Chapter 1: White Marriage Proposal

“Please forgive me, my lord husband.
I wish to request a white marriage.”

The wedding night.

Electra, now a newlywed, said this to the man who had become her husband, Harid Carlson.

“…What are you saying?
Are you in your right mind?”

“Yes, my lord husband.
Ah, but a white marriage would only be temporary.”

“Temporary?”

“Yes, my lord husband.
There are two reasons.
May I explain them to you?”

“…Very well.
Go on.”

Their marriage was a political one.

Before the marriage, Electra had been the daughter of Viscount Vent, and Harid was Baron Carlson.

It was a union meant to bridge two noble houses whose territories lay close together, but there was no major business alliance involved, merely a political move to stabilize their lands.

The problem arose as the wedding day drew near.

“My lord husband will be… departing for battle tomorrow.”

“…That is correct.”

“The first reason is a wish for my lord husband to return safely.
It is a form of prayer.”

“…A prayer?”

“Yes.
Among the wives of knights, there is such a custom.
Given that their duty is one that risks their lives, a wife naturally worries most about her husband’s safety when he goes to the battlefield.”

The tension Harid had felt at his new wife’s unsettling proposal drained away all at once.

Indeed, tomorrow, as a knight, he would leave his new wife behind and head to the battlefield.

The battlefield was not a war against another nation, but a place where they would fight hordes of newly emerged monsters.

Just days before the wedding, word had arrived that an enormous number of monsters had appeared in the borderlands.

An order had come down from the royal family for the knights to mobilize, and Harid was not the only one being sent.

Many knights would be called up.

There had been very little time to prepare.

As a result, Electra and Harid decided to marry without holding a ceremony, completing only the necessary paperwork and using the time instead to prepare for his deployment.

There was no kiss of vows in a church, only a priest overseeing the confirmation of documents.

After going through such circumstances, the two became husband and wife and arrived at their wedding night.

Just as Electra had said, Harid was scheduled to leave the estate the very next day and head to the battlefield.

And so, she had requested a white marriage.

It would not have been strange for Electra, as a woman, to feel dissatisfied at having had no proper wedding ceremony.

At the same time, however, Harid also felt a sense of irritation at how troublesome this was.

“A knight who goes to the battlefield refrains from intimacy, and instead waits until after returning home.
By doing so, the knight’s will to survive is strengthened, and he is said to return alive.”

“…Isn’t that just superstition?
I can understand the logic, but still…”

“That may be true.
However, if there is something we can try, I wish to try it.
I wish for my lord husband to return safely.
Therefore, please grant hope to the one who remains behind, my lord husband.”

“…Hmm.”

As a man, it was a request he wanted to dismiss outright.

However, at its core, the request was a wish for his safe return from the battlefield.

To reject such a wish solely for the sake of his own desires would look exceedingly bad.

Harid felt like clicking his tongue at whoever had spread such unnecessary superstition.

“…You said there were two reasons.
What is the other one?”

“Yes, my lord husband.
It is to avoid being suspected of infidelity.”

“…Infidelity?”

Harid’s expression instantly hardened.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Yes, my lord husband.
I believe you still have composure in your heart right now.
However… that may not be the case after you return from the battlefield.”

“…Well, that may be true.”

“Yes.
For example… if we were to consummate our marriage tonight, even just once, there would be a strong possibility that I might conceive a child.”

“And what would be wrong with that?
That is why we married.”

“Of course, there is nothing wrong with it.
Rather, had it not been for these circumstances, I would never have made such a proposal.
Since we are married, I had long resolved myself to share a bed with you tonight.
Otherwise, I would not be standing here today.”

“…That is true.”

Had it not been for these circumstances.

In other words, had Harid not been leaving for the battlefield tomorrow and disappearing from the household.

“So where does infidelity come into this?”

“It concerns my lord husband’s feelings.”

“My feelings?”

“Yes.
…You will likely return from the battlefield with a heart worn down by war.
We do not know how long you will be gone.
If you were to return quickly, there would be no issue.
But… I fear what might happen if the fighting drags on.”

Electra looked straight at Harid.

There was not the slightest hint of suspicion in her expression.

“If I were to conceive from a single night, my lord husband would never see my belly grow, nor would you witness the child growing larger after birth.
…I have heard that because a man does not bear the child in his own body, it is by seeing such visible changes that he truly realizes he is a father.
If a child were conceived on our wedding night, given our current circumstances… I fear it would give rise to unfounded doubts in my lord husband’s heart after your return.”

“Unfounded doubts?”

“The doubt that I may have been unfaithful.
After all, I would be a wife who was not by your side for a long time.
No matter how many guards were assigned to watch me, they would not be your own eyes.
If, with a heart scarred by war, you were to doubt me even once… there would be no way to resolve that suspicion.
If the child resembled you, perhaps it would be fine.
But if the child resembled me… I believe I would have no means to put your heart at ease.”

Harid imagined the situation her words described.

If the battle against the monsters dragged on for over a year, such a scenario was entirely possible.

His child being born without him ever knowing.

He would not even see his wife’s belly swell.

Nor would he witness the small body of the child growing larger after birth.

In such circumstances, if he were to doubt his wife even once…

“Even if my lord husband were to doubt me in such a situation, all I could do would be to ask you to believe me.
Even if the child were truly yours and I had committed no infidelity.”

“…That may be so, but still—”

“Yes.
I may be overthinking this.
However, there is a way to eliminate this anxiety.
That is… for my lord husband to hold me for the first time only after you have returned safely.
If you do so, any suspicion of my infidelity would be eliminated.
While you are away… such a thing would be impossible.
For if I were to do something so improper, it would absolutely be discovered by you.”

“…I see.”

“Yes.
Therefore, let our wedding night be after your safe return.
Let us make it known to the servants as well that we did not consummate our marriage tonight.
That way, there can be no excuses.
There could be no other man involved.
It would be proof that I have never been held by anyone other than my lord husband.
…Of course, I am chaste even now.”

And so, Harid weighed his own desires against future sources of concern.

In the end, he accepted Electra’s request.

The two did not consummate their marriage that night, and Harid departed for the battlefield.