Second Marriage with a Loving Enemy

Episode 16

‘Yeah, just for that reason… … .’

It’s just a little unfamiliar, so my heart is pounding and my eyes are dazzled.

“But there is a condition. Aside from the three-month mourning period I just set, there is a condition. If you listen to it and find it difficult to accept, we can discuss it together and adjust the conditions, or we can give up on the marriage altogether.”

“Go ahead.”

“First, the authority of the head of this country cannot be transferred. When we marry, I will have the authority of the emperor, and you will receive the title of Grand Duke, which was given to the husband of an empress or queen throughout the history of Lekeon.”

“I understand.”

“Second, the wedding will be held in Lekeon, and this is also the country where we will live as a married couple from now on.”

“I understood that too.”

“If children are born between us, they too must grow up in Leceon at least until they become adults.”

“All right.”

“Third, the wedding ceremony will follow the rites of Lekeon, both in place and form. However, the language of the ceremony will be both the imperial language and your native language, so before the wedding, you must teach me and everyone involved the language of your hometown.”

“Gladly.”

“And if there is anything in the wedding etiquette of Lekeon that touches on your country’s taboos, please let me know in advance. While my goal is to follow the imperial style as much as possible, I do not wish to insult your people’s culture by doing so.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Fourth and last, never divorce. Never have an affair.”

Lentia’s tone became more determined than ever. Kirta instinctively became even more nervous.

“After we get married, I will make you my only companion and keep the fidelity of a proper couple, so you should do the same.

If your heart ever grows cold later, I will not force you to sleep with me more than necessary. However, I cannot tolerate you bringing another woman into your bed just because you do not sleep with me.”

“You don’t have to worry about that at all, Your Majesty. I’m serious.”

Kirta’s tone and gaze were serious, and Lentia felt involuntarily relieved by that solemn promise.

Then, soon, a strange sense of doubt began to rise and I began to grumble inside.

‘Yes, of course, when we made our wedding vows, His Majesty the Emperor promised to look only at me for the rest of his life.’

Five years ago, on that day, when Lentia was twenty and the Emperor was twenty-three.

The look in his eyes as he faced his bride in his wedding attire was warm. The tone of his words as he promised his wife lifelong loyalty was even affectionate.

It was soon revealed that night that it was just a superficial kindness out of concern for other people’s eyes.

Later on, even the emperors who openly brought in government and ruled arbitrarily were somewhat mindful of their subjects’ feelings in the early days of their reign.

Being polite to the bride at a wedding was just an extension of that etiquette.

He had been treating his wife coldly and was verbally abusing her throughout their marriage, and when the enemy invaded, he ran away, abandoning his wife.

He didn’t even leave alone, but with his beloved mistress.

If they had really crashed to their deaths in a carriage, it would have been a fitting punishment, Lentia thought coldly.

At the same time, I felt empty and my heart started to ache.

‘Why do I have to be like this? Why do I have to feel this way when I hear the sad news that my husband may have died?’

It was refreshing but not exhilarating at the same time. It was just bittersweet that I couldn’t help but feel a little bit happy about someone’s death.

“That is all, Kirta. If you are content to be an Archduke instead of an Emperor, if you agree to marry in an Imperial manner, if you

are prepared to raise our children in this country, and if you swear never to have relations with any other woman, then I will betroth you to me.”

“I swear, Your Majesty, I will abide by every condition you have stated.”

“Then let’s hold the wedding in three months. Assuming His Majesty the Emperor does not return alive in the meantime.”

Lentia concluded neatly. It was the attitude of a businessman or politician arranging the terms of a contract, not of two young men and women discussing a sweet future together.

Kirta was not hurt.

From the moment he came to a foreign land as an invading force and proposed to the empress he had only met a couple of times, he knew that it was all just a strategy.

However, it was true that I felt uneasy seeing the empress who seemed to have no emotions at all.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt a mischievous desire to shake her icy composure.

“But I have a question, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Yes, please ask lord Kirta.”

“Are there any guidelines regarding co-sleeping? Other than the obvious requirement that we shouldn’t sleep with anyone other than each other?”

Kirta asked in a seductive low voice, his eyes smiling.

