Chapter 8. Until Our Wedding
The servants exited her room.
If it were up to her, Razel desperately wanted to cling to them and beg them not to leave.
‘S-Surely one or two could stay…’
Once the door closed, Kylo strode toward Razel. She flinched and looked up at him.
Approaching so silently that his large frame gave no hint of presence, he moved behind her as if it were second nature and reached out.
Realizing his intent, Razel spoke urgently.
“W-Wait a moment. I can handle this much myself…”
But Kylo didn’t stop; instead, he swiftly pulled the loosened ribbon at her back.
Suddenly, the front of her bodice tightened sharply, straightening her waist. Her breath caught, and a pained gasp escaped involuntarily.
“Ah…!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know you’re not flexible?”
A faint sneer laced his cold voice. Razel’s gaze met the man’s through the mirror in front of her.
Catching sight of her, Kylo’s stoic lips curved into a subtle arc as he leaned down.
His body, dressed for going out, drew near, and his cold cheek—scented with winter’s chill—brushed against her ear.
The icy touch against her skin made Razel shudder briefly. Kylo observed every subtle reaction closely through the mirror.
“You seem to have fared well during the week I was away. Your expression looks better than before.”
One of his hands rose slowly, cupping her cheek and chin. With her face held, Razel had no choice but to meet Kylo’s gaze in the mirror.
His eyes, staring intently at her, seemed to urge a response.
Razel forced her trembling lips to part. But unsure of what answer he wanted, she struggled with confusion and fear for a moment.
“I just… got by. Not well, not poorly… just that level.”
“Just got by, you say. It makes me feel slighted that my efforts warrant only that impression.”
Each time his lowered voice grazed her ear, a chill washed over Razel.
“Efforts meaning…”
“A single gold coin.”
“What?”
“Just as you bestowed upon me, I bestowed upon you.”
“…”
One of his hands, which had been pulling the dress ribbon, slowly released the string and traced her pale, delicate back with his fingertips.
Feeling the dress loosen more than before, Razel’s body stiffened.
Her eyes wavered at his calm yet indifferent words that continued. At the same time, her heart grew heavy.
“S-Sor…”
Razel tried to voice an apology, but as if unwilling to hear it, he trailed his fingertip down her spine.
His hand, still cold from just returning from outside, raised goosebumps. A whimper escaped, and Razel clamped her mouth shut.
Only then did Kylo withdraw his hand from her skin and grasp the ribbon again.
“Do you think what I want from you is an apology?”
“If not that… if it’s something more…”
“I want more from you.”
Razel was about to ask what that was.
But disrupting her plan, Kylo spoke first in a firm tone.
“You’ll have to figure out what that is.”
The hand cupping her face released, sliding down to encircle her slender waist.
His cheek, warmed to lukewarm by her body heat, pulled away.
Kylo’s gaze left the mirror and settled on her back. With one hand, he skillfully pulled and knotted Razel’s dress ribbon.
As if the daily routine from before she had discarded him was still ingrained in his body.
Razel mulled over the words he had left behind.
‘…I don’t know. What on earth does Kylo want from me?’
The unpredictability of his actions made Razel afraid of him.
But since her actions had ruined his life, she would have to embrace his resentment and hatred whenever it came. Whether he plunged a knife into her or trampled her heart.
‘…I have to figure out what Kylo wants. That’s why I survived, after all.’
To know what he desired, she might first need to get accustomed to him, who had returned so changed in many ways.
Razel parted her tightly pressed lips, trembling slightly as she spoke.
“…I heard you went to the capital. What kept you away for a whole week?”
The blue gaze on her back shifted back to the mirror.
“To get permission for our marriage.”
“While we’re on the subject, I want to ask. When do you plan for our wedding… to be?”
It would take months just to prepare, so she thought it would be quite a while.
“Next week.”
“…What?”
“Next week.”
Kylo repeated in a nonchalant voice. Razel’s mouth fell open limply.
For a moment, her mind went blank.
Not next month, not the month after… next week?
In disbelief, Razel couldn’t hold back and turned to look at him. His hand, which had been around her waist, naturally came to rest on her back.
“Next week? But the day after tomorrow is already next week…”
“Don’t like it?”
His head tilted obliquely as he asked casually.
With his gaze plummeting straight onto her face, Razel realized a beat too late—oh no. By turning around while he held her, their distance had become mere inches.
