We’ll just hold hands and sleep. You trust me, right? (3)
* * *
“Prin—, no, Your Highness the Princess, how is your skin so soft and smooth?”
“Your skin looks like it’s glowing even without doing anything.”
The court ladies admired Aristine’s body as they washed her with milky bath water mixed with perfume oil.
Aristine sloppily listened to their discussion while feeling exhausted.
A lot of things had happened today.
The wedding alone was tiring enough but with the various incidents that occurred, her stamina was at its lowest.
“Silvanians tend to have fairer skin, don’t they? Is this also a Silvanian thing?”
“Come on now. How can that be.”
A court lady rebutted with a chuckle then she glanced outside.
The door was closed so they couldn’t see outside, but they knew that Aristine’s handmaids from Silvanus were there.
“Those girls have fair skin too, but Her Highness’ skin is so clear that it feels like it’s shining. It’s not the same.”
“You’re right. I can’t touch it, but their skin doesn’t look this smooth either.”
“True…”
The court lady who asked if all Silvanus were like this, nodded as well, looking convinced.
“Of course, our Highness is the best.”
“It is really an honor to serve you, Your Highness.”
“His Highness Tarkan must be happy to receive a bride like Her Highness.”
“Wow, this really makes my heart race.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. We have prepared everything perfectly! Not a thing was left out!”
“We made sure the decorations bring out a really romantic atmosphere that anyone can see.”
“Once Your Highness lies down there—! Then everything is practically done!”
The court ladies laughed impishly.
Their eyes curved in a crafty arc.
“Huhuhu, even your night-dress was chosen after a lot of thought so please look forward to it.”
“Oh my! Shouldn’t His Highness Tarkan be the one to look forward to it instead of Her Highness?”
Hehehehe, the court ladies giggled delightedly like little children.
They were a very lewd bunch.
“…”
In reality, Aristine had closed her eyes and was struggling to stop her mind from floating away.
She felt like she was going to fall asleep the moment she faltered.
The new bride who was soaking in the bathtub wasn’t even listening, but the excited court ladies were giggling amongst themselves and making noise.
They were truly happy to have such a beautiful and intelligent Princess.
All the court ladies served their esteemed prince with utmost sincerity and such, they want the prince to have a wife suitable for him as soon as possible.
There was a huge difference between a palace that had a Mistress and one that did not.
‘Honestly, I was getting worried that that Dionna girl would become His Highness’ wife.’
There were quite a few court ladies who liked Dionna, but these women weren’t one of those.
Of course, they also liked Dionna at first.
‘Until we saw Dionna’s true colors, that is.’
Ever since they found out by chance, they couldn’t help but feel Dionna was despicable when they saw her do what she normally does.
However, Dionna was the younger sister of the Great General Yugong, who died in the line of duty, and the daughter of a Count, while they were only court servants.
They couldn’t let their dislike show.
All they could do was ignore the court servants who followed Dionna and focus on serving Aristine.
‘And the maids from Silvanus cannot be trusted either.’
Normally, the preparation for the bride’s first night was done by the maids from the bride’s home. Because they were servants that the bride could treat comfortably and that would ease the bride’s nerves.
However, the perceptive court ladies noticed earlier that these bunch did not serve Aristine sincerely. They could also sense that Aristine didn’t like them either.
So, under the pretext of familiarizing the bride with Irugo’s culture, they volunteered to take care of the princess on the first night.
“Your Highness, please get up.”
“It is time to get a massage.”
Aristine who had been leaning against the tub in a half-dazed state, lifted her body upright.
Seeing this, the court ladies felt proud for some reason.
She must have been very nervous since this was her first night, but she was able to get this relaxed because of their efforts!
They felt like Aristine was comfortable around them and the corner of their lips kept rising.
“You are doing great, Your Highness. Keep relaxing like this.”
“The more relaxed your body is, the better your night will be.”
“Ah, for good night’s sleep, of course.”
“Ohohoho!”
The lewd bunch burst into laughter again.
They doused Aristine’s body with a perfumed oil blend of roses, lilac, ylang-ylang, peonies, cedar, musk, and amber. This was also something they had personally researched because they didn’t want to apply ordinary perfume oil on their Highness the Princess.
The will of the court ladies for the first night was burning.
They gently massaged Aristine to relieve her fatigue and tension.
Aristine let out a satisfied moan at the pleasant touch.
It seems her muscles were very stiff after she almost fell out of the carriage and almost fell off the horse. The feeling of her stiff muscles relaxing at their touch was very refreshing.
‘So this is the life of a prince’s wife.’
It was so great from the first night.
‘Ah, this means I’m no longer a guest of this palace but an owner, right?’
Aristine’s eyes sparkled at the sudden thought.
‘I can have tea-time whenever I want?’
Her heart was pounding with excitement.
‘Strawberry cake…I want to try one but, can I ask them to make it?’
She certainly could.
Aristine was now Tarkan’s wife, both in name and in reality.
Feeling Aristine’s heart suddenly beating fast, the court ladies went ‘Oh dear,’ and slowed down their hands.
They thought she might be feeling uncomfortable and checked her expression, but it was full of joy and excitement.
Seeing that, the court ladies also grew excited and joyful.
‘Yes, of course. This is a happy time.’
‘Who wouldn’t be excited? Just one look at His Highness Tarkan and you can tell his body is just…’
‘Hehehe, looks like our Princess will have a very passionate night.’ [1]
It was worth the length they went through to prepare the bridal chamber.
While they were overwhelmed with happiness, Aristine was also happy on her own.
‘I can try some macaroons and sachertorte too!’
Sachertorte was something she had always been curious about while watching her younger sister eat it. And as for the macaroons, her older brother had secretly given her some once, but she couldn’t remember how it tasted.
She could only remember thinking it was so delicious.
‘I should remember once I taste it, right?’
Now that she had a good memory, she would never forget it again.
Now, there was only one thing left to do.
“Here, Your Highness, please raise your arms.”
The court lady who was holding the nightdress meant for the first night smiled brightly. Her smile was both kind and friendly.
However, Aristine couldn’t do as she said.
Aristine looked at the piece of mesh in the court lady’s hand and froze.
As someone who was always doing things at her own pace, she couldn’t help but be stunned.
This was not clothing.
It was a piece of cloth with holes in it.
‘This…can this even be worn?’
Translator’s Corner:
[1] This ‘Princess’ is very different from the other ‘Princess’ they have been calling her. One means ‘Wife of the Prince’, the other means ‘daughter of the Imperial family.’
*I have never heard of ylang-ylang before today.
Heads up: I’m going to lock as another test run. The password will be the FL’s name + the chapter it is on. E.g. missruby64. Do not comment the password.
