The rest of the conversation with the Vasquez family was as pleasant as the beginning. It was easy to hear how some people gossiped about that, but that was understandable. After all, the Vasquez family had never gotten along well with the emperor, and now after Claude was dead and the dowager empress arrested, they suddenly chatted with the royal couple with smiles on their faces. But the group didn't let that bother them.

At some point, Rebecca woke up and cried for her mother, which caused Selena to hurry away after apologizing. Luciano quickly presented the gifts before joining his mother.

Thankfully, the whole evening remained as calm as the first two conversations. No one caused problems, and the interactions with all nobles were calm. There wasn't anything special this time around aside from the huge amount of new people, of which some Blanche met for the first time.

Some of the aristocrats from outside the capital didn't even try to hide how they were gawking at the new empress, but everyone was very polite. The royal couple received countless gifts, of which some were definitely way too expensive and some too luxurious to be considered tasteful, but they smiled at everything.

In the end, Theodore hadn't lied when he promised that they would retreat at midnight no matter what. As soon as the hands of the clock met to signal that the day had ended, he stood up and escorted his lover out of the room after giving a short goodbye to the guests.

It was extremely satisfying to know that Blanche could now cling to his arm and lead him away because she had the right to do so. This would be their wedding night, and she didn't need to steal another bride's groom away. So, she couldn't help but beam when they arrived at their room. She immediately plopped onto the bed and hummed to herself while watching her lover's content smile.

Theodore set down his crown and took off the cape before he walked over to the bed and grinned at her. “It seems like you were quick to forget something. You told me that it was so annoying, but in the end, you didn't even pay attention to it anymore.” He moved his hands forward and carefully lifted the crown off her head before he placed it next to his on the dresser.

Blanche was actually a bit surprised to realize that she hadn't felt the crown for a while now, but upon being reminded, her head did hurt a little. She reached up to massage her scalp and looked up at her lover. “Now you made me remember, and it's unpleasant. You will have to kiss it until it gets better.”

Her lover didn't hesitate to lean forward to lay his lips on her head. He gave her a few kisses while gently taking over the massage for her. After letting her enjoy it for a moment, he spoke up in a soft tone. “Is it better now? Or do I need to do something to distract you from the pain? I do have a few things in mind that could make you focus on other matters.”

The empress hummed at him and opened one eye. “In a few minutes. Would you continue doing this for a little while longer?” The pleasant tingles began to run down from her scalp to her spine so that she couldn't help but shiver. “Yes, right there...” She allowed a wide smile to creep onto her lips and sighed at the sensation. She could almost fall asleep like this or just receive a massage for hours. The thought of that was tempting, but she wouldn't actually make her lover do that. She gave herself a few more minutes, but then she would make sure to pay him back.

Theodore chuckled at her expression and pressed a small kiss onto her neck while continuing to caress her head. “This truly is your weak spot. I will need to make sure to use it to the fullest. If it's this easy to please you, I should just give you a massage more often.”

She replied without opening her eyes. “Yes, please. I can do the same for you too. It feels so wonderful when everything begins tingling. I just want to melt when you do that.” She let out a deep breath and leaned into his touch.

“You are too adorable when you look at me like this. You normally are cuter than anyone else already, but if you do this too often, I might get sick from all this sugary sweetness.” Theodore stopped his massage for only a little moment to take off her cape before he continued to rub small circles into her scalp. “Say, my angel... What do you say about our honeymoon? Should we stay in the palace or rather visit the summer mansion for a while?”

Memories of the last vacation filled Blanche's mind and immediately made her answer clear. “I want to go to the coast again. I need to keep swimming, or I will forget how to do it, you know? And I want to visit the restaurant and eat salmon with you. Of course, I want to see the beach again and have a picnic by the old tree too. It was wonderful there, so I would love to visit the summer mansion again. I just think that going now is a bit unfavorable. We would only stay for two weeks or so. Making the servants prepare so much baggage and driving through the country with so many carriages for only two weeks is too much. So, it would be better to stay longer for our normal summer vacation. That's fine, right?” She hoped that she hadn't slouched her words too much. After all, it was hard to focus when Theodore was still massaging her head.

