IBYVS 44

Chapter 44

Afterward, Cedric and I got off the gondola boat and once again tried to regain our composure.

Fortunately, contrary to my worries, the wedding concluded peacefully.

Not many guests had stayed until the end, and the evening party went off as planned.

The banquet was set up entirely with dishes I liked, but people didn’t know that.

They just ate happily and offered their congratulations.

Cedric, expressionless as ever, barely touched the tasteless food.

Later, he pretended to nibble on finger foods, tasting the tuna canapés I had made.

Time passed, and eventually, night came.

“Elia, which perfume would you like? Rose? Tulip?”

Olivia’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

She was particularly attentive today.

I was already exhausted from getting up at dawn for my bridal makeup, and now I was expected to look beautiful even while sleeping.

Ugh, stress.

“Anything is fine.”

Already weighed down with fatigue, I picked randomly with a blank expression.

Of course, the mirror reflected my naturally beautiful face, so even my tired look seemed delicate and elegant.

Olivia, however, gave me a stern look.

“You can’t just put anything on. Do you know what day it is today?”

She gripped the perfume bottle tightly and spoke earnestly.

“It’s your wedding night!”

I let out a small sigh looking at Olivia.

Ah, the wedding night! The excitement of realizing this only comes when you still have some energy left.

It felt like just yesterday when the word “bridal chamber” had made me gag, yet here I was—right before entering the room—with absolutely no thoughts in my head.

I felt like I would collapse the moment my head hit the pillow.

Cedric must have been just as exhausted.

And Olivia, we… aren’t the truly shy newlyweds you might imagine.

We are very clearly business partners.

I desperately wanted to say that but held it in.

“Then… you pick whichever you think suits me better…”

I tried to shift the choice onto someone else.

“Hmm, since it’s always been the same, maybe today we can try something a bit different?”

Olivia was relentless.

After a tiresome debate with her, I finally agreed to use ylang-ylang, which brides commonly use.

Only after Olivia had worked over me from head to toe could I rise from the vanity table.

“Haah.”

A yawn escaped naturally.

Olivia smiled softly at the sight.

“You must be exhausted. You’ve really worked hard today.”

So much had happened today, after all.

I smiled faintly at her.

“You too, Olivia. I’m always grateful.”

When the master works hard, the servant does as well.

Olivia must have spent the day worrying about me, her mind far from at ease.

Even the maids I had once scolded for badmouthing me hadn’t seemed so genuinely pleased.

Olivia, having composed her expression, said:

“Well, shall we head to the bridal chamber?”

“Ah, finally…”

The chaos and overwhelming busyness of the wedding were finally ending.

Guided by Olivia, I finally headed toward the bridal chamber.

It had been four hours since returning to the grand duke’s palace after the evening party.

…I really just want to collapse and sleep.

Even on a path where one might normally feel giddy with excitement, the only thought in my mind was exhaustion.

At the same time, Calib had finished preparing for bed.

But he couldn’t fall asleep easily.

‘Tonight, Elia and Cedric will share a bed.’

Olivia’s words echoed in his mind, but that wasn’t the real reason he couldn’t sleep.

There was only one reason:

‘…Will I have that dream again tonight?’

Lately, he had been plagued by nightmares almost every night.

The first nightmare came the day he returned from the townhouse.

He had felt restless all night, yet in the morning, he couldn’t remember the dream at all, almost as if it were a lie.

‘So I thought it was okay…’

But the nightmares slowly started resurfacing, clearly and vividly, like in reality.

Every night, the dreams repeated, letting him remember more and more details.

Recently, he could recall them completely, and they felt as real as waking life.

‘Strangely, I’m fine during the day, but at night, it’s always the same.’

So Calib became increasingly fearful of sleep.

Thankfully, the nights were getting shorter as summer approached.

Calib hadn’t told Cedric or Elia about this.

Both were busy preparing for the wedding, and he didn’t want to burden them with worry.

‘And what if I tell Elia scary stories and she starts fearing the palace too?’

What if she tried to leave the palace just like that?

“No, absolutely not!”

Calib buried himself under the blankets and shook his head vigorously.

So for nearly a month, he had been facing these nightmares alone.

