“Open the gates!”
When I walked outside, the soldier on the wall had made an announcement. The people lined up outside the castle turned their gazes to the gate as it opened. It felt weird. On the first day of my marriage, I convinced myself I was going to die. I couldn’t believe I was still alive. Or rather, it was strange I was living well now.
“Ella, do you see them?” My husband pointed at something in the distance.
I saw a huge procession heading our way.
“You must be very careful from now on.” He interlaced his fingers with mine. His expression, usually playful and full of mischief, was very serious at this moment. “They’re here to ruin our marriage.”
***
“Welcome, Marquis.”
“It’s been a while hasn’t it, Your Grace?”
An old man who got off the carriage approached my husband and greeted him warmly.
I remembered his name from the list. A white-haired, rotund, old man with golden eyes, Marquis Anthony Phineas. He was the leader of the procession and pro-witch faction. Also, he was a witch scholar in the Edelin Empire.
“Ah, so this is the witch bride!”
My husband grimaced and sighed deeply. He avoided my gaze.
“It is an honor to meet an esteemed witch such as yourself.”
Only then could I see Marquis Phineas more clearly. Since he was the chancellor, I thought he’d be a shrewd individual, but he was more of a cute old man.
I grinned and held out my right hand. “Hello, Marquis Phineas. I am Eleanor… Ah.”
“Yes, that is no longer your surname,” my husband said. He smiled; it was the same wide smile I learned how to do with the maids’ help a few days ago. “This is Eleanor Havel. Please treat her with the utmost respect.”
“It truly is an honor to meet you, Duchess.” The marquis kissed the back of my outstretched hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the person next to me flinch and tremble with anger. I ignored him. I could have stepped on his foot since I heard a curse or two muttered under his breath, but I decided not to do that. It would have been fine were I wearing the low-heel shoes I typically use; however, I was wearing high heels right now. If I wasn’t careful, this husband of mine wouldn’t be able to walk correctly for a while.
“I can’t believe I saw a witch in person… This is the greatest moment of my life…”
It seemed the marquis was in the middle of spouting nonsense about witches. While still holding my hand, of course. I wanted him to let go. At the same time, I couldn’t just disregard etiquette.
“Please let go of my wife.”
“What?”
“She’s mine.” My husband removed my hand from the marquis’s. I appreciated his help. However…
“When was I ever yours?” I glared at him, but he smiled and covered my eyes with his hand.
“It is very frightening when you stare at me like that, my dear.”
Hmph.
“In any case, it must have been a difficult journey.”
“Not at all! I was bored just sitting around in the castle. It was nice to ride in a carriage. I felt like I was going out on a picnic.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
“Tsk, tsk. Under normal circumstances, it is the emperor’s subjects who visit the royal capital.”
The crowd made way for a sharp-tongued man.
“Long time no see, Your Grace.”
“I could say the same thing, Count.”
Should I also say hello? After hesitating for a bit, I quickly bowed. The sharp-tongued man frowned. Ah, he must be Count Dorison. Everything about him was purple. I have to admit, he was as skinny as a stick.
Count Dorison snorted. “It seems you taught the savage how to greet people, Duke.”
“That was uncalled for, Count Dorison! The witches are an intelligent race.”
“Are you implying we are stupider than them? Even a marquis should be aware of what he says.”
“There are records of witches being vastly smarter than we humans.”
“You don’t even know who wrote it! It is outdated information!”
“Ah, the youth can be quite stubborn sometimes.”
A fight was about to break out. I reached for my husband’s hand since I felt I would only make the situation worse.
Watching them quarrel, Lukas then shook his head. “Calm yourselves, gentlemen. I hoped everyone was here to celebrate my marriage, but alas, it seems you want to debate instead.”
The marquis and count immediately stopped arguing and cleared their throats.
“I am deeply sorry. I got carried away for no reason.”
Unlike the marquis who sheepishly smiled, the count had a frustrated expression. It was obvious he didn’t get along with others.
“Let us go inside. Everyone must be tired.”
“Are you suggesting we relax? We still have things to take care of.”
The chancellor sighed in exasperation at Count Dorison’s grumbling.
My husband appeared to have given up. “We can handle the important matters first then.”
No, wait. I was flustered as everything began not to follow the intended schedule. What was I supposed to do? Do I have to follow them?
