The elves were known to always regard their marriage as a sacred tradition.

This fact was further proven with there rarely ever being any separation happening after a marriage.

Most elves take their time in finding the one they wanted to spend their remaining life with. This was further solidified by the longevity of the elves.

However, the same thing couldn't be said for Serene.

As the kingdom's princess, she had her own duty that had to be fulfilled. For the kingdom, the queen, and the people.

After a few days of deep contemplation, Serene had finally accepted the absurd, bordering on outrageous, request of her mother, the queen. But the problem was, the partner chosen for her by the latter was far from the word normal.

He's a liar, shameless man, and worst of all, had no respect for the traditions. Heck, he wasn't even an elf!

But despite all of those shortcomings, she had decided to accept the duty that had fallen upon her shoulders.

On the wedding day, she had fully accepted her fate and spoke her vow with all her heart, and with the two silver rings that slid onto their fingers, the marriage was sealed.

'Now, you are my husband." Serene thought as she looked at the face of her -now- companion for life.

***

Finally, the wedding ceremony was over, and now it was time for the consummation of the marriage, with the union of two bodies.

At the moment, there were only two of them, with not a single soul seen around.

A lavishly decorated bedroom had been prepared for the two, however, the presence of the shameless white-haired figure still irked her, deep within her heart.

Even though the man seemed stoic at the moment, she swore she could see his gaze wandering all over her lascivious body. She could even swear that the normal expression on his face was merely a disguise to hide his lecherous expression buried beneath.

Even so, she couldn't lie and say that he didn't affect her at all. In fact, she tried to calm herself again at the moment, by telling words to herself.

'Serene, You are his partner now'

Then, before her attempts took effect, the next thing the man did caused her gradually calming heart to begin racing wildly once more.

…

Tristan started removing his clothes in a nonchalant manner, as if there was only him in the room, or so Serene thought. In reality, he was doing it while talking to the latter, "I'm glad it's all finally over."

Gulp.

Serene had imagined, and even promised herself to be fully committed to this marriage previously. However, it was obvious that imagining and seeing it, in reality, were two completely different matters.

Directly looking at that shameless elf's half-naked body as he changed his clothes somehow made the cold night air warmer than usual.

Serene walked towards a table that was placed in the corner, which was filled with dozens of beverages. She grabbed one and swiftly gobbled it down in her efforts to make sure this night became more bearable for her.

Tristan, who noticed her actions, smiled mischievously and said, "What a good idea! Give me some!"

His half-naked body which freely showcased the perfect ab muscles did cause her to steal a glance or two.

The two ended up drinking a glass of elven liquor, called Miruvor. It's a strange fluorescent green drink with a strong kick.

Serene thought she should start the mood with a casual yet deep conversation. She thought it was a good idea as they hadn't really known each other.

Thinking about what topics she should choose, Serene remembered the young woman he introduced yesterday, who was apparently his sister.

"So.. your sister.. You two seem very close with each other," asked Serene as she recalled the two's situation at that time.

Tristan was surprised for a moment by the topic of choice, but he quickly picked himself and let out a fond smile at the thought of his sister.

"Yeah. We are indeed close. We are both orphans so we always have each other's back as we grow up."

"Both orphans?" Serene was quite surprised by the revelation. "I see.. So you two aren't really brother and sister then. Am I right?"

Hearing that, Tristan roughly put the glass in his hand back on the table, causing a thud, before glancing at her.

"We're as real as it gets."

Even though startled by the unexpected reaction, Serene discovered this side of Tristan, being caring and protective of his family, somehow attractive.

At that moment, she decided that she would try her best to be a good partner for this man in front of her.

However, Serene, despite her grand title of princess, didn't even know how to start. She wasn't sure. Being a princess and a Valkyrie at the time made it difficult for her to have relationships with men in the first place, which resulted in her apparent awkwardness.

'Maybe I should try to be more straightforward?' Serene inwardly thought, questioning herself in the process.

While Serene was busy thinking about how to approach this seemingly unsolvable problem, Tristan suddenly asked something.

"So, Serene.. What's the deal with us now?"

The question brought Serene out of her train of thoughts.

"What's the deal?" She could be seen in trance, contemplating about it. "I believe now that we are married, I will follow you wherever you go and support you with whatever I can. I am sure the queen will not hold you here anymore, so you can freely choose to stay in Vanyar or return to Arcadia."

When Serene finished her words and looked back at Tristan, she was baffled by his confused look.

Tristan realized that the girl had misunderstood his words. Therefore, he decided to 'simplify" it.

"No, no, no. That's not what I mean, Serene. What I mean is, are we going to have sex tonight?"

Serene was stunned when she heard Tristan's unfiltered words. She didn't know which part of it irritated her - whether it was because it seemed so easy for him to say those words, or how relaxed he was when he spoke of such a sacred thing.

"You PIG! That's all you're thinking about, aren't you?"

Facing the wrathful explosion, Tristan casually sipped another drink and said, "At our wedding night? Of course it is.. Well, aren't you the same?"

Even though it was true, there was no way she would admit to something like that.

"NO! I did not!"

At the moment, Tristan was seen with a confused look on his face.

"Serene... Why are you so upset?" He paused for a moment as if trying to think of the reason. "have you... never done this before?"

It, somehow, irritated her that the person in front of her was just spouting those sacred things without much care of anyone.

Realizing that he seemed to be crossing the line, Tristan hastily added, "Wait, wait. I'm sorry, okay? You didn't really finish your explanation of 'The way of the Elf' about this topic before. So, I don't really know."

Serene, once again, tried to calm herself down. She was reminded of how important this ceremony was. Therefore, she just chose to bear this unbearable elf.

She steeled her resolve and looked Tristan directly in the eye.

"We, elves, are different from humans. For us, it's more than just physical consummation... Unless we both can create our bond, we could never complete the union."

"And how exactly do we create that bond?" Tristan asked curiously.

Serene was stumped by that question as she herself didn't know.

"I… I only heard about it, but never…"

Tristan's trademark mischievous smile appeared with her words. He slowly inched closer to Serene, causing the latter to subconsciously move backward.

"Then, there's only one way to find out!"