A Silent Rebellion
And so, the wedding ceremony came to an end.
Music swelled, signaling the start of the reception. Theodora and I sat side by side, watching the jesters' performance.
A grotesquely fat man, bloated like a pig, drew a wooden sword. "Hehehe! I shall claim the greatest beauty in the Empire! For I am the Grand Duke of Francesco! Come here, you wench!"
Then, a dwarf actress shrieked, "No! If I must marry a bloated pig like you, I would rather bite off my tongue and die!"
"Hehehe! You stubborn wench! Spread your legs! Spread them!"
"Kyaaa! What do you think you're doing? How dare a fat pig like you covet me? Is there no one? Is there no handsome gentleman to save me?" The dwarf actress cried out to the surrounding crowd, pleading for help.
"Hurry up! Strip off those clothes!"
Just then, a scrawny actor appeared. Holding a wooden sword, he crept up behind the fat man and—thwack!—struck him on the back of the head.
"Haha! Now that I've finished off my father, I am the Grand Duke! My stepmother... no, the Crown Princess is mine!"
At those words, the dwarf actress turned away with a coy expression. "Oh my, what a lecher!"
"Hehehe, come here this instant! Stepmother—no, my wife!"
The dwarf actress let out an exaggerated sigh. "Sigh, I despise them both—the pig and the half-wit! Is there no knight to rescue me?"
As she cast a pitiful gaze over the audience, the guests burst into roaring laughter.
"Bwahahaha!"
"Now this is a hilarious show!"
Typically, a jester's performance reflected the public's perception of their rulers. By satirizing sensitive topics, the people expressed their grievances. Emperors who wished to appear magnanimous would force a smile and let it slide without punishment. Because of this custom, performers often dared to stage such mischievous plays.
But this particular play was deliberately designed to target me. It was a calculated attempt to chip away at my authority.
Well... I did bear some moral responsibility. Under the grand pretext of knowing the future, I had pressured the Crown Princess into marriage and seized control of the capital. It was only natural that I would face such criticism. Perhaps that was why I didn't feel particularly offended. Besides, laughing off a jester's mockery was considered a noble virtue.
Maybe it was because I had lived in a modern era where even the President of the United States was routinely dragged through the mud by the media. Although the intent behind this play was malicious, I could afford to be generous and let it go.
With that thought, I stole a glance at the woman in the wedding dress sitting beside me. I could laugh it off, but Theodora was the other party involved. The actual events parodied here must have been deeply traumatic for her. Worried that this farce was only rubbing salt in her wounds, I looked closer.
Theodora's hands were trembling violently with humiliation.
She looked as if she might flip the table at any second.
Sigh... I'll just take the fall.
It would be far better for Theodora's future if I painted myself as a petty, narrow-minded man. Having made up my mind, I immediately put my plan into action.
"Enough! Cease this instant!" I roared, feigning blind rage. I even made my hands tremble to make the performance as realistic as possible.
"Valorang was a demon worshiper, and I saved this Empire by slaying him! Yet you dare insult me and mock the Imperial Family?! What are the guards doing?! Arrest these jesters at once!"
As I bellowed with fury, the guards rushed into the hall and began binding the performers.
"P-Please, wait, Your Grace. A jester's performance is merely satire... It is customary not to punish them..." Viscount Pedro, the imperial seneschal, sweated profusely as he stammered beside me.
I glared coldly at him.
"Then will you take responsibility for the slander against my honor?"
At my sharp retort, the seneschal quickly averted his eyes.
"Your Grace! Your Grace, we are innocent! Viscount Pedro ordered us to perform this play... We did nothing wrong!"
"P-Please spare us! I only did what I was told!"
The bound jesters frantically gestured toward the seneschal, desperate to shift the blame.
I knew it.
Viscount Pedro had likely orchestrated this to humiliate me, confident that I wouldn't dare touch the performers due to imperial custom.
"So, you are saying this performance was not of your own volition?"
The jesters nodded vigorously. I turned my gaze back to Pedro, my eyes narrowing.
"Viscount Pedro, what is the meaning of this?"
Pedro's face paled with terror as he tried to deny it. "I—I know nothing of this, Your Grace! They are merely dragging me down to save their own skins!"
"I will hear your explanation in the dungeons. Guards, release the jesters and arrest this foolish seneschal!"
At my command, the guards let go of the performers and seized the trembling viscount.
"Spare me! Your Grace! Please, spare me!"
Watching Viscount Pedro being dragged away screaming, I sat back down.
"Tsk. What a way to ruin the mood."
Once the storm had passed, I gestured to the master of ceremonies, signaling him to hurry up and move things along.
"T-Then, we shall proceed to the highlight of the reception—the Consummation Ceremony!"
"Whoooo!"
"The Consummation Ceremony! The Consummation Ceremony!"
As the crowd erupted into cheers, I let out a soft sigh.
Sigh...
This world was still stuck in the medieval era, which meant several barbaric traditions still persisted. One of them was the Consummation Ceremony. Taken literally, it was a ritual where the couple's first night was performed in front of everyone. Shockingly, in the old days, they used to actually do it right in the middle of the guests.
