Ansi’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

“Damion!”

What on earth was going on? Ansi couldn’t struggle much, but pushed his chest with her hands. Naturally, the man didn’t budge at all.

He just opened his mouth while staring at her intently.

“To be honest, I find it unbearable to not even be able to talk with such a beautiful wife. I think it would be best if we retire now, would that be alright?”

The man in love raised his voice with a grin. He was asking for the guests’ understanding, but his gaze remained fixed on Ansi.

“By all means, young master!”

“When the newlyweds retire is up to them.”

“Yes, it’s time for the two of them to have some intimate time alone!”

The conversation newlyweds would have on their first night of marriage. The fact that it would be a bodily conversation rather than words was something everyone knew without needing to say it out loud.

An eager groom and a flustered bride.

The excited chatter of those watching the cute scene filled the air. Mixed in were sighs from women who secretly admired the man with a smile that could enchant just by looking and a body not just firm but solid.

While some clicked their tongues at leaving in the middle of the reception, the groom was none other than the second son of the Duke of Orphe. Not only could they not openly express their discomfort, but it was quickly buried under the excitement shown by others.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Damion.”

Kardian also congratulated the couple’s marriage with a gentle smile.

Damion replied, stretching his red lips.

“Enjoy yourself before you leave.”

With that, Damion turned around. As he strode out of the hall, his face looked only like that of a man in love who wanted to monopolize his bride.

“Put me down.”

Ansi whispered softly in his arms.

She had thought there were still a few hours left until the end of the reception, and wasn’t sure if it was okay to leave this early.

Moreover, if they entered the room together now…

She would be alone with Damion de Orphe.

Ansi was not unaware of what would happen then, and she hadn’t finished preparing her heart yet.

Tension and fear intertwined. Unable to hide her complex feelings, her brows furrowed.

“Let’s… go back.”

A thin voice escaped. She thought she had spoken clearly, but even to her own ears, it sounded like a voice drained of strength.

Damion didn’t answer. He just tightened his hold on Ansi, keeping his mouth firmly shut.

As they went up to the second floor, one of the servants hurriedly followed. It was Simon, who was to become Ansi’s dedicated maid from now on.

Normally, after the reception, they would bathe in their separate rooms before entering the bridal chamber, so Simon hesitated, unsure of what to do.

But she couldn’t stop her master’s steps either. As soon as she opened the door to the bridal chamber, Damion immediately entered and glanced back.

“Later.”

With that, the door closed.

Once inside, Damion immediately laid Ansi on the bed.

Ansi wanted to get up again, but somehow her body wouldn’t listen.

Her eyelids were heavy and her body went limp. It felt like her brain was being squeezed. The scene in her vision shattered like fragments and then came back together. The blood had long since drained from her white face.

The man didn’t climb onto the bed with her, nor did he touch her body.

He just pulled up the blanket and covered her body.

“Actually…”

A small voice leaked out between her lips. Strangely, it was difficult to stop the words coming out of her mouth.

“When you spoke to me, I wanted to just sit down right there.”

She hated pretending to be a happy bride in the reception hall full of strangers.

When she saw the face of her enemy, when she had to hold his hand, when she had to smile while hiding her emotions.

At all those moments, it felt like dancing on a path covered with thorns.

Like the girl in red shoes from the fairy tale she read as a child, it seemed she could only stop if these feet were cut off.

But the moment she saw Damion’s face, the moment she heard his gentle voice, such thoughts entered Ansi’s mind:

Perhaps, I could stop?

It was a thought she shouldn’t have. The moment she realized this, an enormous sense of threat overwhelmed Ansi.

It made no sense that she wanted to lean on this man, of all people. Not just anyone, but the brother of her enemy.

That’s why she spoke more firmly that she was fine.

Even now, she shouldn’t be like this.

She should get up…

Ansi blinked slowly. The elaborate red curtains attached to the canopy above the bed caught her eye.

Again, that blood color.

From the wedding dress to the decorations on the reception dress, everything was blood-red.