Her lover didn't seem to be surprised by her response. “I thought that you would suggest that. It's a good idea. That way, we have an excuse to spend much more time together, don't we? We can have some kind of honeymoon now, and our vacation will be another round of cuddling and being sweet. And no one will be able to complain. We will have all of the time for ourselves, and no one can bother us while we enjoy the sea. We could also ride a horse again if you want to. But this time, our vacation won't be cut short. I will stay with you until the very end, and we'll return together.” He brought his lips to her neck and left a small trail of kisses on her shoulder. “We have enough time to plan all of that later though. Our wedding night comes first. That means that I will have a chance to indulge you as much as possible.” He brushed his lips over her neck, which made a pleasant shiver run down her spine.

Blanche felt like she might really melt if it went on like this. Then she would end up letting him pamper her the whole evening even though she also wanted to give something back. So, she gave herself a limit. Inwardly, she counted to a hundred before forcing herself to open her eyes. “Thank you for taking care of me. I think I can bear with the pain from that crown now. But a little bit still remains. You really need to distract me now.” She extended her arms to welcome him in a hug, but Theodore crouched down before her. She froze for a moment before getting ready to argue. He didn't really insist on pledging his loyalty to her now or something like that, right?

Her lover smirked at her as his hands wandered to her feet. “I will gladly distract you as much as you want to, but we will need to take your shoes off first. Can you wait that long, or are you too impatient, my empress?” Something in his gaze made her feel a bit warmer than before.

She carefully lifted her foot and averted her eyes. “I guess I will be able to wait for one more minute. But not longer than that. I need my husband to pamper me after all. We just married today, so you need to take care of me. And I won't allow you to delay it for longer than necessary.” She tried to sound sulky, but in the end, she couldn't stop beaming as her lover took off her shoes. A small kiss on her foot was enough to make her jolt at the tickling sensation

But before she could complain, Theodore had already stood up and sat down next to her. He pulled her against his side so that she could rest her head on his shoulder and stroked over her scalp. “I would never let you wait. Even if I adore teasing you, I would never be able to keep my hands off my darling wife. Not when you are right here in my arms. Our dream finally came true. There is no way that I can wait longer. But you will forgive me for being a little impatient today, right?”

Blanche wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her head into his shoulder. “Of course, I will. I'm eager to celebrate our wedding too. I can calm you down by saying that we have an eternity together, which means that you don't have to rush. So, we can take as much time as we need to make this perfect. I promise you that it will be wonderful no matter what.”

Her lover turned his head to her to press a kiss onto her scalp. “How could I ever rush anything with you? Especially when it comes to our wedding night. I will make sure that you are satisfied in every way once we go to sleep. And then we will have to stay in bed until noon so that you won't pout when I wake you tomorrow.”

“I can live with that. At least if I don't have to wait much longer for my husband.” Blanche slowly lifted her head off his shoulder and let herself fall onto the bed. She only needed to lift her arms, and Theodore dove into her embrace. His lips found hers, and his hands wandered to the back of her head.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Their kiss only took a short moment before Theodore lifted his head and looked down at her. He carefully stroked over her cheek and whispered her name before even more flowed out of his mouth. “No matter how clear it becomes when we are together, I still can't believe it. We can finally be together with no one coming between us. There is nothing here that can keep us apart. Even if I know that, it feels strange. I'm so happy. But at the same time, I'm scared because I won't be able to predict the future in two years. I won't be able to act before the problems even occur anymore. I won't know what our enemies think. What if I mess up again and something goes horribly wrong?” It sounded like he hadn't wanted to say that much at all. The words had just escaped his throat before he could do anything about it.

Blanche gently cupped his face and met his eyes with a soft smile. “You already dealt with things you couldn't predict. The attack in the forest. And the dowager empress and Cedar's sudden appearance too. Maybe you knew that they would come at some point, but they arrived much later last time, didn't they? So, you couldn't have been sure about what they would plot. Still, we defeated them. You aren't nearly as weak as you may think you are without those memories. No matter what happens, I'm by your side. As long as we have the most important thing, everything will be fine. And that is our love and trust. There will never be a moment in which I won't be on your side. We went against the flow of time already. There is nothing we can't do.”

