LCWD 11

~Chapter 11~

The wedding went by quickly.

At the reception, we served fine food and champagne for the guests and spent time greeting members of each family.

Though it was called a reception, it was really just a small event. There weren’t many guests, and because Apollyon wanted to return to his territory quickly, most of the ceremony had been shortened.

Contrary to what I expected, Apollyon’s stepmother—Claire Teabridte, the one who supposedly cursed him—was very gentle in personality.

Since she had cursed him, I thought she’d be some wicked stepmother who would insult or mistreat me in public.

But instead, she was very kind and took care of me, who was awkwardly standing around by myself. She was a hundred times better than Apollyon, who was off alone in the distance.

Maybe that’s what it meant to be a villain with two faces.

On the outside, she had a graceful and noble image, hiding her dark nature behind a gentle mask. Her acting skills were honestly impressive.

I suppose expecting her to throw a tantrum in front of everyone was too simple-minded of me.

Feeling a little embarrassed for jumping to conclusions, I scratched my cheek. Still, it never hurt to be cautious.

I looked around nervously, worried that Sonod might suddenly appear—but luckily, he was nowhere to be seen.

Only then did I finally feel relieved.

After all, this was the Imperial Capital. There was no way Sonod, who didn’t even get an invitation, could sneak past all the tight security.

Now that one worry was gone, my heart felt lighter. I went around the reception, thanking the guests for their blessings.

***

The modest reception ended quickly.

Normally, noble weddings would hold a reception until sunset, then host an evening party late into the night.

But since the groom was Apollyon, most of the events were skipped.

Because most of the guests were his acquaintances, they understood the situation.

Thanks to that, we were able to wrap up the reception without any major issues.

In fact, the event ended so quickly that I felt a little sorry for the royal chefs and the orchestra we had invited.

Especially all the leftover food—it was such a waste.

I stuffed my mouth with the most luxurious dishes I had ever seen in my life, saying a silent goodbye to the feast.

I’ll never forget how you blessed my taste buds…

With silly thoughts like that, I made sure not to leave a single dessert behind.

After that, I said farewell to my family.

This wasn’t a strict society like Joseon-era Korea, but still, there was the general idea that a woman, once married, belonged to her husband’s family.

And since the two family territories were quite far apart, it would be hard to see them again for a while.

My mother remained calm while saying goodbye, but my father cried so much it looked like a dam had broken. He sniffled so much I could barely understand what he was saying.

Even Forte, who had been pretending not to cry, ended up shedding tears in the end.

Though it was less than two months, I had really grown attached to them. If I had to name the people I depended on most in this world, it would definitely be those three.

If I felt this sad after just a few months, how much more must my real family feel?

Thinking that made my nose tingle, and I turned away before I could show an ugly crying face.
I made sure to promise that I’d visit often.

Then I headed to the Teabridte estate with six of my personal attendants, including Selena and Renee.

I wasn’t sure if it was out of kindness or if Apollyon was just trying to keep his distance, but he had prepared very spacious carriages—so spacious that I got to ride one all by myself, completely comfortable.

The Teabridte estate was located in the eastern part of the empire and was enormous.

It took us two full days of travel by carriage to finally arrive at the Grand Duke’s territory.

To the east was the vast sea.

The northwest was close to the capital.

To the south, it bordered the Kingdom of Caron.

There were even a few small territories scattered around the empire that past emperors had gifted to the families.

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

“Yes, Mother.”

Claire smiled warmly and headed to the mansion in the northern part of the estate.

The Teabridte family owned so much land that they had multiple mansions spread out for easier management.

The northern mansion, where Claire lived, was the closest to the capital. It was safer than the southern parts and had the advantage of being the first to receive any new trends from the capital.

Besides that, there were two more mansions—one in the center of the estate and one on the eastern coast.

These mansions were more like castles than houses, and Apollyon spent most of his time at the eastern one, near the northern mansion.

So I had all my things sent to the eastern mansion.

When I got off the carriage, Apollyon was already there, giving instructions to the servants.

When he saw me, he flinched like he had seen a ghost.

I walked over to him.

“L-Lady, why did you come to the Pontus mansion?”

“Pontus mansion? Oh, so this eastern one is called Pontus.”

I nodded, murmuring to myself.

I remembered seeing that name in the book, but I hadn’t been sure.

I still didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded cool.

As I approached him, Apollyon began slowly stepping back.

But I didn’t care—I just smiled and kept walking toward him.

He glanced around nervously and finally opened his mouth.

“The Pontus mansion is… dangerous.”

“Why?”

