After an exhausting night, the newlyweds did not step out of bed till late the next day. No one disturbed the pair of husband and wife, and the servants of the Crown Prince's residence merely waited outside the door ready to serve them once they were called.
At around midday, Prince Theron stirred awake first. He found himself in a daze, staring at the lovely young woman snuggled into his embrace. As gently as he could, he moved away the stray strands of blond hair covering her face. He then couldn't resist kissing the tip of her nose. Realizing that his dear wife remained peacefully asleep, a wicked smile made its way onto his lips.
'Seems like she is not going to wake up anytime soon. Shall I give her more reason to keep sleeping?'
As if she had sensed his thoughts, Esther opened her eyes, only to see a pair of dark eyes staring at her with evil intentions in them.
She gulped and tried to move away but he held her steady by wrapping his arms around her. "Where do you think you are going, my lady?"
She could clearly sense his intentions and pouted, "Theron, please, no more. I will die."
He chuckled. "Strange. I have never heard of anyone dying from it." He was ready to hover above her body, but she stopped him by placing her hands on his chest.
"If you won't listen, I will move back to my residence outside of the royal palace."
Prince Theron smirked. "Can you live without me?"
"If you won't listen then I have no other options," she countered.
"We are newlyweds. Don't you think you are being unfair to me?" His expression crumpled like a helpless victim suffering from a bully.
'Such an actor,' she frowned inwardly. However, she remained firm. "Not even once did you listen to me last night. Isn't it you who is being unfair to me? I...I can't even move without feeling ache...down there..." Her last words were almost a whisper, and she averted her eyes from him in embarrassment. It did not stop the pink blush spreading on her cheeks though.
He held her chin and made her look at him. "Don't worry, I am just teasing you. You also need to rest your body, or else it won't feel good for you. And about last night, I simply could not stop."
Seeing his apologetic expression, she was able to compose herself enough to smile at him. "It's fine."
"But you are also to blame," he added.
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes, you, my wife. Who asked you to be so beautiful and so seductive in bed? This prince has completely become your slave," he said with a light grin. It was as if the apologetic expression in his face didn't exist in the first place.
"So looking beautiful is also a sin now?" She rolled her eyes. "From today onwards, I will try to look ugly."
"But still, that won't stop me," he said with a sly grin. "Even if you are ugly, or even if you turn out to be a scary witch, you will always be my lovely wife to me."
To his surprise, instead of blushing, Esther frowned. She looked displeased. "Why do you think witches are ugly and scary?"
"I don't know. Because the books say so?" He tilted his head, wondering if he said something wrong. "I was just giving you an example. Even in children's books, isn't it common that witches are described like this?"
"I wonder what kind of unreliable people started writing those stories."
"Why are we even talking about this? You don't have to think about those books. Think about me, or else I will feel jealous." He pulled her closer in his embrace. "Even if you are a witch, you are my witch. My beautiful witch."
She looked up at him. "Do you even know what you are saying, Theron?"
"Hmm? Do I?" He only smiled as he relaxed his body, nuzzling her neck like a satisfied cat. "I only know that even witchcraft won't change what I feel for you. What else? Oh, I also know, witch or not, our kids are going to be wonderful, just like their mother."
"K-Kids?" Esther stammered.
"My adorable wife," the prince chuckled. "We are married. Sooner or later, we will build our own family. I am sure soon my mother will start pestering you about them."
Not sensing any response from her, Prince Theron looked up and saw her sombre expression. "What's the matter? Do you not want to have children?"
The concern in his voice pulled her out of her shock, and she blushed. "O-Of course, I want to!"
"Very well then." Prince Theron smiled brightly at the thought of having several small children surrounding the couple in the next few years. "If our firstborn is a girl, I will prefer her to look like you, beautiful blond hair that glistens in the sun, warm brown eyes that reminds me of caramel. Well, even if it's a boy, I would like him to look like his mother. Though the royal bloodline do inherit good looks, the descendants of the Ivanov bloodline tend to look cold and intimidating. I want our kids to look sweet and beautiful even without effort, just like their mother. I am sure everyone will love them."
Esther could not help but feel warm as she watched the wistful expression on her husband's face. His expression held a certain softness she had never seen before while he talked about the future. "As for me, regardless of their looks, I want them to be smart and kind. They should have a good heart like their father as well."
With a satisfied smile, he left a soft peck on her forehead. "Shall we get up now?"
Esther nodded and Prince Theron pushed away the thick blanket covering his body as he stepped out of the bed. Only then did Esther realize her husband was fully naked.