Although I had hoped for the wedding to end quickly, the evening party was even more of an ordeal.

People kept flooding in to greet us endlessly, so I couldn’t lose my smile for a single moment. Also, since it was the day we had to appear the closest during our married life, I couldn’t be apart from Reus at all.

Fortunately, I was so exhausted later that I wasn’t bothered by the contact with Reus at all.

Thanks to that, we must have looked like the perfect couple to everyone.

Still, even the seemingly eternal, splendid party eventually came to an end. I finally returned to my room after staying in the banquet hall until the very end.

The only difference from before the wedding was that I came to the main castle instead of the place where I stayed as a guest.

Despite this quite significant change, I was too tired to consciously remind myself of that fact.

In the end, unable to continue my thoughts any further, I collapsed defenseless onto the table, having completely forgotten that this was the marital bedroom.

“Ah, I’m so tired…”

I don’t even have the strength to walk to the bed. If I wash up quickly, I should be able to sleep…

As I closed my eyes tight and lay there, a click- sound came from the door leading to the next room.

Too exhausted to move my body, I only slightly turned my head to look towards the door. After blankly staring at the door for a moment, I soon abruptly sat up.

I wasn’t so surprised by the presence of someone visiting the bedroom.

Who else would enter the marital bedroom at this late hour besides Reus?

So what startled me wasn’t Reus, but Reus’ attire.

Reus, standing at the door and looking at me, was wearing only a pristine white bathrobe.

Soon, the door closed with a heavy thud-.

Without even realizing it, my gaze shifted slightly to the well-toned muscles visible through the parted bathrobe. No, I couldn’t help but look.

The room was lit with significantly fewer lights compared to its size, making it almost as if the lights were off.

However, with a man who already stood out in many ways standing in the dark room and being illuminated by the moonlight, the contrast was so stark that Reus’ muscles appeared even more distinct than usual.

And that wasn’t all. His soft silver hair and skin so pale it was almost transparent glowed mysteriously under the light. I couldn’t take my eyes off his clearly defined features, his eyes that seemed even more translucent today, either.

Suddenly, the words of the young ladies who had been chattering about Reus the other day came to mind.

[“His Grace looks so good in both casual clothes and uniforms. Hehe, it’s a treat for the eyes.”

“I know, right? He’s not a war hero for nothing.”

“Not only his face, but how can his body be so…”]

Whenever I heard such talk, I brushed it off as insignificant.

To me, Reus was just the villain in the novel and the culprit of my death.

As if I would care about his face or body.

But now that we’ve become partners, the reason to hate him blindly has disappeared…

“Roel.”

“…Yes, yes?”

“I thought you washed up first, but you haven’t yet?”

“Oh, yes…?”

As I repeated the same words foolishly, Reus slightly raised one eyebrow for a moment. Then, he soon approached me.

Startled by the chest getting closer and closer, I unknowingly turned my head in the opposite direction of Reus.

Then Reus said,

“You have so many things to get used to.”

“…”

Although he wasn’t exactly criticizing me, it somehow sounded like a rebuke, so I closed my eyes tight.

No? Because I’m embarrassed that I turned my head away? Or because I’m shy…?

“Will you wash up first?”

“…Yes. Yes! I’ll… I’ll wash up first…”

Right, I’d rather go to the bathroom where Reus isn’t.

Without even waiting for Reus’ answer, I ran into the large bathroom attached to the bedroom.

After closing the door with a bang-, I sat on the floor and tried to calm myself down.

‘It’s not even our real first night. Reus and I are only in a contractual relationship. There’s no reason to be nervous.’

But the sight that entered my eyes startled me again.

‘What is all this…!’

In the dimly lit bathroom, rose petals were scattered everywhere as if expecting our romantic first night.

A sickeningly sweet scent wafted from the scented candles lit here and there, enough to make my head dizzy.

I quickly ran to the bathtub, removed all the flower petals, and blew out all the scented candles.

* * *

It took quite a long time to wash up because I was conscious of Reus outside. It’s good that I finished washing after some trouble, but…

‘Why is this slip so thin and revealing…!’

The problem was that the clothes the maids had prepared in advance were very daring.

Should I be relieved that at least the length is long?

I couldn’t occupy the bathroom forever, so I headed to the bedroom while tying the clothes as tightly as possible. Then, Reus, who had been waiting outside, silently passed by me and entered the bathroom.

Even though it was just a fleeting moment, I held my breath, feeling tense for some reason. Only after the sound of the door closing with a thud- did I exhale.

