Chapter 172: The Wedding Ring
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: The Wedding Ring
At those words, Loik’s heart skipped a beat in alarm.
Did I do something wrong?
Annette narrowed her eyes at him as he stood there, wide-eyed and frozen.
“If you were going to propose like this, you should have told me!”
While he stood there blinking like a fool, unsure of what had gone awry, she continued.
“If I’d known, I would have dressed up and looked pretty.”
Only then did a laugh of pure relief escape him.
“Don’t laugh.”
Annette arched an eyebrow, grumbling that she was likely the only Grand Duchess in history to receive a proposal while wearing her pajamas.
As she looked down at her attire, a few strands of hair escaped her headpiece and fluttered against her cheek. Her golden tresses followed, cascading over her shoulders in shimmering waves.
Bathed in the moonlight and wrapped in her soft, plush robe, Annette looked breathtakingly beautiful—like a forest nymph living by the shore of a hidden lake.
“You are beautiful even now.”
At his answer, Annette lifted her head, her expression softening.
Loik’s hand, looking almost pathetic in its trembling, was still holding out the ring. His lips were parched from anxiety. Just as he was about to cast a desperate, yearning look at the silent Annette, she finally broke into a bright smile.
Annette took a gentle step forward. Her small hand wrapped around Loik’s large one, pulling him up to his feet.
Drunk with joy, Loik gazed into her blue eyes. His entire world was contained within those sparkling clusters of stars.
“I suppose we’ll have to rewrite our contract.”
The moment we return to the castle, I’m burning that one-year contract, Loik thought.
Annette’s eyes crinkled playfully as she spoke. “Since Loik was the one who said ‘forever’ first, there are no take-backs.”
His heart hammered against his ribs, overflowing with happiness. Loik pressed a tender kiss near the corner of her eye.
“Even if I lived a thousand lives, I would never take it back.”
The ring fit Annette’s finger perfectly. The blue diamond set against her fair skin radiated a brilliant, ethereal glow.
“Do you like the ring?”
“I love it.”
My wife.
Not a one-year contract, not a fake couple. She was his real, lovely wife who would stay by his side for the rest of his life. The thought brought an irrepressible smile to his face.
As he stood there dotingly stroking Annette’s hand, Loik suddenly snapped back to his senses. He had forgotten to tell her something important.
“I had a mage place a defensive enchantment on the ring.”
“A defensive enchantment?”
Loik reassured her, explaining that as long as she wore the ring, most forms of black magic would no longer affect her. He had said "most," but in truth, he had commissioned nearly every type of defensive spell in existence to be layered onto it. He never wanted Annette to go through such an ordeal again.
— “With this, even an entire army of shamans wouldn't be able to kidnap Her Highness,” the mage had grumbled with an exhausted face after spending all day casting the spells.
“So, please make sure to wear it wherever you go.”
“The stone seems a bit too large for everyday wear, though,” Annette said, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment.
“The mage said the gem needed to be large and sturdy to better withstand attacks.”
“It’s so precious. What if I lose it while wearing it all the time?”
“It doesn’t matter if you lose it.” Loik reached out and gently smoothed the worried furrow between her brows. “If you lose it, I’ll just have a better one made. Don’t worry about a thing and wear it comfortably.”
He had no intention of letting Annette fret over a mere piece of jewelry. Whether it was hundreds or thousands of diamonds, he would simply buy them for her again and again.
Annette toyed with the ring on her finger, a faint smile playing on her lips.
“We’re going back to the castle tomorrow, right?”
“If you’re still afraid of riding in a carriage, we can stay at the villa for a few more days.”
When they had returned to the villa the day before, Annette had been so terrified of the carriage that he’d had to let her ride on Pyros instead.
“I’m okay now.” Annette held up the back of her hand, showing off the ring. “I think I can feel safe now that I have the ring you gave me.”
I should have all of Annette’s jewelry enchanted once we get back to the castle, Loik resolved internally.
