I Was Tricked into This Fake Marriage!

Chapter 9

What in the World?

I was dreaming. Unsure as to when I’d crossed the line between the waking and sleeping worlds, I wandered aimlessly. It was as if I was traversing a dark and eternal cave with no end in sight.

My stomach churned, and my heart beat wildly, my head pounding from the terrible cacophony of noise filling the cave.

A grating clatter, like leaning your head against the steady heave of a train window. A thunderous drum-like drone, shrill enough to pierce eardrums. A blaring discordance of dozens of sounds and noises tormented me, announcing a sense of foreboding dread.

I halted and stood in place. Thwop. There was the sound of something bursting wetly from within, then spilling over, and I could make out that one of the many noises had disappeared. I could smell iron in the air.

It was as if the very source of the noise had been cut out. A chill ran through me. Another noise disappeared.

My heart pounded in my ears. And then I suddenly thought that the mixture of noises around me sounded like beating hearts.

They were living things. And they were being murdered.

It was an instinctive realization. I was also starting to become dimly aware of why I was having such a dream.

As my worries about the estate took over, the terror from that day had been pushed back to the recesses of my mind. But now it was back as soon as I had resolved the issue of my marriage.

Though I saw nothing but an impenetrable darkness, I felt in my fear as if there were a mess of corpses strewn everywhere I went. I started stumbling backward, desperately looking for a place to flee.

But the terrible, deafening roar came rushing from all directions, and only darkness lay before me. I felt little droplets land on my face.

Splish, splish.

My nostrils filled with the thick scent of blood. I tried to scream in surprise, but it was in vain. Only a noiseless hissing would escape my lips.

I started running forward without thinking until the sight of a shadowy figure from afar stopped me in my tracks. Thinking it might be the killer, fear crept into my mind. And then another noise disappeared.

The shadowy figure stood there, motionless. In the next moment, an avalanche of sinister black liquid poured down over them.

With my feet glued to the spot, I wordlessly took it all in. The figure swayed, then doubled over. They seemed to be twisting in pain.

No.

That was all I could think of. Whoever it was, they were in danger. Whoever it was, they needed help. And this was my dream, so no one else could help but me.

I wondered who it was. Sir Heiden? Jen the squire? Whoever it was, it was clear that they were someone under my care.

The shadowy figure was doused with black liquid again. The heady stench of blood wafted toward me. I grabbed the figure’s hand tightly and pulled with all my might.

The figure suddenly raised their head. Looking up to face me was the most breathtakingly beautiful face I had ever seen. His sleek eyes, his sculpted nose, those inviting red lips.

Delius?

The darkness dissipated as I called out his name. Also gone was the ear-splitting noise that had been ringing in my head. It was just me and him standing together in a space that was pure as snow.

The world stood on its axis for a moment. I gazed deeply into his crystalline eyes, feeling paralyzed and disarmed by his beauty. His ebony hair revealed a deeper radiance in the light, and the stunning contrast of his rosy irises made them shine like stars.

Hello, he responded.

And my dream came to an end.

***

I opened my eyes. It took a moment to adjust to the light. I surveyed the room in a daze before I realized it belonged to the man whose face I had seen in my dream.

When had I even fallen asleep?

Other than the vague sense of being chased, the details of my dream were quickly slipping away. However, one thing I could remember clearly was that the figure I had seen was the man who was now my husband, and that everything had been bathed in light when I reached out and touched his hand.

I was stretching out the kinks in my body when I heard a knock. It was my handmaiden Ann, whom I had brought from Efran. She was so excited she was practically beaming. I could hardly reconcile her current lively, bubbly state with the girl in catatonic shock I had seen after our encounter with the murderous Colliard.

“My, my. Don’t you look well-rested,” I said.

“Oh, my lady! That’s not it at all!”

What was it then?

“Your consort has sent a dress for you to wear tomorrow at the ball!”

My who? Consort, as in an honored and noble spouse...?

Oh, she meant my husband... My husband was my... consort? I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get used to that.

“I already have a dress,” I replied.

