Chapter 21 Part 3: The Wedding, and Elchen

A man and a woman, their passions newly ignited.

Their kiss continued almost until dawn.

At some point, the two lay on the bed in the room, naturally facing each other and exploring one another.

“..Stop.”

Sometimes, as if coming to her senses, Rosa would utter that one word.

Of course, Caron didn’t stop. Again, their breaths began to mingle.

“Ah.. ngh..”

Rosa’s face became hazy again. A fevered breath was trapped in her mouth.

Caron stroked Rosa’s cheek with his hand, as if to soothe her. The long, thin thread of saliva stretched between their momentarily parted lips.

Rosa was making a disheveled expression that Caron had never seen before.

Her flushed cheeks. Her lips, exhaling hot breaths.

Even her slightly wet eyelashes and her pitifully trembling eyes.

Those beautiful ruby-like red eyes reflected only Caron’s image.

Caron didn’t say anything else.

No, he couldn’t.

Because Rosa wrapped her slender arms around his neck.

And as if she wanted it herself, she pitifully and clumsily gasped for breath.

“..Mmh.”

Caron gladly indulged in her shallow breaths and pink lips.

Rosa was definitely a first-timer. She felt pure, as if completely untainted.

Because of her clumsy tongue movements, Caron had to hold on to his fading reason.

But her thin evening dress was slightly undone.

Rosa’s small, round shoulders and her white undergarments were visible.

Until then, the posture of the two, who had been lying side by side, changed.

Breathing heavily, Caron got on top of Rosa.

With his hands on either side of her shoulders, he looked down at her from above.

Then, he left his kisses like imprints on her exposed skin.

He lightly bit and sucked.

On Rosa’s shoulder, her slender neck, and just above her chest.

As if a beast marking its territory.

“Haat..”

Rosa didn’t resist him.

Rather, as if feeling something she couldn’t understand herself, she unconsciously hugged Caron’s head tightly.

Thump-

If he hadn’t thought about the end, even for a moment, he wouldn’t have been a man.

‘But not yet..’

This was just the right amount.

Eventually, after some more kissing, Rosa fell asleep, exhausted.

Her silver hair scattered on the bed. Her neatly folded eyelashes.

Her lips, swollen from him licking them all night.

Finally, the soft, shallow breathing.

All of those things felt unfamiliar and precious at the same time.

Caron couldn’t sleep and gazed at Rosa’s form.

And after some time had passed.

The reddish dawn began to break.

‘Time to go.’

Caron got up, putting on his outer garment that had fallen under the bed.

He went out to the terrace and looked at the rocking chair in the middle of the garden.

The sweet taste of wine. That was what his kiss, which started there, tasted like.

Of course, as the kiss continued, Rosa’s unique scent was added.

Like the scent of peaches, it felt refreshing.

He almost made a big mistake.

In fact, the only reason he stopped at just exploring her lips was because of Caron’s superhuman patience.

Rosa seemed to have felt it too.

Her eyes held a desire she didn’t even know herself.

‘But..’

He didn’t want to take Rosa that way. Using the influence of alcohol.

From the beginning, Caron knew very well that she wasn’t ready yet.

Rosa avoided men and tended not to see herself as a woman.

He didn’t know the exact reason, but it had been like that since he first met her.

‘Maybe that’s why she tried to avoid marriage.’

Caron could wait.

Of course, Rosa was so alluring to him that the process might not be very smooth.

He now knew. How to handle her.

In the cold northern part of Elchen, there was a white furred animal called a Brurba, which resembled a rabbit. It had a gentle personality, but it was very wary and moved quickly.

It was small and cute, so it was quite popular as a pet, and hunters who targeted Brurbas would even leave food near their habitat for weeks.

Of course, the Brurbas wouldn’t even look at it, so a long wait was required.

At some point, the Brurba would approach the hunter out of curiosity.

Eventually, it would gradually let its guard down in the face of an irresistible trap.

Caron’s mindset was similar.

‘I have to gradually dye her. So that she can’t escape.’

He re-entered the room and quietly stared at Rosa, who was asleep on the bed.

Just adding one person made this usually desolate room look different.