Theodore leaned into her touch and looked into her eyes as he responded in a whisper. “That's right. I can do anything if I'm with you. That's why I will never let anyone hurt you. I want to become your shield until the very end.”

She stroked over his face while meeting his gaze. “I will only allow that if you don't get hurt. I want us both to be happy together until the end of the world. We will move forward together and have a family. We'll finally have what we deserved from the very beginning. Our own happy ending.”

Her lover whispered a small “Yes” before he lowered his head and kissed her neck. For a short moment, he gently nibbled on her skin before he lifted his head again to look at her. “About that topic...regarding your period. Did you have it until now?”

Blanche's smile slowly grew as she shook her head. “Nothing in the past three months. But you already knew that, right? Skipping it once may be a coincidence. Twice too. But not three times in succession. The doctor said that we could test it after the festivities end. Then we would finally have some clarity about whether I'm really...carrying our child.” Just saying that made her heart skip a beat. She wanted it to be true so badly. After one month, she had barely allowed herself to hope, but now she couldn't deny it anymore. If she received a negative result, she would be devastated. After all, she would worry about her body suddenly skipping periods then.

Theodore brushed his fingers through her hair, and a little smile grew on his lips. “Maybe. Even if that isn't the case, we have more than enough time left. But this might be our moment. We could have a little baby. We always wished for that too. And now it may be here.” He moved his hand downward and carefully put his palm on her stomach. “No matter what, I will be right here to protect you and our children. It doesn't matter whether we have them now or in the future. All that matters is that we are together. We are married and have all the time in the world. You just said that a while ago, so don't pressure yourself.”

Blanche slowly nodded as she tried to keep herself from getting too emotional. This time, she didn't need to think that she was the villainess in a novel and thus didn't deserve to be a mother. No author had written her into a role that was predetermined for her. She could actually live her life how she wanted to live it. That meant that she could have children even if she hadn't had one until now. A small laugh escaped her throat as she pulled Theodore closer. “Yes. We will definitely have a child at some point. And we'll be great parents. I will even read books if I have to. So, we will definitely manage to get our happy family. But for today, I want to be your wife first. Let's celebrate our wedding and that everything is finally beautiful. I love you.” She moved his head down to hers.

Her lover didn't need to be invited twice. He kissed her passionately and only stopped for a little moment to whisper to her. “I love you too, my angel. All our wishes will become reality, I promise you that.” With these words, his lips landed on hers, and they both melted into the kiss.

The world around them faded as only their love remained in their minds.

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The couple's wedding night was full of cuddling, displays of affection and all kinds of love confessions. It wasn't surprising that they slept in the next day and spent hours after the sun had risen staying in bed to get even a little bit of sleep. Thankfully, the banquet only began in the afternoon, so they didn't have any issues with arriving too late.

As expected, this day of the celebration was similar to the previous balls. The only difference was that this was a huge banquet, which meant that hundreds of guests had to be seated at big tables and eat together. This was a challenge for the servants that had brought the tables into the ballroom overnight and the chefs that needed to create so much food. It was impressive that nothing seemed to go wrong despite those big tasks. In the end, everything looked perfect. The white tablecloths were flawlessly clean, and the decorations were as gorgeous as Blanche had imagined them to be.

The only problem would be eating with so many people watching her. Blanche was a bit scared of dropping something or accidentally staining her dress despite her having practiced table manners with Leon. She got nervous before the beginning of the banquet, which only caused her to be even more uncertain of her hands' steadiness. She just wanted to go through the meal without making any huge errors, but she wasn't sure whether her will was the only limiting factor here.

As soon as she and Theodore had sat down at a table with the three ducal families, her anxiety heightened even more when her lover offered her a piece of salmon from his plate. Doing this in public embarrassed her, but she had few chances to do anything against it without refusing him. So, she ignored how the unfamiliar nobles gossiped about the emperor that couldn't stop cuddling with his empress even during the meal. It was better to get used to this now. Most likely, Theodore would continue to act like this for the rest of the festivities.

It wasn't surprising that she was right with that guess. The following days were accompanied by a huge banquet in the evening and some kind of special event before that, and each time, Theodore showered her with affection.