As he pretended not to know and took a half step forward, the gap between them narrowed, taking Lentia’s breath away.

“You said that on the premise that we would have a child. Of course, there would be a process that goes along with having a child… … . You didn’t say much about that process.”

He whispered earnestly.

Realizing that he was teasing her, Lentia let out the breath she had been holding and glared at him, but she couldn’t stop the heat slowly rising in her lower abdomen.

“Because there is nothing else to add. Do you really need to set conditions for that part? It’s something that will happen on its own without you having to go that far.”

Lentia took a half step back and resolutely responded.

Her expression was as cold and solid as an ice wall, but underneath it all was something else.

My heart was pounding fast, my throat was parched, and the area between my legs was starting to itch more and more.

That enchanting smile and seductive whisper consumed her as if they were an aphrodisiac.

Soon, it felt like hot water would flow down my taut thighs.

“Well, if the marriage is based on a contract, wouldn’t it be cleaner to decide on every little detail in advance? I think it would be more comfortable for both parties.”

“I don’t know what you want. Do you want me to set a certain number of times we sleep together each month?”

“Well, that might be useful, but that’s not what I had in mind.”

Kirta continued to smile. As he took another step closer, Lentia’s earlier step back lost its meaning.

The more Lentia proudly raised her chin with a frozen face, the more he whispered persistently, as if he loved her stiff coolness, as if he was seeking more thrilling stimulation.

“For example, how many times per night would you allow it?”

When he whispered obscene words with a mischievous face, Lentia blushed brightly.

It was shameful to react to such low-level teasing, but there was nothing I could do about the changes in my body.

“And which position do you prefer the most?”

The handsome young man, who was a nomad warrior, had a face like a holy angel and whispered worldly obscenities more than anyone else.

Actually, if you listen to it dryly, it’s not that bad, but it was impossible to listen to it dryly.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you told me those things in advance so that I could prepare from now on? Preparations to properly fulfill my duties as a husband. I want to know how I can best satisfy you, my wife.”

“…To satisfy? Is that all a husband’s duty towards their wife in your hometown?”

“‘Just’, Your Majesty. In my homeland, wives are great warriors

who bear and raise children and protect their families. It is only natural that husbands feel indebted to them for such great responsibility. Husbands who cannot share the pain of pregnancy and childbirth have no choice but to provide their wives with pleasure every night.”

“What is that… … . Isn’t that an insulting remark to the men of your own country? The only way a husband can help his wife is by giving her pleasure. As far as I know, hunting and fighting among nomads are all the men’s job, so I think the husbands have done their share sufficiently.”

“I’m not talking about social roles, but only about the marital relationship. Men are in charge of hunting and fighting, and women are in charge of protecting their homeland, so each has fulfilled their social roles. However, in a marital relationship, isn’t the responsibility for pregnancy and childbirth solely borne by the woman? We men are physically incapable of carrying life. So at least we are responsible for providing pleasure.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to serve only your spouse’s pleasure.”

“I think you misunderstood something. It’s not a one-sided service just for the pleasure of your spouse. It makes you happy as well as your partner.”

Kirta smiled. The gap between them was now narrower than before.

Just enough to squeeze a fingertip between their lips. Just enough to clearly see the border between their pupils and irises.

“And Your Majesty, I have heard that in the Empire, it is considered a natural duty for a wife to strive for her husband’s pleasure. Isn’t that even more strange? In a marital relationship, the wife already has the important task of carrying a child for nine months and finally giving birth, and on top of that, she is also responsible for the pleasure of sleeping together. It seems like a heavy burden for one person in a couple to bear all of it.”

Lentia tried to refute, but then closed her mouth. She was afraid that if she opened her lips hastily, she would inhale Kirta’s breath, who was now too close to her.

Above all, there was no counterargument that immediately came to her mind. In fact, there was no intention to even attempt to do so.

Who and why should I be here to defend? Why should I always be the one to protect, make excuses, and understand?

‘You are like a stone at night, so I cannot have a successor. Have you forgotten that your greatest duty is to produce an heir?’

A man who always pressured me to have children, but was not at all considerate in bed.

If only he had given me some pregnancy-friendly medicine and hurled harsh words at me, I would have felt less resentful. Wouldn’t it have been less painful?