“Could you pretend to truly love me in front of others, just for the next six months, that is, until we get divorced?”
“Pretend to love?”
“Yes. As I mentioned, there are many who are concerned about me.”
Dietrian cautiously continued.
“I was thinking it might be a good idea to show affection and a loving demeanor towards each other, even in public. That way, we could alleviate some of the concerns of those around us…”
Dietrian didn’t finish his sentence.
Leticia, who had been blinking in bewilderment, suddenly turned as red as a tomato.
“Pretend to love…”
Then she covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Dietrian clenched his fist tightly.
‘Gosh, that was close.’
He had almost lost his composure and kissed her. The effort to restrain himself made him feel slightly mad.
‘Keep calm, please.’
Anyway, he spoke calmly as if nothing was wrong.
“Yes. It’s all an act. We need to appear as a loving couple to others. Ah, you only need to do as much as you wish. As I mentioned before, I will not force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
Leticia didn’t say anything. As her response was delayed, Dietrian became increasingly anxious.
‘Was my request too much?’
The excitement that had filled his chest until a moment ago had vanished, replaced by anxiety.
“So, what exactly should I do?”
Then, Leticia whispered very softly. Soon after, she looked at him with moist eyes.
“How do I pretend to love you?”
“That is.”
His Adam’s apple moved noticeably.
“Perhaps doing things that a loving couple would do.”
“Such as…”
“Embracing, for example.”
“Ah.”
“And kissing would be okay.”
“And…”
“Whispering ‘I love you’ might be enough, don’t you think?”
“So, saying ‘I love you’ to you would suffice…”
Her red lips whispered so.
Finally, Dietrian was completely out of it. Outwardly, he seemed fine, but his soul had fled.
‘This must be a dream.’
He was certain he hadn’t awakened from his dream yet.
Perhaps, he hadn’t even arrived in Rosantine yet…
Leticia smiled shyly.
“…I’ll do it.”
“Excuse me?”
“If it helps, I’ll do it. I’ll try pretending to love you.”
How her pure smile could feel so seductive, Dietrian couldn’t understand.
‘If this is a dream, let’s not wake up.’
He concluded. From such a dream, one must never awake. If possible, he wanted to be with her for a lifetime.
Then, Leticia asked cautiously.
“It doesn’t have to be sincere, does it?”
Sincere? Why would she ask that all of a sudden? Dietrian was puzzled. Then quickly, he realized.
‘She’s worried my feelings might become sincere.’
Dietrian quickly nodded.
“Of course. You don’t need to worry about that.”
He added quickly to reassure her.
“As you know, our marriage was not one born out of mutual desire. It can’t be genuine. Nor should it be. You might have noticed, but I am quite old-fashioned. Therefore, even if we do not love each other, I would like to maintain the marriage as much as possible. However, I have no intention of forcing you into anything you do not want. So, we must part ways after six months.”
Leticia visibly sighed in relief. Dietrian, confident in his guess, pressed on.
“I asked this favor out of a desire to appear amicable to others for the remaining time.”
He said this without changing his expression, even though he had no intention of letting her go after six months. And finally.
“Alright. Then let’s do that.”
Leticia accepted his request.
Indeed, if this was a dream, he must never, ever wake up.
Dietrian thought so.
* * *
The sky was cloudless and clear. The delegation enjoyed a dreamlike rest for the first time in a while.
Enoch lay on the grass, mumbling in a sleepy voice.
“I don’t remember the last time I was able to rest so comfortably.”
Martin chuckled and nodded.
“We have indeed suffered a lot lately.”
After the marriage was arranged, they traveled from the Principality to the empire for a full month.
They faced extreme conditions, walking through deserts in the rain. Upon arriving at the empire, there was constant worry that Enoch might die. Though Enoch miraculously survived, their trials were far from over.
They had to prepare themselves to welcome the daughter of Josephina as their queen. Luckily, thanks to Julios, they found out the baby maid they had taken in was their queen.
Their happiness was short-lived as she fell into a deep sleep. After a long wait, she awoke, but to their surprise, she burst into tears at the welcome party.
“I thought my heart would stop yesterday.”
“Me too.”
The party they had painstakingly prepared felt utterly inadequate.
They anxiously gauged Leticia’s mood. Even after she returned to her room, embraced by Dietrian, the mood among the delegation did not improve.
