Chapter 27.

Memories of the First Night

On her wedding night, Essika sat alone on the bed for a long time.

Kallian did not come to the room.

She had spent many days awake, thinking only about this moment, filled with worries and expectations……

Essika lightly bit her lip.

Then, in the end, she got up from the bed and opened the heavy door.

She thought she should go find Kallian.

That cold look in his eyes…… It bothers me. If he has misunderstood something about me, I should explain it to him.

When she first heard that her marriage to him had been decided, she had been so happy that she could have jumped for joy.

But for things to become so frustrating from the very beginning……

She sighed.

When she opened the door and stepped into the hallway, she saw a servant guarding the entrance flinch.

“Where is he?”

At Essika’s question, the servant answered with an embarrassed expression.

“Ah. Duchess. Today…… well…… His Grace has been very busy, so he is working in his office.”

“Is that so? Then rather than waiting, I should……”

“No, Madam. You have to wait.”

“What? Why?”

“Well…… His Grace……”

The servant rolled his eyes before continuing.

“He dislikes women who come to him without telling him.”

“……Women?”

Essika’s eyebrow twitched.

“Women? ……You mean women other than me……”

As she thought about it, Essika shook her head herself.

Well, with a man as handsome as Kallian, what’s so strange about him having had a few lovers before marriage?

Apparently, he disliked it when those women came to see him without warning.

Judging from the servant’s awkward expression, that must be the case.

“I see. But……”

Essika continued as though she had just accepted his explanation.

“The window in the bedroom makes a creaking sound whenever the wind blows. Could you go inside and take a look at it? I’ll wait here for a moment.”

At Essika’s words, the servant nodded.

“Ah…… If that’s the matter, of course.”

He opened the door and entered the bridal chamber.

As soon as Essika saw him go inside, she quickly moved away.

“……Good.”

She might have been the youngest daughter of the Brigitte family, but she was still a mischievous girl at heart.

If I simply lived by doing whatever I was told, I wouldn’t be Essika Brigitte of Frihatz.

After getting rid of the servant, she recalled the route to the office that she had memorized.

She did not intend to surprise him by suddenly appearing before him.

She just……

“……”

Essika’s cheeks turned red as she imagined Kallian’s handsome face.

She simply wanted to see his face while he worked so hard on his duties even on the first day of their marriage.

Since she would only secretly look at him and leave, she would not do anything that might upset him.

“I don’t think I can sleep like this.”

Essika placed a hand over her chest.

Her heart was beating rapidly.

House Klaus, a prestigious ducal family.

This was her first night here as his wife.

She had come all the way from Frihatz to the distant capital, Tores, thinking only about Kallian.

So tonight, at the very least, she wanted to see his face……

“Ah……”

Light was leaking through the slightly open door of the office.

And then she suddenly heard a strange moan.

Essika stopped walking.

Her heart began pounding violently.

I…… must have heard wrong, right?

Essika slowly moved forward.

One step.

Two steps.

With every step, the sound became clearer.

“Hmm……”

It was unmistakably the thin, delicate voice of a woman.

Even now, Essika wanted to turn around and run back to her room.

But her damn curiosity pushed her forward.

When Essika reached the door, she peeked inside and froze.

She saw a woman wearing a low-cut dress and a man embracing her around the waist and kissing her.

Because of their passionate behavior, a pair of red shoes lay discarded on the floor.

The Imperial courtesans wore shoes that exposed their little toes, and these shoes were also open around the little-toe area.

“……Your Grace.”

The woman reached out as if to stroke the man’s cheek, and the man began kissing her passionately again.

Essika slowly turned her gaze away.

She did not see Kallian’s face.

“I didn’t think you would come to me on your wedding night, of course……”

“It is better to be with you than to embrace a woman like that.”

All Essika had seen was a broad back and shoulders frighteningly similar to Kallian’s.

The same hair color.

The same hairstyle.

And the same top he had been wearing earlier……

No. That can’t be.

Essika quickened her pace.

The area around her mouth trembled.

I didn’t see it, so it never happened.

Kallian…… The man I’ve loved for so long couldn’t possibly do something like that.

Behind her, the woman’s voice followed.

“Hold me……”

Essika stopped abruptly.

Her shadow stretched far ahead of her.

The end of the shadow was dark and deep, impossible to make out.

Kallian’s cold violet eyes as snowflakes swirled around him.

And his rough breathing as he embraced the courtesan.

Everything was telling her that she needed to run away from this place.