“W-Well, it’s close to the sea… the wind is strong…”

“Wow, sounds refreshing.”

“…It’s also near the enemy—the Caron Kingdom.”

“Gasp! Then aren’t the people in the southern region in danger? I should protect them.”

“…”

“I’m the lady of Teabridte now.”

“…”

“And your wife.”

Hehe.

I scrunched my nose with a smile, and Apollyon took a deep breath.

“If you like the Pontus mansion that much… then I’ll move out to avoid causing you discomfort. I’ll be staying at the central mansion, Lunatia. If you need anything—”

“Oh my, are you saying you’ll leave me all alone?”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s my first time in Teabridte. Everything’s unfamiliar. I’m so scared…”

“…”

“Come to think of it, isn’t there a monster forest near here? What if monsters come out at night?”

“…”

“Or what if assassins sent by the Kingdom of Caron appear…?”

“…”

You can’t argue with that, can you? You know I’m right. You have a conscience, right?

This was revenge for that forehead kiss!

I looked at him with a worried expression, but inside, I was like a devil plotting his downfall.

Of course, I knew Apollyon wasn’t some heartless man who’d abandon his wife on the first night. I knew he was just trying to keep his distance for my sake.

He had chosen to isolate himself to avoid people’s judgment. I understood that.

But this was his home.

I wanted him to feel comfortable at least in his own house.

Just thinking about him living alone and sending all the servants away made my heart ache.

Naturally, having a new person in the house would make things more uncomfortable.

But he was the one who agreed to marry me, and that meant he shouldn’t keep running away.

More than anything, I hoped that through this marriage, he’d grow more confident and proud of who he was.

It’s not like I was going to force him to take off his mask, or that I believed in silly rumors about curses.

At the very least, I hoped he wouldn’t be the one to avoid me.

…Okay, to be honest, a little bit of it was still about that forehead kiss earlier.

I still couldn’t believe it. That was supposed to be our vow-sealing kiss?! Even kindergarteners wouldn’t kiss someone on the forehead like that.

We were married! Even if we had just met, he could’ve closed his eyes and kissed me properly just once!

Apollyon was one of my top five favorite male leads in romance novels.

And yet, instead of a sweet romance, I got a forehead kiss in front of a crowd.

I was still upset about it, so I had decided I was going to spend the night with him.

According to the book, the first night was considered extremely important in this country.

Some old-fashioned nobles even placed people in the room to monitor whether the first night was properly spent.

It was insane, but it showed just how important it was.

And if he ran away from our first night… then really…!

Feeling that same frustration bubbling up, I glared at Apollyon with burning eyes.

He looked at me, then turned his gaze away.

“…Fine.”

Finally, he sighed and turned around. I was then guided by the servants to the room I’d be staying in.

I couldn’t help but admire the inside of the Pontus mansion.

It was several times bigger and fancier than the Count’s house.

The stone building looked impressive even from the outside, and the interior was just as beautiful, with a classic antique charm.

Not too flashy, not too eerie—just the right kind of luxury.

It was so big, I’d believe it if someone said they were raising an elephant inside.

“This mansion is so big… I wonder if I’ll even bump into him while walking around.”

I joked as I walked, and suddenly, the man ahead of me stopped in his tracks.

“…Apollyon?”

And then, like a scene from a detective anime, a lightbulb went off in my head.

‘Wait a second… is that what he was planning?’

It would probably take a full day just to explore this mansion.

It was so big it even had a separate building for the servants.

If someone didn’t specifically tell you where he was, you’d never know what he was doing or where he was.

Apollyon clearly had no intention of staying in the same house as me. He had even told me earlier to stay in a different mansion.

Which meant… he had zero plans for a wedding night.

The central mansion was quite far from here—and also the largest of the three.

For someone who had just returned from the capital, to drag his tired body all the way there and then return here for our first night together?

That was basically impossible.

Once I realized that, my eyes narrowed like a triangle.

‘You little… you were planning to ditch me on our wedding night!’

I marched up to Apollyon, who stood frozen in place, and stared into his eyes.

Funny… even though we were by the sea, there wasn’t much wind.

Turns out, the wind was actually blowing fiercely inside his eyes.

Smiling sweetly, I spoke.

“So, where’s my room? Will you show me?”

“Or is it not ready yet?”

“…That’s not it…”

“Then what?”

I tilted my head innocently, pretending I didn’t understand.

“Well, if that’s the case, I guess I’ll just have to stay in your room tonight.”

“G-Guides! Show her to her room!!”

There we go. You should’ve just done that in the first place.