“B-But if I don’t do it, we’ll be in a mariage blanc, right?” I asked, looking as troubled as ever.
Lucas kindly rubbed my back through the blanket to calm me down. “Don’t push yourself. I think we’ve got that part covered. We already had the wedding, and we’re sleeping in the same bed together. Even if someone tries to criticize us, I’m sure our servants will all testify and support our union.”
“In other words…we’re just going to act like we…slept together?” I asked.
“That’s the idea.”
“Can…we lie to our servants like that?”
“Sure we can. Let’s not be hasty with our marriage.”
Lucas was undoubtedly more troubled by me remaining in my blanket shield, but he smiled kindly and stroked my head to pacify me.
“You were suddenly informed of the shocking act couples do,” Lucas said. “It’s scary, isn’t it? I’ll make sure you can go to a woman you’re comfortable with to discuss this topic so you can learn from them. There’s probably a lot of things that I…uh, don’t know about.”
“O-Okay…”
“And once you’ve understood it all, we can think about it slowly and take our time. Besides, I had no plans to do anything with you tonight, you know.”
I looked up at Lucas. “Really?” I asked.
“I told you before, didn’t I? There’s a reason I prolonged this mariage blanc.”
“Right.”
Lucas looked at me with a serious expression. “Iris, I’m the son of a sailor, a man who left my mother behind and disappeared. He lived without giving a damn about my mother, who died from exhaustion after raising me and helping me survive.”
“Lucas…” I immediately understood what he was implying.
My husband gazed down at his palms solemnly and eked out, “I’m scared. Did my parents want me in this world?”
“Lucas… I’m sorry. I’ve only been thinking about myself, and yet…”
“You have no reason to apologize, do you?”
I must’ve been making a horrible face; he smiled and tried to soothe me.
“I just want to put an end to things with my parents,” he said. “Once I’ve come to terms with my birth, I want to take responsibility and stick by your side. My current self has no right to be a father.”
“That’s…” I started, intuitively trying to tell him that that wasn’t true. But before I could finish my sentence, he ended it for me.
“True, isn’t it?” He continued sharply as I held my tongue. “I’ve got no right yet.”
“Lucas…”
“But I also don’t want to make you wait much longer. I feel bad for making you anxious, and I want to truly become a married couple in every sense soon. Could you humor me with my selfish request for just a little while more? It’ll take at most six months. I won’t keep you waiting any longer than that.”
“I understand, Lucas,” I replied. I smiled, took his hand, and said my vows as I’d done in the afternoon in front of the officiant. He was so dear to me. “You stuck by my side and helped me settle my affair with my family. And so, I shall do the same for you now. I won’t ever leave your side, so let’s keep calm, take our time, and end the issues that ail you.”
“Thank you, Iris.”
He looked straight at me, and I saw myself reflected in his eyes. His unique traits made it clear he was from a foreign land; my beautiful husband looked striking with his canary-yellow hair and amber eyes. As his gaze softened with relief when he saw me, and only me, a feeling of utmost satisfaction filled my heart. The mere thought of this man being my husband made me feel warm inside. It was then that I remembered our discussion from earlier, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest.
“So, what shall we do for tonight?” I asked.
“Well, we can definitely sleep together…in the same bed, but…” Lucas restlessly trailed off as he averted his gaze pensively. “I guess we should keep our mind off things. I’m sure you’ve been tired since the afternoon, and after a while, I know we’ll just drift off to sleep.”
He stood up and rummaged through a cabinet by the wall. He took out a small box and revealed a deck of cards.
✦ ✦ ✦
🌻 🌻 🌻
HIS master wouldn’t wake, even though it was rather late in the morning. Leik, who had finished his morning routine work, peered at his pocket watch. He decided to head to the newly prepared bedroom. The morning sunlight illuminated the corridors quite well, and he was certain that the newly wedded couple’s bedroom was also brightly lit.
“I wonder what they did in the end…” the butler muttered to himself.
Leik had known his master for many years and understood Lucas’s train of thought quite well. The butler had a sneaky suspicion that his master hadn’t gotten overly intimate with the mistress of the house, but it was uncharacteristically odd for Lucas to be in bed for so long.
“Maybe things just got unexpectedly…heated,” Leik mused.
He knew his phrasing was crass, but he couldn’t hide his curiosity as he approached the bedroom. Kiki was already there, pacing to and fro in front of the door. Her braided hair fluttered around as she looked torn.
“I assume they haven’t woken up yet,” Leik said, making sure his footsteps were heard as he approached the maid.
Kiki looked up and smiled at him. “Ah, Leik! Good morning!” She looked visibly relieved at his appearance.
“Good morning,” the butler replied before he motioned toward the door with his chin. “What’s wrong? Did you happen to see something that made it difficult for you to enter?”
“Ah, no, I haven’t opened the door yet.”
“I see.”
Her face started to turn red. “I, er…wasn’t sure if…I could just step inside.”
Leik could easily pick up on Kiki’s implication, but he couldn’t offer a helping hand here. “Well, it’s not like I can enter,” he said. “I believe it’s best if you enter the room.”
“But…”
“Madam specifically asked for you, didn’t she? Then it means you’re being relied upon.”
Kiki’s eyes glittered with determination at his reassuring words. “You’re right! I’m Lady Iris’s maid! I’m Lady Iris’s maid!”
As she repeated the words, she slapped her cheeks and nervously decided to enter the room. Leik gazed at a vase of flowers in the corridor and chose to wait outside. As he randomly assigned each flower a meaning to allow some time to pass, the bedroom door slowly opened. Confusion riddled Kiki’s face as she used both hands to carry a certain item outside carefully. It was a triangular…
“House of cards?” Leik asked.
“Indeed it is…” Kiki replied in befuddlement. This was unforeseen. The maid carried the cards in her hand and explained, “My lord and my lady are fast asleep, and cards were scattered by their bedside table. And I found this on the headboard.”
Leik pinched the tip of the tower of cards and raised it in the air. “It’s been glued together…”
“Have they…been creating a house of cards…until late at night?” Kiki wondered.
“And since they couldn’t finish it so easily, they glued all the cards together…”
Leik and Kiki glanced at each other.
“What are our lord and lady of the house doing?” the butler sighed.
The maid giggled. “I know, right?”
The two servants exchanged a strained smile, looking a touch relieved yet exasperated. It was easy to assume that his master had delayed their intimacy for another day. It was very much like Lucas to forgo a passionate display of affection on the first night after the wedding while everyone eagerly waited for him to do the act of coitus.
“He has far more self-control than your average noblewoman,” Leik muttered to himself while returning the cards to Kiki’s hand. “Nevertheless, this is a momentous occasion. Why don’t we store this house of cards somewhere?”
“I agree,” Kiki nodded. “They don’t have any plans for the day, so we should let them rest easy and sleep in today.”
Just then, the butler sensed a presence approaching from the opposite end of the corridor. Leik turned around and was the first to speak.
“What’s the matter, Cano?”
“Ah…” Cano was caught off guard and gasped in surprise as he froze in place.
“Ah!” Kiki cried in shock. “I didn’t know you were there. Good morning, Cano!”
“Y-Yes… Good morning to you both, Sir Leik, Miss Kiki,” Cano hastily said with a smile, trying to regain his composure.
“Whatever is the matter? This isn’t your post, is it?” Leik inquired.
Cano looked troubled as he lowered his head. “I apologize. I wanted to ask you a question, so I’d been tailing you, but I found it awkward to time my appearance when I realized that you were headed for the bedroom.” As though to switch topics, he glanced at the tower of cards. “What is that? Was that in the bedroom?”