My bride, fresh from the bath, stood right in front of me.
What do I do?
Invite her to bed naturally → If I could do that, I wouldn’t have been desperately escaping reality all this time.
Chat casually and stall → A guy like me who’s never had a girlfriend in his life? The bar is way too high.
Naturally… I’m out of ideas already. That was fast!
She stared at me with that unreadable expression, and I stared back at her.
My thoughts are messed up. Totally frozen.
If this keeps up, nothing will happen. Conversation. I need conversation.
「Good work out there. Tired?」
「Yes」
「…Something about using summoning magic to get back」
「Yes」
「…What kind of things can you summon?」
「Giant eagle」
「…」
My conversation skills have completely dried up.
There’s no way to expand this at all!
Is she mad after all? Mad about the kiss? Her eyes look a little sharper, don’t they? Or is it my imagination?
Unable to keep talking, I just observed her. That’s when I noticed her hair was still wet.
Her usual antenna-like ahoge wasn’t sticking up.
It’s probably plastered to her head? More importantly, if she sleeps like this, the bedsheets will get soaked, right?
「Ah… anyone there?」
「Yes」
The door opened smoothly, and a maid came in.
I heard at least one is always waiting outside… 24-hour full service, huh.
「Noie-san’s hair is wet. Could you bring something to dry it?」
「Yes」
「Not needed」
「Huh?」
When I looked at her, her long hair was faintly glowing.
It spread out gently as if caught in a breeze… and water droplets started separating from the strands.
Amazing. Only the water was leaving the hair.
The glow faded, and every floating droplet fell to the floor.
They all fell.
Her ahoge sprang back up and swayed happily. It somehow looked like she was in a good mood.
「It’s dry now」
「…Yeah. But the floor got soaked instead」
「……」
As if only noticing after I pointed it out, she turned and looked at the floor.
The plush carpet was perfectly drenched.
「Can you do that with the carpet too?」
「No」
「I see… Sorry about this」
「Yes」
The waiting maid quickly and efficiently cleaned up the wet carpet.
「If you need anything else」
「Yeah… yeah?」
I chased after the maid as she bowed and headed for the door, practically clinging to it.
「Where will you be?」
「? Yes. I’ll be standing right here」
「If you’re there, you can hear everything in the room, right?」
「Yes… Please don’t worry. We maids are like stones by the roadside. No matter what conversation or special sounds we hear from inside, we treat it as 『never heard』」
Conversation aside, what do you mean by 『special sounds』?
「The maids assigned to His Majesty apparently hear those kinds of 『sounds』 a lot. It’s just a rumor, though」
I didn’t want to know about some weird kinks!
After confirming the maid’s 「Please don’t mind us. Go ahead」 and seeing her standing outside the door, I went back into the room.
Noie had been standing completely still the whole time.
「Um… Noie-san」
「Noie」
「Eh?」
「I’m younger, so just 『Noie』」
So, she wants me to drop the honorific and use her name plainly?
Whoa. Just thinking about it makes my heart pound like crazy.
「Noie」
「Yes」
「…Are you mad about the wedding?」
「……」
She tilted her head slightly and looked at me.
Maybe she really is angry about the kiss?
「That was, you know? It was necessary for the 『vow ritual』, but it wasn’t just because I was ordered to… Saying I wanted to do it would make me sound perverted, but saying I didn’t want to would be a lie」
I don’t even know what kind of excuse I’m making anymore.
「Anyway, sorry for kissing you out of nowhere」
When in doubt, just bow. It might be dodging responsibility, but whatever.
I kept my head down for a while… but there was zero reaction.
I timidly looked up, and she was just staring at me.
「Um… Noie?」
「Argusta-sama」
「Yes?」
「What is a 『kiss』?」
That’s the part!? We have to start explaining from there?
More importantly, did this girl even understand what today’s wedding was about?
I’m getting worried. Might as well ask.
「Yes. Today’s ceremony was… to stop me from being taken to another country. If I become Argusta-sama’s 『property』, other countries can’t complain anymore」
「Who is it? The one who told you that explanation?」
「The vice-captain」
「Tell me his name later. I want to file a complaint」
「…Okay. I’ll remember」
She forgot already. Oh well. I can ask a maid.
So Noie… I’d better get used to calling her just Noie. Meaning she didn’t even understand the point of the wedding. All my overthinking and panicking feels embarrassing now.
「Noie. Okay?」
「Yes」
「Marriage is… when an unmarried man and woman make vows and become husband and wife. In other words, they become 『family』」
「Family?」
「Yeah. You know what family is, right?」
「Yes」
Good. If she didn’t even know that, I’d track down whoever educated her and punch them.
「Family… I was taught it’s a pair of man and woman who do reproductive activities and make children to increase the numbers」
I’m definitely finding that guy and punching him.
「Ah, whatever. Let’s call it a night. We can think about the rest after we wake up」
Mainly give me time to figure out how to explain things properly.
At my words, she quickly moved to the bed, lay down on her back, and got into position.
What comes next?
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