Published: August 15, 2025
…What is this feeling?
On the third night, I tilted my head in confusion at a strange sense of discomfort.
Something about the attendants’ attitudes was different from usual.
Until now, they had come in and out of my room every day, every hour, constantly talking to me. In Ips, marriages are mainly handled by the groom’s family. There were countless things to decide: confirming the ceremony schedule, ordering small items, planning the dinner menu. They would come to my room one by one, bringing proposals, plans, estimates, and invoices in that order. With them coming and going, I never had a moment’s peace and was exhausted by dinner time.
But suddenly, I was free from all that. Dinner was served a little earlier than on the previous two days, and once I finished eating, the tea was taken away quickly with a curt "Please enjoy your rest," and they left. Before leaving the room, they exchanged glances with each other and even smirked lewdly.
So there I was, alone in my room from early evening, idly passing time.
…What should I do? I have nothing to do.
I had properly handed over the Granado trading company’s work to others, and I didn’t have any books or toys to kill time with. Bored out of my mind, I even went to the attendants’ quarters and tried inviting them for a nightcap. But those who usually held parties until late at night apparently went to bed quite early tonight. No matter how much I knocked on the door, no one answered.
…Am I… being avoided?
“…What the hell is going on…”
Their behavior bothered me, but more pressing was how to kill time tonight. I really had nothing to do. I wasn’t even sleepy yet. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, arms folded, I groaned.
…So bored. If I was going to have this much free time, I should’ve brought my work tools.
No, more than that, they could at least let me see the bride a little…
When bored, bad thoughts come easily. The grudge I once swallowed reluctantly surfaced again.
“Marie, I wonder what you’re doing right now.”
I muttered and sighed.
I heard that until the day of the ceremony, the bride will be thoroughly groomed and beautifully adorned. It sounded elegant and fun, but Marie was probably busy choosing dresses and various things. She might be exhausted and lying in bed right now. Or maybe, just like me, she was bored out of her mind—
No, if it was Marie, that wouldn’t be the case. She always carried several books in her bag. Or maybe, rather than books, she was gazing around the Old Royal Palace with keen interest?
Those warm amber eyes sparkling like a child’s… running her fingers over the room’s reliefs, sighing with a feverish breath.
Imagining such a Marie, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
Chuckling softly, words naturally slipped out.
“I want to see you…”
—Once spoken aloud, the feeling grows stronger.
I want to see her. I want to see her face. I want to hear her voice.
I want to hold her—The more I desire, the stronger the hunger becomes.
If tonight were busier with ceremony preparations—or if someone were keeping me company for a drink—I could have behaved like a "good boy."
I wonder if I could have properly followed the rule that the groom must not meet the bride until the wedding day.
But… just a little. Seeing her face shouldn’t be so bad, right?
I granted myself permission to plead.
Taking a lantern from the wall, I quietly slipped out of the room.
It was a night with a very beautiful moon.