Chapter 11

The wedding was quite hectic.

A wonderful meal alongside champagne was served for guests, and families spent their time greeting other families.

The wedding was quite big yet the ceremony was short. This was due to the small number of guests and Apollyon’s reducing the ceremony time since he wanted to return to his terrority as soon as possible.

Lady Claire Theavritte, Apollyon’s stepmother who cursed him, was contrary to my expectations, a gentle person.

I thought she would insult or scold me in front of people since she was mentioned as an evil stepmother who even cursed Apollyon.

Rather, Lady Claire took care of me when it happened to be awkward with people. She was way more helpful than Apollyon who spent his time on his own at a remote place.

Was it because she was a two-faced villainess?

Unlike the darkness inside her, she was giving a nice noble image.

She hid her vicious personality behind a gentle atmosphere. It could be said her acting skills were too good.

Yes, she was still a villainess. She was supposed to keep a low profile.

I got scared on my own and scratched my cheek nervously. There was nothing wrong with being careful.

I looked around since I was worried Sonot would come. Fortunately even the tip of his nose was nowhere to be seen.

Only then did I feel relieved belatedly.

That’s right, this was the Imperial Palace, not anywhere else. There was no way Sonot, who didn’t even receive an invitation, could break through the tight security.

I felt much lighter after my worries were relieved. I wandered among the people, expressing my gratitude for the blessings of the guests.

***

The simple ceremony ended quickly.

Normally, it’s natural for aristocrats to hold a ceremony until sunset and have an evening party late at night.

However, as it was Apollyon’s wedding, most of the events were omitted.

Most of the people who participated in the wedding were acquaintances of his, so they fully understood this situation. With that the ceremony ended quickly without any special event.

In fact, the ceremony was so short that I was ashamed that the Imperial Chef and Band were called for it. Even the leftover food was in a great amount.

I had to leave the feast having the finest dishes I ever had in my life.

I will never forget the hard work that made me taste the best dishes in the world…!

While thinking about these, I savored all the desserts.

After that I wished goodbye to the guests.

Although it was not a strict society like the Joseon Dynasty*. There was a tradition that when a woman got married, she would leave her family’s estate, and since the two families’ terrority is far from each other it would be hard for me to meet with my family for a while.

Unlike my mother who accepted the situation calmly, my father’s tears shed like an opened dam. It was difficult to understand his words because of his hiccups.

Forte, who carried on until the end, also cried at last.

It was less than 2 months since I met these people, yet I was deeply attached to them. If I were to choose someone to rely on in this world, it would be one of these three people.

I was sad even though I knew these people for only a few months, suddenly the thought of how my biological family would be sad about me came to my mind. Thinking about it made my heart ache.

I turned my back to them before they saw my messed up face. My father also made sure to tell me that he’ll visit me often.

I brought six of my attendants including Serena and Renee, and headed to Theavritte Estate.

I wasn’t sure if Apollyon was being considerate towards me or didn’t want me to come with others, but thanks to his generosity with preparing a large carriage, we were able to travel comfortably ‘alone’.

Theavritte Territory was located at the East Side of the Empire and the size of it was enormous. We could only arrive at the Grand Duchy by traveling for 2 days.

The East of the land bore a vast sea and the Northwest was close to the capital, South of the land was bordering the neighboring Kingdom, Karon. There were small territories presented by the previous Emperors that were also located throughout the Empire.

“You must be tired, go in and rest. We can talk tomorrow.”

“Yes, mother.”

Lady Claire smiled warmly and headed towards the north side of the estate.

The Grand House of Theavritte was built by dividing the Palaces into several places to make it easier to manage as the land was too large.

The Northern Palace where Lady Claire was staying was closest to the capital so it was rather safer and had the advantage of being able to keep up with the capital’s fashion faster than the Southern side of the Territory.

There were 2 other palaces. One in the center of the estate and one at the East.

The palaces on the land were actually close to each other and Apollyon spent most of his time in the Eastern Palace which was close to the Northern Palace.

This is why I had all my luggage sent to the Eastern Palace.

As soon as I got off the carriage, I saw Apollyon, which had arrived at the Palace before me, giving orders to servants.

After noticing me, he was startled as if he had seen a ghost.

I approached him ignoring his stiffness.

“W-wife, why did you come to the Pontus Palace?”

“Pontus Palace? Oh I see, the name of the Eastern Palace is Pontus.”

I nodded and muttered as I had forgotten the name.

Even though I saw it in the novel, I couldn’t recall it.

I didn’t know what it meant, but I thought that was a great name.**

As I got closer, Apollyon stepped back little by little, distancing himself from me.

But I ignored and didn’t stop approaching him with a smirk on the corners of my mouth.

Apollyon avoided my gaze and spoke.

