Chapter 31
The moment I heard the maid’s words, all the alcohol in my body seemed to evaporate instantly. I even felt a hiccup coming on.
The maid who had just dropped a bombshell in front of us calmly rolled up the scroll and smiled so gently, as if she were my late mother smiling down from heaven.
“I’ll verify this myself.”
When Damian reached out his hand, the maid handed him the scroll. I stood close beside him, reading the words written on the parchment together.
It was, without a doubt, true. I tried to stay calm, but my body kept trembling.
My fists, resting on my lap, clenched tightly on their own.
“Since the two of you seem to have had such a pleasant time together, I believe tonight is the perfect time. I’ve already prepared a bath. Your Highness, if you would follow me.”
At her words, the attendants behind her stepped forward and gently led me away. Normally, the palace was cold and still, but today, it felt strangely full of life. Not a warm, spring-like liveliness — more of a strange, unsettling energy.
The sweet scent wafting from the incense made my stomach churn.
“We will adorn you, Your Grace.”
There was no sign of Marsha anywhere. Had the Emperor sent his own people instead? Everyone following me into the bath was at least of noble rank.
They brushed my hair with care and rubbed scented oil across my body. When they finished, they dressed me in a thin negligee and a soft, fluffy robe, then gently pushed me toward the bedroom.
“His Highness awaits you.”
A few candles flickered softly in the dim room. The air was thick with the heavy fragrance of roses scattered across the bed.
Now that I thought about it, it was strange that the subject of consummation hadn’t come up until now. The freedom we’d been given almost seemed too generous.
But… wasn’t this a bit too sudden? My chest felt tight, like I had indigestion. The closer I got to the bed behind the veil, the stronger the scent became. I could make out the silhouette of a man sitting there.
Since I’d been pretending to like him, I couldn’t exactly run away. I had already decided to marry him — I’d accepted this to some extent.
But I didn’t think it would be tonight!
I clutched my head. Things had been going so smoothly lately that I’d let my guard down. Couldn’t I say something to Damian — to delay this, maybe? But the maids would surely check afterward. There was no way to hide it.
Just then, the veil from the inside was lifted.
I blinked in surprise.
“Your Highness?”
Damian, sitting on the bed, was still dressed in his formal clothes, unlike me in a robe. He didn’t even look like he had bathed. A brief silence filled the room. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see his face clearly, the rose petals scattered on the bed around him.
He looked… tired.
“Rose.”
His voice, calling my name, was soft yet steady. In that instant, I knew — nothing would happen tonight. The realization calmed me.
“Your clothes…”
“I told them I’d handle it myself.”
He glanced down awkwardly at his attire, then removed his jacket. I instinctively looked up in alarm, but that was it — he didn’t take off his shirt.
He laid the jacket carelessly on the bedside table and spoke in a subdued tone.
“I didn’t want to climb onto the bed in outdoor clothes, but there was no avoiding it. I ask your understanding.”
He looked deeply uncomfortable being in this situation at all. I quickly answered,
“Oh, of course. That’s fine.”
It wasn’t a big deal anyway — the maids would wash everything tomorrow. I carefully sat on the edge of the bed.
Contrary to my anxiety, the room wasn’t heated with tension. It was rather cold — I even wanted to crawl under the blanket.
Noticing me rubbing my arms, Damian reached for the blanket.
“The night air is chilly.”
He draped it clumsily over my shoulders. I wrapped myself up in it. It was still cold, but somehow the weight of the blanket was comforting.
“Are you all right, Damian?”
He didn’t answer, only smiled faintly. Then, to my surprise, he gently pushed my upper body down until I was lying on the bed, and lay down beside me.
The mattress dipped as his body settled next to mine. My heart pounded, but he said nothing more.
I stared up at the ceiling — an embroidered pattern depicting the sun at the center, surrounded by countless stars.
“I’m… a little tired,” he murmured after a while, his voice hoarse.
Hearing that, a strange drowsiness came over me. Well, we had been out all day, and he had been drinking too. My head throbbed a little — perhaps a touch of hangover.
I turned to look at him. His sharp nose, his messy hair, and his half-closed eyelids — he looked utterly exhausted. His chest rose and fell steadily with each breath.
His hands rested loosely over his abdomen, moving gently with his breathing.
He looked as though he would fall asleep any second. I was about to close my eyes too when I suddenly remembered the maids who had bathed me.
“Damian… are we just going to sleep like this?”
He slowly opened his eyes. I glanced at his clothes — far too formal for bedtime. He met my gaze.
“Are you disappointed?”
His lips curved slightly. The teasing tone made my face burn, and I quickly shook my head.
“No, it’s just… I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Expecting this…”
He repeated my words quietly, then chuckled.
“Yes. As if we were animals being ordered to perform.”
His tone carried a sharp edge. I blinked at him, and he sighed.
“Perhaps His Majesty sees us as beasts, but we must remember — between us, we are still human.”
So that was why he’d refused to undress. Still, if the imperial line was to continue, consummation was expected. Delaying it now wouldn’t change that forever.
Would he keep resisting like this… even then?
As I pondered that, a strange thought occurred to me. Wait — was that why he killed the Emperor?
If the Emperor had forced the previous crown prince into this, it made sense. Maybe Damian had been pushed too far. The thought oddly lightened my heart.
I shifted the subject. “Won’t the maids notice tomorrow?”
If we didn’t handle this carefully, they’d surely report to the Emperor. For all I knew, some might already be eavesdropping outside the door. The thought made me uneasy — but not impossible.
At my words, Damian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial. The liquid inside was too dark to see clearly.
“Goat’s blood,” he said.
“…Why do you have that?”
“If it stains the sheets, they’ll make their own assumptions.”
He looked straight at me, his amethyst-colored eyes gleaming even in the dim light.
“I’ll just tell them you were shy. So tonight… this is enough.”
It wasn’t a bad outcome for me — but it did raise the question: had he been carrying that around all along?
His gaze remained calm. For some reason, I suddenly felt like a child again — like we were having a pajama party.
“All right,” I said softly.
Silence fell between us. He blinked slowly several times, and I followed suit. Wrapped snugly in the blanket, I yawned quietly.
“And…”
Just as my vision began to fade with sleep, his low voice rumbled beside me. I liked the sound of it. In my hazy mind, I heard him whisper,
“Wouldn’t you rather spend a night like this with someone you truly love?”
Why did he suddenly sound so vulnerable? I shook my head weakly.
“I do like you, Damian… enough…”
“I’ll try harder, then,” he said, his voice steady, without hesitation. His calm tone, the gentle look in his eyes, and the hesitant fingers that reached toward me but didn’t touch — all of it felt achingly kind.
I wanted to say something — but I didn’t even know what. My eyelids grew heavy, and soon I drifted into sleep.
I thought I heard him whisper something affectionate, but like a faint star flickering out, his voice faded into silence.
The next morning, Damian was gone.
His clothes were scattered beside me, giving me only an idea of what he’d looked like as he left. My face grew hot.
I vaguely remembered him saying something before I fell asleep, but I couldn’t recall the words.
I clumsily tied my robe and called for a maid. The ones sent by the Emperor came and took away the stained sheets as if they were trophies.
After that, the Emperor, as though rewarding us for “obeying,” announced our honeymoon itinerary.
It was to begin four days later.