Nowadays, it had been toned down to the groom crawling under the bride's wedding dress to retrieve her undergarments. But historically, high nobles were expected to show as many peers as possible that the marriage had been physically sealed.
The reason for this bizarre custom lay in the nature of aristocratic marriages, which were political alliances. It was a ritual designed to emphasize that the union was bound by blood, preventing either side from breaking the alliance and discarding the other family once they grew stronger. Since there were witnesses to the consummation, a marriage annulment became legally impossible. For better or worse, they were bound together for life.
I recalled a similar custom where dozens of noblemen and women would crowd into the birthing room to watch a delivery. Apparently, they did it to ensure no one swapped the baby. It was incomprehensible, and I felt a deep revulsion toward such crude and primitive customs. But what choice did I have? If we didn't perform the Consummation Ceremony, the public wouldn't consider us truly married. I had to go through with it.
Theodora's face flushed crimson at the host's words.
"Now! Let us see if our groom, His Grace, will prove his manhood by using his teeth, or if he will resort to his hands!"
"Teeth! Teeth!"
"The Lion family always uses their teeth!"
"Brother! You know you have to use your teeth, right? Or do I need to come down there and show you?!"
As the host whipped up the crowd, servants moved the table in front of Theodora out of the way. Hearing my older sister Octavia and even Mary cheering for me to use my teeth made me groan internally.
Sigh... I really don't want to do this.
I couldn't understand why they were so enthusiastic about such a primitive tradition. In this world, absurdly enough, a real man was expected to pull down a woman's undergarments using only his teeth.
If we were a couple madly in love, that would be one thing. But unfortunately, we were nothing of the sort. I had no desire to humiliate her like this.
I stood up and knelt before Theodora. In that moment, our eyes met. Her face was burning red. I felt a pang of bitterness at the sheer hostility in her glare.
She must be incredibly embarrassed.
It made sense. She was being forced to expose her most intimate self to the enemy she despised, the very man who had politically isolated her. To her, this must feel like the ultimate degradation.
But since there was no avoiding it, the best I could do was keep my eyes closed and get it over with as quickly as possible.
Steeling my resolve, I ducked my head beneath the heavy folds of her skirt.
Elegant curves, pale calves, and above them, shapely thighs that could easily stir any man's primal instincts. And resting there... was her pure, white underwear.
Thump...
Perhaps because I was an inexperienced virgin, my heart began to race.
Thump, thump...
It pounded wildly against my ribs, as if I had just finished a full sprint.
Deep breath... Calm down. She is suffering this humiliation because of me. Don't you dare get excited...
I forced myself to focus on her miserable plight, using the guilt to cool my racing blood.
Pfft. I wasn't some pervert. Let's just get this over with.
Once my mind settled, I reached out, grabbed the strap of her underwear, and turned my head away.
And then...
Slide.
Even though my eyes were closed, the soft friction of fabric sliding against her bare skin sounded incredibly loud in the confined space. Once I had pulled them all the way down past her feet, I quickly backed out from under her skirt and held the undergarment up for the guests to see.
Whew!
"Boo! Devi! If you're a true Lion, you should have used your teeth!"
I offered a sheepish smile to the teasing guests. But when I stole a glance at Theodora, my heart sank. Her head was bowed, and her shoulders were trembling faintly. It weighed heavily on my mind.
After the reception finally drew to a close, I walked hand-in-hand with her toward the bridal chamber. A procession of knights, nobles, and priests followed closely behind us.
When we reached the massive double doors...
Creak.
The doors swung open to reveal a dimly lit room, illuminated only by the soft glow of a single candelabra. We stepped inside together.
Thud.
The doors shut behind us. Night had fully fallen. Only then did I finally release her hand. The faint candlelight flickered between us.
Time to get to work.
Clap, clap!
I clapped my hands twice. Instantly, the light spheres on the ceiling flared to life, bathing the room in a bright, white glow reminiscent of modern LED lights.
"Huh...?"
Leaving a bewildered Theodora behind, I pulled out a large leather bag hidden beneath the sofa.
"W-What are you doing?" she stammered, clearly thrown off by the sudden appearance of a massive leather bag in our bridal chamber.
"I have some documents I need to review by the day after tomorrow," I replied casually. "You must be exhausted from the wedding. Go wash up and get some rest."
It was still a bit too early to sleep, so I intended to make the most of this time. Tomorrow was the start of the Imperial Tournament, which meant I wouldn't be able to look at any paperwork. I had to clear as much of the backlog as possible tonight.
Historically, there was an Emperor who had tried to review documents during the tournament, and he had been absolutely dragged for it. The Imperial Tournament was hosted by the Emperor himself, making his presence mandatory. But for the Emperor to be working during such an event? To the citizens, who passionately loved the tournament and held deep respect for knights, it was seen as incredibly unmanly. He had been criticized to dust. Even I had no desire to repeat that mistake.
In other words, if I couldn't work today or tomorrow, I would have to pull an all-nighter tomorrow night. It was better to get a head start now.
"..."
Without a word, Theodora quietly turned and headed toward the bathroom. I stole a brief glance at her retreating figure before turning back to wrestle with the mountain of paperwork.