The next morning, I woke up with a hazy head and felt discomfort from something warm next to me, so I moved my body. I wondered if it was a cat or something, groaning while rubbing my eyes and trying to confirm it.

As a result, I was speechless.

Why is there a beautiful face suddenly in the morning?

Moreover, he hasn’t woken up yet. His unstyled hair was covering his face, and when I moved my gaze, I noticed that his upper body was bare.

“…?..!..!”

I was shocked and speechless, struggling to breathe due to the shock as I tried to get out of the bed. However, something was caught, and I couldn’t get out. It’s strange, why can’t I get out of here quickly and confirm the situation? As I searched for the reason, I realized that an arm was wrapped around my back.

Moreover, it was in a position that was almost touching. By the way, it seems that our legs were stuck together. My brain was about to boil with the shock.

With my almost stopped head, I remembered yesterday’s events. I remember being brought here by Jeremiah to rest nearby because he was worried. Maybe because I cried and was tired, I fell asleep easily when lying down.

Come to think of it, I wonder where Jeremiah is sleeping.

But I never thought we would be lying in the same place. No, this is definitely his bed. So, it’s free to use however I want. Besides, I don’t think I have the right to complain since I occupied it and caused unnecessary worries.

But this is not good. We’re not even married yet…!

As I was rushing into every possible thought, Jeremiah, who was holding me, woke up. When I looked up at him, our eyes met with a drowsy gaze.

“G-Good morning.”

I said with a slightly stiff expression. Then, a happy smile returned.

“Oh… good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes…like a log. Um, could you let me go now? I want to get up.”

“No. This feels good. Just a little longer.”

He mumbled with his mouth closed and closed his eyes again, starting to breathe deeply. I can’t leave it like this. I said with a troubled expression.

“Eh! Wait, please don’t sleep, Jeremiah-sama? Jeremiah-sama~!”

“Don’t call me -sama. We’re getting married, you know?”

“But…”

“I won’t let go unless you call me that.”

If he says that, I have no choice but to call him that. I want him to let go no matter what. My heart can’t take it if he continues like this.

“J-Jeremiah…please let go.”

“No.”

Why not?!

After a while, a similar exchange continued, and by the time the servant came to wake us up, I was almost completely drained.

❂❂❂

“I think it’s rude to ask for too many details, but how was it? What are your thoughts on spending the night in the same bed with a man for the first time?”

Dora asked me as I changed into my worn-out clothes. By the way, we were still in Jeremiah’s bedroom. He had already left to change and was waiting for me in the living room, which was connected to this bedroom.

Jeremiah had instructed the butler who came to wake him up with a grimace to call for Dora and ordered us to have breakfast here today.

I didn’t really object, so I obediently followed his orders. Besides, I honestly didn’t want to suddenly show up at a table where there might be a lot of people after that. Jeremiah must have been considerate of me.

“It’s not like anything happened, but it’s bad for my heart to call him Jeremiah instead of Jeremiah-sama… If this continues, I’ll have to get used to it quickly.”

I muttered. Thinking back to how many times I had called him the wrong name in the bed, it gave me a headache. However, it would take some time to stop calling him “sama” and address him informally, considering the long time I had been using honorifics and calling him a subject of worship and admiration.

“Well, I guess so. But he was gentle with me because it was the first time.”

“Are you misunderstanding something, Dora?”

“Oh no, I won’t ask too deeply.”

While grinning, Dora quickly finished dressing me up. As always, she was efficient. I thought about how much she had helped me.

“Okay, we’re done. You must be excited today. I’ll let you decorate as you like, so be prepared.”

“Ugh, I know.”

I feel sick at the thought of being exposed to so many people’s eyes again. Even just being noticed by two or three people makes me nervous. I head towards the living room while wondering if I’ll be okay.

Dora left the room still grinning, saying she had to attend to Dorothea.

So, I’m the only one heading to the living room. As soon as I step in, I see Jeremiah basking in the sunlight, leisurely reading a book.

The pouring sunlight makes his glossy black hair shine, and the melancholic expression on his face is truly beautiful.

As I stare blankly, he notices me.

“Oh, you’re here. Shall we eat? It’s already been brought out. I remember you liked eggs.”

“How did you know?”

“Because the thing you never left on your plate during meals was eggs.”

So, why do you know that? The answer is simple. He was watching… Even I know his likes and dislikes as a result of staring at him.

I am now convinced that I had a desire to know everything about the person I liked, but at that time, I didn’t know that this feeling was the reason.

I glanced at the food arranged on the round table made of white stones.

Thinly sliced cold meat with a hint of redness. The sauce served with it was a paste with a spicy kick. The bread was piled up and not too fluffy. Pickled vegetables of various colors and drinks were also lined up.

There were also boiled eggs and a soup made of beans and grains.

“Even though it’s just the two of us, it seems like a lot.”

“It seems that the servants misunderstood and prepared it as a celebration. Look, there are also baked sweets.”

As he pointed to a place, there was certainly a cute nut cake. It was truly a celebration as it was topped with precious fruits from the southern region, which were rare at this time.

We haven’t done anything yet…

Besides, I don’t even know if we will get married like this. If he doesn’t want to bring romantic feelings into the marriage, there is a possibility that the engagement will be broken.

I sighed and sat down at the table, then said.

“Since we went through the trouble, let’s have it. Well, actually, there was nothing there.”

“Yesterday was tough, are you okay?”

“Yes, thanks to that, I slept well and I’m fine… but thinking about being exposed to so many eyes at the ball depresses me.”

“Haha, that’s just something you get used to.”

He said and started eating. Then I picked up my fruit water. For a while, we talked about trivial things while eating.