IDURHF 13-PART 3

Chapter 13

13. The Morning After the Wedding Night

I had slept so deeply that I didn’t even dream.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself nestled in Alec-sama’s arms.
He was wearing his pajamas, and so was I. As I tried to sit up, I felt a faint discomfort and, remembering the events of the previous night, felt my cheeks grow warm.

“Good morning, Lacey. Do you think you can get up?”
“Y-yes, I think so.”
“You don’t have to push yourself. Let’s have breakfast here today.”

I had heard that some nobles take breakfast in their bedrooms, but I never knew why until now.
Alec-sama had the maid bring our breakfast on a tray to the door, but he didn’t let her enter. Instead, he personally brought the tray to me.
When I tried to sit up, he helped me, placing a cushion behind my back so I could sit comfortably.

On the tray were soft bread, soup, yogurt, and fruit.
Alec-sama’s own meal included bread, salad, ham, an omelet, and fruit—so he had clearly arranged a gentler menu just for me.

As I ate with the tray on my lap, I noticed that Alec-sama seemed more preoccupied with watching me than with his own food.

“Lacey, does your body hurt?”
“No.”
“Lacey, I love you.”
“I love you too.”

After exchanging sweet words, I finished my breakfast, and only then did Alec-sama start eating his.

He had work that day.

“Lacey, you can rest here. I’ll finish as soon as I can. Let’s have tea together later, all right?”

Watching him leave with such a wistful tone, I stayed in bed for a bit longer—and before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep again.

When I woke, it was just before lunch.
The heaviness in my body had mostly faded, though there was still a faint sense of discomfort.
Still, I could move, so I got dressed and went to the dining room.

After lunch, I returned to my room and relaxed on the sofa while continuing the sewing I’d started yesterday.

I was making two stuffed toys—one black rabbit and one white dog.
The rabbit’s eyes would be purple, and the dog’s red—made to resemble myself and Alec-sama.

We already had dolls wearing our wedding attire that had been displayed at the reception, but I wanted to keep those as commemorative keepsakes, so I decided to make new ones.

I was sewing little clothes for them too—the white dog modeled after Alec-sama would wear a white outfit, and the black rabbit modeled after me would have colorful dresses.

I was long past the age of playing dress-up, but making plushies and their clothes still made me happy.

I imagined that at the Dian Count’s household, there were probably countless orders for dolls modeled after us in our wedding attire. I had already sent the design patterns in advance, so I trusted that Sophia and my parents were handling the orders well.

Tomorrow, we were to visit the Dian territory so Alec-sama could see the land where I was born and raised. I also wanted to tour the new doll and plush toy factories.
Though I had given my input on the construction plans, I’d never seen them in person. The thought of visiting my homeland again filled me with excitement.

When tea time came, Alec-sama returned in a hurry.
His long, silvery hair was slightly disheveled, which was rare—and before I could even comment, he embraced me tightly.

“I’m home, Lacey. Are you feeling better?”
“Welcome home, Alec-sama. I’m fine now.”

When I returned his embrace, Alec-sama smiled with clear relief. His eyes, tinged with a soft rose hue, looked dazzlingly beautiful.

“The joy of coming home to you feels even stronger now that we’re married.”
“And the joy of welcoming you home has grown for me as well.”
“Marriage is only the beginning of life together—but I think I may grow to love you even more from now on.”
“I would be very happy if that’s true.”

Until the wedding, I had felt like we’d already achieved everything.
But my life as Empress had only just begun—and so had my life as Alec-sama’s wife.

Perhaps love has no limit and only deepens day by day.
I felt that I loved Alec-sama more today than yesterday, and I was certain I would love him even more tomorrow.
If Alec-sama felt the same, then that alone made me happy.

During tea, Alec-sama lifted me onto his lap.
I was so startled that I couldn’t resist, ending up sitting there while he embraced me tightly from behind.

“A-Alec-sama, you mustn’t!”
“It’s fine when it’s just the two of us.”
“It’s not just the two of us!”
“It is. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, we are… not here,” murmured the maid quickly, trying to disappear into the background.

His commanding tone made the maids pretend they were invisible, which flustered me even more.
Among nobles, it was etiquette to act as though servants were like air—not to acknowledge them.
But having grown up in a poor viscount’s family with few servants, whom we treated like family, I couldn’t get used to such behavior.

Even with guards or maids present, Alec-sama would embrace me or kiss me without hesitation, but it always made me blush furiously.

“Just let me hold you like this for a little while.”

Held firmly in his arms from behind, I bowed my head, my cheeks burning.
After a short while, Alec-sama seemed satisfied and finally released me.

Only then did tea time truly begin.

The maid poured our tea, and I divided a quiche and some cake. Today’s cake was grape-flavored, so I placed a slice on my plate.

As I enjoyed the quiche and cake, I noticed Alec-sama serving himself the same things.

“You chose the same ones?”
“Everything looks delicious when you’re the one eating it.”

Alec-sama never had any particular likes or dislikes, and I knew that as nobles, we were expected to eat what was served without complaint. But at tea time, we could choose freely from the prepared snacks and cakes, so I always took what I liked.

Alec-sama rarely ate much during tea, but now that I thought about it, he often chose exactly what I was having.

“What do you like, Alec-sama?”
“Lacey.”
“No, I meant food.”
“Anything you’re eating, I like.”
“And is there anything you dislike?”
“Not especially.”

Something about that answer felt off.

“Do you really have no preferences?”
“Not really… or maybe I just stopped caring about food. After Cecil died, I couldn’t taste anything anymore. No matter what I ate, it was like chewing sand.”

Hearing that, I was struck by both surprise and understanding.
The young Garnet boy who once ate everything happily in front of Cecil… must have been so broken by losing her that food lost all flavor.
It was a sorrowful thing, but perhaps inevitable.

That Alec-sama—who had lost the will to live—did not give up on life because Cecil had sacrificed herself for him… That alone filled me with gratitude.

“Thank you for staying alive. Thank you for meeting me.”
“Lacey…”
“Because you didn’t give up, I was able to meet you and marry you. From now on, I’ll always be by your side. For life.”

I clasped his hand and spoke as if making a vow. Alec-sama pressed his lips to my fingertips and smiled.

“Lacey, thank you for being born. For finding your way to me. When Cecil died, I gave up on everything—but then you appeared. I can only think of that as a miracle.”

We both felt the same way—that it was good we met.
To Alec-sama, I was an irreplaceable person.
And to me, Alec-sama was the same.