They were at a loss about how to heal her wounds and whether it was even possible to erase such deep scars.
Despite brainstorming together, they could not find a satisfactory solution.
Eventually, they all returned to their rooms with heavy sighs, feeling utterly defeated.
The day brightened, but their spirits did not. Even the rare day off brought them no joy.
Their inability to help their queen felt incredibly powerless.
The mood among the delegation lifted only after noon.
Leticia, who had been with Dietrian all morning, showed herself.
She came out for a walk, holding hands with Dietrian.
What mattered was her expression. The expression on her face as she walked beside Dietrian was incredibly bright, as if she had laid down all her burdens, a face full of relief.
‘Is Her Highness smiling?’
‘Is she feeling better than yesterday?’
‘Did His Highness comfort her well?’
Her smile lifted the spirits of the delegation. The heaviness that had been on their chests since the previous night seemed to dissolve.
Thanks to that, they were finally able to savor a truly restful break.
Enoch watched the two walking affectionately together and laughed warmly.
“They really do look good together, the two of them.”
“I feel the same way.”
Enoch stretched out lazily. He leaned his head against a tree, fingers interlocked.
“Ah, I wish I was in love too.”
Meanwhile, the two who had stirred Enoch’s envy had arrived under the shade of a tree. Dietrian suggested,
“Shall we rest here for a bit?”
“Yes, that would be nice.”
Dietrian naturally pulled her closer by the waist. Leticia, blushing, embraced him in return. He patted her back, saying,
“You did very well today.”
The two were in the midst of acting to deceive the delegation. In truth, they were using the act as an excuse to fulfill their own desires, but the pretext remained.
“Do you think the knights found it natural?”
“Don’t worry. Today was sufficient enough.”
It wasn’t nearly enough, but Dietrian felt he couldn’t bear to go any further.
He sighed lightly and pressed his cheek against her hair. Her scent, brought in with every breath, was intoxicatingly sweet.
‘I’m going mad.’
He enjoyed holding her like this, yet it also felt insufficient.
He wanted to be closer still.
‘When will this thirst end?’
He had been with her all morning. Yet, it was still not enough. He wondered if becoming one with her would quench this thirst.
‘I must endure.’
After all, this was just an act to deceive others. At least, that’s what Leticia believed. So, he had to keep it moderate.
‘If I openly show my affection, she might notice my feelings.’
Leticia, harboring the same concerns, was something Dietrian hadn’t considered.
There was something else Dietrian hadn’t anticipated. Leticia was much bolder than he was.
Leticia rested her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes.
‘This is wonderful…’
To embrace him to her heart’s content, without any worries. Leticia felt like she was dreaming.
‘I wish I could melt away like this…’
While she was happy, she also felt a sense of regret. Believing their time was limited made her feel this way even more.
‘Just embracing seems insufficient…’
With the pretext already there, she wondered why they needed to hesitate. Mulling over her thoughts, she softly called out to him.
“Your Highness.”
“Please, speak. I’m listening.”
“I’ve been thinking, and it seems lacking.”
The embrace was so tight that the vibrations of her voice transferred directly to him. Dietrian clenched his teeth for a moment before quickly composing himself and asked gently,
“What do you mean by lacking?”
“Simply embracing doesn’t seem enough.”
“…Yes?”
“I suppose an embrace is something not exclusive to lovers…”
He paused his breath for a moment. He couldn’t comprehend her words. No, he could understand, but he couldn’t believe his own interpretation.
“Are you suggesting there’s something more you’d like to do with me besides embracing?”
“Yes…”
“What would that be, exactly?”
“I was thinking, what if I kissed you?”
“…Your Highness?”
“Yes. Since we’d have to do it every day in the Principality anyway…”
Unwittingly, he clenched her garment tightly. He barely managed to control his breathing from becoming too ragged.
“Every day, as in, you would kiss me once a day?”
Despite his caution, his voice came out a bit choked.
Perhaps because of that, Leticia, held in his embrace, flinched.
That snapped Dietrian back to reality, and a look of chagrin crossed his face.
‘I was too intense just now.’
Anyone looking would have thought it strange. He berated himself for not maintaining his composure when she said,
“Ah, perhaps once a day would be insufficient?”
She said.
“It seems, to appear as a loving couple, we might have to do it more frequently…”
Leave a Reply