Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Perfect Marriage

Part 1. London

It was the wedding day of Miss Elizabeth Deayer and Mr. Edward Morton.

Their marriage had been a subject of great interest to many since their engagement.

Miss Elizabeth was the only daughter of Viscount Deayer, who was active in Parliament, and Mr. Edward was the eldest son of Admiral Morton, who had sailed the seas for the past 30 years and participated in dozens of naval battles.

The union of these two prestigious families was one of the most splendid marriages in the narrow London society.

Even the London nobles, who loved to gossip and were just as enthusiastic about slandering others, could not find any particular fault with the birth of this couple.

The nobles only talked about which designer had made Elizabeth's dress and what kind of wood was used for the furniture in the mansion that Mr. Morton had prepared for his bride.

On the day of the wedding, people in splendid Two-wheeled carriages and riding excellent thoroughbreds flocked to the church.

The guests were overwhelming. It was a total gathering of prominent nobles, politicians, and soldiers.

When all the distinguished guests had taken their seats, Reverend Loyes, who would preside over the wedding today, stood on the altar in his white robe.

The hall became silent without even a whisper.

Reverend Loyes scanned the hall once.

And after a few words of sermon that simply paid respect to God, who was watching over today's union, he immediately had the groom enter.

Groom Edward Morton appeared at the entrance.

As expected of a soldier, he walked in with a straight and disciplined gait.

Having followed in his father's footsteps to become a naval officer, he was a talented man who had been dispatched to remote areas untouched by his father's influence and had successfully led several naval battles, becoming a captain at the young age of twenty-nine.

However, what made him famous in London was not his military achievements or his family's influence, but his unique attitude.

An extremely blunt and cold expression. A taciturn and aloof demeanor.

He maintained that appearance, which was appropriate when commanding a fleet, even at social events such as walking through Hyde Park to go to church, being introduced to a lady at a Ball, or being invited to a Duke's dinner.

Because of that attitude, many people who cared for Edward had to make great efforts to let others know that he had no ill intentions in acting that way.

Edward's expression was the same as usual, even on his wedding day.

Tightly closed lips and blue eyes that showed no emotion.

He showed no joy, let alone tension.

People clicked their tongues inwardly. Really, it's too much, too much.

Soon, the gaze that had been focused on the groom gathered in another place.

The entrance of the venue.

Miss Elizabeth Deayer, wearing a pure white dress and a transparent shawl.

She was holding the arm of Viscount Deayer, who was standing beside her, with one hand, and holding a bouquet with the other.

The bouquet was the freshest and most beautiful of the thousands of flowers that decorated the venue, but it was no match for the beauty of Miss Deayer, the owner of the bouquet.

Miss Deayer had attracted many admirers since she first appeared in society two years ago, but today she was different from usual.

It was not just because of the dazzling features, blonde hair, and the beauty pouring out of her beautiful olive-green eyes.

Her entire expression was shining brilliantly. It was blooming with love.

As she walked down the wedding road step by step, the fascinated gazes of the people followed her.

At that moment, even the French dress that had been so talked about, and the Italian wedding veil that the Viscount had specially taken care to obtain, were forgotten.

It was just Miss Deayer's walk, Miss Deayer's expression, and Miss Deayer's smile that mattered.

People held their breath and followed her every move.

Soon, she stood next to the man who would soon be her husband in front of the altar.

The Viscount handed his precious daughter over to him and stepped back.

The two people stood on the altar. One was smiling dazzlingly, but the other was still as cold as ice.

A sense of pity arose in people's hearts.

Edward Morton, this man has gained such a beautiful wife, but he is not happy at all.

Many men of marriageable age felt unfairly resentful.

The pastor gave a short and clear sermon on the faithfulness and chastity of the wife and husband.

As a parish pastor in London, he knew how much the guests in this place could not stand long sermons.

Soon after, the two men and women exchanged rings, and Reverend Loyes allowed the kiss.

Edward slowly lowered his head and lightly touched Elizabeth's lips with his.

But, at that moment when applause was about to erupt, the people sitting close to the altar gasped lowly.

They immediately looked at the person next to them to see if what they had seen was correct, and confirmed that the person next to them had the same surprise on their face as they did.

The moment Edward took his lips off Elizabeth, a drop of tear fell from his eyes.

Good heavens.

He immediately wiped his face with his hand to erase the evidence, but as a result, even those who were sitting far away and did not see his tears realized that he had shed tears.

Those who had seen his tears with their own eyes cheered and applauded the couple walking down the wedding road, gleefully thinking that they would boast at tea parties for a while that they had directly witnessed Edward Morton's tears, which would become a hot topic.

After the wedding, the guests moved to the reception hall near the church.

There, a reception was prepared at a level that would not disappoint the guests.

Silverware and Indian plates prepared on many tables, buffet food piled up by chefs brought from France, no, brought as honored guests, a Wine fountain, and an orchestra comparable to a decent opera company.

