke like that!”
“You’re also curious. I didn’t know that Big sister Lily would get married first. After all, Turin and the Great Feudal Lord treated her so preciously.”
Solaria puckered her mouth out and grumbled.
“If she have a baby soon, she won’t be able to come to sorority meetings often. It’s really too much.”
Solaria loved Lilian from the moment they first met. It was because she had a similar atmosphere to her older sister Illasia, whom she really liked, but was more affectionate and less strict.
Illasia was relieved to realize that her sister’s question wasn’t out of inappropriate curiosity.
“Nowadays, it’s rare for the bridal room to be set up right after the wedding, so I didn’t think you would guess. So shut up for now.”
The imperial wedding customs were in a state of great deterioration from its original form. The reason was the frequent wars.
All the nobles were bound together under the Emperor’s feet in an alliance called the Empire, but the solidarity was still weak.
All nobles dreamed of occupying land, expanding their power, and rising to a higher position through war.
Under these circumstances, marriage meant an alliance. And in frequent wars, alliances were also broken countless times.
Worse, some got married in the morning and got divorced in the evening. Even worse, the groom married in the morning was killed in the afternoon and the bride was remarried in the evening.
For the imperials, marriage was not a heavy oath that had to be taken with responsibility. It was just a light promise that could be broken at any time depending on the situation.
Among the nobles of the empire, there were quite a few who did not have marital relations at all.
“For the sake of political unity, it’s better not to fulfill the duties of a marital night.”
“Of course. Circumstances can change rapidly, but when you’re at home, not having children is less complicated.”
“Of course. It’s safe in many ways to have a relationship with a lover.”
An era in which relationships with lovers have become more common than marital relationships.
Damian and Lilian were bound by a marriage vow, but the bond could not be said to be strong.
Everyone guessed. Perhaps, as is the case with all arranged marriages, Damian will spend the night alone in an empty bridal chamber.
“It’s not even lonely.”
“Both of them can spend more fiery nights with their lovers.”
“I guess that could be the case.”
It was common among the nobility to maintain half-marital relationships like that.
Damian was well aware of that fact.
“So there’s still a long way to go and I have to endure that much…”
Damian soothed his own greed. However, he couldn’t control his irritated fingers from fiddling with the knot hanging from the hilt like a habit.
However, unlike before, his heart did not settle. The image of Lilian, who was hesitant to sign at the ceremony did not leave his feverish mind.
He thought they were slowly getting closer. How hard he tried to soak her in without her realizing it was wet.
‘I thought we’re getting closer. In reality, it was a shadow that I caught.’
Should he live his whole life worrying about not getting his hands on it?
No, he can tolerate being anxious.
He could endure it.
But what if Lily leaves before he could hold on tight?
What if, after Matteo safely becomes the Emperor, she’ll say that she’ll remarry another man, saying, ‘our political marriage is meaningless now’?
His jaw tightened from clenching his teeth and a vein stood on his forehead. His natural gait became rough. Damian slammed open the door to the bridal room. It was a bit loud but he didn’t mind.
‘It doesn’t matter. It’s an empty room anyway…!’
…it should have been.
“You’re here?”
It wasn’t an empty room.
Lily Islar was sitting on the bed.
Her calm, kind face was the same as usual, but her hands gripped the hem of her dress.
Indeed, in this situation, even this fierce woman seemed to be nervous.
There was no significant change in Damian’s expression as he looked at Lilian. If you look very closely, how much is the pupil slightly dilated?
After the silence, Damian asked in a low voice.
“What about those clothes?”
“Yes? Ah, this…”
Smile. Lily smiled awkwardly. Her face twitched.
“It’s yours.”
The large men’s gown covered all of Lilian’s slender body. You could only see her neat pink toes, which was barely visible underneath…
Damian slightly moistened his lips.
His mouth watered.
But Lilian, knowing nothing about the mechanics of the male body, mistakenly thought that Damian’s silence was a rebuke for wearing his clothes.
“It was too cold, so I borrowed it for a while…”
Looking at Lilian, who pursed her lips and made excuses, Damian thought. If she’s still cold in a room with a fire lit during this warm time…it was a matter of attire.
Gulp. His neck band moved blatantly.
Damian asked for confirmation one last time.
“Why are you here?”
Lilian averted her eyes. She was embarrassed to be asked such an obvious question, but she answered meekly.
“Well…because we’re a couple?”
To be honest, Damian’s rationally was cut off for a while there.
The unfortunate thing is that Lily misinterpreted Damian’s attitude, which had hardened at the moment.
“I’m not here to force marital relations on Your Highness. It’ll be difficult for the time being with my physical condition anyway, so I’ve been told to refrain from it.”
“I see…indeed.”
“Yes, don’t worry. I am not a patient who ignores the doctor’s recommendations. All I’m here for is…”
“To make our union be convincing to the revelers out there.”
“Yes, precisely.”
Glad you understood, Lilian smiled, wriggling her exposed feet under Damian’s coat. Damian wanted to cry but also wanted to laugh.
“I understand the situation.”
Pretending to rub his face, Damian hid the corners of his mouth that were about to rise. As soon as tomorrow morning dawned, he promised to present at least one gold bar to the invited guests.
After all, their suspicions have pushed this disinterested woman into the bridal chamber!
‘How lovely they are.’
Damian thought sarcastically.
He just wanted to hug each nasty person who talked about how long this marriage would last and even blow a kiss on their cheeks. Thanks to them, he thought this marriage would last longer as he smiled prettily.
“Your Highness?”
As Damian’s silence lengthened to hide his joy, Lilian felt sorry for him.
“If it’s inconvenient, I will go to a separate bed. You can put blankets on the floor and I can go down.”
“Hmm.”
Damian’s expression turned grim.
“Are you saying that you want me to become a new groom who let his new bride sleep on the cold floor?”
“You can just tell them to put the blankets on the rug in front of the fireplace. It will be warmer.”
Looking at Lilian, who immediately understood and gave the wrong answer, Damian thought it’d be fun to see just how dull this person is at this point.
‘But I can’t let them set up a separate bed like this.’
The experienced groom soon lowered his eyebrows.
“Um, but someone might see them carrying blankets to the bridal room?”
It’s the day when the banquet took place. It’s unreasonable to expect drunken and ecstatic guests to remain calm in the banquet hall.
Lily admitted.
“That’s true as well. I wasn’t prepared.”
“That’s good.”
“Pardon?”
“It doesn’t matter. Isn’t it nice like this?”
Damian casually shrugged.
Lilian was relieved that he didn’t seem annoyed at the situation.
“Because the bed is large.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
You couldn’t find anything like a dark heart on Damian’s smiling face.
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