And I made a determined resolution in my mind.

‘…Let’s try to fall asleep before Reus comes out!’

If I stayed awake until Reus came out, I might not be able to sleep in the suffocatingly awkward atmosphere.

After thinking, I lay on the bed without even drying my hair.

I lay there with my eyes closed for a long time. But whether it was because of the sound of water coming from the bathroom or the awareness that today was our first night, I couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

Eventually, I sat up abruptly before long.

“What should I do…!”

As I was pulling my hair out without any real solution, I noticed the wine and finger food on the table.

‘They weren’t there before I went into the bathroom.’

It seemed that while I was washing up, the servants had set it up and left to celebrate our first night.

After a brief hesitation, I quickly ran to the table, poured the wine into the glass to the brim, and downed it in one go. Although I’m weak to alcohol, the reason I can drink without worry is because of my memories from my previous life.

[‘Hangover? Where do you get hangovers? You just sleep quietly, what hangover is that?’]

The fact that even though I’m weak to alcohol, I don’t get hangovers!

“Right. Let’s drink some alcohol and fall asleep quickly.”

After continuously downing more than half of a large wine glass, I felt tipsy before long.

‘I thought the alcohol content would be low because the taste isn’t strong… If I drink just one more glass, I think I can fall asleep right away.’

And so, without knowing it was an irreversible choice, I downed the wine one last time.

* * *

Reus came out of the bathroom, shaking his wet hair. The sound of heavy footsteps resounded pleasantly through the silent bedroom.

Seeing how quiet it was, his fake bride, who found many things difficult and embarrassing, must have fallen asleep first as expected.

But only a messy white blanket lay on the bed.

The sound of water droplets falling from Reus’ hair onto the nightgown could be heard.

Reus, who had been intently staring at the bed for a while, pulled the towel off his head and turned his head towards the table. There was Roel, who should have been on the bed.

And she was collapsed on the table, unable to support her body.

Reus’ eyes naturally shifted to the wine glass.

There were red stains left here and there inside the glass that had clearly been clean before he went in.

‘…She’s drunk.’

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand Roel getting drunk to that extent. He already knew the heightened tension Roel had felt since he entered this room.

Reus approached Roel.

“Roel. Let’s go to bed now.”

“Hmm…?”

“You’re drunk.”

As the low vibration flowed into her ears, Roel lifted her head in a daze. Then, as if unable to comprehend, she asked,

“I’m… drunk?”

In a casual, familiar way of speaking, unlike her usual self.

Reus, who had been gazing at her hazy eyes, abandoned the thought of waking her up and taking her to bed, and immediately picked Roel up.

Then, Roel was lifted up as easily as a sheet of paper. She was so drunk that she couldn’t support her body at all even when held. Reus, who let out a small sigh, wrapped her arms around his neck.

Roel naturally embraced his neck. Then, she gently rubbed her cheek against Reus’ neck.

“It’s so warm…”

Because of that, Reus couldn’t take a few steps and stopped walking.

It was because the soft, pliant flesh was pressed against the firm neck that had at most only brushed against his collar, and it felt so unfamiliar that he unknowingly stopped.

Perhaps it was because of the staggering feeling, Roel slightly opened her eyes in a daze. She blinked a few times and tilted her head.

Then, she stared at Reus so intently that it was quite burdensome.

Reus, who had been frozen for a moment, slightly turned his head to look at his wife. As if she had something to say, she mumbled her lips and soon spoke in a hazy voice.

“But you know…”

“…What is it?”

“Did you… buy it?”

I don’t know what she’s talking about, but she reacted as if it was a given, as if I had been entrusted with it before.

Since Reus had no way of knowing what it was, he had no answer to give her.

When no answer came back, Roel frowned her eyes with a mixture of disappointment and slight irritation, and plopped her face back onto Reus’ shoulder. Then, she mumbled softly.

“Hey… Why didn’t you buy it…?”

It seemed she had decided to play a drinking game rather than relieve her tension by drinking. Judging by how she immediately jumped from addressing him as “Your Grace” to “Hey-“.

“Melon… ice cream…”

Getting drunk and then asking for ice cream of all things. Reus unknowingly let out a chuckle, finding it absurd for a moment.

“Don’t laugh. You… when you laugh like that, it’s really… annoying…”

“I didn’t know you had a hobby of insulting people to their face.”

“That’s not it…”

Roel, who was denying it softly, suddenly laughed dizzily.

“But you know…”

“…What is it?”

“Where’s my melon ice cream?”