“Ha, I don’t want to…”

Even curled up in bed, there was no one by his side.

He was so exhausted tonight that he might fall asleep faster than usual.

He missed Elia’s embrace from the cottage, but of course, tonight was the wedding night.

Calib had no choice but to plunge into the terrifying nightmare alone once more, wishing desperately for morning to arrive sooner.

Cedric had already drunk his fifth glass of cold water.

He was alone in the bridal chamber, having prepared for bed ahead of time.

More accurately, he was pacing the room, drinking water whenever his throat became dry.

“This is maddening.”

He knew that nothing would actually happen—it was just a symbolic cohabitation.

Since it was a contract marriage, nothing inappropriate could occur.

Knowing this well, he had removed even the alcohol usually left in the chamber.

Yet even thinking about the “bridal chamber” made his face flush uncontrollably.

And now he had to spend the entire night with Elia!

“Ha, I can’t calm down.”

Cedric ran his hands over his bare chest exposed through his loose robe, trying to steady his racing heart.

Minutes passed, and the fateful moment arrived.

“It’s me.”

Elia had reached the door.

Cedric’s shoulders stiffened instantly.

He froze in place, staring at the door, breathing heavily.

“Cedric?”

When no response came from inside, Elia called his name again.

“It’s strange. I heard you went to the bridal chamber first…”

Olivia, accompanying her, asked curiously.

Perhaps thinking someone else was there helped Cedric regain some composure.

He adjusted his robe and said:

“Yes, Elia. I’m here.”

“Ah, may I come in?”

The bridal chamber was, technically, the couple’s bedroom—so in a sense, it was also Elia’s bedroom.

Yet she asked as if entering Cedric’s private room.

That snapped him back to reality.

‘Why am I so worked up?’

The distance between Elia and me was suddenly very real.

A “bridal chamber” that didn’t feel like one.

“Yes, please come in.”

Cedric regained some composure and replied in a neutral tone.

The door opened, and Elia entered.

She wore a robe similar to Cedric’s.

“Ah…”

It looked like matching couple pajamas, giving him an odd feeling.

Elia looked very tired, yet her beauty remained undeniable.

Her long, pure hair flowed freely to her waist as she walked lightly into the room.

She emitted a fresh, delicate scent with every movement.

A faint whiff of ylang-ylang, which she had used, added a mysterious touch.

“Have you been waiting long?”

As soon as she spoke, the door closed.

Cedric thought he glimpsed Olivia’s mischievous face peeking through the gap.

He shook his head at Elia’s polite words.

“No, not at all.”

“Oh, come on. Olivia said you arrived an hour early.”

Elia giggled knowingly, having clearly figured out his little pretense.

Cedric realized she was teasing him, his face going briefly blank before he awkwardly looked away.

Elia waddled past him, muttering:

“Haah, sorry. I need to lie down for a bit.”

“Oh, yes, please do.”

Cedric quickly moved aside, lifting the blankets so she could lie down.

“You’ve worked hard today.”

Elia shrugged, as if it were nothing, and sat down on the bed.

“You must be very tired.”

“Yes, my body feels like lead, even without the heavy headpiece and dress.”

She thought to herself, It feels just like a day of intense training.

Cedric’s eyebrows furrowed as he observed the silhouette of Elia’s body, draped in silk.

‘I feel like I’ve burdened such a delicate, fragile person with a heavy load.’

Though it had all been consensual, it was still uncomfortable.

Yet looking at Elia, calm and unaffected by the prospect of sharing a bed with a man, he didn’t feel resentment or embarrassment.

He simply wished for her to have the most comfortable night possible.

“Shall we sleep, then?”

Cedric asked plainly, and Elia nodded from the edge of the bed.

“Lie down comfortably. Even if you sleep in the very center, you won’t touch me.”

Cedric joked, but it was true—the bed was large enough.

Elia’s words conveyed a firm promise: she wouldn’t touch him at all, not even a finger or a strand of hair.

He felt relieved and lay down comfortably.

“Then I’ll turn off the lights.”

“Yes, good night, Cedric.”

“You too, Elia.”

As Cedric flipped the switch on the chandelier above, a scream echoed from afar:

“Ahhhh…!”