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However, she never imagined it would happen to her.
How common would it be for a lady who got married overnight to be thinking of divorce?
Yet, on the other hand, Iris somehow thought it made sense.
'I had a feeling it would be like that.'
Even Rahan's attitude when he looked at her right after she was kidnapped suggested it.
Because Rahan looked as though he had absolutely no desire to embrace her.
Not only that, he also seemed to find Iris incredibly bothersome.
Iris unconsciously gripped her wedding attire tightly.
* * *
Time returns to when Iris loosened her blouse at the inn in Vandel.
"Me..."
Having loosened the ties of her blouse, Iris swallowed hard. It was the first time in her life she had exposed her body like this in front of a man.
No, was it not the first? When she was very young—meaning, as an infant—she was told that the priests took turns washing her.
How many times had the priests washed me? Three hundred times? Four hundred? Then around the four hundred and first time... no, not this!
Iris's weakness was that her thoughts didn't just wander; they drifted into completely random directions.
She shook her head once and looked straight ahead. There stood a man whose ears had turned red from embarrassment, turning his head away and trying to put distance between himself and Iris.
She quickly spoke up.
"Because it seems you don't really want to embrace me."
"...Ah."
Only then did intelligence return to the young man's Red Eyes. He turned his flushed face to look at her, then shifted his gaze to the ceiling and let out a long sigh.
It was clear that the situation was not particularly welcome to him. Iris understood. Who would want to spend their wedding night while being chased like this?
Furthermore, the two of them had only met for the first time about an hour ago.
Of course, most marriages were conducted in such a manner. But whether one welcomed it was a different matter entirely.
"That is true, but in the first place..."
Iris cut the young man off.
"So, please pinch me."
"...What?"
She expected the man to be bewildered.
But in Iris's opinion, there was no better way. She blinked and explained calmly.
"My skin is delicate, so I bruise easily. I heard that after the colors of the night are exchanged, hematomas form all over the body. Auntie Laura showed me by pinching me."
Of course, she didn't really know how they were formed. Auntie Laura had exhausted her with detailed explanations of things Iris wasn't even curious about.
However, regarding the hematomas, she had simply laughed and said, 'Well, your husband will take care of that. You're so pretty. I'll show you what they look like so you won't be surprised the next day.'
It was astonishing to Iris.
Do the bride and groom pinch each other at night? Isn't it a bit odd to pinch someone because they're pretty? Do you want to pinch someone because they're pretty once you become a couple?
'Well, I'll find out later.'
Anyway, the important thing was to make it look as though she had shared a night of intimacy with this husband.
Iris spoke with determination in her eyes.
"For your information, you have to pinch me very painfully."
The man now looked utterly flabbergasted.
It was understandable. Though she didn't know him well, this man seemed to have a personality quite different from the rumors.
At the very least, the rumors of him being a libertine were completely wrong. Iris had already heard him scold a subordinate who had set her down poorly earlier.
Though he was blunt, he was a man with enough delicacy to consider the discomfort of a woman inside a sack even in such a situation.
Besides, wasn't he a knight?
In the epics and adventure stories Iris had read in the monastery library behind Abbot Wilbert's back, knights were always beings who protected the weak.
So, being asked to pinch a girl he had just met very painfully must have been truly absurd!
"Look here, miss."
It was as expected. Rahan frowned with a look of extreme awkwardness and distaste.
Iris knew that such a preamble was usually followed by a refusal. She answered solemnly.
"You have to do it even if you don't want to. We have to deceive His Imperial Majesty. I can endure it."
"Good grief."
The man let out a hollow laugh at Iris's words. Iris became a bit crestfallen.
I'm serious. I can endure it no matter how much it hurts.
Being pinched painfully a few times seemed a million times better than marrying Philod Ahen.
"I don't know what kind of education that woman called Auntie Laura gave you... but I don't think she's a very great teacher."
Iris blinked.
"Do you happen to know a better teacher?"
"...It's not that."
Rahan closed his eyes tightly and opened them again. It was an expression Iris knew well. Specifically, it was the expression the priests of Wind Rock Monastery often made whenever Iris gave a random answer.
'Did I say something strange again...?'
While Iris was momentarily lost in self-reproach, Rahan pressed his hand to his forehead and then spoke.
"You. Did you say the Empress's ladies-in-waiting have arrived?"
"Yes."
"Those people have very heavy backsides. The fact that they've come all this way means they're going to verify everything incredibly thoroughly. Do you think you can deceive the Emperor's eyes just by pinching your skin a few times?"
Iris blinked again. In other words, pinching wouldn't be enough. Then there was only one conclusion.
"Does that mean it's best for you to take me after all?"
Rahan's expression became completely speechless once again.
Iris nodded with an "um," and at the same time, began to undo the remaining ties of her clothes.
It was her way of saying it was okay.
But the man didn't seem okay at all.
"I'm going crazy. Stop it."
That was evident from the way he reached out and immediately stopped Iris's hands from undoing her blouse.
Iris stared blankly at Rahan, who was looking down at her, and blinked her eyes again. Auntie Laura had told her:
'Iris, if you want to look pretty to your husband, blink your eyes cutely. Your face is very cute, so men will simply melt if you just blink.'
However, it didn't seem to have much effect on Rahan.
Rahan held her hand tightly and didn't let go even after Iris had blinked about a hundred times.
Eventually, her eyelids feeling strained, Iris stopped blinking and asked back.
"Uh, do you perhaps think that because I'm a country girl, I lack skill and won't be any fun?"
"...Did that Auntie Laura or whoever also teach you that?"
"She didn't just teach me that; she taught me about the night's work too. Although I haven't been able to practice..."
Iris had no idea that Rahan was thinking, 'I will definitely find out who the country woman is that taught such vile things to a woman who is a candidate for Elector.'
Regardless, Rahan let out a long sigh and spoke.
"It would be better to save the opportunity to use what you've learned for later."
Later? When?
Iris tilted her head. Rahan narrowed his eyes with his arms crossed.
"I don't know what you've prepared for in this marriage or what you've learned."
"Shall I tell you?"
"Do I sound like I'm asking because I'm curious?"
Rahan glared. Iris felt a bit discouraged.
"Anyway, I don't have a hobby of snatching a first night from a woman I've just met like a robber in a situation like this."
Iris unconsciously marveled at those words.
"Wow."
"...Wow?"
Rahan raised his thick eyebrows at the ill-timed exclamation.
He was a man whose handsome features remained striking even with a slightly furrowed brow. Admiring Rahan's face, Iris continued.
"You don't seem like a libertine at all, but you're saying things that make you sound exactly like one..."
"Is that a curse?"
"It's a compliment."
The man's face distorted twofold. Regardless, the problem between the two remained unsolved.
"Um, then what should we do? What about the Empress's ladies-in-waiting?"
"...That is..."
As if troubled by Iris's question, Rahan closed his eyes tightly again. His ears were completely red.
'Is he very embarrassed?'
In fact, Iris had a secret that could break through this situation.
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