CH 42

「I have called a back massager. When you wake up, pull the string and deliver the message to the servant.」

Back massager?

I tilted my head.

‘Did Ian call a back massager for me?’

Why the hell? He was suddenly mindful of me, which made me nervous.  Then when I tried to sneak the note aside,

“Ugh.”

My waist was throbbing with a stinging pain. What. What’s the problem with my back? 

My back hurts like it was slammed by someone. As I grabbed my waist, I said to Annette.

“Miss Annette. Ma-Massager.”

“Yes?”

“Ian stated that he had called a back masseuse. Could you please call her and ask her to come in?”

“Ba-Back massage…Ye-Yes!”

Annette’s face flushed once more, and she left the room quickly. She was a friend who had impure thoughts but was quick in action.

Soon after, a masseuse entered the room and began massaging my waist. Despite that skilled masseuse’s touch making my waist feel much better, the soreness still lingered.

“Ugh…I’m still not feeling better.”

After the masseuse went, I squeezed my waist and spoke, and Annette’s hand, which was helping me in changing my clothes, became noticeably flustered.

It was almost lunchtime when I had to meet Ian.

“What’s wrong with my body?”

I walked up to Ian and whispered, not looking up from the table full of lunch dishes.

Ian gave me a short glance.

“What are you talking about? How’s your body?”

“When I wake up in the morning, my back hurts and I feel like I’m going to die!”

“Hasn’t the masseuse left yet?”

“He left the room after touching my waist. But I didn’t fully recover.”

Ian locked his gaze on me for a few moments.

“Why, why are you staring at me like that?”

“Do you have no recollection of what happened the night before, Madam?”

“The night before…?”

I returned the question with a blank stare.

The only thing I remember from last night is going to sleep.

I went to bed without tossing and turning after falling asleep without even saying good night to Ian the night before.

“You don’t remember.”

Ian clicked her tongue.

“That’s an amazing skill.”

“What, what are you talking about? What happened last night?”

In a state of panic, I questioned again. I swear nothing happened last night.

We were lying on opposite sides of the large bed, not a single hair touching each other. It may not have been necessary, but the wide bed provided a significant benefit.

Ian gave me another look. His eyes were now as if he were staring at a strange creature.

“Did you dream about a magical beast last night?”

“What?”

“The blanket was kicked and tossed around as if it were your enemy.”

“What?”

I blinked in amusement.

“I’m sure you’ve fallen three times on the floor. I’m relieved that you didn’t break your back.”

Ian’s eyes were cold and he looked at me as if I were a pain in the ass.

It couldn’t be true. Following that, I opened my mouth to defend myself. My sleeping habits have never been an issue for me.

“That can’t be true. My sleeping habits are quiet and peaceful.”

“Ah…Ya.”

Ian gave a rough nod as if to say so.

Wait a minute. The fact that I fell three times on the floor…

‘Does this imply that Ian held me three times and put me back to bed?’

As I thought about it, a heat rose on my cheek. To get rid of the awkward feeling, I purposefully cast an exaggeratedly suspicious look.

“Perhaps… Did you put me on the edge of the bed because you didn’t want to touch me? That’s why I kept falling, right?”

“Ha?”

Ian didn’t even reply as if he had heard an absurd misunderstanding.

“Please excuse me, Madam Irene.”

Annette took a step forward and spoke slowly.

“Are you alright? Would you like me to change the meal and prepare a new one later?”

“It’s all right. I was arguing with Ian about what was causing my back pain.”

“I, I, I see.”

Annette’s cheeks turned red once more. What the hell has that kid been thinking all day?

I was getting ready to go out again after lunch.

The Rehart Empire’s wedding lasted two nights and three days. To put it another way, the guests had not yet left.

‘Thank goodness I don’t have to deal with guests today.’

Today, a different schedule was prepared for me and Ian. It’s our honeymoon.

The duration was only three days, which was extremely short. He stated that he could not extend the time anymore due to Ian’s schedule, which took over the duties of the Knights Templar and the work of Her Holiness Cardinal.

Well, it was good for me. After all, I wasn’t sure if I could go on a honeymoon with my fake husband any longer.

“Waa.”

I opened my mouth wide as I looked at the carriage in which Ian and I were riding.

It was the same carriage that Ian had lent me previously. It resembled a small castle rather than a carriage.

