The sense of unease he had felt before was gradually taking shape. Felix, usually indifferent to other things, was very sensitive about matters concerning his partner.
He felt anxiety when she kept a distance, as if she was preparing to leave him.
Even today was an example.
Sylvia had fully utilized her capabilities. Though they were techniques he had taught her, she didn’t need to do everything alone……
Without him, she seemed capable of living boldly on her own.
But now, he couldn’t imagine living without her.
As if he didn’t expect an answer, Felix continued to feed Sylvia.
“Do you know, Sylvia?”
Looking at him with a ‘What?’ expression, Felix curled the ends of his lips.
“In dragon language, you are ‘Secretrus Beautitudo’ to me.”
With her eyes widened in a ‘What?’ expression, he gently caressed her cheek. Without anything more to say, he just looked at her silently.
Sylvia couldn’t speak due to the embarrassment swelling up inside her, or rather, because her mouth was full of food. The Felix she knew seemed to have been showing only strange behaviors lately.
Chewing the rest of the food in her mouth and lost in thought, Sylvia was suddenly laid down. The dishes had been cleared away, and bedding was laid out. She almost fell asleep on the soft blanket, forgetting about the food in her mouth.
Naturally providing her with a pillow with his arm, Felix turned off the small magic lamp that was lit in a corner.
“No, I still have food in my mouth.”
As if hearing her inner thoughts, Felix opened his mouth.
“Chew it well. Eating while lying down doesn’t kill you.”
‘Even if it doesn’t kill you, you can still choke.’
She wanted to retract her previous enjoyment of the baguette-like texture of the bread. The bread was a bit tough.
‘But it seems he has eaten while lying down before.’
Sylvia was thinking this to herself, but strangely, Felix gave a perfect response.
“Once, I didn’t want to waste the steak laced with poison that woman gave me, so I ate it out of spite. I was lying in bed, unable to get up because of the poison, and ate it anyway.”
Felix said this, looking closely at Sylvia’s wide-eyed expression.
“But I didn’t die.”
A shiver went down her spine at his low voice. Just as Sylvia was about to speak after swallowing her remaining food, cold water swept through her mouth as if he had been waiting for it. After drinking the refreshing water, Sylvia tried to speak again.
Felix lightly captured her cool lips, then turned his face and deepened the kiss. The cold tongue was rubbed softly by the warm flesh, then rubbed roughly. He pressed his pointed tongue against Sylvia’s, which was stiff with shock, as if performing CPR, then slowly brushed her teeth.
Felix watched her trembling teal eyelashes with his eyes narrowly open. He found her extremely endearing as she awkwardly held onto the hem of his clothes.
He had survived alone in the royal palace from a young age. It was no different from surviving alone on a battlefield where allies had vanished, leaving only enemies. Among all the courtiers, servants, maids, and footmen in the palace, not one was on his side.
He was indifferent, pretended not to know, but only became keenly observant. Sylvia could not handle Felix. Moreover, he would turn his brain even more ingeniously to tightly bind his partner to him.
He would assign meaning to her every trivial action, doubt, expect, be moved, and love. He would never leave her side, nor let her leave his.
The imprinting born from love, strangely, seemed a bit detached from the beautiful word ‘love’. Unlike the beautiful, colorful, and fragrant love, it felt damp, clingy, and had a musty smell.
But it couldn’t be helped.
My second heart has chosen you.
Of course, I was the one who chose.
So, just accept it. Even if you ponder and ponder, just stay by my side.
Meus, Secretrus Beautitudo.
My, mysterious happiness.
★★
The members who had taken adequate rest in the tree had a much brighter complexion. They heard the sounds of beasts moving below as they slept, but were never attacked. Realizing this, the members who had been in a light sleep fell into a deep slumber almost simultaneously.
And now, sitting in that cozy space, they were eating the food Sylvia provided. Today’s breakfast was pork belly.
They ate crispy grilled pork belly with plain rice, seasoned radish strips, lettuce, perilla leaves, green onion salad, and side dishes. Along with it, they enjoyed a refreshing and rich beef radish soup loaded with beef and radish.
“Yum. This soup is always so tasty.”
Jordan drank the soup with a satisfied expression. Ruth nodded in agreement, stuffing a wrap into his mouth. The combination of meat and rice wrapped in lettuce with radish strips and green onion salad was unbeatable.
Karl mixed his rice in the beef radish soup. Eating spoonfuls of it, he exhaled deeply.
“It warms you up right to the core, huh.”
Jordan paused from eating to mention, considering Sylvia’s intention of serving such a hearty meat dish from the morning.