Worried he might send a chilling glare, but unexpectedly, he faintly lifted his lips and stared at her.
Feeling a tightness in her chest, Razel hurried to reply.
“It’s not that I dislike the day… it’s just that preparations might be insufficient.”
“Preparations are sufficient.”
Kylo’s low voice returned.
“You might not know, but… I’ve been preparing for this day for a long time.”
“…”
“Until our wedding, you have nothing to prepare. Just come with your body intact, so take good care of it.”
With that, as if his business was done, he tied a firm knot in Razel’s dress and stepped back. Then he left her room.
“Haa…”
Once Kylo was gone, Razel finally felt like she could breathe.
Her skin, which had cooled to lukewarm where his cold cheek had touched, quickly warmed again. Looking in the mirror, she saw her flushed face.
All because she had been in close contact with Kylo.
Belatedly, dismay and embarrassment flooded her.
Could it be that on that night in the tent, when they kissed and she slept in his arms, her face had been like this too?
How amusing it must be for Kylo to know she still flushed so easily at his touch.
And how contemptible?
The fact that the woman who had taken him at will, hurled abuse, and ultimately discarded him still blushed at his contact.
No matter how she thought about it, it was the worst.
‘I need to get a grip…’
Conscious of the ribbon he had tied just right, Razel smoothed her dress once.
Even if the hatred I held toward him has burned into another emotion, I can’t assume his hatred has changed too.
Especially since I was the one who abandoned him.
* * *
The wedding Kylo had announced was truly right around the corner.
Just a few days of closing and opening her eyes, and the day arrived that quickly.
“Goodness, miss! You’re so beautiful!”
“Truly. How can someone have such a pure, snow-like impression!”
“It’s not that much… thank you.”
The maids fussed over Razel, dressed in a white gown symbolizing purity.
Razel, unable to handle the compliments, acted shyly.
“It’s no wonder His Grace is taken with you. You’re so lovely! He’ll fall for you all over again today!”
But when one maid, helping adorn her, said that, Razel froze stiff.
Embarrassed, she moved her lips, tinted with lively color.
“T-Taken with me… It’s not like that.”
“Oh, come on. Who would declare marriage to someone they’re not taken with!”
Unaware of Razel’s feelings, the giggling maids hopped about, adding to their words.
“Even years ago, when he was granted the Windmore territory, he told us he had someone in mind for marriage.”
“Lately, whenever he has a moment, he calls the steward to ask after the miss’s well-being.”
“Yes, yes! And when you two are together sometimes—oh, the way His Grace gazes at you so intently.”
The maids chattered on without giving Razel a chance to interject. She simply listened in stunned silence.
Suddenly, she recalled the words Kylo had murmured softly.
“You might not know, but… I’ve been preparing for this day for a long time.”
Razel, who had been lost in thought for a moment, soon let out a scoff. As if knowing it wasn’t true.
The two’s wedding began in the small chapel attached to Windmore Castle.
It was a modest ceremony, with only a few castle servants as guests.
The officiant’s words flowed quickly, and it was time for the couple to share their vow-sealing kiss. Razel tensed and closed her eyes in advance.
To avoid confirming what kind of look Kylo was giving her.
The maids’ stories came to mind unnecessarily, but blocking disappointment by not checking expectations seemed the better choice.
Soon, a soft warmth overlapped her lips. She felt hands gently cupping her cheeks.
At that moment, the chapel bell rang, and from the sky, warm snow began to fall as if by miracle.
On that day blessed even by the heavens, amid applause, the two finally became husband and wife.
* * *
“Your Grace, which perfume would you like applied?”
“What about the clothes?”
Returning from the wedding, Razel once again received the bustling attention of the servants.
“…This one? Ah, that seems too burdensome. That one’s scent is a bit…”
Razel’s mind scattered as she hurriedly gave opinions on the myriad items thrust before her.
“What? Burdensome? But this is the least you deserve!”
“Yes, Your Grace. If not now, when else would you wear something like this!”
At that, the maids stubbornly insisted on the nightgown Razel had just rejected.
Meaning, a garment so sheer that the silhouette showed through, and scandalously low-cut… an embarrassingly revealing outfit.
Receiving recommendations left and right with a troubled face, Razel ended up wearing that shameful attire after all.
This was a disaster.
She had been so preoccupied with the wedding all day that…
‘I completely forgot about the wedding night…!’