“Worry not, everything in the afternoon will go as planned. Rest for now, Ella.” Once he told the butler to handle the rest of the reception, my husband approached me and whispered, “Do not wander around too much when there are guests.”
“All right.” I nodded.
He gave me a content smile and squeezed my hand. As I watched him leave, my heartbeat began to quicken. However, it wasn’t long before I felt the gazes of multiple people on me. They weren’t welcoming.
“My lady, it is time to go.” Betty must have noticed it as well.
“Yes.” Nodding, I started to walk. I was told of this in advance, but it was a different experience in person.
Havel Castle was no longer safe.
***
“You startled me.”
It was late into the evening. After taking a bath, I was preparing to go to bed. As soon as I saw someone else in my room, I nearly jumped. “What are you doing here?”
“Is a husband not allowed to be in his wife’s room?” Lukas sat at a small table, which was usually used for tea time, while reviewing documents.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t come into my room since this was his castle, but he should’ve at least knocked first.
“If you’re going to work, do it in your office.”
“I made a promise to you.”
That he was going to work in my bedroom from now on? I thought long and hard about what else he could’ve meant. My silence may have bothered him since he put down the quill pen he was holding.
“I said I would protect you.”
Oh, that. “You don’t have to do it when I sleep.”
“What do you mean? Nighttime is the perfect opportunity.”
“You’re the only person who willingly barges into the room of a witch.” Now that I think about it, he did this too when I first arrived here. At the time, I was scared of him. A lot of things changed since then. For example, I was able to talk to him like this.
“I must be at your side whenever possible.”
“That’s not necessary.” I appreciated his concern, but it was a little much.
“I don’t think you understand the seriousness of our current circumstances. More than half of the outsiders here are against our marriage.”
“But…”
“Of course, you will always have an escort, but we don’t know how many enemies are present or what they plan to do.”
“So, you’ll be staying in my room while we have guests?”
“It will only be for two days.”
“Just to make sure, you’ll be here until the day after tomorrow?”
“That’s correct.” He nodded before returning his attention to a document.
I stared at him. He looked so comfortable like he was in his own bedroom. It was unsettling for me since this was my bedroom. Should I kick him out? How can I do that? I thought of all the possibilities but gave up in the end. Unfortunately, he’d wind up back here even if I had a hundred ways of removing him. I don’t take chances on a game I can’t win.
“Wait, where are you going to sleep?” I asked.
“We can share the bed.”
“Are you crazy?”
He raised one corner of his mouth. “You may sleep on the floor then.”
“What?”
He stood up and lay down on the bed. He even closed his eyes. Basically, he was saying he already made up his mind, so I could do whatever I want. I remained in my seat because I agonized over what to do. The cold floor was better, but since I was suffering from wearing high heels, I wanted to sleep comfortably.
After thinking about it for a while, I walked to the sofa and lay down.
“Are you afraid I’ll do something while you’re sleeping?”
“Yes.”
Lukas nodded before bursting into a fit of laughter. I almost thought he lost his mind. “Who do you think I am?” He propped up his chin with one hand. “Don’t worry.”
“…”
“I will never touch a wife who dislikes me.” Smiling, he patted the spot next to him.
“Are you actually going to sleep there?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“How do you not care?”
His laughter only irritated me. I sat up so quickly that I almost fell off the sofa, but I caught myself. I shot a glare at him. “Stay there.”
“All right.”
Keeping my eyes on him, I turned off the light. The room became dark in an instant. “I’m telling you to stay there.”
“I know.”
He got off the bed as he said that. He was trying to sneak up on me by relying on the darkness, but it was useless.
“What are you trying to do this time?”
“You must be seeing things,” he said.
“I can see just fine. I’m a witch, remember?”
“Pfft.”
I swiftly hid behind the sofa. He then plopped back down onto the bed and looked at me. I didn’t understand how I found myself in this situation. This was my room, but he was on my bed. I couldn’t argue against him if he said that every room in the castle was his room. At the same time, it wasn’t nice to give something away only to take it back later.
“Are you going to sleep on the sofa?”
“You can sleep alone on the bed.”
“That’s no fun.”
I was annoyed he wanted to have fun before getting a good night’s rest.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Just go sleep already. It seemed like he had no intention of ending the conversation until I lay down on the bed. While we are married, I’m still a woman and he’s a man. My being a witch and his being a human still came first in terms of priorities, but this was Lukas we were talking about.
