CHAPTER 13………
. The Wedding Night Scam
Right after the wedding, everyone expected His Highness to set out immediately, but when an unexpected three-hour rest was granted, a strange excitement spread through the knight order.
“Could it be… His Highness?”
“Is he finally going to consummate the marriage??”
“So His Highness is a man after all!”
No one said it aloud, but smiles bloomed across their faces.
“He won’t be leaving until dawn at this rate.”
Freddy, helmet off and spear set aside, smirked at his younger brother Ralph, the vice-captain of the Special Knights.
But Ralph, ever composed, dismissed Freddy’s words.
“You think His Highness is like you?”
“You brat! You saw him kiss the Queen during the ceremony and you still talk like that?” Freddy scoffed.
“Have you ever seen His Highness, who’s never been near a woman before, burn up like that? Right now, even if a million dark dragons came charging in, he wouldn’t be stopped.”
Freddy gave Ralph a pitying look, then muttered with a sigh.
“Well, not that you’d know anything about women. Poor bastard.”
Though Freddy himself wasn’t much better off, he still pitied Ralph. Ralph, however, ignored him.
Prince Mic wasn’t just a man with strong desires—his sense of responsibility as king was just as strong. Freddy, his foolish twin, never seemed to take that seriously.
“His Highness will show up exactly three hours later, sharp. Don’t slack off, be ready.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Fine. I’ll bet my vice-captain position. If I lose, I’ll step down.”
“Oh? Coming in strong, are you? Fine. If I lose, I’ll give up on any woman I fall for and hand her over to you.”
Ralph was dumbfounded by Freddy’s ridiculous bet.
“How can you wager something you don’t even have? And besides, any woman you like, I’ll hate!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t lose anyway.”
Seeing Freddy’s smug face, Ralph felt only despair. Win or lose, there was nothing in it for him—an utterly pointless wager.
***
I had won a promise from my husband that he’d spend three hours in the bridal chamber, and with that, my face finally relaxed.
“Even an hour would have been enough. Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Mic.”
“…What?”
“Don’t call me ‘Your Highness.’ Call me Mic.”
“O-oh…”
My face flamed. Just calling him by his name felt this embarrassing?
“Thank you… Mi-iiic…”
“What was that?”
“I said, thank you.”
His eyes lingered stubbornly on my lips, as if to say: “And the rest?”
After rolling his name around in my mouth a few times, I finally mustered the courage.
“Thank you, Mic!”
Pleased at last, his face lit up with a genuine smile.
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“You’ve already taken off your ceremonial jacket. Now please take off your vest, trousers, socks, and shoes, then sit comfortably on the sofa until it’s time to leave. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Obediently, he took off his vest, loosened his belt, and slipped off his shoes and socks.
I forced myself to look away as his body was revealed, fixing my eyes on some faraway point. Soon, dressed in his sleepwear, he sat lazily on the sofa.
I went straight for his discarded clothes.
First, I picked up his ceremonial jacket and flung it toward the bedroom door. The tailor-made masterpiece landed carelessly on the floor.
Next, I tossed the vest slightly closer. Then went his shoes, socks, and belt—each item strategically landing nearer the bed.
“Pfft—hahahahaha!!!”
Realizing what I was doing, Mic burst out laughing.
“Leah, you’re really…”
He couldn’t finish through his laughter.
I glared at him.
“Don’t laugh! I’m dead serious right now.”
“You always surpass my imagination. Lately I’ve been blaming my own poor imagination.”
Still chuckling, he came toward me.
“Judging from the trail, it seems I got so desperate before the wedding night that I threw off my clothes one by one and pounced on you, huh…”
His eyes traced the path from the door to the bed.
“But really, am I the only one stripping? What about you?”
“I’m thinking about it, okay? Stop interrupting, Your High—Mic. Sit back down.”
Even while pushing him back, my brow furrowed.
What should I take off first? Shoes? Dress? No, better to just ask!
“Mic… if we were really consummating right now, what would you take off first?”
“Well…”
He leaned back on the sofa, eyes glinting with interest.
“I’d take out those hairpins first. Even when we kissed, all those ornaments hurt my hands.”
Of course! Always ask when you don’t know!
Without hesitation, I pulled out every pin holding up my hair.
With each pin removed, my tightly bound platinum hair loosened—until finally, it spilled like a waterfall down my back.
Mic froze for a moment, but I didn’t notice.
I tossed the pins and ornaments by his uniform, then kicked off my shoes and threw them even closer to the bed.
“Should I leave the dress here?”
I asked at the foot of the bed. Our eyes met, and my heart hammered.
No, not now! There’s no time!
As I calmed myself, he suddenly rose and pulled me into his arms, hand sliding down my back.
“W-wait… what are you—?”
He held me close, long fingers untying the ribbons at the back of my dress.
“This looked nice at a distance, but up close it’s cursed. Who ties this many ribbons? What a pain to take off.”
He laughed playfully as he undid them, then suddenly cursed.
“Damn it! Buttons underneath the ribbons too?! From now on, this dress is banned from Fritan royal weddings!”
“Wha—”
Before I could react, he spun me around and yanked. Pearly buttons scattered across the floor.
With another pull, fabric tore, and the back of my dress split open.
He whipped the gown over my head and tossed it aside, leaving me in only a slip.
Mortified, I still thought: Well… not bad for leaving evidence of a passionate wedding night.
When his hand brushed my slip strap, I flinched, crossing my arms protectively.
“I’ll handle this! Turn around, please.”
He raised his brow but complied.
Quickly, I stripped off the slip, threw on a robe, and tied it tight. The slip went to the floor near the bed. Perfect.
I shoved Mic back onto the sofa.
“You’re about to head to war—just sit and rest!”
“You expect me to relax, with you dressed like that?”
Sighing, he pulled me between his knees. I was trapped between his arms and legs.
“You do realize how contradictory this is, right?”
His hand slid up my waist, even through the thin robe sending shivers up my spine.
For a moment, I wanted to bury my hands in his soft black hair, but restrained myself.
“W-wait!!”
I grabbed his hand to stop it.
“I don’t want to exhaust you with a real wedding night. Let’s save it for when you come back safely.”
But instead of replying, he pressed his face to my chest and murmured.
“Mic…?”
“I was… jealous of my helmet earlier.”
“What?”
“You were hugging it so tightly… wouldn’t let it go…”
I remembered clutching his helmet to stop him from leaving, and nearly fainted.
Jealous… of a helmet?! What nonsense… and why is my heart racing at that?
He inhaled deeply.
“You smell incredible.”
His eyes, now dark with longing, made me look away.
“If you hold me now… I might never let you go. So please…”
I cupped his face in both hands.
“Come back to me just like this, without a single scar.”
He chuckled and hugged me tightly again.
“Honestly, I’m curious how your little ‘wedding night scam’ ends.”
Then he released me.
“Go on, finish what you were doing.”
I threw myself on the bed, rolling and writhing until the sheets were a mess. Then I bounced on it for good measure.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw sparks in his gaze, but I had no time for that. I had to ruin the sheets more.
Finally, satisfied with the chaos, I looked around for the last touch.
On the refreshment table lay a small fruit knife.
Perfect.
I grabbed it and sliced my palm lightly. Blood welled up. Smiling, I turned back to the bed.
Now just a stain on the sheet and—
“What the hell are you doing?!”
In an instant, I was pinned to the bed. Mic towered over me, seizing my bleeding hand.
His indigo eyes, burning with fury and shock, were fathomless.
