“Why is this really happening? It’s strange……”

Emperor Rinel mumbled while tilting his head after giving me a few kisses.

Why are you doing this? No, what’s strange about it?

“……?!”

Surprised by Emperor Rinel’s beautiful face coming closer, my lips parted unknowingly.

Hey, I didn’t open them asking for a kiss, you know?

My lips were instantly enveloped between his.

Even though this sculpted beauty was shattering my reason into pieces, I couldn’t react at all.

At the ecstatic sensation, my soul began to helplessly detach itself to him.

It felt like an illusion of dancing while listening to a sweet sound.

It’s a dizzying moment, as intense as the life I’ve lived.

Every single nerve cell seemed to awaken, sharpening all five senses.

By the way, what is he trying to confirm from me by acting so busily between my lips?

I don’t know Emperor Rinel’s circumstances for doing this, but my circumstances could only be active.

Strangely, the pain of my whole body feeling like it was burning up was disappearing.

Without realizing it, I embraced him with both arms.

It was merely an action that came out to survive.

The space between our touching lips moved greatly at the same time.

Ironically, even though the priests had left the bedroom, the kiss became more passionate.

“Hmm……”

Emperor Rinel separated his lips first.

The emperor looked quite surprised seeing me desperately clinging to him.

I too was surprised by my own unexpected bold action.

But I couldn’t stop.

Where his body touched my skin, a coolness seeped into my skin, giving an indescribable refreshing feeling.

Contrary to his increasingly hot breathing, my breathing was becoming more and more refreshing.

If I wasn’t mistaken, life seemed to be returning to Emperor Rinel’s face as well.

That’s fine for me, but why is he regaining vigor?

His face, which had been dripping with cold energy, is now flushed.

This man, something is suspicious.

The emperor’s nape and the arms enclosing me had veins standing out so prominently that they seemed like they would burst if pressed even lightly.

Why is your face turning red?

Why do you keep biting your lips?

Are you deliberately holding your breath?

There were only the two of us in the bedroom, but amusingly, Emperor Rinel’s acting was becoming more and more convincing.

He tilted his head repeatedly and then kissed me again.

This really feels strange!

Right now, I felt as if some powerful force was pulling him towards me.

The moment I swallowed my saliva.

An unexpected thing… happened.

I started feeling increasingly dizzy.

It felt like I had disconnected from all this time and space for a while and then returned.

And when I came to my senses, my boiling body temperature had returned to normal.

It felt like being enveloped by an irresistible force.

“Why does this reaction happen when I touch the Empress’s skin… Why does my body become so warm?”

I wanted to ask Emperor Rinel, who was asking as if interrogating me against my ear.

Why do I feel so refreshed when our skin touches, why does my body become so cool……

“……I didn’t intend, this wasn’t, supposed to be like this……”

Emperor Rinel whispered in a very apologetic voice with a troubled expression.

I feel the same way. How did we end up like this?

“I’m sorry, truly. But, Empress……”

Emperor Rinel, who was barely speaking in a strained voice, tried to say something important but stopped and gritted his molars in agony.

“Yes?”

“Loosen… your grip.”

“Grip? What grip are you talking about……”

When I asked back in a puzzled tone, he tapped my hands as if signaling surrender by hitting an opponent’s arm when being choked in a fight.

“If you’re not trying to wring my arms, loosen your grip……”

Only then did I realize that I was tightly gripping his arms with my hands as if wringing laundry.

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

I quickly removed my hands from his arms.

I must have gripped them so tightly that red handprints appeared on both of the emperor’s forearms.

Emperor Rinel buried his face in my neck and calmed his breathing.

After catching his breath for a moment, he glanced at me.

When I gave a shy smile at Emperor Rinel’s gaze, he suddenly pulled the blanket up over my forehead.

“Ugh, Your Majesty?!”

For a moment, I thought he was trying to suffocate me.

He chuckled at my startled voice and lowered the blanket back to my neck.

When I slightly rolled my eyes, he pretended not to notice my gaze and called out towards the bedroom door.

“Stian!”

As Emperor Rinel called the name of the head servant, the bedroom door opened immediately, and the priests who had been waiting outside entered the bedroom.

***

The priests surrounding the bedroom offered words of congratulation in turn without any suspicion.

“Your Majesty, we will proceed with the final procedure.”

“Do so.”

The priests began to sing the final blessing song announcing that we had become true husband and wife.

With harmonies added, it wasn’t unpleasant to hear.

When the blessing song ended, the priests bowed very politely and left the bedroom in an orderly manner.

“May you both have a pleasant first night.”

Hmph, how ridiculous.

That’s not something the main culprits who made the first night most uncomfortable should say, is it?

***

Once again, only Emperor Rinel, myself, and the awkward air remained in the bedroom.

We lay side by side looking up at the ceiling mural where baby angels were gesturing.

Then, as Emperor Rinel moved to raise his upper body, I slightly turned my body to the opposite side, conscious of his gaze that would look down at me.

But after turning my body, I realized there was no need to do so.

Since I was under the effect of the magic potion, my burn scars weren’t visible.

I had forgotten that fact and acted out of habit.

“Empress……”

His cold voice tapped on my back.

Every time the emperor addressed me as Empress, it felt uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that weren’t mine.

“Empress.”

He called me again.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I answered quietly.

“Don’t turn your back.”

“……Pardon?”

At his unexpected words, my body turned to him involuntarily.

“Don’t turn first. Your back.”

“Ah, Your Majesty. I just……”

“I know. What you’re conscious of.”

His softened voice made me even more nervous.

Hearing those words, I felt nauseous for some reason.

Emperor Rinel probably said it without much meaning, but it felt embarrassing, as if he knew my weak point.