“My lady, that dress was nowhere near befitting the Countess of Efran! Thank goodness we don’t have to worry about that anymore!”

Really? Because it seemed like you were the only one worrying. True, it had been slim pickings at nearly every dress shop in town with the imperial ball coming up. Still, I had combed through all of the remaining options and was confident that I had managed to find a hidden gem.

And what did Delius think he was doing sending me a dress, anyway?

“Come! Hurry, my lady! You simply must try it on! You have to get it fitted!”

She may be talented, but I was starting to wonder if I should have brought someone a little less... high energy? It was a lot to handle right after waking up.

“And it’s from none other than the Madame Harinne of Atelier Dahlia! Can you believe it?!”

Who...?

Ann continued excitedly prattling on about Atelier Dahlia. It was supposed to be the most famous dressmaker’s studio in the capital? That was pretty cool... Just another Nine Nights perk, I guess?

After getting dressed and ready, I was practically pushed into the parlor room where a middle-aged woman in an exceedingly fashionable dress was waiting for me.

“It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Countess Efran. I am Ellie Harinne, the proprietress of Atelier Dahlia.”

“A pleasure, Madame Harinne.”

She flashed a knowing smile at my response. It was as if she was sizing me up like a fish in a tank before placing me on a cutting board to be fileted. Then, with a decisive flick of her wrists, she fully displayed what was clearly the crème de la crème of her stock.

In that instant, I realized the truth. The dress I had chosen was no hidden gem. It was an ugly, garish piece of garbage. And an extremely overpriced piece of garbage, at that.

I knew that they’d take the shirt right off your back in Seoul if you weren’t careful. I hadn’t realized that it was the same way in the imperial capital as well. Still, I had thought that I’d gotten a pretty good deal on my dress! The materials were decent! The dye job wasn’t bad either!

But this dress... it was decorated with gems!

The madame was unbelievably attentive to my needs. While I tried the dress on, she chatted endlessly about the latest fashion trends and social gossip in the capital.

She was a fantastic conversationalist, and it came to her naturally. Me being mostly clueless to the ways of the empire, I was grateful for the chitchat. But then I had a strange thought.

I started to wonder if the madame’s words were truly just an innocent conversation. If she was trying to ingratiate herself to me, wouldn’t it surely be a better choice for her to ask me about Efran?

“Madame, please excuse me for being so forward, but do you have any business relations with my husband?”

What I really wanted to ask was if she was affiliated with the Nine Nights Guild, but it seemed too untoward a question for a new bride to ask another woman.

Seeming neither surprised nor bothered, the madame just smiled at me serenely before continuing to share her high-society gossip.

Could it be that she was more than just affiliated with the guild? Was the proprietress of the most esteemed dressmaker’s studio in the capital actually a member of the guild?

Not only did her reaction seem to affirm that she had noted the intention behind my questioning, it was highly unusual for someone who was simply doing business to take such good care of an unsophisticated provincial countess like myself.

After promising to return tomorrow, the madame left at sunset. And I, completely drained from mentally keeping up with the onslaught of gossip and information she had shared with me all day, promptly fell asleep right after dinner.

* * *

I had slept for who knows how long, when something roused me awake.

It was as if I could feel a presence next to me. My mind instantly went into high alert.

Though my body didn’t feel heavy or stiff, an unknown nighttime presence could only mean one thing. A nocturnal intrusion of the nightmarish kind, like a sleep paralysis demon or an incubus.

Begone with you! I screamed silently in my head. My mind is healthy and strong! In the name of Jesus! Buddha! And Confucius!

It was only after calling out to every god from Allah to the Egyptian sun god Ra that I remembered these were all deities of another world.

No such gods existed in my current world. According to their mythology, all of the gods of this world had been devoured by the incarnation of evil save for one, and even that god had fled underground to escape evil.

So not a single higher power to lean on... Sheesh.

I opened my eyes slowly, hoping to find nobody there.

But there was somebody.

“Aaiiieeeeee!”