On the third day of the celebration, they had a dance. The royal couple waltzed together, and Theodore used every chance to lean over to kiss her. There was probably no one that hadn't seen them dance while cuddling and how the two of them still linked arms when the dance was over.

The fourth day was the one that mainly allowed the emperor and the empress to chat with some people. A few games had been prepared for the guests, and the royal couple joined each group at some point to hear a bit about what was going on in their families.

On the fifth day of the celebration, a tea party was held outside. Of course, Theodore had used that opportunity to feed his lover cake and cookies. Then he had led her around while holding her hand and showed the guest the winter garden just to explain how he had built it for her.

The sixth day was the last one during which all guests were present. On this day, the banquet was accompanied by a grand buffet. It offered all kinds of dishes in contrast to the medium-sized amount of snacks that were presented for normal balls. At first, Blanche was concerned about the leftovers, but it quickly became clear that the palace staff would gladly eat a lot of these dishes too. Once again, Theodore had done his best to hold her hand at all times and shared his plate with her.

On the seventh day, most guests that lived outside the capital departed in the early morning or around noon. This had forced the couple to stand up early despite having slept little so that Blanche would have liked to whine the whole time. She endured it with a fake smile as they bid farewell to every single person. In the evening, a typical ball with dancing and a lot of chatting followed.

That evening and the next day consisted of saying goodbye to the last remaining nobles as well as thanking them for their attendance and their generous gifts and regards. It wasn't surprising that this whole week had been draining.

As soon as it was over, Blanche had collapsed onto her bed and stayed there without moving for a while. She was proud of herself for lasting the whole time and decided to reward herself by staying in bed the entire day. Her exhaustion was so big that she could fall asleep during the day by now. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into the pillow. She heard footsteps next to the bed, and a moment later, her lover's hands landed on her back.

Theodore carefully began massaging her while speaking in a soft tone. “You did well, my angel. We won't have this much stress for a long time now. We can take care of ourselves for a while. So, it's a perfect opportunity for you to relax. How about we take two weeks off for now? After all, we just had our wedding, so it's only logical for us to have our honeymoon afterward. Since we delayed the vacation, we can get some rest now.”

Blanche stared at the head part of the bed before closing her eyes to enjoy the massage. “I would feel a bit bad about immediately taking a break after I just accepted the responsibility to govern the nation. Shouldn't I try to do something for Artias first?”

Theodore rubbed big circles into her back, which made her sigh in satisfaction, before he replied. “There is no need to put pressure on yourself when resting will allow us to work better once we start again. Besides, we worked two hours a day for the last two or three months. That means that you did more than enough for the first few weeks. We will relax for a while, and then we will return to the office. Two weeks should be good. For now, Leon takes care of the crucial things, and in an emergency, he will call for us. But as long as that doesn't happen, we can just spend our time with more pleasant matters.”

The empress pondered that for a little moment. She knew how efficient Theodore was. Most likely, her lover would make up for their break with his reading speed within two days. So, it should be alright. She would allow herself to rest a bit before putting in the doubled amount of effort later. Before those two weeks were over, she would need to focus on less exhausting matters. No matter how much she wanted to learn more about politics, her brain already felt overwhelmed with the input of a whole week of celebrations.

Blanche still hadn't really understood that she was Theodore's wife yet. She would probably take a while until that realization finally sank in. The thought was enough to make her open her eyes. She slowly rolled onto her back and looked up at her lover, who was sitting next to her. She only needed to turn around to lay her head on his lap, and he immediately began patting her. Blanche was content with that and gave him a soft smile. “Then I guess that we will have two weeks of cuddling before us. It's not like we won't have the chance to do that afterward anymore, but we should fully use our honeymoon to shower each other with affection.”

Theodore snorted at that as he stroked over her hair. “Hasn't that become the norm? If not, we definitely need to change that. I'm always happy to receive even the slightest bit of love from you. So, I will need to make sure that you feel as happy as I am whenever I feel your touch.” He didn't even need to do much to make her grin, so the task he had given himself wasn't hard to fulfill. He paused for a little moment before he spoke up. “Aside from cuddling, I also have another way to make you happy though. Did you notice that something was off? Wasn't it strange that we received so many gifts from others while I didn't give you anything yet?”

Oh, no. She knew what would follow.