I glanced at him. He looked peaceful with his eyes closed while being in someone else’s room. How annoying. Was I the only one who cared? Really? I hate to admit it, but I was conscious of him now. I felt sorry for myself for being conscious of a human man; I couldn’t help it.
It must be because I’ve gotten used to living in Havel. Everyone was unusually nice to me. Yet I was only here for one year. They shouldn’t have put in the effort. I was concerned about the consequences after I returned to Kartelle.
It was all because of him. He treated me as his wife and often acted like we were a real couple.
“Are you afraid I’ll kill you when you’re asleep?”
“…”
“Are you still afraid of me?” His voice was very soft.
I almost couldn’t believe it was him talking, but there was only me and the man known as my husband in this room.
“I know you don’t have any plans to kill me.”
It was interesting. On my first day here, I was so sure I wouldn’t last longer than a week. Some time had passed since I was worried about dying. Recently, I was more concerned about finishing all of Emily’s assignments. I was living life to the fullest in a way.
“Then why won’t you move away from the sofa?”
“Do you really not care? Not one bit?” I made sure to express my frustration.
“No.” He sat up, and I saw his blue eyes in the pitch-black darkness. “This isn’t good.”
With his human vision, he couldn’t see me, but I could see him. In this respect, I was lucky to be born a witch. It was unimaginable to feel this way in Kartelle.
“Are you there? I’m nervous because I can’t see you. Come closer.”
“I refuse.”
“You don’t need to be scared. Honestly, I’m the one who’s scared.”
What the hell? The word “scared” didn’t fit him. Why was the Black Reaper, the one who rules the North, scared? “Do you think I’ll kill you right now?”
Since ancient times, witches were a race familiar with the dark. In other words, I had an advantage over him.
“I’m worried others will kill you while I’m asleep.”
“This deal you made with the emperor must be very important.”
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded.
The reason he agreed to marry me was that he wanted something.
“Hasn’t the emperor already given you what you asked for?” Now that I mentioned it, I felt bothered by it for some reason. What was his motivation for marrying a witch?
Was he offended that I asked? Or maybe I said something I shouldn’t have. A silence settled between us in the room.
Of course, he was the one who broke it first. “If I tell you, will you come here? I think it’s time to stop playing hard to get.”
“…Fine.”
I approached him. As soon as I stood in front of the bed, those blue eyes looked at me. Instead of finding the mischief I normally saw, there was a whirlpool of complex emotions in his gaze. No, there was more than that.
“What did you get from the emperor?” I put my hand down on the mattress and leaned forward. We were practically at eye level with each other.
He stared at me, and I wondered if he was still hesitant. Then, he spoke. “You’re mistaken. I never asked His Majesty for a reward.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to give another vague answer.”
“I only asked the emperor not to take away what’s mine.”
Huh? I recalled what Lukas told me before.
“I made a deal with His Majesty. He would do me a favor in exchange for marrying you. This marriage has to succeed so I can get what I want.”
He requested the emperor not to take away what was his so he could get what he wanted. That meant whatever he valued so much, which he refused to let the emperor have, was already in his hands. And to protect it, our marriage had to be successful. Before I knew it, my curiosity turned its attention to the object he cherished.
“It must be very precious to you.”
“It is.”
“…”
“Perhaps it is more precious to me than my own life.”
Was it a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation? What could it be? As I was deep in thought, Lukas suddenly wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
“I keep my promises. You have to keep your end of the bargain too.”
“Wait—”
“It’s time for a noblewoman to go to sleep.”
“Fine, fine.” Maybe it was because I was nervous all day that I felt really tired. I wasn’t even surprised I could feel tired in front of a human. “Can I sleep on the edge of the bed?”
“Were you not listening earlier? I have to protect you. How can I do that if you’re far away?”
“Then—”
“I will sleep while hugging you.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. “That’s somewhat of a problem.”
“Do you only want to hold hands?”
“Can’t we just sleep on different sides of the bed?”
“My apologies, but I can’t allow it.” He shook his head. Then, he pulled me closer, and we were both on the bed now.
I quickly wrapped the blanket around myself and lay down on my side. With a satisfied smile, he hugged me.
“You’re actually serious.”
I tried my best to struggle. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. He rested his head on top of mine and hugged me tighter. Damn it. Since we were like this, I planned to stay up all night.
Let’s see who falls asleep first.
