The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 11

Episode 11. The Wedding Night

Louid’s wet black hair fell over his forehead, as if he had just showered. Unlike his dignified and sharp appearance, he now looked like a young man in his mid-twenties.

Glancing toward the fireplace, Louid walked straight to the bed when he didn’t see Emilia. His bride was lying on one side of the bed. Louid stood tall beside the bed and looked down at her.

She’s asleep.

Emilia was sound asleep, completely unaware of the world. Her elegantly braided blonde hair flowed down to her waist. Sleeping with a pure and serene face, she looked like an angel just descended from heaven.

‘An angel, really? There’s no way Berthe’s granddaughter is an angel.’

Louid was taken aback by his own thought and glared at his innocent bride.

Deep in slumber, Emilia was having a dream where her body was shaking as if there were an earthquake. Something unknown was disturbing her sleep.

“Don’t do that.”

She warned whoever was persistently bothering her.

“What?”

A low voice suddenly entered her ears, and her eyes flew open. Louid’s face was right in front of her.

Emilia slowly blinked her long-lashed eyes.

“Louid?”

His face drew closer. Emilia, eyes wide with surprise, thought he was going to kiss her and swallowed hard.

It seemed he had come to spend the wedding night.

If I had known, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep. What if I sweated while sleeping?

Many thoughts flashed through her mind in a short instant.

‘No, this must be a dream.’

Emilia looked at Louid with a hazy gaze. His face looked even more handsome than during the day, nearly touching her nose.

‘Since it’s a dream, a kiss should be fine.’

Emilia closed her eyes and puckered her lips forward.

“Get up.”

“…Pardon?”

But Louid’s unexpected words startled her.

“I said get up.”

His face was twisted in displeasure, and his voice carried irritation.

“Yes.”

Like cold water had been poured over her, she snapped back to her senses. Her face flushed red with embarrassment. Like a trained soldier, Emilia quickly sat up and retreated to the edge of the bed. His words carried an authority that could not be defied.

As she sat up, Louid grabbed the sheet with one hand.

With a single gesture, the large sheet on the bed fluttered into the air.

“Ah!”

Emilia let out a small scream, nearly falling to the floor.

What is he doing?

She could only gape at him in confusion. Surely His Highness the Grand Duke wasn’t trying to clean the bed.

“All right. Sit.”

Louid commanded curtly. Since multiple sheets were laid out on the bed, removing one didn’t affect its usability.

“Yes.”

Once again, Emilia followed his words like a wooden puppet.

“We need to create evidence that we spent the wedding night.”

“Pardon? Ah… yes.”

Emilia’s cheeks turned even redder at Louid’s words. Though she had been half-asleep, she felt embarrassed for having misunderstood that he had come to consummate the marriage. Fortunately, the room was dark. Otherwise, he might have seen her flushed face.

There weren’t many candles lit in the room, and even the blazing fire in the fireplace had started to die down.

So now he’ll go back to his room?

It seemed he had come to her bedroom just to retrieve the sheet. Having finished his business, he would likely return to his own room.

But contrary to her guess, Louid climbed onto the bed. Without caring whether she was watching or not, he removed his robe and sprawled across the bed. His chest was tightly packed with well-defined muscles.

There couldn’t be a sculpture with such delicate and beautiful muscles.

Emilia stared at his body, forgetting she should look away.

“Aren’t you… cold?”

Swallowing hard, she asked bravely. The room was warm thanks to the fireplace, but it was still the cold winter outside. Sleeping in just underwear could easily lead to a cold.

Swoooosh—

The sound of strong wind came from the window.

“I’m always hot. Don’t come this way and sleep on your own. I’m not planning to sleep on the sofa.”

Louid’s cold response came. It sounded like he meant she should sleep quietly without crossing into his space, or sleep on the sofa if she didn’t want to share the bed.

“…Yes.”

Emilia answered obediently. Louid glanced at her briefly, then turned his head away.

He’s like ice…

From the moment they first met until now, he had consistently maintained a cold attitude, as if he were a sculpture made of ice.

Is it just me he’s like this to? Or is he cold to others too? He’s a human being, so surely he has emotions…

She wondered if he ever smiled.

Sitting in a corner of the bed with her knees drawn up, Emilia turned her back to Louid and curled up once he closed his eyes. She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but the crackling sound of firewood and Louid’s steady breathing soon lulled her to sleep.

