Sorry 2

Chapter 2

    ***

    Marriage, marriage............. Euris pondered the word for a moment.

    'Am I worthy of such a thing?’

    The Marquis of Eridov was an old and prestigious family, and her marriage to the eldest son of the family was the culmination of her parents' efforts to find a groom for their unworthy daughter. There would be a large dowry.

    She nodded her head slowly.

    "・・・・・ Yes, I will."

    Tears welled in Frelona's eyes at her daughter's struggling answer, and she pulled her scrawny daughter into a wide embrace and patted her on the back. Sunlight streamed through the window and broke on the mother-daughter's backs.

    "Thank you, my daughter......."

    Frelona couldn't imagine the pain her daughter was in. Kylan and Euris had been together since they were children, and their families were close. It was as natural as water flowing downstream that they would marry.

    So she understood her daughter's sense of loss, but she couldn't stand to see her only daughter's life ruined by a man.

    Frelona, who was quite well established in social circles, did everything she could for her daughter.

    As a result, she quickly found herself in hot water with the Marquis of Eridov, and the wedding was immediately scheduled for a month later.

    ***

    The unexpected wedding of the eldest son of the Marquis of Eridov and the eldest daughter of Count Either has become the talk of the Alton Empire.

    On the day of the ceremony, the wedding hall, adorned with beautiful flowers, was filled with gathered nobles.

    In the bridal suite, Euris stared blankly at herself in the mirror. Her cypress-colored, almost golden hair was beautifully pinned up.

    The white gown came to just below her collarbone, hiding her small bosom. Around her slender neck hung an elegant necklace with a large diamond.

    Though her face was much more animated than usual, Euris thought she looked shabby. She looked like a bony doll with all the paint she could muster.

    "You look so beautiful, my lady."

    Rune and Count Either watched Euris with tears in their eyes.

    The bridal chamber was crowded with guests. She was suddenly aware of her parents' connections. For the first time in a long time, she forced a smile. The muscles in her cheeks shook with laughter.

    The beautiful, gentlemanly Count and Countess were busy greeting a steady stream of guests.

    The Marquis of Eridov’s guests were no less formidable. It was proof that the wedding of the two families was the talk of the town.

    "Euris, we're about to enter, so get ready."

    She smiled at her mother, who beamed at her. It felt like validation that she'd made the right choice, so she steeled herself.

    She decided not to regret it. There was no turning back now.

    Then came the bride's entrance. At the end of the Virgin Road, Euris met the man who would become her husband for the first time.

    She hadn't socialized at all, and it wasn't long before she learned his name.

    Chaint, that was his name.

    He had handsome light brown hair and mysterious blue eyes. His fair skin glowed beneath the wedding robes he wore.

    Her first thought was to wonder why he was marrying her at all, given that he was so handsome and desirable in the marriage market. Her second thought was to pity him.

    He held out his hand. Euris placed hers in his, so small in comparison to his own. He smiled softly, and she thought it was a nice smile, even if it wasn't genuine. She smiled back in return.

    The guests marveled at their dazzling appearance. Pleased murmurs filled the hall, as if to say that good family honor and good taste had found a worthy match.

    "Do you two truly vow to be man and wife, to cherish, love, and serve one another until death do you part?"

    "I do."

    The dry voices of a man and a woman echoed through the space.

    "Now please give each other the kiss of love. I hereby solemnly declare before you that they are now holy matrimony.”

    Amid thunderous cheers, their lips moved closer. Euris closed her eyes. Their soft lips met for a moment, then parted.

    Champagne popped everywhere. There was clapping and whistling, all of which rumbled in Euris’ ears.

    The dry wedding of a loveless bride and groom was over.

    The sky had already darkened after the long ceremony. The bride and groom, exhausted from greeting so many guests, entered the room with rather heavy steps.

    The room had a romantic feel to it from the moment they entered, thanks to the servants who had worked hard to make it a perfect setting for the couple. The rose petals scattered around the few lit candles and the subtle scent of incense wafting throughout the room seemed to hint at what was to come.

    Euris didn't feel like running away or scared. This marriage was a penance for two years spent in vain, an escape from a future where it seemed she would never love anyone else.

    It was basically a way to get her guilt off her parents' backs, so it felt more like an obligation.

    With a cautious click, the door closed. Chaint, dressed in an immaculate tuxedo, stepped in front of her, his large and shadowy form looming over her.

    Euris waited for his next move, her head bowed, hidden by a cotton veil.

    "If you don't want to ......, you don't have to."

    A low voice, barely above a whisper, escaped the man's lips. Euris doubted her ears. She blinked at the floor, unsure if she heard correctly.

    But the unmoving shadow seemed to tell her that what she heard was correct.

    "....I will do as you wish."

    She replied without lifting her face. After a moment of silence, the man raised his hand and carefully peeled off the veil.

    The sound of the cloth falling to the floor echoed in the silence of the room.

    The man named Chaint was reticent. But his actions were meticulous. One by one, the jewelry on Euris’s body was placed on the table with the man's touch.

    Soon, as she lay on the bed, her vision was filled with him. For a woman who was new to everything, the sheer size of the man was intimidating.

    But Euris didn't feel that way at all. He was taking care of every aspect of her with the same careful touch as he would a small bird.

    There were unfamiliar sensations and overwhelming pain. But she didn't feel insulting, or mess with his mood.

    When it was all over, Euris fell into a deep sleep. It had been a busy morning, and she was tired.

    Perhaps it was the man's generosity, or perhaps it was the fact that some sort of reassurance had put her mind at ease.

    He stared at the woman's face as she slept soundly on the bed. The dim candlelight cast shadows along the bridge of her deep nose.

    Chaint stared at the sleeping face as if it would wear away. It was a dazzlingly beautiful face, he thought, but it was much more broken than the one he'd seen a few times in the past, in happier times.

    ‘Kylan.’

    The man who had made her smile back then, the man who had broken her so miserably, and the man who still filled her heart.

    Chaint thought of his name, and knew it would be a long time before he was out of the mind of the woman who was now his wife.

    Chaint gently stroked Euris’s still sleeping hair. She flinched and frowned at the touch, but did not open her eyes.

    "Euris......."

    The woman's name slipped from his lips, very quietly.

    "I can wait as long as you want.”

    He kissed her forehead gently.

    That night he looked at her for a long time.

    ***

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