Just today, or maybe yesterday.

His gray world was dyed in vibrant colors.

‘So..’

Caron approached the bed again.

And with one hand, he lifted Rosa’s fine silver hair. He carefully kissed the end of it.

“..I love you. Rosa.”

Words that she, asleep, could never hear.

Caron left the room with a satisfied smile.

For now, this was enough.

A long time after that.

“Mmh..”

Rosa woke up with a dazed look.

Her whole body was wrapped in a soft, fluffy sensation.

A languid and refreshing feeling pleasantly enveloped her body.

“Hmm..”

Rosa looked around.

The neatly arranged room came into her view.

The white curtains fluttering, and the classic round table and splendid bathtub were unfamiliar.

“Haaa-“

After stretching like that.

Suddenly, Rosa’s face turned red.

Yes.

Because she remembered last night.

She was dumbfounded, unable to believe it herself.

‘I.. with a man..?’

And with Caron.

Rosa’s mind literally froze.

She unconsciously reached for her lips with her slender fingers.

And she had to admit.

That all the memories were real.

She felt so embarrassed that she wondered if this was a dream.

Rosa pinched her own cheek for no reason.

“Ow-“

It hurt like hell. So, she really did it.

“Caron..?”

Rosa carefully called out to him, but there was no answer from around her.

She felt relieved.

“..What on earth.”

Rosa mumbled, then sighed and ran her hands over her face.

‘What on earth have I done.’

The kiss that felt like lovers. The feeling of their tongues intertwining.

Suddenly looking down, Rosa gasped.

Above her chest, just up to the precarious part, there were quite clear marks remaining.

‘Crazy.. This is an optical illusion.’

By this point, it felt so unrealistic that Rosa got up from the large, white bed.

“Caron. Where are you..?”

As she moved to find him, she secretly hoped he wasn’t there.

Fortunately, Caron was nowhere to be found.

Since he wasn’t on the terrace or in the garden, he must have already gone somewhere.

“Haa-“

Rosa felt a sense of relief.

Then, she suddenly didn’t know why she should be relieved.

She slowly recalled last night’s memories.

‘First..’

The first thing Caron had said.

Fortunately, it remained clearly in her memory.

[We need to practice.]

Of course, he meant kissing.

[You don’t care. And neither do I. Then there’s no problem if we practice with each other.]

She had nodded at those words.

‘Why..?’

She didn’t understand it now.

Maybe it was because of her pride.

If she shook her head there, it would be like admitting that she cared.

‘He.. spoke so cleverly.’

She didn’t know his intentions, but she had literally been caught by Caron.

Rosa thought about Caron’s expression at the time.

From what she could recall, he seemed to have taken it really seriously.

“But why..”

Did he have to practice that with her.

He was cold and blunt.

But sometimes he could be quite shameless.

Caron’s personality was inherently unpredictable, so who knows.

Maybe she had scratched his pride.

[I don’t feel anything.]

“..I shouldn’t have said that..”

The assessment she gave of his kiss could definitely have scratched a man’s pride.

Embarrassingly, she understood this because she had memories of being a man at one time.

So, considering his personality and the flow of the conversation at the time, it was possible that Caron really wanted to ‘practice’ with her.

‘Or maybe he was just being spiteful.’

In fact, those were the only two reasons Rosa could think of.

Honestly, she knew herself that those reasons didn’t quite make sense.

‘But..’

Then why did Caron do that, if not for those ambiguous reasons, what other reason could there be.

Rosa couldn’t even guess.

There was only one. If she made one assumption, all the questions about this situation would be neatly resolved.

‘Caron likes me.’

But when she reached that point, Rosa burst into a chuckle.

‘No.. there’s no way.’

They were truly like family to each other.

But they didn’t stick together every day and were separated by some distance. So, maybe that made their feelings a bit stronger.

Just that.

They had played together since they were young, and they had never thought of each other as the opposite s*x.

From the beginning, Rosa thought of Caron as someone like her younger brother. Or her only friend.

‘Caron probably..’

Felt the same way about her.

The strongest evidence of that was the fact that he was the male lead of the original work.

