The sight of the envoy moving busily under the torchlight flickered faintly in the distance.
“Focus on me, Leticia.”
Once again, lips were swallowed. A soft tongue invaded.
‘I feel strange…….’
A hot hand wrapped around her tender neck. A pleasant oddness wrapped around her entire body.
‘It’s too sweet…….’
As if a moan would leak out, she tightly grasped the hem of his clothes.
‘How many times is it already……?’
Dietrian seemed to have no intention of stopping. Leticia had no intention of refusing either.
‘Is this also an act to show others?’
Even while half-drunk with the heat, Leticia felt a bit confused.
‘But now, no one is watching us.’
The two were sitting side by side in a dim place next to the tent. At a glance, one might not even realize they were there.
Even amidst the confusion, she had such a thought.
‘But then, is that important?’
This moment is so overwhelming. The kiss with him is so satisfying.
‘Shouldn’t I just focus on this moment?’
His lips now burrowed into her nape. Leticia instinctively embraced his head.
“Ah.”
As the hem of the clothing went down, a cool breeze touched her slender shoulders.
His breath on her collarbone was, conversely, too hot.
A sense of faintness swept over her.
‘Not enough…….’
She wanted to be closer to him, more. The fabrics between them felt too cumbersome. She wanted to feel his hot body temperature more vividly. She wanted to press her lips against his bare skin.
‘I want to embrace him……. I want to be embraced by him.’
It wasn’t to forget the sorrow.
‘Because I love this person. Because I want to know him.’
So, she wanted to be greedy. Until now, she had forcibly restrained her desires. Because she believed that she shouldn’t be greedy.
But now, the situation had changed.
‘The goddess told me, didn’t she?’
That she would eventually overcome the curse. That all the wishes she hoped for would eventually come true.
The former her would not have believed in the oracle.
She would have forced herself to give up on him until everything was certain.
‘But now, I don’t want to do that.’
Her feelings for him had grown so much that if she didn’t express them, she felt overwhelmed.
‘I don’t want to give up anymore…’
Looking up at the countless stars that seemed ready to pour down, Leticia unwittingly flicked her lips with her wet eyes.
“Please, I wish you would hold me…”
Dietrian’s movement suddenly stopped. Leticia did not realize what she had said in her intoxication.
Dietrian opened his eyes wide as if he could not believe it, then clenched his eyes shut.
The hand that gripped her clothes whitened with the force.
After a moment, Dietrian raised his head. His Adam’s apple moved long at the sight of her disheveled appearance.
“Your Highness?”
“Today.”
Dietrian managed to speak, tidying up her clothes.
“Shall we stop here?”
Of course, he had no desire to stop here.
But sincerely, it was a limit, and going further would surely lead to an accident.
He was bound to either confess his love or hold her, one of the two.
“Ah…”
Disappointment filled her transparent green eyes. As if waiting, his head was filled with one sentence.
Does she really love me?
In fact, he was almost certain of the answer now. What else could that pained look mean, if not affection?
‘I feel like going mad.’
The woman he loves is in front of him, looking at him as if she loves him, so disheveled.
And just before, she even said she wanted to be held by him.
‘Should I pretend to be mad and get disheveled together?’
Unfortunately, there was no excuse after committing the act.
She was not drunk, nor was she clinging to him out of fear of a curse as before.
He racked his brain, but nothing suitable came to mind.
It felt miraculous, yet also pathetic, that he was able to make such a rational judgment.
Anyway, he needed a way to calm down before he went madder.
Without blinking an eye, he looked at her and stretched out his hand. Soon, he gently pulled her into his embrace.
“Your Highness…?”
“You seem cold. No, I am very cold. So, shall we stay like this for a while?”
Ironically, not seeing her expression seemed to make him feel more alive.
Dietrian exhaled the breath he had been holding.
The heat filling his body seemed to subside a bit. The tension in his shoulders relaxed.
Leticia slowly blinked and buried her face in his chest.
‘I really don’t want to give up.’
Leticia thought.
‘Too sweet and tender… I don’t want to give up…’
So she decided not to give up.
To hold on with all her might until the end…
It was the first time she had such a thought. It was the moment the shackles of her heart that had always constricted her began to crack for the first time.
‘I should find out about Gilead’s dream…’
Recalling the last oracle of the goddess, Leticia closed her eyes.
* * *
As Dietrian said, the gazelle meat was incredibly delicious.
It was a herbivore from the desert, so one might expect it to be tough and gamey, but it wasn’t. As soon as Leticia bit into the well-seasoned meat, she was surprised and her eyes widened.
“It melts in your mouth!”
Leticia cleaned off a plate for the first time in a while, and then ate another plateful. Martin, who had prepared the gazelle dish, looked ecstatic, as if he could fly through the sky.
“See? I should become the chef for Her Highness.”
