While Emily was thinking about this and that,  time passed and Killian, who had finished taking a bath, appeared. Even though he was meticulously dressed in pajamas, the atmosphere in the room strangely warmed up. 

Is it because of his wet hair? Or was it because of the firm outline of his body visible through the silk nightwear, or maybe his scent from just having finished washing?

“Are you still up?”

She closed her eyes, pretending not to have been stealing glances at his body.

“I was just about to fall asleep.”

“In that case, I will turn off the lights.”

“Yes.”

With a click, the lights went out, and the room fell silent again. The moonlight shining through the slightly open curtains felt unusually bright, almost blinding. Emily couldn’t fall asleep to the point where she could hear the sound of the seconds ticking on the clock.

Are you awake?” Emily asked, breaking the silence.

“Speak.”

Fortunately, it seemed that Killian was also not asleep. Emily mustered her courage once again.

“I have something I’m curious about.”

“…What is it?”

“Why did you propose to me?”

Killian’s eyebrows twitched at the sudden question. After a long silence, Emily asked again.

“Is it difficult for you to answer?”

Unable to hold back Emily’s pressing, Killian sighed.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“If it’s difficult for you to answer, I can try to guess.”

As Emily pondered deeply, she murmured, as if testing Killian’s reaction.

“Well, it must be because of my looks?”

Killian thought she was joking at first. Of course, she was a great beauty, to the point that no one dared to laugh at her, even if she said such words seriously.

But how could she say such a thing with her own mouth? It confused him a little. 

Due to Killian’s lack of response, Emily’s confidence wavered, and she cleared her throat before speaking.

“Or maybe there’s something else…”

No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed that she, the daughter of a ruined Count family, had no outstanding strengths other than her beauty. She played the piano well and was good at dancing, but getting married just for that seemed unlikely.

“I really don’t know. Won’t you answer me?”

He could answer everything else, but somehow he felt embarrassed to answer that.

“I have a busy schedule tomorrow, so please go to bed.”

“But… .”

“If you continue talking without sleeping, I will get on the bed.”

Upon hearing those words, Emily immediately lay down on the bed and flipped the blanket.

“Goodnight.”

Killian chuckled at her quick response. His wife was weirder than he had expected.

 ***

When she woke up the next morning she was alone in the room. She slept with him in the same room, but the fact that she slept soundly without even feeling nervous  made her feel dumbfounded.

“Madam, shall I bring in breakfast?” 

Emily answered yes to the person outside the door. Originally, she wasn’t the type to eat breakfast that much, but perhaps due to yesterday’s tension, she felt very hungry.

“Then I will go in.”

Soon the maid brought the tray and began setting the table.

Fresh salmon salad, steaming omelet, buttery croissant, homemade yogurt with lots of blueberries. There were various types of cheeses and ham, and there were also different kinds of fruit juices.

It was a luxurious breakfast she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Has he eaten?”

The portion was too large for her to eat alone, so she wondered if Killian would have breakfast with her.

“His Excellency usually doesn’t eat breakfast.” 

“Really? Then where did he go?”

“Before the lady woke up, he left for another inspection.”

“I see.”

Killian bought the Marquis title with money and even prepared a castle in the capital. There were rumors about how astronomical the money he controlled in the underworld was. 

Of course, he was able to buy the title of Marquis because he had a lot of money, but it was also possible because the empire was so chaotic.

In the past, when the only heir to the throne and crown princess of the Bancent Empire married the Emperor of the Robert Empire, the succession to the throne of the Bancent empire passed to the Velvet family. However, due to an unfortunate accident where the members of the Velvet family died under suspicious circumstances, the succession rights returned to the Manfredi family. 

Although the process was questionable, the situation was resolved when  the pope supported the Manfredi family.

However, due to the instability of the successorship for many years, the imperial authority had weakened rapidly. Taking advantage of this chaos, the Mafia appeared in the Bancent Empire. Among them, the most influential and famous Mafia families were called the “Four Great Families.”

  The Starr family with the wolf seal,

 The Gotio family with the viper seal,

 The Lezetta family with the brown bear, 

and finally the Giuliano family with the jaguar seal.

Despite being a relative latecomer among the Mafia families, the Starr Family quickly gained control of the underworld due to their exceptional abilities. As a result, there were factions that quickly befriended them, as well as factions like the Giuliano Family who regarded them as a thorn in their side and attacked them.

Since her marriage to Killian, Emily had to live in constant tension as a target as well.

After finishing breakfast to some extent, Emily wiped her mouth with the napkin provided by the maid and asked, 

“When are we departing for the castle?”

“His Lordship said he would come to escort you before noon.”

“Then I should hurry and get ready. Would you prepare a bath for me?”

 “Yes, madam.”

With the help of the maids, Emily finished her bath and hurried to finish dressing before Killian arrived. The maids diligently combed and delicately styled Emily’s chestnut hair. Various colors of makeup began to be applied to her clean skin. The maids blushed at the transformation that occurred as Emily was being done up. The new mistress turned out to be more beautiful than they had anticipated.

Most of Emily’s original clothes had been sold off because of her debt, so she got new ones tailored by a designer sent to her by the Starrs. Reflecting her taste, the elegant green dress was not flashy but exquisitely tailored based on skilled tailoring techniques.

Only after a long time, Emily was able to lean back on the sofa due to the longer than expected grooming time.  But the break was cut short, because shortly after an attendant announced the arrival of Killian.

‘Damn it, there’s no time to rest, right?’

Emily had no choice but to get up and go downstairs. Killian, standing in the lobby, wore a black cape coat. His shirt collar was raised and he tied a cravat high around his neck, exuding austerity and elegance.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, I didn’t have much to prepare “

The burden of the fallen aristocratic lady was simple. The servants had already scattered to places where they could receive their salaries, and the house of Sinope, which was saved thanks to Killian, was left in the management of a butler and a nanny.

Emily’s heart was restless when she entered Starr alone without having anything from Sinope.

Escorted by Killian, she climbed into the carriage. Emily, who was contemplating what to talk about once she got into her carriage alone with him, soon realized that her troubles were futile.

Killian was a very busy man. As soon as he got into the carriage, he took out documents and began examining them.

Only when the carriage jolted heavily did he briefly raise his head and press his temples firmly, but once they left the bumpy road, he focused again on reviewing the documents.

‘He’s quite a workaholic.’

Looking at him with slightly bored eyes, Emily leaned her head against the backrest and tried to fall asleep.

After a few minutes, when the carriage jolted heavily again, Emily, who couldn’t maintain her balance, fell between Killian’s legs.

“…….”

“…….”

The two of them were so embarrassed that they couldn’t even open their mouths or move their bodies. Emily closed her eyes tightly and wished with all her heart that she would evaporate like this.

“Are you alright?”

Killian, who came to his senses first, held Emily by the elbows and helped her sit up.

“Yes.”

She hit her knee hard, but the embarrassment was bigger, so she didn’t even feel the pain.

‘More than that, his thighs were very strong.’

 Recalling Killian’s thick, sturdy thighs, Emily swallowed her tears and shook her head.

‘ In order to live, oneself is a body that must be restrained.’

 ***

Translator note: In the original the last line of each chapter seems to be bolded so I decided to do the same in the translation. The reason why? I have no clue but felt I should try to keep it as close as possible to the authors formatting ~ Mae

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