Like her father’s dog tags stained brown. She felt as if she herself was covered in red blood from head to toe.

How much she wanted to take off those scary and unpleasant colored clothes. And now even the sleeping space was like this.

“Close your eyes.”

Then came the quiet voice of the man sitting on the bed.

Closing her eyes, at least that much, it should be okay to do as this man says, right?

Ansi obediently closed her eyes as if following an order.

As the world turned black, she could no longer see.

Not the blood-red curtains, not the dress decorations.

And not the red shoes that simply couldn’t be stopped.

Only sleep poured in.

“What did Kardian say?”

The voice that came through her fading consciousness somehow sounded angry. Ansi couldn’t understand the sharp emotion contained in the hardened voice.

With that, Ansi fell into a deep sleep.

She blinked her eyes stubbornly for a while before losing consciousness. It would be more accurate to say she fainted rather than fell asleep.

Foolish woman.

What was she thinking, insisting on enduring when she looked like she was about to collapse at any moment?

Damion sighed and pulled the blanket covering Ansi up a little more. She turned to her side out of habit, curling up into a ball.

Damion’s brow furrowed as he saw her posture. It was just a sleeping position, but he didn’t like it.

Even while lying on such a spacious bed, it was as if she was saying that this much was all the space she deserved. As if she had been living that way all this time, thinking it was normal.

“What did Kardian say?”

Damion asked quietly, lowering his eyes. Naturally, no answer came from the sleeping woman.

Kardian de Orphe.

He was someone who knew well how to exploit others’ weaknesses to torment them. So he might have said something to Ansi as well.

Words that would pierce her heart and trample on her spirit.

But even if he had.

Damion would do nothing.

He would no longer concern himself with what they had talked about, nor would he say anything to Kardian about this matter.

He had no luxury to care for this woman to the point of provoking Kardian’s wariness. He knew that he shouldn’t, that he mustn’t.

Damion’s position in the world of Orphe was still far behind Kardian’s. Now was the time to keep a low profile, and to avoid showing any sign of discord within Orphe in any way.

And yet, his actions earlier…

Damion rubbed his face with his hands.

When he saw the woman pale and frozen in the hall, he had stepped forward without thinking.

Why did he do that?

His subdued purple eyes gazed steadily at Ansi.

The answer came soon enough.

If this woman were to collapse in front of Kardian, it would become the talk of the people. That could create a negative perception of this marriage itself, or unnecessarily provoke Kardian’s vigilance.

It was far better to bring her in, saying he wanted time with his wife.

Yes, it was just for such a simple reason.

Finding the reason made him feel much more at ease.

His furrowed brow relaxed. Damion lifted his gaze from the sleeping woman to look out the window. The sunset was already falling outside. As the red light pierced through the thin canopy curtains, it became even redder, scattering across the bed.

‘She seemed to dislike the color red.’

It was when Damion was about to get up from the bed to approach the window.

Ansi clutched at the hem of his clothes.

Damion paused.

“Father…”

A voice close to a sob escaped from the woman. Was she dreaming? Her hand gripping his clothes was trembling.

Damion reached out to create a shade over her eyes.

Moisture gathered in her tightly closed eyes, then soon flowed down.

Impulsively, Damion caressed the woman’s cheek.

Along with the moisture, soft skin touched his hand.

It was ice-cold, as if not belonging to a human.

“Brother… don’t go…”

An expression never seen in her usual dry and withered appearance floated on Ansi’s face.

She was clearly having a bad dream. However, Damion did not wake her.

Somehow, for the first time, it felt like he was seeing this woman’s true face.

If he shook her awake, she would surely say she was fine again. Just like earlier in the ballroom where she stubbornly endured.

Damion quietly lay down beside the woman.

She just groaned with her brows furrowed and lips tightly shut. Curling up her body while making only faint moaning sounds.

Wiping her tears with his hand, he whispered softly.

“Just cry.”

He reached out and embraced her back.

Her slender and small body came into his arms.