Chapter 76.1

Chapter 76.1

As Emma and Irvan entered their bridal suite, Emma couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder and awe. She had lived in a detached house for most of her life and had never stepped foot in the main building’s bridal room. But Irvan, it seemed, had known all along that this would be the case.

“I want to check to see how my room has changed,” Irvan said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“Tch, you liar,” Emma playfully complained as she pushed him on the chest, causing the flower crown on her head to shake. The crown, adorned with seven carefully braided flowers, was meant to bring blessings for seven days of the week, and to ensure Emma’s happiness every day. Her mother, the baroness, had stayed up all night to create the crown with her reading glasses on, and Emma cherished it deeply.

As Emma fondly touched her crown, Irvan tilted her head slightly and murmured confidently into her forehead, “It’s alright. I can defeat any obstacles.”

“These are words worthy of the leader of the splendid knights,” Emma replied, smiling.

“No, call it the mindset of a dignified groom. To protect the beautiful bride, I’m prepared to defeat all unhappiness and relegation,” Irvan said, holding her close.

Emma couldn’t help but laugh at his sly words and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

After the grand wedding ceremony and reception that had lasted until midnight, everything felt like a dream to Emma as she entered the bridal room. A beautiful dream that she never wanted to wake up from, as it was sweet, happy and brilliant, like pretty-colored candy.

“Wait, isn’t this our first night together?” Emma thought to herself, as she looked at the bed decorated with flowers.

“Since it’s our first time in the bridal room, so it’s our first night,” Irvan replied, his deep laughter filling the room.

“Hm, Mr Irvan, you said you’ve already been to the bridal room,” Emma pouted, drawing his attention to her pink lips.

“I wonder if this is the first time we’re going to do this or that,” Emma mused, her voice slightly slurred. She and Irvan had shared congratulatory drinks with their guests at the reception and had toasts with the knights of the Order of the Black Fang, so she was slightly tipsy. Or, at least, that was how she felt. In reality, the alcohol had been purified with herbal water, so she was just basking in the afterglow of excitement.

“What do you mean by ‘this or that’?” Irvan asked, his coy eyes focused on the beautiful crown that Emma wore.

“On our first night, the bride is behaving like this,” he teased, making Emma blush.

“I’m not drunk!” Emma protested, but Irvan just smiled.

“I know. You’re not drunk. So, you’re sober and you should know quite well, what should our objective be here?” he said, his gaze lingering on the crown’s biggest flower – a red hollyhock.

Emma knew the significance of the hollyhock, a symbol of abundance and fertility. Her mother, Baroness Berne, had placed it prominently on her crown, wishing for Emma and Irvan to have a bountiful and fruitful life together.

But Irvan’s next words made Emma’s heart skip a beat.

“Come to think of it, something’s wrong,” he said, looking around the room. “It might not be the first time we’re doing something in the bridal room.”

“What?” Emma asked, confused, as she looked up at him.

Then, Emma was met with the breathtaking beauty of Irvan. Dressed nicely for the reception, he looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale, with his tall physique and handsome face. The golden candles that filled the room only added to his allure. Emma’s heart thumped wildly as she stared at Irvan, unable to believe that such a wonderful man was her groom.

She must have used up all her misfortunes in her previous life and seized the luck of heaven and earth, Emma thought to herself, giving her heartfelt gratitude to God for allowing her to live in such a high-class place.

“This was originally my room, do you remember?” Irvan said, a sly smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Emma’s gaze wavered as she recalled the memory of the first time she had been in this room. It had been on her first day at the Van Wert castle, and…

Emma’s face flushed as she remembered what had happened.

“We didn’t do it all the way,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Didn’t we?” Irvan teased. “We just didn’t do something that resulted in fertility, but I think we’ve progressed significantly.”

Emma blushed even more, knowing that Irvan was right. On her first day at the castle, they had teased each other, but they were interrupted before things could progress further.

“You seem to remember, so I guess we can continue with the parts we didn’t do. Or we could do it all over again,” Irvan said, as he stood tall and looked down at Emma, his fingers deftly undoing the collar of his shirt.

The atmosphere between them was charged with anticipation and desire as they began their first night as husband and wife in earnest.