Nonetheless, the magnificent carriage was lavishly decorated with a plethora of live flowers.

As far as my eye could tell, it was a carriage for newlywed couples on their way to their honeymoon.

I marveled once more as I entered the carriage. Even for such a little space, the interior looked cozy and comfortable on the inside.

‘If it’s a carriage like this, it’s good to travel to be locked up in this cage for a few days.’

Of course, it would have been much better if the companion had not been with my husband, whom I had just married.

I sat in the carriage, my eyes wandering around the surroundings.

“Didn’t you say we are going somewhere?”

“Toolen.”

Unlike me, Ian entered the carriage and sat as if it were his bedroom. It felt natural enough because it was his carriage.

‘Toolen…It was a long way from here.’

I remembered something in the ‘Imperial Evangelism’ book that Lucian had brought. We had to spend two nights and three days on the road to get there by carriage because it was so far away.

‘I wonder if that was a waste of time, but this is not a real honeymoon anyway. Umm.’

With this in mind, I leaned back against the backrest. I was going to spend at least one day there, so I should have gotten used to it quickly.

Was the weariness from yesterday still there after such a wonderful night’s sleep?

As I leaned forward, the presence of Ian across from me pressed on me, but my eyelids gradually became heavier.

It was while I was drowsy and stared blankly out the window.

Criik, the carriage stopped.

‘Huh?’

When the escort opened the carriage door, Ian jumped out. He turned to look at me and arched one eyebrow as I gave him a blank stare.

“Please come here. Why are you so preoccupied?”

Come here? Why?

The ride was too short to allow us to get off. I wouldn’t even stop at a rest stop after this much riding. But, as a responsible contracting partner, I stepped off the carriage for the time being.

Of course, I was still in the center of the capital when I got off. However, the presence of a magnificent structure in front of me was unique.

“Where are we?”

It wasn’t just the building that was out of the ordinary.

People walking in and out of the building were also visible.

‘Waa, that person is dressed completely in midwinter attire.’

I noticed someone wearing a thick-looking fur coat leaving the building, taking their coats off in the warm spring sunlight of the capital city.

On the other hand, some people dressed in midsummer attire entered the building.

‘What the hell is this place?’

Then Ian and I went into the building together.

‘Waa.’

The interior stood out more than the façade. The lavishly gold-colored interior gleamed brightly instead of the magical stone where the lights was supposed to be.

The magical stone must be an expensive item. In wonder, I opened my mouth and murmured to Ian. I couldn’t raise my voice openly because there were so many people staring at us.

“Are magical stones being used to decorate the building instead of lamps? Do you think the owner of the building is a wealthy man?”

Ian gave me a blunt answer while I was looking around and admiring like a villager the entire time.

‘Ride?’

My doubt lasted only a few minutes. As I approached the end of the building, I again dropped my jaw.

Two interlocking discs the size and height of three persons were slowly rotating.

What’s even more surprising is.

‘Ugh, gasp.’

When the two discs were stacked on top of each other, a human would appear from within. Even after over a month in the fantasy world, this scene was quite shocking to me.

“Welcome, Sir Ian. And Lady Irene.”

A person who appeared to be the manager of this establishment greeted me with courtesy.

“The coordinates are perfectly set. You’ll be at Toolen in a matter of seconds, safely and quickly.”

Eum. How did you get to Tullen in such a short amount of time? Good.

…..No. Wait. Is it up to scratch?

My head, which had been caught off guard, only expressed doubt at that point.

‘How is that possible?’

I took another look around. There are magical stones all throughout the place. People coming out of the disc wearing seasonal clothing.

No way.

I recalled the words from my memory that I had read in the original book.

‘Teleportation gate.’

This is the realm of fantasy.

Although the buildings and clothing looked to be similar to those of the Western Renaissance, there were advancements comparable to current Earth in the twenty-first century thanks to advanced magical engineering.

The teleportation gate is one of them.

I know it’s a system that can transfer people from the centre of the continent to the far end in an instant by utilizing the power of magical stones and complicated magical formulas. But I’d only read the premise once and knew very little about this device.

Because only that much was mentioned in the original.

That’s the reason why.

“Madam Irene?”

Because in the original, the capital’s teleportation gate did not exist. It exploded before the original could even begin.