The Dangerous Honeymoon Diary of the Fake Empress

Festivities were held to celebrate the Prince’s wedding. The castle was open for a week, and the banquet hall was packed with nobles from various families.

The young lords and ladies gathered to find their mates. Nobles working in circles to ensure the prosperity of their families. Gossip was inevitable among them.

“Oh, look, there they are, Prince Charming and his Cinderella bride.”

The hottest gossip was directed at Hilary and Jeremy.

” Well, aside from the idiot prince, who’s the Cinderella bride?”

“She’s risen through the ranks by finding a good husband. Oh, my gosh, she’s the daughter of a baron whose name you’ve never heard of. Is there any other kind of rising through the ranks?”

“Ho-ho, but she didn’t find a good husband. He’s an idiot…….”

Laughter poured out from everywhere. However, some of the young ladies, no, most of them, had different hidden thoughts.Even though they knew they were being foolish, their gazes kept coming back to Jeremy.

Though their mouth says they feel sorry for the princess, but they couldn’t help but feel envious.

“He’s so handsome.’

“That clean, neat silver hair, that mesmerizing smile.

If he weren’t an idiot, he’d be an ideal prince.

The young ladies salivated. They’d pretended to dismiss him as an idiot, but he was simply too good-looking to be true.

‘You princes are naturally good-looking.’

The empire’s two sole princes each had fairytale looks. But neither of them was the first to approach and make a connection.

One was outwardly gentle, but there was a certain intimidating quality to him. When his red lips formed a beautiful arc, they looked dangerous, like the devil’s temptation. In short, the crown prince was a charming but dangerous man.

And then there was the idiot prince. With his rare silver hair and lily-like appearance, he looked almost holy. It was as if someone could live alone for the rest of their lives, gazing at the sight of this masterpiece. The unheard of baroness, young lady , was left behind.

The young ladies couldn’t help but feel sick to their stomachs.

“I think they’re going to dance.”

“Oh, well. The two of them do look good together.”

The more one looked at the new princess, the more charming she was.

A lean body nicely defined back muscles, and luscious black hair that resembled the deep night sky. Ruby-colored eyes that sparkled whenever she smiled. The two of them looked like a fairy tale couple.

In their minds, the young ladies imagined what it would be like to be next to the prince.

“He’s so handsome, even a fool would think he’s worth living for.”

“Actually…… I thought so too, since he’s a prince.”

“Oh, did Lady Reina think so too?”

“Yes…… Honestly, when I think about it, I’d rather have a fool who only looks at one woman like that than a bunch of lords with multiple courtesans.”

Unbeknownst to him, Jeremy’s reputation was growing. Meanwhile, Hilary, unaware of it, was preoccupied with something else entirely.

’How can I make you appear even more of a fool, my prince?’

The only thing on her mind was that her husband should look like an idiot.

* * *

‘Can we dance like this?’

I was currently dancing in the middle of the hall with Jeremy. But if someone asked me if this was dancing, I wasn’t sure I could say yes.

‘It’s not like what everyone else is doing.’

I glanced to the side, hoping to catch a glimpse, but there were no other couples twirling with their hands clasped together like we were.

‘Hmmm…… are we sure we want to dance like this, that seven-year-old nobleman over there looks like he’s better than us.’

I glanced up at Jeremy, slightly uneasy. He felt my gaze and a smile like a blade of fresh grass tugged at the corners of his mouth.

’Aha, so this is part of being an idiot!’

Well, you’re an idiot who dances well. Isn’t it strange just thinking about it? My prince, who thought of that, is a genius after all.

“Prince, you can step on my feet.”

I whispered, trying to help him with his acting. I figured stepping on my feet here would make him appear even more of an idiot.

“Feet? Why……? That would hurt the bride.”

“It doesn’t hurt. I’m strong.”

Aww, Jeremy, you look like you live off of dew. You think stepping on my foot is going to hurt me? I’m a top-ranked Shadow Knight, after all.

I snorted and smiled smugly. After a moment of silence, Jeremy let out a small chuckle.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, though. They’re too small for Jeremy’s feet. They’ll break if I step on them.”

“What? I don’t think so.”

“Why does my bride keep telling me to step on it anyway?”

Jeremy laughed loudly.

‘I don’t have anything to say since you asked, but……, can’t you just step on it a little bit, geez. You don’t even realise this is all for you.’

But then, I saw a couple who were immersed in dancing swinging their arms. Sensing they might possibly hit Jeremy, I grabbed him around the waist and pulled him towards me.

“Whoa, careful.”

‘Huh? You’re stiffening up. Are you uncomfortable being so close to me? Why is your body so stiff?’

But before I could look at him, the couple next to us launched another arm attack.

’No, they’re the real deal.’

To dodge the swinging arms, I pressed Jeremy’s waist fully against mine, and then I heard a small gasp from above my head.

“Excuse me……… bride?”

“Mmm?”

“I think it’s too close…….”

Jeremy slightly covered his mouth with the back of his hand. His ears were red, and his gaze was wavering. I gently pulled him back to his feet, startled by his flushed expression.

‘Anyway, what just happened? It feels like something is rumbling deep inside my heart… …It seems like I became a beast that found food after starving all the time.’

I felt Jeremy’s gaze on me as I wondered about the strange feeling.

