***
That night, Marianne was expelled from Peonia Sorority. She’s also waiting for another punishment, this time in her own home, on proper probation.
When she found out that she had been expelled from the sorority again, she fainted on the spot. However, Duchess Blanchett had no time to care about her daughter.
“How the hell do you manage your daughter!”
Did she give birth to the child and raise it alone? The Duchess was offended, but that didn’t matter to her now.
“It’s a big deal, honey! Didn’t you already order the poisoning of the Grand Duchess?”
“You’re asking nicely. You and that child had been working on me that much, do you think I haven’t done anything until now?”
“Then! What should I do now!”
“What do you mean!”
In fact, as soon as the incident happened, Duke Blanchett hurriedly issued a ‘cancellation’ order. And he had just heard the news that the spy had safely entered.
Duchess Blanchett stroked her chest.
The biggest accident was prevented. But now the problem was her daughter’s life.
“Honey, what can we do for our Marianne?”
“What else! Didn’t you know things would turn out like this since you were so cheap?”
The Duke blindly blamed his wife and daughter for everything.
Those were harsh and terrifying words.
“You’re the one who pushed the child to become the Crown Princess!”
The Duchess protested while blushing. If her husband abandoned her like this, her daughter’s life was truly over.
“You’re the one who thought of betraying the Great Feudal Lord during the sorority incident in the first place!”
“I don’t want to hear it! Go and get Marianne ready to recuperate in the countryside!”
Suddenly, the Duchess sat down.
“How can you…”
The Duke coldly turned away but made no reply.
Only then did the Duchess realize.
She and her daughter were abandoned. The Duke who had betrayed the Great Feudal Lord, who had supported the Duke’s family for a long time, abandoned his wife and daughter just as he did then.
***
Lilian, Damian, and Cedric left the imperial palace.
Lilian had been holding out even with her low physical strength at the imperial palace.
As soon as she came out, she collapsed.
“Lily!”
“It’s okay.”
Seeing her barely standing while leaning on Damian’s arm, Cedric bit his lip.
Now, Damian was the first to protect Lilian and speak out in Lilian’s affairs.
Cedric gave Damian a warning, glaring at Damian with ghostly blue eyes.
“You have to deal with it for sure.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Damian answered clearly.
Step on them so that they don’t even think about standing up again. This was the field Damian was most confident in.
“I deliberately let go and took advantage of the moment when they’re relieved…”
“Your Highness.”
“It was a slip of the tongue.”
With a single word, her sister silenced the nasty Grand Duke. Cedric looked at Lilian with admiration and admitted it with difficulty.
‘I guess I can worry less.’
“Lily, you’ve been through a lot, so don’t overwork yourself and take a break today. Understood?”
“Yes, brother. I will.”
“As soon as tomorrow morning comes, I’ll bring you some good things for your body in person.”
Cedric went back, leaving his sister worried until the end.
Lilian entered the mansion as if in the arms of Damian, who supported her from behind. She then broke out into a small laugh.
“Why are you like that?”
“No, come to think of it, I attended two balls…but really…
I’m reminded of the fact that I never danced with my husband.”
Come to think of it, it was.
The first ball failed because of Claude’s interference, and today’s due to Marianne’s interference.
Lilian lifted her head and met her husband’s eyes.
Now, for some reason, she felt like she could be honest.
“The first dance should have been with His Highness, but I’m sorry. My thoughts were short.”
The unexpected honest confession melted away the small lump in Damian’s heart.
But he’s losing his mind.
Fearing that his expression would collapse, he quickly buried his face in Lilian’s nape.
Around that time, the people who had come out to greet the Grand Duke and his wife also slipped away without notice.
Thanks to this, Lily and Damian were able to fall into their own world to their heart’s content. The two of them started walking slowly toward the living room.
“…you know that you were too much for me earlier.”
He didn’t mean to say something hateful but he didn’t know what else to say. Even though his heart had already melted as soon as he heard Lilian’s apology.
The man, who only knew how to pretend otherwise and was infinitely inexperienced in dealing with real emotions, didn’t even notice that he was really complaining.
Lilian comforted her husband with a smile.
“Yes, I was too much.”
“I was actually upset when you left.”
“I thought you would. I know.”
Lilian nodded her head, remembering that she had been saddened for no reason just before when she had just seen Damian talking to a woman.
