Learning the Ways of the Night from the Wolf - Chapter 1 - The Bride Beneath the Sheets

One winter morning, the snow that had fallen through the night lay heavy over the mountain estate.

“Lady Yustina!”

Tina was roused from a deep sleep by a voice calling her name.

“Good grief, she’s only just getting up.”

The maid who had been roughly shaking her shoulder clicked her tongue.

“…..”

Tina blinked at the unfamiliar commotion. As her vision cleared, she could see one maid pulling away her blankets and another, face set in a deep scowl, throwing open the dust-laden curtains.

“You are spacing out again, my lady! Have you forgotten we’re expecting a guest today?”

When Tina continued to sit there in a daze, the maid in front of her slapped the bed hard.

“Ah, so that’s why everyone’s—”

“Yes. Now that you understand, hurry up and get out of bed.”

The maid cut her off with a sharp, irritable tone.

“Ah… okay. Sorry.”

Only then did Tina recall the role assigned to her today, managing a barely audible reply.

‘So today was the day.’

After that, Tina sat still and let their hands wash and dress her.

In truth, had anyone else been watching, they would have been appalled at the utter lack of courtesy in how they attended their mistress. But Tina felt only a vague awkwardness and embarrassment at the rough handling.

It had been far too long since anyone had attended to her at all.

“You remember what Madam instructed, don’t you?”

When the preparations were nearly complete, the head maid asked with her hands planted on her hips. Tina nodded silently, and the head maid led her straight to the door of the reception room.

“You absolutely must not make a single mistake today.”

The reception room door opened the moment the head maid’s warning left her lips.

“I-I’m sorry for being late.”

Nearly shoved through the doorway, Tina bowed her head and spoke.

Her appearance as she entered the room was plain to the point of modesty. At first glance, she might have been taken for a commoner with no means to concern herself with luxury. And in truth, since her mother’s passing, she had been left to manage not just her grooming but even basic upkeep entirely on her own, so the impression was half-accurate.

“Ah, there you are, Yustina. Marquess Gillion has arrived earlier than expected. Say your greetings.”

Following her father’s words, Tina slowly raised her head. Across the table, seated in the place of honor, was the Marquess, with her family members arranged around him.

“…It is an honor to meet you. I am Yustina Petrov.”

Tina managed her courtesies, barely holding herself together through the tension.

“Hmm.”

Once she finished, the Marquess raised a wrinkled hand and stroked his beard. Behind his beard, the corners of his mouth were curled upward in satisfaction, and the gaze raking over Tina’s body was unmistakably lecherous.

“You met the Marquess once as a child, so you must remember him. We are most grateful that his Lordship says he has had his eye on you ever since.” Count Petrov added quickly, reading the Marquess’s reaction.

“Th-thank you.”

Tina froze for a moment, then scrambled to speak when she noticed her father’s eyes narrowing.

“You have grown up well, just as I’d hoped.”

The Marquess leaned back in his chair, concluding his appraisal.

“Then when would be the best time for the wedding?”

After that, Tina sat quietly on the sofa, listening to the conversation that revolved entirely around her.

The wedding, the dowry, future business support, Tina’s age and virtue. Topic after topic was raised. Aside from the fact that Tina, who should have been at the center of this discussion, did not offer a single word of input, everything proceeded with almost excessive smoothness.

‘I feel dizzy.’

In truth, Tina was battling a wave of vertigo the entire time.

It wasn’t because of the transaction being conducted over her. Having spent the majority of each year alone in her room ever since her mother’s death, she was seized with tension and terror simply from being in a room full of people.

Her hands, folded over her knees atop her dress, clenched tighter and tighter.

By the time the voices around her began to sound like weapons aimed at her, Tina could bear it no longer and lifted her head. She thought that if she could just see the window where the light came in, she might breathe properly again.

But in the next instant, she couldn’t help but flinch violently. The Marquess was boring his gaze into the exposed area around her chest. The look of a man appraising a valuable object sent thin goosebumps climbing along the line of her shoulders.

“Yustina. You must be nervous, being in the presence of such a distinguished guest.”