Red Riding Hood - Chapter 71

“I feel like I’ve gained a daughter late in life. Do you know what’s even better? Unlike daughters who are hard to see once they get married, Cinq married my son! She’ll always live with us!”

Normally, the men around Lantimos were close enough to tease him and tell him to stop fussing over his daughter-in-law. But seeing Cinq trembling beside the bear-like Lantimos, looking utterly adorable, they could only nod in agreement, speechless.

“To think you’d have such a delightful daughter-in-law.”

“My dear, if you ever need a godfather for your future children, let me know.”

“Ylfus sure is lucky.”

The lord of Kalasca, his rough face blooming with a smile, paraded Cinq around until Marianne intervened and dragged him away.

“Lantimos, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

“Marianne, this is the happiest time of my life. Let me enjoy it.”

“Be quiet and go have a drink to calm down over there.”

Once Marianne led Lantimos away, Cinq finally found herself alone. She instinctively grasped the pendant of her pearl necklace and let out a sigh of relief.

‘Is the introductions portion finally over?’

She quietly moved to a corner, avoiding the attention of the guests. Taking small sips of lemon water from a glass, she tried to steady herself.

She had met so many people. Her heart was pounding, and her hands were trembling.

This was something she had prepared herself for when she decided to marry Ylfus, the heir to the lordship. But just because she was prepared didn’t mean it was easy.

Suddenly, she realized how far she had come—from a small cabin in the forest, to here.

The girl in the red hood from a tiny village had come all this way because she had fallen in love with her husband.

She wanted to stay with him—wherever that might be.

But where was Ylfus now?

As she wondered this, a massive black wolf appeared before her.

“Cinq, my dear. Could you give me some water?”

Cinq looked up at him with a blank expression. He was a strikingly handsome man, as polished as a well-groomed wolf.

His features were bold and masculine, his body intimidatingly large, and he exuded an aura that reminded her of her husband, Ylfus.

Despite his rugged build, he carried himself with an elegant air. His attire was as elaborate as if he were the star of the banquet, making him look like a predator dressed in ceremonial garb.

Sharp, dark eyebrows sat above his pronounced brow bones, and his deep-set eyes and high cheekbones gave his face a chiseled, sturdy appearance.

Yet, despite his formidable look, his skin was smooth and tanned like silk, gleaming with a softness that seemed at odds with his strong frame.

But even such a handsome man seemed to lack manners.

Cinq, now Ylfus’s wife, couldn’t accept being called ‘my dear’ by a man she had just met.

As she poured him water, she firmly corrected him.

“Please don’t call me ‘my dear’.”

“……?”

The man looked up from his glass and met her gaze.

Seeing his striking golden eyes, Cinq froze.

“…Ylfus?”

To her astonishment, the man before her was Ylfus—without his beard!

Startled, Cinq reached out and held his face with both hands.

“Is it really you, Ylfus?”

Ylfus, whose face was now captured between her hands, broke into a bright smile.

“Surprised? The ‘Lawnmower of Spinel’ got to me. What a lawnmower she is.”

“How is this possible?”

“It’s the magic of wax and linen. And now my whole body stings.”

Ylfus cheerfully pulled her hand toward his lips and kissed the hollow of her palm deeply. The smoothness of his beardless lips and chin felt utterly unfamiliar to her.

With his lips still pressed to her hand, he whispered,

“Do you like it? Or is it strange? How do I look to you?”

Cinq stared blankly at her husband.

She had always known he was a handsome man. The beard that had covered his cheeks gave him a rugged charm, and his playful demeanor made him seem endearing and approachable.

But this Ylfus, transformed by the ‘magic’ of wax and linen, was overwhelmingly beautiful… and alluring.

“Cinq? My dear,” he mouthed silently, grinning as if amused by her dazed expression. “Why so quiet, like a lost little bee?”

Ylfus exhaled a warm breath onto her small hand, his golden eyes locked on hers. Slowly, he brushed his thick lips against her delicate wrist, moving languidly, as if savoring every second.