It was the result of Viscount Deayer, who had maintained a frugal life compared to his status, madly squandering his accumulated pounds.

While the guests were sitting at their respective tables and enjoying the meal, the Mortons, who had changed into reception dresses and bright-colored suits, appeared in the reception hall and expressed their gratitude to each of the key figures who had come to their wedding, going around the tables.

From the members of the party to which Viscount Deayer belonged to Admiral Morton's military colleagues, they had to fly around dozens of tables.

However, Elizabeth greeted people with a smiling face, fluttering her lilac dress without a hint of fatigue.

The bride, who had shown off her beauty to the point of overwhelming the audience at the wedding hall, was giving a lovely smile, so people could not help but feel good.

However, unlike the other guests, the general-level officers, who were friends of Admiral Morton, were rough, talkative, and heavily drunk on wine.

They held the bride and groom for more than 20 minutes with drunken ramblings that went beyond well wishes.

Elizabeth, who was listening to the drunken ramblings with a gentle expression, grabbed her husband's arm with a grip that almost pinched him.

Edward Morton tilted his head slightly towards Elizabeth without being noticed, and Elizabeth whispered so softly that only her husband could hear, while maintaining a smiling face.

"Honey, if we can't get out of this table right now, I'm going to throw those respectable people into the Wine fountain."

Edward Morton nodded slightly.

And he casually mentioned to the officers the location of the smoking room in the building and the expensive cigars in the drawer inside the table there.

Of course, top-quality brandy and sherry would also be prepared there.

They abandoned their wives next to them and headed to the smoking room, and the wives, whose faces were flushed due to their husbands' drunken ramblings, quickly sent the young couple back.

Elizabeth plopped down in an empty seat away from the people.

Her complexion was paler than it had been in the wedding hall.

Edward immediately went to the buffet table and came back with a piece of cake and a cup of coffee.

He handed her the coffee cup and then took a piece of cake with a fork and put it in Elizabeth's mouth.

Elizabeth obediently accepted the cake.

Until the entire piece of cake on the plate was gone.

People who saw the scene from afar doubted their eyes.

Good heavens, Edward Morton is acting like a mother bird to his wife!

When Elizabeth emptied the plate, he knelt down in front of Elizabeth with one knee raised and began to massage her swollen calves over the hem of her skirt.

Elizabeth looked around with a flushed face and then grabbed his hand.

"Stop. I'm okay now."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He let go of her legs. And he held his wife's hand tightly on his knee.

"Now relax. The people to greet are mostly done."

"That's a relief. I'm so tired. More than when I danced the Quadrille until dawn and went back."

Edward fiddled with Elizabeth's hand with the wedding ring on it, and then smiled faintly.

"Ah, I'm worried that you might fall into my arms again."

Elizabeth widened her eyes.

"What?"

"Do you remember the first day we met? On the stairs of the Ball hosted by Mrs. Jensen. When you lost your footing and fell into my arms."

Elizabeth said, "Ah," and then laughed.

"It wasn't so much falling into your arms as bumping into you. Really hard."

"Yes. Really hard. So hard that you immediately had a nosebleed. It gushed so much that my white shirt was stained with blood. I thought you were going to faint and was about to call a doctor, but you stuffed your nose with cotton and enjoyed the Ball."

Elizabeth laughed heartily.

"How could I just leave when my favorite song was playing? Besides, my dress was maple-colored, so it didn't show much. But why did you leave so early that day? I naturally thought you would ask me to dance."

"I couldn't keep wearing that shirt. People would have thought I had been shot. And I thought you would be embarrassed to see me. Of course, you weren't embarrassed at all."

Elizabeth smiled knowingly. As if it were natural.

When Edward saw his wife's smile, he couldn't help but smile himself.

Anyone who knew Edward would know how difficult it was to get a smile out of him.

Elizabeth was one of the few people who could make him smile.

"Still, don't think that I wasn't embarrassed at all. When I met you after that, I was so intimidated by the way you looked at me so coldly. I thought you were angry."

"So that's why you left so quickly?"

"I couldn't even swallow the food properly. You looked at me so coldly with those blue eyes. With eyes that said, 'You reckless thing. Can you even swallow the food?'"

"Well, I look at my mother and grandmother that way too."

"If you ever have an audience with the Queen, will you look at her that way too?"

"Maybe?"

"If so, please don't make eye contact with Her Majesty. If she keeps looking at you, she won't live long."

Edward chuckled and stroked Elizabeth's chin with his fingertips.

"It's a miracle that you accepted my proposal even after that."

"Me too, if someone had told me three months ago that you would become Mrs. Morton, I wouldn't have believed it. Even if it was Laura... Ah!"

Elizabeth stood up abruptly as if she had remembered something.

"Laura! I didn't see Laura today! Oh my god, I forgot her!"

Edward also got up from his seat and asked.

"You mean Miss Pendleton?"

"Yes! Honey, Edward, please find Laura quickly! If I don't see her today, I'll only see her after the honeymoon!"