Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2.1

She quickly settled onto the sofa in front of the side table, then poured the wedding wine from the bottle into the empty glass before her, filling it to overflowing.

Gurgle—

The sound seemed to bring a sense of calm to her perpetually anxious heart.

Luna, whose body had been stiff with tension all day, raised the wine glass gripped in her hand and drained it in a single gulp.

The hot, bitter liquid instantly warmed her esophagus, sliding down her throat with a swallow. A full, acrid taste spread across her palate. Everything today felt new.

Having never tasted alcohol before, Luna felt her tension ease slightly and continued to drink gulp after gulp.

Even her stiff fingertips, and the throbbing of her heart that had felt out of sync all day, now felt pleasantly numb.

Engrossed in her actions, Luna didn’t even hear the sound of the door opening.

A faint weariness shadowed Caesar’s face.

His handsome brow was furrowed slightly.

The unwelcome wedding and the insincere congratulations of the nobles—all of it only deepened his dissatisfaction.

For Caesar, today was not a unique wedding day, but merely another day like any other. Just a little more tiresome and unpleasant.

He had always lived this way. Under the Emperor’s watchful eye and the nobles’ scrutiny, he had to find ways to survive within the given rules, rather than step outside them. This marriage was no different.

The Emperor would not have chosen a spouse without some ulterior motive. He couldn’t know what orders the woman had received, or to whom she would report everything she saw and heard afterward.

The unpleasantness of this marriage wasn’t because he disliked his partner. It was merely the disagreeable fact that he had to keep her so close under the name of Grand Duchess, even knowing she was the most dangerous trap.

He recalled the moment just now, when he had caught Adelia as she stumbled while walking down the aisle together.

She had made quite an innocent expression, her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.

Ha, innocent? That lady?

She was a woman known as a scandal-maker among the nobles. Rumors of her loose morals constantly followed her.

Moreover, this marriage was actively pushed by the Emperor, who held him in low regard. To think it was merely an attempt to insult him by marrying him to a promiscuous woman was too simplistic, given all he had experienced. There was no telling what schemes a woman entering the Grand Duke’s Residence might hatch. Just the thought of it made his head throb.

It seemed he couldn’t let his guard down even at home now. Caesar let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

His steps, which had brought him to the bridal chamber, halted, and he turned the doorknob without hesitation.

Click—

The moment he opened the door, a completely unexpected scene greeted his eyes.

On the side table beside the bed, a liquor bottle and glasses lay scattered haphazardly, the bottle already empty to the bottom.

Beside it, a woman sat precariously, half-leaning, in a disheveled posture.

Her flushed face and hazy eyes clearly indicated she was quite drunk.

Caesar, witnessing his bride in a state he hadn’t imagined, paused briefly before slowly approaching and seating himself before her.

A bride on her wedding night, alone, drinking the wedding wine meant for both of them, and now utterly intoxicated.

Caesar wore his characteristic indifferent and cynical expression as he approached the bride.

Adelia, seeing Caesar before her, her expression slowly softened.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, she spoke to him with a slightly slurred voice.

“Oh… hello…?”

Her eyes, recognizing Caesar, blinked slowly.

It was a greeting offered to try and break the awkward atmosphere, even in her drunken state. His handsome lips twitched slightly as he watched her unexpectedly greet him.

“Just as I heard.”

A troublemaker who indulged in drinking and merrymaking regardless of time or place, a wild mare of high society. Hadn’t they also said she was quite fond of men?

A honey trap, then. Perfect for extracting information. If he smiled and she flirted in bed, she would surely spill everything she knew.

Honestly, he wasn’t pleased to be with a woman whose intentions he didn’t know, but he couldn’t skip the wedding night. He didn’t know what words would reach the Emperor if he rejected her.

Recalling her unconventional past, he spoke casually.

“A bride drunk on her wedding night. Truly worthy of being called a wild mare.”

She blinked her half-closed eyes, her languid gaze fixed on him, and opened her mouth.

“A wedding with His Grace the Grand Duke. Anyone who isn’t nervous would be strange… Hiccup…!”

So, she had drunk the alcohol out of nervousness?

Was this, too, calculated? One of Caesar’s eyebrows arched in suspicion.

She picked up the empty bottle and shook it vigorously, but only a few drops, the last remnants, gurgled out from the bottom.

Caesar snatched the glass from her hand and set it down with a sharp clink on the side table.

“You’ve had too much.”

“It was here, so I just wanted a taste, but then… Should I call a servant to bring another bottle…?”

Intoxicated, she mumbled with a slightly slurred tongue.

“Is there really a need?”

Without asking her opinion, he rose from his seat, lifted the drunken bride into his arms, and headed toward the bed.

Even if it was a loveless political marriage, his attitude suggested he just wanted to get it over with, without any conversation or emotional exchange.