âDonât say nonsense, put this one on. And bring my pajamas.â
âNo way, are you going to sleep in that old gray pajama? Itâs your first night!â
ââŚ..Itâs comfortable. Itâs warm.â
Artizea hesitated for a moment.
The pajamas she had been wearing were years old.
As she grew tall, the sleeves and pants got shorter, so she sewed fabric to it. Besides, she wore it for so long that it got fluffy.
Still, it was 100 times better than this pink pajamas.
âDonât say nonsense! And I donât even want to give it to you.â
âWhy?â
âWho brings such pajamas on their honeymoon? What would the people of the Evron Grand Duchy think when they see the new mistress wearing such pajamas?â
âSophie.â
âI canât even put it out in the laundry room. At first, even in the marquisate, do you know how hard it was because everyone felt sorry for the kind of clothes my lady wears?â
She felt a sudden pain in her bone.
Okay. Letâs say so. She knew it was necessary to make new indoor clothes and pajamas.
So, she has left Emily and Sophie to get everything they needed.
But she never thought they would bring something like this.
âBring something else. Couldnât you have an indoor dress or a gown?â
âI have already loaded all the clothes chests on the ship. I left only clothes for tomorrow morning and this.â
It was a dilemma.
âDonât worry. Me and Madam Emily worked so hard to make you look the best and pretty.â
Sophie smiled wide.
âObviously, the master will also fall in love with you.â
Artizea felt dizzy.
Desperately, she regretted that she had left Sophie to do it. Even if she had to spare her busy time, she should have checked.
She should have seen Sophie pack up.
âCome on.â
Sophie shook her arm and the pajamas.
***
Eventually Artizea lost.
It was because she didnât want to make a fuss of unloading her clothes from the ship near midnight or bringing other clothes from the capitalâs mansion.
Soft pajamas wrapped around her legs, making Artizea feel strange.
Even more to wear this pajama and enter the honeymoon room.
The room was neatly decorated so that it was neither excessive nor insufficient.
It was well ventilated and a scented candle was burning, giving it a soft scent. There was a soft, yellow curtain on the window.
And there was an oversized bed. Of course.
Artizea had never thought seriously about her honeymoon room until this moment.
No matter what you say out there, with or without a ceremony, this marriage is not a real marriage.
She also trusted Cedric. He is a man who knows what kindness is.
Therefore, she didnât even worry about the problem of going to the honeymoon room.
Even Artizea stepped forward and said she would use the same cabin on the ship with Grand Duke Evron.
Shouldnât it be that way? In other words, if a newlywed couple who is married in a love-marriage uses a different room on their honeymoon, what would the people outside think of them?
In other words, she only considered external issues.
It wasnât until after entering the room that Sophie, who smiled, and Alice who cheered for her pajamas, saying that it was too pretty, did Artizea realize an internal problem.
âWear this on, lie down there and sleep together?â
As she decided to do that, it sounded crazy. She couldnât sleep.
Artizea knew why Cedric had such a strange face when she told him to share the cabin.
âHoo.â
Artizea looked around in her room.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldnât think of a way out.
She had no idea what rumor would spread if the bride left her room on the first night and slept elsewhere.
Everyone in this mansion would have had their mouths full.
Instead, it will bring unwanted worries and concern to the people. It was obvious to see that it would become more problematic.
It is also a futile idea. It was unlikely that Cedric would care about how she was dressed.
âIf you wear rags, he may be sorry.â
Still, Artizea pulled the blanket out of the bed. Then she curled up on the sofa and covered herself with the blanket.
She was very tired, so Artizea quickly started to doze off.
Even in her dreams, she was nervous. As a result, Artizea was surprised by the sound of the door opening and she jumped up.
As Cedric came in, he said cautiously.
âIâm sorry for being late. Isnât it past midnight right now? I couldnât get outâŚ..â
Cedric looked at Artizea instead of apologizing.
And he stopped without repeating all his words. Cedricâs nape and ears turned red.
Artizea didnât know why he looked that way at first. Then she realized that she had dropped the blanket, and she quickly picked it up.
She made up her mind that it was just a little thin, and it was nothing. There is no exposure, nothing to be ashamed of.
But that decision was of no use. She felt embarrassed to death.
âWell, well, because Sophie doesnât know anything. It looks like she made something called a brideâs pajamas. Is it weird? I tried to find other clothes, but they said the clothes were on the ship, and I couldnât get them out during the nightâŚâŚâ
Artizea fired up excuses like rapid fire.