“Pontus Palace… is dangerous.”

“Why is that?”

“I… the wind is strong as it’s close to the sea…”

“Woah, that must be cool.”

“…It’s also not far from the enemy Kingdom, Karon.”

“Hic, then the people here could be in danger. I’ll have to protect you.”

“…”

“I’m the Mistress of House Theavritte from today.”

“…”

“I am also your wife.”

Hehe. When I winked and laughed at him, Apollyon started breathing heavily.

“If you like the Pontus Palace, then… I’ll move to another Palace so you don’t feel uncomfortable. It’ll be Lunatia Palace in the middle of the land, so if you need anything-“

“Oh my, are you saying you’ll be leaving me alone?”

“That’s… not it.”

“I’m unfamiliar with everything since I’ve just become Lady Theavritte. How scary…”

“…”

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say there’s a forest full of monsters near here? They wouldn’t come here at night, would they?”

“…”

“No way, what if a passenger from Karon Kingdom appears…”

“…”

You have nothing to say? There’s nothing you can do about those when you’re away, right? Do you have any conscience?

This was my revenge for the forehead kiss!

I persistently stared at him, while seeming worried.

Despite my look from outside, there was a demon lying deep inside of me.

Surely I knew Apollyon wasn’t a man who would abandon his wife.

It was only him choosing to isolate himself from others to avoid getting hated. Everyone knew that fact.

But this was his house.

I wanted him to be comfortable in his own house.

My heart ached with the thought of him living alone being despised even by his own servants.

With a new person in the house, it was only natural for him to feel uncomfortable than being alone.

However it was Apollyon’s own choice, and since that was the case, he couldn’t avoid the change coming from me.

I wanted him to be more confident and proud of himself with this opportunity.

I won’t force him to remove his mask, I didn’t believe the rumors of curse being contagious.

I didn’t want Apollyon to avoid me.

“…”

To be honest… There was a little sorrow in me because of the forehead kiss.

Even though it was a kiss of oath, even the kindergartners wouldn’t do that, I couldn’t help but think it’s unfair.

Even if you didn’t see me before, was it too hard to close your eyes and kiss me?

Apollyon was one of my Top 5 Rofan Male Protagonists. I was sad about the fact that I was far from having romance and even got a forehead kiss instead of a normal one.

Letting go of the scratches on my heart, I was going to sleep with him tonight.

According to the novel I’ve read, the first night was important in this world.

Some conservative nobles even said they planted monitors in their rooms to make sure that the first night was properly held.

It was truly a shocking act however because of that I understood the importance of the first night in this world.

But if he tried to run away the first night, I was really…!

I glared at Apollyon.

He looked away after seeing my glare.

“…I understand.”

Eventually, Apollyon sighed and turned around. I headed to my room where I’ll be staying with the servants’ guide.

***

I couldn’t help but admire the luxury in Pontus Palace, the Count’s Mansion couldn’t even be compared.

The stone structure outside was magnificent but the interior was also decorated with antiques.

Wasn’t too fancy nor messy. It was decorated with just the right amount of antiques.

If it was this wide, raising an elephant wouldn’t be impossible here.

“Since the Mansion is this big, I don’t believe I’ll be able to see your face unless I look out for it.”

The words I said jokingly made him stop.

“…Apollyon?”

At that moment, the idea flashed in my mind.

‘Was he planning to do that…?’

A whole day seemed not enough to look around the inside of Pontus Mansion.

It was a large mansion to have a comfortable accommodation, however unless someone told me the location I wouldn’t be able to find a person’s whereabouts or what they are doing.

Apollyon didn’t have any intentions to share the mansion with me in the first place. Wasn’t this a way to tell me to live in another mansion?

Didn’t this mean he had no intention to share the first night…?

The Palace in the middle of the Estate was far from here and it was the largest of all three Palaces.

Coming to Eastern Palace to have the first night from the Central Palace after coming from the Capital with a tired body.

Seems pretty impossible.

My eyes naturally widened after I understood his intentions.

‘You… you were planning to skip our first night…!’

I walked until I’m facing Apollyon who was frozen and made eye contact with him.

No wonder, I thought his silence was strange. Sure enough his eyes couldn’t hide the truth.

I opened my mouth with a sweet smile.

“Where will my room be? Can you show me?”

“…”

“It’s not ready yet?”

“…It’s not that.”

“What is it then?”

“…”***

I tilted my head as if I wasn’t understanding anything.

“Then there’s nothing we can do. I’ll have no choice but to stay in your room tonight-“

“I-I will show you your room!”

He should have said this from the start.

—

*Joseon was a Korean dynastic kingdom that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897.

**Pontus or Pontos is a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey.

***Her room was readied at the Central Palace that’s why he couldn’t give an answer.