Is it too late? No, maybe it’s not too late.

No. It is too late.

It’s far too late.

“……”

Essika’s tightly clenched fists trembled.

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

A wiser and stronger woman might have been able to act.

But Essika could only stand there as though her feet had been rooted to the ground.

If I end this marriage here…… the reputation of my family will be destroyed…….

Her father and brothers would pat her on the shoulder and tell her that it was good to have her back.

But she would never again be able to live as the beloved and cherished daughter of the proud Brigitte family.

……This failure cannot be undone…….

Tears fell onto the floor one after another.

Her excitement had shattered like broken glass.

She raised a hand to her chest.

And I…… Kallian……

It felt as though hundreds of nails had been driven into her heart.

That day, she realized that the man she had loved for so long might never love her for the rest of her life.

……Even so, I like Kallian.

I want to stay by his side.

Only after a long time did Essika begin walking forward.

Tears blurred her vision so badly that she could not even tell where she was going.

But she kept walking.

Her mind was filled with the desire to fall from somewhere high and die right away.

My heart hurts so much…….

“……”

Essika opened her eyes.

She saw the ceiling of her room.

The room she had returned to after being confined in the small, secluded chamber.

“……”

Essika sat up from the bed and lightly stretched.

It seemed she had dreamed about that day again after a long time.

The day of her wedding.

A day she had never been able to forget.

The corners of her lips twisted bitterly and coldly.

**

Around evening, Sella approached Essika, who was brushing her hair.

Sella had received enough compensation for what had happened to her younger sister that she no longer needed to work.

Even so, she had decided to stay by Essika’s side for the rest of her life.

She was looking forward to seeing how Essika would change House Klaus.

“Madam……”

Sella was holding a small note.

She handed it to Essika.

“Earlier…… His Highness the Crown Prince stopped me.”

At those words, the tip of Essika’s eyebrow twitched.

Essika took the note from Sella.

“I had my head lowered, and he asked if I was your maid. When I said yes, he seemed to think about something for a moment……”

Sella recalled what had happened earlier.

The Crown Prince visited the Klaus residence about once a week.

It seemed to be for inspecting the troops and supplies related to the war.

This time as well, he seemed to be leaving after finishing his meeting with the Duke.

But suddenly, he stopped in front of Sella and spoke to her.

A short while later, he handed her a note folded twice.

The moment Sella met those piercing golden eyes, she felt her knees go weak.

The Turesian warmonger…… Why would that terrifying man ask me to deliver a note to Madam?

“He told me to give this to you.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Yes. Do you know His Highness the Crown Prince personally, Madam? He was so frightening…… I almost wet myself. How can a person have such a terrifying presence……?”

Sella shuddered as though she had caught a chill.

Well, it was understandable that an ordinary woman would be frightened.

Essika unfolded the note.

There was a single sentence written with firm strokes of a pen.

[I intended to see your face before leaving. Next time, do not hide and come out to greet me yourself.]

Essika’s eyebrows stiffened as she read the note.

Why is he suddenly picking a fight with me?

They had only spoken briefly a couple of times.

They could hardly be considered close.

It was proper etiquette for the imperial family and the household to come out and greet a member of the imperial family when they visited……

But Riona had always told Essika not to come out, and Essika had greeted the imperial family while standing beside Kallian.

The Crown Prince should have been able to guess the circumstances when he saw her wearing a maid’s uniform.

Besides……

There was no reason for either of them to be happy about seeing each other.

“Madam…… It doesn’t contain anything ominous, does it?”

Sella asked with a worried expression, clearly frightened by the Crown Prince.

“It’s just something pointless.”

“What? From him?”

Apparently, he was supposed to be busy with the war every day……

Maybe that’s not the case?

Essika thought he seemed to have quite a lot of free time these days.

She moved her inner energy through her fingertips and burned the note.

Then, as the note quickly turned black, different letters appeared.

“……?”

The moment the paper collapsed into ash, Essika’s eyes widened.

[Hasetsu]

“……”

“Madam?”

Sella spoke worriedly when Essika’s eyebrows suddenly stiffened.

Essika looked coldly down at the ashes that had fallen at her feet.

This note had been made with the expectation that Essika would burn it using her inner energy.

Moreover, the word Hasetsu, which appeared for only a moment, could only be seen by someone with exceptionally good dynamic vision.

What is he trying to tell me?

Or is this simply a prank?

Hasetsu……

It was definitely the name of a place she knew.

The moment she recalled that place, a sudden headache began to throb in her head.