“Even though Lady Sylvia must be tired herself, seeing her always put our health first… It’s like seeing a mother…”
Jordan inadvertently brought up the taboo word “mother,” causing Ruth and Karl to glance at him simultaneously.
“Really… if Lady Sylvia hadn’t been here, I can’t even begin to imagine… It’s unthinkable now.”
Jordan, momentarily choked up, stuffed a large wrap into his mouth and chewed vigorously. Ruth and Karl simply patted his shoulder in support.
Henry and his two knights wide-eyed, continued to enjoy the beef radish soup. The taste of pork belly on top of rice followed by the soup was indescribably delicious.
Despite the lavish breakfast spread, it didn’t feel heavy at all but rather fitting perfectly in their mouths.
“Commander, isn’t this soup delicious? How can it be so clear yet so rich?”
At the knight’s comment, Henry nodded as he made a wrap. The combination of spicy and sour green onion salad, radish strips, and pork belly was the best.
“Hmm…”
Without saying a word and focusing on eating, Henry turned to look outside.
He saw Sylvia, who was busy cooking in the air and sending the cooked meat to everyone’s plates with wind magic, and Felix, comfortably floating beside her as if sitting in the air.
Felix was feeding Sylvia wraps he made. His cheeks were bulging, and Sylvia seemed to be complaining about something, to which Felix just burst into refreshing laughter.
Watching them, Henry couldn’t help but feel captivated by the sight. It was a side of the crown prince he had never seen before, making Henry’s expression complex. He was happy, yet apprehensive about the trials the two might face in the future, leaving him with mixed feelings.
Noticing Henry’s expression, one of the knights whispered softly,
“Commander, what’s there to worry about?”
He was the oldest member of the knight order from the ducal family.
“How can I not worry? From the nobles’ opposition to the troubles ahead…”
Hearing Henry’s words, the knight shook his head gently.
“I have a different opinion.”
At the knight’s words, Henry and the rest of the members looked at him simultaneously. Noticing their gazes, he responded,
“How did His Highness manage to leave the royal palace? With a likely storm of bloodshed, who would even have the mind to fuss over the queen’s background? Nowadays, it’s harder to find nobles not connected to the Earl of Lansmorris…”
This was the current state of the Kingdom of Capitis. Nobles who flattered and clung to the Earl of Lansmorris were thriving, while those aligned with the Duke of Sabelisa, an opposing faction, were gradually losing their influence.
Henry’s eyes sharpened as he listened to the knight’s words. Then, the rich and greasy smell wafted over, and pork belly piled up on their plates.
“Sir Henry! Eat up! If not now, it’ll be hard to enjoy meat!”
A cheerful voice struck Henry’s ears. The gloom that had settled deep within him quickly dissipated. A smile unconsciously spread across Henry’s face. With such a bright and kind person around, what could possibly go wrong? Should any danger arise, His Highness would intervene. And if that wasn’t enough, then it would be his turn to step forward.
The initial wariness he felt towards her had melted away as quickly as snow does upon the arrival of summer. After fighting monsters and clearing paths as one of their comrades, Henry completely changed his opinion of Sylvia. Just as Hubert had said, it was a blessing that she was by Felix’s side.
Contemplating his concerns, Henry decided to eat first, biting into the steaming, golden pork belly.
****
With their bellies full and their space bags stuffed with packed lunches and snacks, the members’ faces radiated happiness.
Even as they fought monsters, their expressions remained bright. Felix, observing his companions with a detached gaze, saw the teal head of hair in front of him.
Sylvia, who had moved with them and even prepared their meals, must be even more exhausted. Despite being half their size, she had to work harder, which made him feel sorry for her.
Felix pulled Sylvia’s shoulder to make her lean on him and said,
“Take a break for now. Don’t use magic either.”
Since they had already cleared a significant path, all that was left was to deal with the monsters. Sylvia’s heart fluttered again at Felix’s thoughtfulness. She began to worry if she could truly let go of him and step back when the heroine appears. Her feelings for him were constantly changing colors.
Unable to pinpoint her own feelings, Sylvia looked ahead with mixed emotions. On the galloping horse, she indifferently watched the scene unfold before her eyes.
She had wondered why the number of monsters had decreased suddenly, but it seemed to be because of the group ahead. It wasn’t until she saw a familiar head of red hair among the swarm of monsters that Sylvia considered how she could help.
Seeing Ethan fighting off the monsters with his red hair flying, Sylvia’s eyes widened.
“Commander Ethan?”
Even her softly murmured words were sharply caught by Felix, who checked the end of her gaze.
His eyes narrowed at the sight of Ethan, moving distinctively among the group. The memory of Ethan having held Sylvia came flooding back.
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