But the desire to turn my back to him again disappeared.

I always pretended not to care about others’ attention, but in reality, I couldn’t.

I wanted to hide the burn scars that were clearly visible to others even a little more.

Though no one openly mocked me, they all whispered behind my back.

I knew it well.

The hypocrisy of the nobles.

They treated me kindly on the surface, but when I actually approached them, they didn’t try to become close to me.

There were some who deliberately hovered around me to prove that they were nobles with compassion and sympathy.

But none of them ever said that my current appearance was okay as it was.

My burn scars were not okay, but pitiful, and they were like a mark drawing a line that I couldn’t get close to them.

The looks in the nobles’ eyes and their unspoken expressions wanting me to avoid their gaze first.

But. Emperor Rinel was telling me not to turn my back on him first.

This is the first time this has happened.

Of course, he said it without being able to see my burn scars, but it still made my heart swell.

“Did you… understand what I said?”

He asked again, seemingly displeased.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“You’re quick to answer other things, but why did you suddenly go silent again?”

He glanced at me with still discontented eyes, then made an ‘Ah’ expression as if realizing something.

Then he frowned, let out a deep sigh, and only after a long while opened his mouth.

“I was only supposed to pretend, but I acted on my own… I guess that’s why you’re upset.”

“?”

“Earlier… Yes. I apologize again.”

Emperor Rinel said to me politely.

His gaze was so respectful that I had no choice but to raise my body as well.

I pulled the fluffy blanket up to my chest and met his gaze.

After staring at my face for a few seconds, he cleared his throat and said seriously.

“Ahem, the priests are quite sharp and keen-eyed.”

“Pardon?”

“They were probably sensing with their holy power whether we were really consummating our marriage or not outside the bedroom.”

“……Suddenly?”

“What?”

“Just a moment ago, you clearly said that those priests were dull-witted and their holy power was shoddy, so even if they had observed inside the bedroom, they wouldn’t have known we were acting at all, didn’t you?”

“……Did I say that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. You said exactly that 1 minute before the priests came in.”

“I think I might have said that because you seemed too nervous……”

Emperor Rinel mumbled as if making excuses while hitting the back of his neck with his hand.

And he really seemed apologetic.

In fact, there was no need for that at all.

I wanted to tell him that thanks to him, I survived since he eliminated my pain that felt like burning alive in flames.

If he hadn’t done that, I probably would have first…….

“You don’t need to apologize. We’re already husband and wife, aren’t we?”

As these words flowed smoothly from my mouth despite being a substitute empress, my conscience pricked my heart.

“It was warm.”

Emperor Rinel said abruptly.

That short confession-like statement dug into my chest and settled heavily.

“I am always a person of winter. But when I kissed the Empress, it was spring for a moment. That’s why I wanted to check more.”

“?”

He continued speaking calmly.

“Whether it was an illusion or if my body temperature was really rising. But it wasn’t an illusion. My body even got as hot as midsummer.”

What on earth is he talking about?

“You probably know about my condition roughly from hearing it from Prince Tessler, but.”

When I stared blankly at his incomprehensible words, he chuckled.

“I guess Prince Tessler didn’t tell you this fact?”

Yes, that bastard is a handsome son of a bitch.

After seeing your face, he doesn’t even look handsome anymore, so now he’s just a son of a bitch.

“I haven’t heard anything from the Prince.”

“This is why they say royal marriages are full of lies.”

“Was there something else I should have heard?”

I asked calmly.

His lips, which didn’t seem likely to speak readily, moved again.

“It was during the last war in the Valley of Death. At that time, I was ambushed by a magician from the Southern Continent who handled wyverns and was cursed.”

“A curse? What kind of…!”

At Emperor Rinel’s mention of a curse, the area of my burn scars burned.

I unconsciously put my hand on the burn scars and then took it off.

His icy blue eyes that felt chilly stared at me intently and then answered.

“My body temperature is much lower than that of ordinary people. That’s my curse. But in that moment when the Empress and I unknowingly became like that… It felt like my frozen internal organs were thawing.”

I gasped at Emperor Rinel’s words.

It was the opposite reaction to mine.

My body, which had felt as if engulfed in flames, cooled down as soon as I touched him!

Does our body temperature return to normal when we make contact?

I wanted to tell him that I was experiencing similar symptoms.

But I had to refrain from speaking since I was merely a substitute empress, not his real wife.

“Are you surprised?”

“No. I’m glad that Your Majesty felt some comfort.”

“That, comfort is not enough to express it.”

Emperor Rinel shook his head and said in a confident voice.

“I liked it, but I’m curious… no, worried about how it was for you.”

Seeing him looking at me shyly like a bashful boy made me feel even more embarrassed.

His eyes, which had seemed only cold, darting around in confusion also looked slightly cute.

“Pardon? What did you say?”

So I deliberately pretended not to understand and asked him back.

“Ah, was that question too corny? The Empress understands.”

“Yes.”

I nodded while swallowing back the laughter that was about to escape with a “Kheup” sound.

“This is the first time for me.”

“……Pardon?”

“First, I said.”

He spoke with force in his voice, thinking I hadn’t heard.

I had expected it, but hearing it directly from him was shocking.

“Your Majesty, is today really your first experience……”

I started to ask outright but then caught myself.

As expected, Emperor Rinel’s expression crumpled, and he stared at me intensely with narrowed eyes.

“Why, was it not… the first time for the Empress?”

His low voice flew sharply.

“Or was it not good because I’m not your ideal type?”

Huh? That’s what I said last night……

No way!

Suddenly, an ominous feeling washed over me.

I asked him again to confirm.

“What do you mean I’m not Your Majesty’s ideal type? What are you saying……”