“And I’ve been thinking,” Annette said, as if finally voicing a thought she had been weighing for some time. “It’s a fact that I possess holy power.”
Loik nodded silently. It wasn't just any holy power. It was power of such immense purity that even a dragon would covet it. He had held his tongue for her sake, but now that he knew a dragon was targeting her, it was no longer a matter they could simply ignore.
“Once we’re back at the castle, I want to study my holy power. Miel said that once the seal is broken, I’ll need to learn how to control it.”
Loik suppressed a bitter smile. He had just come from being lectured by the mage about that very subject.
— “I told you, didn't I? She needs to keep seeing a priest. Her Highness’s holy power isn't something that can be hidden, no matter how hard you try.”
The mage had been blunt, warning him that carrying around uncontrollable holy power was practically begging a dragon to come and snatch it.
— “It will be better for Her Highness’s own safety if she accepts the fact that she is a Saintess and actively learns how to wield her power.”
Loik had been agonizing over how to bring this up to Annette.
To think she would make this decision on her own.
He felt proud and impressed, yet a part of him felt strangely dissatisfied. It was a peculiar greed—a wish that Annette would stay hidden safely in his arms, relying solely on him.
“If it’s something you can do without overexerting yourself, then I am in favor of it as well.”
Hiding his true feelings, Loik tenderly tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “More importantly… since when have you been calling the priest by his first name?”
“Miel?”
When Loik pouted at the casual address, Annette burst into laughter.
“Why? Are you jealous?”
“Obviously.”
“It’s just a name.”
“It is a title far too extravagant for a mere low-ranking priest.”
Annette looked at him with eyes full of mirth. “How can my husband be this cute?”
Her refreshing, vibrant appearance stirred a sudden thirst within him. Cute?
Loik pressed his lips firmly against the finger wearing the ring.
“You might not think your husband is so ‘cute’ if you knew what he was thinking right now.”
The tips of Annette’s ears turned red in an instant. Loik left a deep mark on the inside of her wrist as he spoke.
“Come to think of it, you’ll need to be a little tired if you want to sleep soundly in the carriage tomorrow.”
Without another word, Loik swept Annette up into his arms. Startled, she reflexively clung to his neck. Holding her securely, he strode toward the villa.
They reached the second-floor bedroom, and before Annette’s back could even touch the mattress, Loik devoured her lips.
“Mmph…!”
Annette’s mind went blank as his hot tongue raided her mouth. While their lips were locked, Loik skillfully removed her hair ornament. Even as his hands worked to undo the tie of her robe and slide the garment off her shoulders, their heated breaths remained entwined.
She had only meant to surrender to the ecstatic sensation for a moment, but before she knew it, Annette was completely naked, save for the diamond ring.
Loik threw off his own shirt without hesitation and buried his face in her white breasts. As he sucked and licked at her soft curves, her body quickly heated up. His agonizingly thorough caresses soon had Annette trembling and letting out feverish moans.
“Loik! W-wait a moment!”
Loik lifted his head, having left a trail of red marks across her porcelain skin. His eyes, darkened with passion, were dangerously sultry.
“Wh-why are you so good at this?” she asked in a resentful voice. We only had our first night the day before yesterday.
Loik licked his lips. “Well, because we did it a lot…”
A lot?
Now that she thought about it, it had only been one night, but they had indeed done it more times than she could count. The realization made her face flush a deep crimson.
“Do you dislike me being good at it?” he asked, his voice low and languid.
“No, it’s not that I dislike it…!”
Seeing her cover her face with both hands, Loik pressed a kiss to her tender skin.
“I’ll get even better at it, so please look forward to it.”
I’ve always been a fast learner.
Loik stroked her back gently before burying his face against her again.
What does he mean, get even better!
But before she could process the thought, his teasing kisses melted her body into a puddle. By the time her lewd whimpers turned into gasps of breath, Loik had already moved to cover her body with his own.