I was so caught off guard that I sprang back in surprise, accidentally lost my holding on the edge of the bed, then fell over backward.

“Eeeeeek....!”

Someone reached out and grabbed me, stopping my fall. That was when I managed to get a good look at the person who was lying in bed with me.

Delius looked at me with his sleepy, sexy eyes.

My sleepy, sexy contractual husband.

Now, that wasn’t a very ladylike way to describe my husband.

Oops?

He peered at me and my hand before pulling me up. And with that, he had gently hoisted me back into bed. He looked me over.

W-why was he looking at me like that...? It was making me bashful! Did I look ugly right after waking?

“I, uh... Sorry. I didn’t know you’d be home tonight and got startled...”

He acknowledged what I had to say with a short nod and lay back down, closing his eyes. A few short moments later, Sir Heiden barged into the room with a loud bang.

“My lady!”

Sir Heiden ran in bellowing my name. At first, he seemed relieved when he saw me sitting up in my befuddled state, but then he made as if to draw his sword when he realized I wasn’t alone in my bed.

“That is Master Delius.”

Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, the butler stayed Sir Heiden’s hand.

The color drained out of the butler’s face when he saw me, or more precisely, when he saw Delius, and he firmly steered Sir Heiden out by his shoulder.

“Let us leave.”

“Uh, I...”

Sir Heiden seemed unsure, but I nodded affirmatively and he allowed himself to be led out by the butler. They closed the doors behind them.

Delius’ eyes were still closed. I shot him a dirty look.

What the heck... He never said that he’d be home tonight...!

But boy, did he sure look gorgeous even with his eyes closed.

His skin was so clear and smooth that it looked like the finest porcelain. And his lashes, his lashes...! They were so dense and long that even the moonlight cast shadows on them.

Phew! He was just dripping with sexual appeal... And the fact that his hair was all shiny and wet just made him look even sexier...!

“Huh?”

His hair was wet? I noticed the crumpled-up pile of white towels in the middle of the room. He must have just gotten cleaned up before going to bed.

Delius’ eyes fluttered open at the sound of my voice.

He fixed his luminous red irises on me. They were clearly the eyes of a human mortal, but they still gleamed with an otherworldly luster as if they had been intricately polished by a divinely gifted craftsman.

S-shouldn’t I be getting used to looking at him by now...? Why did I feel like I could hardly breathe?

“Uh, your hair... Y-you should dry it before going to sleep...” I blubbered the words out like an idiot whose tongue had been anesthetized.

“I’m fine.”

I winced. There was a surprisingly sharp edge in his voice.

I sensed no sign of Delius’ usual cheeky insouciance. When I failed to respond, he stared up at me for a little while longer before closing his eyes again.

I barely withheld the sigh that threatened to escape my throat.

Was he really sleepy?

I smoothed out the rumpled sheets and carefully tucked them over Delius’ body. His eyelashes flickered slightly, but he did not open his eyes again.

I lay back down in bed. Now I was wide awake. But with hours still left to go until morning, I didn’t want to get up either.

Should I move to the sofa...? No, I want the spacious bed.

But it felt awkward to have someone sleeping next to me.

The scent of his soap wafted over from his side of the bed. My pulse quickened. I started to feel bashful again.

Delius hadn’t so much as moved a muscle, but my hackles started to rise unnecessarily.

Was he really asleep?

Was he really sleeping when there was a perky and fully mature young woman lying right next to him? Really?

I mean, fine... Obviously he had way more going for him in terms of looks, but still... Delius was silent.

I eyed him warily for a good long time. But when nothing happened, I started to feel dejected.

Was I the one who was being warded off here? I mean, he was so out of my league in terms of physical attractiveness, I must basically look like a pig to him. Dammit... I wasn’t ugly though! I’m cute...and interesting... Sniffle.

As my tension eased, I started feeling sleepy again. After yawning lightly, I closed my eyes. I somehow felt the distinct feeling that Delius was smirking at me, but I chose to let sleep take over.

How strange. I couldn’t smell it anymore—that lavender scent.