The delegation burst into laughter at Martin’s boast.
Leticia laughed along.
It felt like a small festival was happening.
And finally, it became night. Dietrian laid out a sleeping bag for Leticia to lie on and offered her a hood to use as a blanket.
“It would be better to lie on top of this than to get inside the sleeping bag. The cold from the ground will come up.”
Autumn was almost over. The autumn nights in the desert were as harsh as winter.
“Ah… I see. Thank you.”
Leticia hesitated for a moment.
‘Should I suggest… we hug each other to stay warm?’
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Leticia did not actually say it.
“Have sweet dreams, Leticia.”
“You too, Your Highness.”
The two lay side by side on the sleeping bag, exchanging night greetings. Even though they shared a tent, there was more distance between them than when they shared a bed.
Leticia quickly felt the loss.
‘Too far…’
Even when she thought she had to give him up, she wanted to be close to him. Now that she had decided not to give up, of course, she wanted it even more. So, Leticia made up her mind.
‘I’ll wait a little and then hug him.’
Leticia waited with wide-open eyes for him to fall asleep. Fortunately, Dietrian quickly fell asleep.
When his breathing became even, Leticia quickly got up and moved towards him.
‘He must be asleep?’
She waved her hand over his face. She smiled broadly, hearing his even breathing.
‘He fell asleep quickly.’
With Dietrian not waking up, Leticia grew bolder.
She carefully interlocked her fingers with his. Her cold fingers slipped between his.
‘Warm.’
Then she moved her long hair behind her neck and gently pressed her lips to his temple and cheek.
‘Nice.’
Excitement made her smile keep forming. She felt she could stay awake all night like this. After admiring his handsome features for a while, Leticia lifted the hood he was using and slipped inside.
‘Careful not to wake him.’
She carefully unlocked their fingers and wrapped his arm around her waist.
‘If I get caught, I’ll just say I hugged him in my sleep because it was cold.’
Then she snuggled up to him, hugging him. She quickly felt at ease with his familiar warmth. Yet, it was surprising.
‘I thought he was a light sleeper… Maybe not.’
In her previous life, it seemed like he woke up easily.
‘Maybe it’s because I treat him much better now…’
She was treating him much better than in her previous life, so maybe he was sleeping deeply because he felt at ease.
Leticia smiled proudly.
‘Tomorrow, like this…’
Leticia drifted off to sleep.
‘And six months later… if it were possible.’
And then, after a while, Dietrian slowly opened his eyes.
Joy surged in his black eyes. The sensation of her lips and hands on him was still vivid.
He could no longer deny it, nor did he want to.
‘Leticia loves me.’
With certainty, happiness filled his heart to the brim.
A bright smile spread across his face. Feeling a surge of emotion, Dietrian pulled the sleeping her into his embrace.
* * *
In the border city of Heden, of the Principality of Zenos, the normally tranquil city was bustling unusually over the past few days.
This was due to the arrival of the Second Knight Division, there to escort the Principality delegation led by Dietrian.
Commander Julia had been out at the fortress since the crack of dawn.
A few days ago, she had received a carrier pigeon message that the delegation had left Rozantine. If nothing had gone awry, they likely crossed the border last night.
“Haa.”
Julia pressed her throbbing temples. Her tightly bound ponytail swayed. Victor glanced at her with a fleeting look.
“Didn’t sleep again last night?”
“Not a wink.”
Victor clicked his tongue.
“Staying up all night won’t solve anything.”
“It’s because I can’t solve it that I can’t sleep!”
Julia raised her voice in frustration. Victor chuckled and patted her on the shoulder.
“Look on the bright side. It’s remarkable that Lady Mano made it here safely.”
“That’s the problem! Someone who should have stayed in the castle came all the way here!”
Julia was so distressed because of Queen Dowager Mano.
Mano had hidden in a luggage carriage for nearly a week to come to Heden.
When they opened the carriage door and saw Mano innocently biting into an apple, the shock was immense.
Recalling that moment, Julia still felt her heart sink. Wrapping her head in her hands, she muttered in agony.
“How could no one have known?”
During that time, the carriage in question had been entered and exited dozens of times. Julia herself had gone in and out several times to fetch luggage.
Yet no one knew.
Until they arrived in Heden.
Realizing this, Julia was deeply self-critical.
“If something had happened during that time…”
“Wait, Julia. Look over there.”
“If she had collapsed and no one had noticed…”
“Julia?”
“If she had been considered missing and we were searching elsewhere, only to find out she had died in the carriage…”
“Isn’t that person Banessa?”
Victor grabbed Julia’s arm and pointed out. Julia quickly looked up.
“Banessa?”
Julia’s eyes narrowed. From a distance, a man with red hair was riding a horse toward them alone.
“It is Banessa, right?”
Julia sprang to her feet. She hurried down to the gate to greet Banessa but then she hesitated.
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