In the original work, he never looked at other women.

And he only realized true romantic love when he met the female lead, Freya.

The main plot was still going as planned, even though the details of the original work had changed a little.

Naturally, the relationship between the two main characters would remain the same.

Their romance.

That was the essence of this world and this novel.

‘Freya Ruslanche.’

That was the female lead’s name.

Come to think of it, there was one thing that came to mind.

‘Maybe.. the two have already met.’

Just as Rosa thought that.

Knock knock-

Someone knocked on the door of the room she was in.

It was filled with all sorts of luxury items.

The spacious room was almost golden.

A soft carpet was laid out in a circle.

It was made from the fur of the cashmere, called the jewel of the plateau.

On the walls were sculpted candles and their holders, and prints by famous painters were hung like decorations.

In the splendid room, the Empress opened her mouth.

“Are you sure about that?”

The Empress’s handmaiden, Countess Belfold, bowed her head respectfully.

“Yes. I confirmed it with my own two eyes.”

In fact, it was something that had already been foreseen.

The two had definitely spent their first night together.

Early in the morning, a subordinate of the Second Prince had come to collect the bedsheets. Moreover, there were clear marks of intimacy left on the bride’s body.

Her handmaiden had confirmed it herself.

‘Then there’s no doubt.’

The Empress sighed in relief inwardly.

When was it.

That she began to be wary of the Second Prince.

It was actually from the beginning.

‘He was born.. after all.’

In fact, there was a reason why the Emperor had only two princes despite playing around with so many women.

Empress Savina regretted not being a little more proactive.

‘If only I had gotten rid of that mother and him earlier, it wouldn’t have come to this.’

Anyway, the Emperor was still in good health.

It would be better to watch for now.

So.

The Empress hoped that the pawn named Rosa Anencia would play her part well.

She could be a sufficient shackle for the Second Prince. A man, or a powerful person, who fell in love with a woman not befitting his status, gained the most vulnerable weakness.

One way or another.

Meanwhile.

A group was just finishing preparations to leave the Imperial Palace.

Several carriages stood in a row.

Knights in black armor stood in formation as if escorting them.

At the rear of the formation.

Count Anencia was standing.

Caron, who had been talking with him until then, left as if to give them space when he saw Rosa.

“Then.”

The Count seemed pleased with his respectful attitude.

“..Father.”

But when he saw his daughter approaching, he couldn’t hide his sad expression.

“Yes. Did you rest well?”

It was a rather mischievous question.

“Ye, yes.”

Rosa answered, flustered.

“It’s the Imperial Palace. The bed is quite comfortable.”

Seeing his daughter’s flushed face, the Count burst into laughter.

“Yes. But if you’re tired, you can sleep in the carriage.”

Caron was now the governor of Elchen.

Naturally, as his wife, Rosa had to go there with him.

Having been informed of this in advance, Count Anencia had prepared two carriages when he came to the capital.

Of course, one of those carriages was for the bride’s dowry.

“Miss Mary.. unfortunately, couldn’t come along.”

At the Count’s words. Rosa had also heard.

Mary’s mother, Viscountess Belmang, was in a very critical condition.

“Thanks to that, after the wedding yesterday, she left for her estate immediately.”

It was sad.

Naturally, such a feeling was inevitable.

Mary was her personal maid who had been with her since childhood.

A young lady from the Belmang Viscount family, she was a very lively and cheerful companion.

‘And I thought we would go to Elchen together.’

Seeing Rosa’s deeply saddened expression, the Count spoke words of comfort.

“Rosa. Don’t worry too much. His Highness will assign you a new, capable personal maid.”

Shouts that the preparations were complete could be heard from here and there.

Silently looking at each other, the two shared their last conversation.

“Daughter. I will miss you.”

“Me too. Come visit Elchen sometime.”

The Count smiled faintly and waved his hand, seeing his daughter off.

And watching the departing procession, he secretly wiped the tears from his eyes.

And so, Rosa headed for Elchen.

The inside of the carriage was more comfortable than expected.

Except for one thing.

“Why. Do you have something to say?”

Caron’s expression was as usual.

Rosa wanted to hit him.