“You"ll only have the real thing now.”
Ariel gasped and nodded, then he took his hand off her chin.
Lucian"s eyes glowed with satisfaction.
“Then let"s go get married.”
The informal wedding soon ended.
The role of the witness was played by the treasurer Dalton, and Ariel and Lucian exchanged a pair of rings, which are relics of the Grand Duke.
Ariel briefly wondered why the Grand Duke did not come to his own son"s wedding, and soon remembered that her father was absent as well.
After the short wedding ceremony, Dalton resolutely pushed Lucian and Ariel into one room.
“You two have to use one room today because it"s the first day of your marriage.”
“I"ll have to get rid of the man who made that law.”
Lucian gave off a scary and displeased look, but when he was told that the marriage ceremony would be complete, even if it was nominal, he left her in his room and disappeared.
Ariel, who was left alone, sat idle and went out at Susan"s call.
Susan held a big mug at Ariel"s hands.
“Try it, it"s hot chocolate.”
"So this is a hot chocolate."
On the surface, it was just a hot, light brown liquid.
But the liquid had an immensely sweet smell.
Ariel closed her eyes tightly and took a sip of the hot chocolate.
She felt like she finally knew what ecstasy was after tasting hot chocolate for the first time in her life.
As the dark brown liquid flowed into her stomach, her whole body melted.
"I think I can drink this every day if they ask me to."
Susan knew that she had a hard time getting married, so she sprinkled marshmallows on hot chocolate.
When the night came, Susan took Ariel to the bath and changed her dress to a child"s nightgown with white lace.
“After today, your room will be all decorated.”
Susan, speaking kindly, kissed Ariel"s cheeks.
Ariel shyly stroked her cheek that got kissed.
Susan smelled like freshly baked bread and sun-dried laundry.
Susan sent Ariel back to Lucian"s room.
Ariel waited for Lucian for some time, but when he hadn"t returned for a while, she burrowed herself under the covers.
That was how close she was to falling asleep.
*step*
Lucian came through the window into the room.
"He comes in through the window when he comes to his room as well?"
Ariel thought it was amazing so she smiled slightly.
But Lucian stumbled a little, grabbed the window frame and spat out curses.
“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Hector…. I said I wouldn"t drink.”
Wrapping his hand around his temple, he stumbled and fell into the chair.
Ariel thought Lucian was sick, so she got up and ran to him.
“Lord…Are you all right?”
(t/n: she"s calling him "대공자님" (daegongjanim) which translates to Confucious (?) or Lord or Sir.)
She asked, but there was no answer.
Ariel walked a little closer to look at him.
Lucian smelled like wine.
"Alcohol?"
Ariel, who got startled started backing away.
This was more of a reflexive action.
Her father, the Marquis, becomes more violent when he getsdrunk.
She hurried back and returned to the bed.
Then she wrapped herself with the quilt, from the top of her head like a coc.o.o.n.
Drunk men are scary.
Lucian is still a boy rather than a man, but she was still scared.
(t/n: wait… I forgot he"s like, 14 )
As if to protect herself, she wrapped the quilt tightly and focused closely on Lucian.
But after a long time, he didn"t move an inch.
It looks like he had fallen asleep.
Ariel who slowly relaxed, slipped out of the quilt and crept up to Lucian.
"Oh my gosh. Who gave a 14-year-old drink?"
Come to think of it, I think I saw a very big man with Lucian earlier.
Is it him?"
Ariel, who was trying to recall the culprit"s appearance, soon got caught up by the appearance of the boy in front of her.
Words flowed out of her mouth without realizing it.
“…..pretty. “
Lucian, who fell asleep, seemed a little distressed.
But he did not seem to be like the vicious Young Lord that he is during the day, but a harmless boy who was only 14 years old.
Ariel once again thought he was very beautiful.
"…..I want to touch him."
She would never have done it if Lucian was a little awake, but now he was not even moving.
Ariel looked back and carefully looked down at him, hoping that he would not wake up.
"Can I touch him?"
In the pouring moonlight, Lucian look like an unrealistic sculpture.
Ariel poked him in the face, with her fingertips.
"It"s warm."
The boy"s cheek, which was still a little rounded, was warm.
Then she touched his sharp nose and lips.
The lips, which seemed to be red, were soft and moist.
Ariel reached out a little more boldly.
His black hair is a mess.
When she swept the boy"s hair with her small hand, a smile came out of her lips.
"Wow, it feels so good…"
Even though it"s just a contract, she still can"t believe that this handsome man in front of her is her husband.
Ariel held Lucian"s head with both hands and leaned it on the chair that he is lying in.
Being next to him while he"s asleep made her realize that they are really married.