It wasn’t her intention to do so, but Damian’s mood was relieved when she confessed her upset feelings and even accepted it.
‘Damn it.’
At the same time, his heart trembled and his face flushed. The belated realization embarrassed him.
He’s not a kid, and he’s complaining to his wife like that.
Lilian tapped Damian’s arm, who was still burying his face on her shoulder.
“Your Highness.”
“…yes.”
“Please raise your head.”
The two stood in the middle of the dark hallway. Even when the lights were turned off, the moonlight shone through the windows.
He didn’t want to show his blushing face, but Damian couldn’t resist Lily’s words.
As he slowly raised his head, Lily was smiling quietly in the moonlight.
“The moon is pretty. Look.”
Just by looking at how bright it was here, he could guess that the moon was quite round and the sky was clear.
Damian only wanted to stare at Lilian’s face, rather than the moon she called pretty. But he couldn’t resist her urging and turned his gaze to the window.
There, a scenery that was no different from what he expected was waiting for him.
A pearl-like moon that brightens the black night. It was such a landscape that one could look at it without thinking.
Out on the battlefield, where there was no light pollution, Damian saw many more beautiful night skies than this one.
Then Lily asked.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
Damian looked into his wife’s eyes without speaking. The blue night was there. The pearl-like moon shone.
“…yes, very much.”
His whispering lips touched Lily’s and Damian touched her lips more politely than ever.
As if a gentle wind that makes the heart tremble is blown through their lips.
The lips that had been carefully touched fell away. Perhaps through that kiss, Lily, like Damian, began to tremble slightly.
As she looked at Damian with her flushed cheeks and trembling eyes, Lilian’s eyes became complicated in an instant.
“Your Highness, I have something to say…”
Damian, realizing what Lily was about to say, responded.
“Shh, don’t tell me.”
Lilian gave a puzzled look. She seemed to be telling him not to stop her from what she needed to say.
Damian shook his head like a stubborn child. Then he begged.
“At least not today. Can you?”
“We’ve never danced before.”
Indeed.
After getting married, they exchanged numerous promises to each other, but they had never danced yet.
‘But we won’t be able to do many things together in the future.’
Damian begged for the last time.
“The moon is beautiful. Lily, please.”
It wasn’t logically persuasive. It wasn’t even wrapped in clever words.
It was a beautiful moonlit night and they hadn’t danced yet.
If she ruins this night, will Damian be sad whenever such a beautiful night comes from now on, Lilian thought.
Damian quietly took a step back from Lily and held out his hand.
The plea without any rhetoric shook Lily’s heart. Lily’s trembling hand wandered briefly over Damian’s.
Damian waited patiently. And finally, Lilian’s hand rested on Damian’s.
There was no band, no dancers, no alcohol, no laughter.
A quiet and still night. That’s all.
Damian carefully pulled Lilian’s hand. Lilian was pulled into his arms one step at a time.
Their trembling bodies touched each other under the moon, rocking like in a cradle.
Lilian heard Damian’s heartbeat like a fetus in amniotic fluid.
Her fatigue crept into her languidly.
Lilian blinked her eyes more and more slowly, probably because the tension in his reassuring embrace had eased.
She fell asleep slowly.
***
Carrying his wife, who was sleeping peacefully, Damian headed for the bedroom.
In the bedroom, there were several preparations, including hot water.
Damian put Lilian down first. And he moved with the utmost care. His hands, which didn’t hesitate to stab himself with, moved like feathers and took off his wife’s shoes.
Next, he removed the jewelry and untied her hair which looked pretty but uncomfortable.
She slept soundly and thanks to Damian moving as quietly as possible, Lilian never woke up.
Damian looked at his wife, who was sleeping soundly and comfortably, passing out in his arms.
Then, slowly, he lowered his head and kissed Lilian’s closed eyelids.
“…good night, my night sky.”
***
The moment Damian quietly came out of Lilian’s room.
“Your Highness.”
Ivan with a stiff face was waiting for him.
“What’s wrong?”
“That’s…”
Ivan hesitantly pointed towards Damian’s study. Judging by his quick glance at the sleeping Lily, it’s as if saying that he doesn’t want to leave this place.
Damian went to the study without saying a word. Ivan came in after him and closed the door. Then he held out a small piece of paper.
The paper was about the size of a finger.
“You’ll know when you see it.”
Damian took the paper and looked at it.
On it was written.
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