Chapter 16
“Two hours?”
Kaylen looked like he was used to being treated like this.
He really had many ways to torment others. Damn it. I even wore high heels today—I’m doomed.
Actually, my feet had been screaming ever since we left the mansion. I quietly stepped back and leaned closer to the wall.
Kaylen, who had been watching me silently, lowered his gaze slightly.
“What are you—”
“I just took my shoes off for a moment. You can’t tell, right?”
I lifted my dress a little. When Kaylen saw the high heels lying beside my bare feet, his face twisted instantly.
No, he didn’t need to make that kind of face.
I lowered my dress again to cover my bare feet and shoes, then leaned against a pillar.
“Have you ever worn high heels?”
“Why would I wear those?”
“Because I’m short! Do you know how painful high heels are?”
Kaylen turned his head as if he didn’t want to talk anymore. I narrowed my eyes at the back of his firm head.
Tch.
The cold marble floor sent a chill straight into my bare soles. I wriggled my toes and looked at Kaylen’s back as he stood perfectly still.
I looked left and right—no one was around. Unlike me, fidgeting constantly, Kaylen stood like someone might be watching him.
So I stepped back into my shoes.
“You got taller quickly.”
“Yes. I’m still growing.”
A soft laugh came from him. Only the two of us were in the Empress’s grand hallway. Since I didn’t laugh, the small sound must have been Kaylen… though it was so quiet I wasn’t sure if he really laughed.
I quickly stretched my neck forward to see his face, but his lips were pressed in a straight line.
Being able to exchange even light jokes like this meant we had gained some small sense of camaraderie.
This damn wedding preparation was so exhausting.
Even if it was meant to be simple, it was still a royal wedding. From early morning until late at night, it was choice after choice after choice. Clothes, accessories—even the smallest hair ornament had to be chosen.
There were things I needed to prepare alone, but some decisions had to be made with him. Every week, his jawline got sharper.
Yesterday, we met to try on our wedding clothes, and both of us had lost a bit of weight.
While designers hurriedly pinned the clothes for size changes, my eyes met Kaylen’s for a moment.
And I thought he was thinking the same thing as me:
‘I hope this damn wedding ends soon.’
And the biggest surprise was that Kaylen actually listened to my request.
“Thanks.”
Kaylen, standing straight and staring forward, turned his head slightly.
“For coming to the tea party.”
Kaylen turned back to stare at the door that still refused to open, his eyes emotionless.
“It was the first time I received such a desperate letter.”
After receiving the tea party invitation from Lady Florence, I had sent Kaylen a letter immediately.
Ever since our marriage was announced, I had received all kinds of tea party invitations.
Some letters had tear stains, asking how someone like me could marry a prince. One letter had red stains—either paint or blood—and was seven pages long describing betrayal.
That one made me uncomfortable enough that I asked the butler to burn it.
But the most frightening invitation was Lady Florence’s very normal, polite one—because I couldn’t ignore it.
[ I know you must be very busy, but… juuuust in case, if by any small chance you have time… could you come to the Hernia Duchy’s tea party? ]
So I had written a long, desperate letter asking Kaylen to come.
Before the wedding, it wasn’t easy for a lowly baron’s daughter to confront a duchess’s daughter.
I had begged him to appear dramatically and save a defenseless little lamb in a battlefield without weapons.
Honestly, I didn’t expect him to really show up.
Even after going home, Florence’s expression and posture floated in my mind.
It bothered me, but the next day I was so busy with wedding preparations that I pushed the worry aside.
“It would’ve been better if you told me beforehand, but still—I won’t forget the favor.”
As expected, Kaylen didn’t answer.
“Ahem.”
I tugged lightly at his sleeve and cleared my throat. He turned his head.
“Why did you get so angry that day?”
Florence was the only daughter of the Hernia Duchy and liked him. I wondered if it was really necessary for him to speak so harshly to her.
Of course, I was grateful… but if Lady Florence held a grudge, that would be another headache.
Well, that too—but honestly, it wasn’t only worry. I was secretly happ—
“I didn’t get angry for your sake.”
Before I could finish my thought, his words instantly washed away my gratitude. My relaxed smile froze.
Kaylen saw my expression and let out a small laugh, turning forward again.
I stared at him in shock with my mouth open, then quickly shut it. I glared at him sideways and pouted. At that moment, the tightly closed reception room door opened.
“Her Majesty the Empress will see you now.”
The Empress’s aide bowed politely.
Kaylen fixed his clothes neatly, then looked at me. When I nodded, we walked past the large white-and-gold doors and entered.
The moment we stepped inside, the bright red and gold interior made me swallow hard.
What greeted us in the luxurious reception room was…
A puppy?
A white puppy was sleeping on a soft red velvet cushion with gold embroidery.
The puppy perked up its ears as we entered and lifted its head with a face full of annoyance, wagging its tail like it owned the place.
But the most important person—the Empress—was nowhere to be seen. Confused, I looked around.
The Empress’s aide stood quietly by the door, hands folded, offering no guidance.
I turned to Kaylen beside me.
Ah, he was used to this too.
He stood with a calm, emotionless face as if nothing was strange.
The puppy, watching us carefully, suddenly lifted its head and pricked its ears.
The puppy was looking toward the corner door on the right side of the room.
The door burst open.
“Sorry. Did you wait long?”
The Empress walked in wearing pajamas with only a thin robe thrown on, her voice not sounding sorry at all.
She didn’t even glance at me or Kaylen standing in the center. Dragging her slippers, she yawned, tightened her robe belt, and collapsed onto the luxurious red velvet sofa.
Her black hair was messy like she had just gotten out of bed. Her bare face clearly showed signs of age.
She snapped her fingers, and the aide at the door brought her a cigarette. The aide even lit it for her smoothly.
“Phew—”
Thick, smoky air flowed from her mouth and nose.
Too much. Seriously.
My tension disappeared instantly, replaced by disbelief. The Empress lay almost sideways on the long sofa, receiving a shoulder massage with her eyes closed.
She smoked two cigarettes in a row without saying a single word to us.
Then she started getting a massage, and Kaylen and I had to stand there for twenty minutes.
The Empress acted as if we didn’t exist. She only made occasional humming sounds while getting massaged.
A faint smell of alcohol drifted from her breath.
Living in Korea as Seoha, I had seen plenty of rude upper-class people, but what made my blood boil was how normal this seemed to Kaylen.
The Empress was wearing pajamas that showed her calves and thighs clearly—so embarrassing even for me—but Kaylen’s expression didn’t change at all.
Even his polite, non-rude gaze looked natural.
I knew from the original story that Kaylen wasn’t treated well by the Empress, but reading about it and seeing it in person were completely different.
“You look better in person than in the portrait.”
The Empress finally opened her sleepy eyes and looked at me. It was the first real sentence she had spoken since the massage.
“This is why I asked for a photo instead of a portrait…”
The Empress waved her hand, dismissing the masseur. The man bowed and left the room.
The Empress watched him leave with a sly gaze, then pulled her robe together and lifted a glass filled with ice.