“Bride……. You’ve got a scary look on your face.”

“Huh? That’s because…… it’s the first time I’ve ever danced, so I guess it’s a little difficult.”

“First time?”

“Yes.”

Well, come to think of it, my first dance, in both my past lives and this one, was with the prince.

Despite being born into a family of barons, I had never been taught the dances of society. My childhood was spent wearing trousers rather than dresses, swinging a sword rather than holding someone’s hand. Perhaps if I hadn’t become a princess, I would never have danced.

“You’ve never danced before? Why/how come………?”

Suddenly, Jeremy stopped dancing, and he looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression.

’Oh man. Did I just said something wrong?’

How many noble ladies hadn’t danced in a social circleby the time they were 19 years old? The mistake earlier was no different than saying out loud, “I’m a suspicious person.”

“I just, well.”

I quickly racked my brain for an excuse.

“Because of poverty!”

“……mhh?”

“Actually, you may not know this, but Baron Riya is very poor. That’s why I couldn’t even think of learning socialite dance.”

Phew, for a hastily made-up excuse, that was good. Besides, it’s true that the Liya estate is poor, so there’s nothing awkward about it.

“Bride…….”

Jeremy opened his mouth with a heavy heart. He didn’t know what to say at this point, not knowing if he would sound like an idiot prince.

“It’s okay now, I have someone to dance with.”

Gently, I took Jeremy’s hand and smiled broadly. Who cares if I’ve never been to a ballroom dance, when I can now dance to my heart’s content with someone I love.

“Let’s dance together for a long time, Prince. Even when we’re both old people.”

I squeezed his hand, wishing for a long life in this life. Then his eyes, slightly widened, turned to me.

“What’s wrong, Prince?”

I could see Jeremy’s gaze wavering slightly. There was a slight flush to his cheeks.

“You’re not running a fever, are you?”

Worried, I brought my hand to his forehead. But before my hand could reach his forehead, he took a step back.

“Prince?”

“……Bride, I’ll be away for a while.”

He pulled away abruptly. Something was bothering him, and he seemed to be putting up a wall of distance.

“Prince……?”

His mauve eyes flickered slightly. But he quickly turned away from me when I called out.

Then he turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the hall.

* * *

‘No wonder the prince is suspicious of me.’

I was certainly a man of the Crown Prince’s, though on the surface it would appear that an older brother concerned for his younger brother had arranged a good match. In truth, anyone who looked closely enough, or even a little too closely, could see it.

It was Ain’s way of keeping his people close to his side. Jeremy is wary of me for the same reason.

“I do feel bad for him though. I’m sad.’

I’m honestly a little hurt by Jeremy’s distant and wary attitude. I’d been prepared for him to find out I’d left for a report yesterday, but I hadn’t expected the damage to be this bad.

‘Abandoned by my favorite……. I feel like the whole world has abandoned me.’

Standing in the corner of the banquet hall, I banged my head against the wall. While I was expressing “I’m in pain” with my whole body, Ain, who was talking to people from afar, caught my attention.

‘But…… what can I do to protect Jeremy from that guy. I want to tell Jeremy that I’m on his side, but…… if I do, all my plans will go to waste. Just like they did in my first and second lives.’

My inability to tell Jeremy that I was on his side was related to the two failures I had experienced prior to my regression.

In my first life, Jeremy had been constantly wary and suspicious of me, even when he was playing the idiot. Back then, I deserved to be suspected until I died, and I resented that, so I made a different choice in my second life.

I told him everything, and then I proved to him that I was on his side. It took a while, but eventually Jeremy came to trust me.

But guess what? Ain, recognizing the bond between Jeremy and me, sent an assassin to kill him, and he did it with great precision. It was the end of my second life.

And that’s when I realized something.

Ain is as perceptive as a ghost. To fool him, you have to fool your allies.

So, I decided that in this life, I would never tell the prince the truth.

So, what if he doesn’t recognize it, I’m happy to help behind the scenes.

It seemed like only yesterday that I was ranting to myself. But despite my resolve, seeing Jeremy’s wary eyes made me feel lonely.

I knew this was the only way to protect him, but my heart sank. It’s lonely to have to protect him when you’re constantly under constant suspicion.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.”

Although I felt like crap, I tried to pull myself together.

‘It’s not something I want others to know. What would people say if the new bride had a gloomy expression at the banquet hall? So, let’s cheer up. Wasn’t I good at hiding my feelings from a young age?’

I walked over to the dessert table, thinking that a sweet tooth is best in times like these, but then I sensed movement. It was enough to send a chill down my spine.

’Who the hell radiates energy so ignorantly.’

I furrowed my brow and shifted my gaze to the source. There stood a woman with pinkish-red hair swept to one side.

“Chersha?”

Wavy red hair and emerald eyes. Slightly raised eyebrows and full lips. She was a shadow knight like me, with a body that seemed to say, “I am the beauty queen of this century.”

“You haven’t had much sleep, have you? Your complexion shows you’re tired.”

Is she crazy? What is she up to, she’s the one that’s always going to bite me if she sees me, she’s the one that would never speak to me so kindly.

As I stare at her with suspicion, she slowly reveals her true colors.

“Is it possible that you’re tired because……..you had your first night?”

A dark sneer curled her red lips. Her eyes were arrogant, seemingly looking down on me for a long time.