"Well, come to think of it, his clothes might feel uncomfortable…"
Lucian was dressed in the same robes he wore at the wedding earlier.
The b.u.t.tons of his s.h.i.+rt were b.u.t.toned up to the neck, and the cape was tied tightly.
Ariel shook Lucian"s s.h.i.+rt slightly.
“Well, My Lord. I"ll just remove this…then I"ll go to sleep.”
She whispered, but the sleeping boy didn"t budge.
Ariel had no power to move Lucian, who was much taller than her.
Besides, she had a strong fear of a drunk man.
"But, since I"m his wife… I guess I should at least untie them."
Ariel carefully unb.u.t.toned Lucian"s s.h.i.+rt.
When the top two b.u.t.tons were unfastened, his fair collarbone was revealed between the open clothes.
Ariel"s cheeks flushed.
She felt ashamed of herself.
She unknotted his cape.
When she loosened some stuff that might give Lucian a hard time breathing, his expression in sleep became slightly comfortable.
Ariel search him for more things that might cause him discomfort.
"I wish you could take off your shoes, but I don"t know how to undo the buckle…
Ah, he"s wearing a sword."
Lucian had a long sword tied to his waist.
It seemed uncomfortable.
Ariel gently stretched her hand to pull out the sword.
But as soon as her small hand was about to reach it,
Lucian, who had never moved before, suddenly tossed and turned.
"Kyaaa! "
Ariel screamed internally and ran away back to the bed.
"Is he awake? Is he awake?"
She covered herself with the quilt once again and closed her eyes tightly.
"I don"t know anymore. I did my best as the Young Lord"s wife."
She thought with a quilt still round her head like a hibernating squirrel.
"I wish tomorrow would come sooner."
And then she fell asleep uncomfortably in that position.
It was already late in the morning when Lucian opened his eyes the next day.
When he got up and pulled the string, Allen, the butler, came in and prepared water to drink.
The wine Hector forced on him yesterday had long been gone, but he tilted the gla.s.s of water with an unpleasant look.
“Get Dalton.”
“Yes, young lord.”
Lucian, who is left alone once again after the butler Allen left, smiled at the loose cape strap and the unb.u.t.toned b.u.t.ton on the top of his s.h.i.+rt.
"I could see whose skill this was."
“……that little kid. “
No one in this house could touch his clothes. Even the people outside this house.
There is no need to recall the last days of humans who dared to touch his body.
"But for now, Ariel is my wife…"
A light flashed through his eyes, imagining that a little girl unb.u.t.toning his s.h.i.+rt.
*knock**knock*
Dalton, who had combed his hair neatly, knocked in.
He coughed loudly when he saw a black-haired boy with a disheveled clothes and hair.
“Dear young lord, today is the day you have to go to the academy and you decided to drink alcohol last night.”
Lucian ignored his words and asked.
“What about the kid?”
“If you"re talking about the girl, she"s gone back to sleep after eating breakfast. Young master must have made her sleep badly last night.”
“You"re already on my wife"s side?”
Lucian, who looked at him ridiculously swept his hair up.
“I have a work for you. Spread the rumors on the capital.”
“What rumors?”
Lucian loosened the cape on his shoulder and threw it into the bed.
“The rumor about Ariella. Didn"t you bring a bunch of junk out of the Marquis mansion yesterday?”
“Yes. “
“The Marquis of Lucilleon pampered his daughter, whom he had only kept inside the mansion, so much that when she got married, he sent his family heirloom and other valuable items to her by carriage.”
“That"s….”
The boy took off his top and grinned widely
“You know what my wife"s reputation is. I"m asking you to save that kid"s honor.”
Dalton asked out of spirits.
“Could it be that this was the reason the marquis were in trouble yesterday?”
“Then what do you think I brought out those garbage for?”
Due to Lucian"s intimidating aura who asked back, Dalton gave up asking more.
Even though this young Grand Duke had a severe personality problem, this s.h.i.+t probably had his own reason.
“Is that all I have to do? Oh, here"s the Academy"s papers.”
Lucian picked up his bathrobe and pointed at the desk with his jaw.
“Leave it there. I"ll take a shower and look at it.”
“Yes. Then I"ll go out.”
Just as Dalton was leaving the room, Lucian"s voice was heard.
“Ah, I"ll change your desk into marble.”
“What? “
Dalton had a puzzled look on his face for a moment.
"What"s the matter… has the young master gone crazy? "
When Lucian saw his blank face, he laughed evilly.
“The wood is not good for breaking down.”
Ariel who just woke up from her sleep took the small spoon that Susan gave her.
“You have to eat this while it"s warm, dear. It"s a freshly made milk pudding.”
“Milk? Pudding?”
The savory scent spread in her mouth when she tried a spoonful of it, while still half asleep and half awake.