‘Compared to the Duke’s tower, isn’t this place heaven?’

The moment she saw Louid at the Grand Temple, all the memories she had lost came rushing back. Even if the husband she had married today treated her a bit coldly, she didn’t feel sad. This place, with someone else in it, was better than the lonely tower.

As soft breathing was heard, Louid slowly opened his eyes. He usually suffered from insomnia and barely got one or two hours of sleep a day. Nights were always long and dull, but tonight felt different. Having someone else in the bed for the first time in his life made a difference.

Turning toward Emilia, he looked at his bride. Emilia was sleeping curled up at the edge of the bed, about to fall off.

‘Why does the young lady of the empire’s most prestigious noble family look so pitiful?’

Though she was the granddaughter of the richest noble family in the Richert Empire, she had none of the arrogance of other nobles and was more beautiful than anyone else, yet never flaunted it. Even in her wedding dress, even when she followed Duke Berthe to the imperial palace, she had an untouched elegance and purity.

‘Berthe raised his granddaughter well.’

But that was as far as it went. Now that he had made Emilia the Grand Duchess, the Emperor would no longer press him for anything.

Of course, Duke Berthe would be another matter.

“Mm.”

At that moment, Emilia let out a small sound and moved. She looked like she was about to fall off the bed. Louid extended one arm and grabbed the slip she was wearing. Her body slid easily toward him.

‘So light. Tsk.’

Louid frowned. Emilia’s body was so thin it looked like she hadn’t eaten a proper bowl of soup. Even if a thin figure was fashionable among noble ladies lately, this was too much.

“So cold…”

Emilia, still curled up, mumbled something and turned toward him.

Cold?

As someone who rarely felt the cold, he couldn’t understand.

Did the fire go out?

When he turned his head toward the fireplace, something soft touched his chest.

“……?”

Startled, he turned his head to find Emilia’s cheek resting on his chest. His breath hitched, and his chest muscles moved dramatically up and down. Her face rose and fell with the rhythm.

Her breath on his bare skin felt like a gentle spring breeze blowing across a field.

“Gasp.”

A dull ache spread below his waist. More precisely, that part deep in his lower abdomen began to swell thoughtlessly.

“Sigh…”

Louid sighed in frustration. He had never reacted to any beautiful woman before, but now he responded only to the granddaughter of his enemy. It was his own body, yet he couldn’t understand it and was irritated.

“Hoo…”

He took a deep breath to cool his heated body.

That night, Emilia had a peaceful rest with a broad chest as her pillow, while Louid had to battle his burning desire all night long.

***

“To be submitted to the temple.”

Early the next morning, Louid handed Kevin a bloodstained sheet. It was the one he had crumpled up and stained with his own blood the night before.

“Yes, understood.”

Kevin received the sheet respectfully and placed it on a large silver tray held by a servant. Once the evidence of their wedding night was submitted to the temple, Louid and Emilia would be officially recognized as husband and wife.

“Is the departure ready?”

“Everyone is waiting.”

“Hmm, I’ll be off then.”

To the far north of the Grand Duchy was a rugged mountain range nearly impossible to scale. Ferocious monsters lived in packs there.

As winter came to an end, the monsters would descend to the villages in search of food, stealing supplies and harming people. Whenever that happened, he would lead his knights to the northern mountains for a monster hunt.

This year had been delayed due to various matters, but he had to go now.

“What should I tell Her Highness?” Kevin asked cautiously, seeming concerned about leaving the newlywed bride alone.

“Tell her to stay here until I return.”

His voice was hoarse with unfulfilled desire.

“Yes, understood.”

Louid strode through the lobby and headed straight outside. In the wide courtyard of the castle, Captain Alex and the knights were lined up, waiting for him.

“Your Highness!”

Louid gave a slight nod to the knights who greeted him and mounted his black horse. Then he glanced toward the third floor, where Emilia’s bedroom was located. The window was covered by curtains, and no one was looking out.

He had filled the fireplace with plenty of logs, so she wouldn’t wake from the cold. Even so, he kept staring at the window.

He had already informed the Emperor that he was departing for a monster hunt, and it had been planned for some time, yet he couldn’t seem to utter the command to depart.

‘Is it because of that woman? No way. Because of Berthe’s granddaughter?’

Louid let out a hollow smile, gave the arched window one last glance, and issued a short command.

“Move out!”

And so, he left for the north with his subordinates, without leaving even a single letter for his bride.