Hoping the darkness would hide at least a bit of the fake bride’s face, in the serene bridal room, only one candle was lit.
Reminded of Mrs. Hurst’s words to not take off the veil until the candlelight was completely extinguished,
Marina clutched the veil till her hands turned pale.
“……”
If it was Miss Christina, she wouldn’t be trembling so much.
She wanted to pretend to be calm, thinking that her excessive shaking would look suspicious, but it was not easy.
“……”
Marina tried to forget her fear and thought about why she was here.
Her grandmother was wandering at death’s door after rushing into the burning house to rescue Marina who had collapsed.
In return for offering a large amount of medical fees and a family doctor, the Julius family wagered this night.
Marina could do anything if it could save her grandmother.
“……Are you scared?”
Marina shivered at the man’s voice coming from the darkness.
The man faintly visible beyond the veil, glanced at Marina for a moment, then, seemingly amused, he casually turned his head elsewhere.
“……A foolish question indeed.”
“……”
Fortunately, in the eyes of the other party who knew neither the face nor the personality of the lady, Marina seemed just to be ordinarily afraid of her wedding night.
Under the dimly flickering light.
Marina had both hopes in her heart: that he wouldn’t recognize her and everything would pass safely,
And the hope that he would realize she was not the ‘Duchess’s Grace’ and, angry, would storm out of the room.
Marina closed her eyes tightly and tried to think only of her beloved grandmother.
The man who had been silent broke his silence after a while.
“……If you are willing.”
His soft voice quietly continued after a short pause.
“We can’t delay any further.”
“I would prefer to wait if possible.”
“But the remaining night is short, and I lack time……”
Marina remained silent.
After loosening some heavy clothing decorations and a few pieces of jewelry, he approached.
Standing in front of the trembling Marina, he looked down at her for a moment.
“This night will be a bit harder for you……”
“I’ll try my best, but you must endure.”
“……Please endure.”
“I apologize in advance.”
She thought his words were a bit unexpected.
Marina looked up at him for the first time.
“……”
A tall physique, a face like a sculpture.
His mysterious grey eyes reflected the calm flame.
He was a man reminiscent of a winter wolf in the snowy fields.
“……I was late in introducing myself.”
“My name is ‘Arthur’.”
“……You probably saw it when we signed the vows.”
With a smile as if all of this was amusing, he slightly bowed his head.
“Your future husband.”
Was it a joke?
Or did he want a boring and cliched declaration?
“……”
Marina couldn’t say anything.
It wasn’t just out of fear.
It would be better not to let him hear her voice if possible.
He spoke indifferently as if he was not disappointed by Marina’s lack of response.
“……You don’t need to tell me your name.”
“……”
The candle was extinguished.
Thunk.
His touch let the veil fall powerless to the floor.
Feeling his cold hand around her neck,
Marina closed her eyes.
·
·
·
She thought it would be incredibly terrible.
It’s only one night, it’s not a big deal, no one pays such a high price for a maid’s first night.
She tried to console herself, but
Deep in her heart, she thought she would feel miserable, ashamed, and violated.
But he was respectful, and he considered Marina at every moment.
Lady of the level of Miss Christina would receive such precious treatment.
She felt like she caught a glimpse of a new world she didn’t know about.
It wasn’t that it wasn’t difficult.
But he was so courteous that it made her feel guilty.
……Thanks to him, Marina’s heart did not have a deep wound.
·
·
·
“……”
Marina, who had returned to reality, moved her paused hands a few times to comb through the lady’s hair and opened her mouth.
“He was……”
After a brief pause, Reyna spoke.
“You were quite handsome.”
“……”
At the disheartening response, Christina, who had been sitting like a statue, shot a cold glance at Reyna in the mirror.
‘Did you think I called you to hear such nonsense?’ her eyes seemed to say, cold as ice.
Reyna faintly smiled and met Christina’s gaze through the mirror.
“Don’t worry too much. He wasn’t a bad person.”
“……”
Christina didn’t respond.
Reyna quietly and gently continued to brush, beginning her story.
[This is the time separator]After her time with Christina had ended.
Mrs. Hurst, who had been waiting outside the door, called Reyna aside to confirm her suspicions.
She also promised to double Reyna’s weekly salary if she didn’t gossip with others, hid herself for a while, and then left the mansion.
What was unexpected was the addition of another five years of care for Reyna’s grandmother, which had originally been promised only for this year.
Reyna, surprised, widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Thank you…… Thank you!”
With a grateful face, Reyna bowed several times to Mrs. Hurst and happily withdrew from the front of Christina’s closed bedroom door.
[This is the time separator]It was around dawn when Reyna returned to the servant’s attic.
A time when all the maids, who had barely slept in the early morning, were getting up and going to work.
From the small window of the narrow attic, always exposed to the outside, a tiny ray of sunlight was coming in.
Reyna leaned against the closed door, confirmed she was alone in the attic, and smiled.
“Uhhaam…….”
She then stretched her arms back, let out a long yawn, and moved her feet towards her bed.
Not working but receiving double the money… It was a windfall.
The people who were taking care of her grandmother were only expected to be seen for this year, but they would take care of her for five more years.
She had prepared for the support to be cut off, but now she had much more leeway.
Maybe she could look into the old house by the sea with the money she had saved.
‘I need to visit my grandmother tomorrow.’
Thinking so, she changed her plan to rest for a day and then go.
Her tired body, which hadn’t fully rested even five hours in two days, was being pulled by the bed.
Before the maids returned, she thought she needed to close her eyes for a while and Reyna rubbed her sleepy eyes.
…Would it be okay to be away for about a month?
Since she didn’t have much luggage…
‘I need to pack what I’ll take home and rest.’
Reyna squatted in front of her bed and began to sort out her belongings.
Thump.
As she was sorting out her few belongings, her hand brushed against the document storage box and the lid slightly shifted open.
Reyna’s gaze stopped at the scrapbooks peeking out of that gap.
“……”
Years of time had stacked up on the yellowed newsletters.
As Reyna gently touched the old and softened corners, reminiscing about the times embedded in them, she smiled.
My husband for the night.
I really resented you during the month of heavy cleaning, but now, thanks to you, I’m happy.
Your last gift, I’ll gratefully accept it.
I hope you return happy.
Your former wife.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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