Cedric shook his hand not to do so. Then he stroked his face once with his palm.
âItâs not strange. I think itâs cute.â
This time, Artizea turned red. On the other hand, her mind went blank.
Cedric hesitated, then he approached Artizea.
âThis, this is Madame EmilyâsâŚâ
Her mouth was going to make more excuses, but Cedricâs outstretched hand slightly touched Artizeaâs scattered hair.
Artizea was surprised and hugged the blanket like a shield and sat down on the sofa.
âThe bed is for Lord Cedric. Iâll sleep on the sofa.â
âTia.â
There was a moment of silence. Cedric breathed a little.
He went to bed and sat down. Then he swept his face down once with his palm.
âIâm sorry to have surprised you.â
âOh, no.â
Artizea replied with a slight trembling voice. She couldnât figure out what was going to happen a while ago.
âIf you are uncomfortable using the same bed, I will sleep on the sofa.â
âNo. I canât give up the blanket. Iâll give up the bed instead.â
âUse both the blanket and the bed. Itâs not cold, so I donât need a blanket.â
âI canât do that. How can I put the master on the sofa and sleep comfortably in bed?â
âButâŚ..â
âIâm a lot smaller. Lord Cedric, I donât think you can fold your legs in half to fit in the sofa.
âTia.â
Cedric called her. Artizea spoke first before he could speak again.
âCan you turn off the light?â
â⌠Sure. If youâre comfortable with it, Iâll do it.â
Artizea was relieved inside.
Soon the bedroom got dark. Cedricâs shadow lay on the bed.
Artizea was finally relieved from the fire up her neck and closed her eyes.
But she did not think sheâll fall asleep. Until a while ago, she was so tired that she fell asleep in no time.
Artizea realized that she was counting both her exhalation and inhalation.
And Cedric also noticed that he sighed occasionally and made irregular breathing sounds.
She had to do a post evaluation of todayâs wedding. Originally, before going to bed, she was going to check the results with Cedric and refine their future plans.
But she couldnât. All she can see is a shadow, but why is she so nervous?
After a while, Cedric jumped up and sat down.
âI canât.â
âYes?â
âWe have to use the same room for a while anyway. Wouldnât it be better to get used to it? We canât sleep like this in the cabin.â
Before Artizea replied, he came over.
He then stretched out his arms and held Artizea over the blanket.
âAh! â
Artizea struggled in surprise.
Cedric effortlessly took her to the bed and laid her down.
âI didnât see it.â
Artizea couldnât understand for a moment what that meant.
She belatedly found out that it meant that she was wearing a duvet and he didnât see her body.
âDonât worry. I wonât do anything.â
âIâm not worried about that.â
Her words were sincere, but her voice trembled because of her shortness of breath.
Cedric came into the blanket. The temperature inside the blanket has risen.
Artizea recognizes the swaying of the bed, and she turns her back to him and lays her back on the bed.
The bed was large so they could sleep without sufficient contact.
But Cedricâs hand gently hugged her from behind.
âGet used to it. I will too.â
âYes.â
Artizea shuddered because his lowly voice seemed to dig into her mind.
As her cold limbs warmed to Cedricâs body temperature, it tickled her. Artizea couldnât move and held her breath.
There was silence again.
This time Artizea started counting her heartbeat, not her breath.
The sound of Cedricâs heartbeat reaching her ears was far stronger than her own.
It wasnât until she focused on her regular beats that she fell asleep.
Perhaps because of her long tense time, as her body relaxed, Artizea was quickly dragged to the borders of her dreams.
âTia, are you asleep?â
Her answer didnât come back.
Cedric gently raised his head and looked at Artizeaâs face.
There was a murmur of breathing sound. The color of her lips, which had been pale all day long as her body warmed, turned pink.
Cedric carefully touched his lips to her temples.
âI thought my heart was going to sink.â
He knew Artizea didnât see him as a man. Still, when he opened the door and saw her for the first time, he thought about her.
Because she was so lovely.
âYou should stop thinking about it.â
Sheâs trusting him to the point that she falls asleep so defenselessly.
He always wanted to hug her.
She was as thin and delicate as he had thought, like she could break and disappear.
Her body temperature was warm. Cedric decided to be happy that he could keep her hands and feet warm.
After chasing a mirage for a long time, he saw the illusion of holding her in his arms. When he woke up from his dream, he was afraid that it would all crumble in blood.
Cedric sighed and lightly gripped Artizeaâs left wrist. Even though it was time to go to bed, she was still wearing her diamond bracelet.