Episode 94

“Lloydin…”

Without realizing it, I whispered his name out loud. Lloydin, as if he had heard me calling him, began to move his horse.

He didn’t head toward the inner part of the square he had been crossing a moment ago. Instead, he turned back, gradually coming closer to me.

With each step Lloydin took toward me, my heart pounded wildly.

I wished he would hurry, but time seemed to crawl by agonizingly slow.

No, it just felt that way. Time always flowed at the same pace, but my intense desire to see him made it seem so slow.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Elbert stopped right in front of me.

As he swiftly jumped off his horse, his familiar, long-missed face was right before me.

“Madam.”

“Duke…”

Although he looked exhausted, he was still as handsome as ever.

His low, resonant voice was still just as pleasing to hear.

Among the crowd, all I could see was Lloydin.

I heard the murmuring sounds around us, but he was the only clear figure in my vision while everything else blurred into the background.

I focused solely on him, fearing he might disappear if I looked away even for a moment.

He, too, didn’t take his eyes off me for even a second.

After staring at each other for a long while, we cautiously opened our mouths to speak.

“…Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes, I returned safely.”

Smiling brightly, I asked, and he replied with a smile on his lips.

Before his words even finished, I threw myself into his broad embrace.

I didn’t care who was watching.

I just wanted to feel that he was right beside me.

As I embraced him, he held me tightly in return.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

I murmured softly, and he whispered gently in my ear.

“I missed you so much.”

I emphasized my feelings once again.

“I missed you so much too.”

Lloydin echoed my words with a joyful laugh.

We remained in our own world, savoring our reunion for a while.

* * *

After our emotional reunion, Lloydin returned to his place to lead the subjugation force to the end.

Following the disbandment ceremony that the Emperor had prepared for the subjugation force in the square, we rode back to the duke’s mansion together.

Holding hands as we entered the bedroom, Lloydin, still not satisfied with just a hug from earlier, pulled me into his arms.

“Sigh…”

A contented sigh escaped from him.

Honestly, I felt the same way, so I happily wrapped my arms around his waist.

I hadn’t noticed earlier amidst the chaos, but I could still feel the vibrant energy flowing from him.

‘Is this feeling lingering even though my illness is cured?’

Regardless, I felt good and didn’t think much of it as I accepted him.

“Did you avoid falling asleep while I was away this time?”

“Huh? Yes. I didn’t fall asleep even once.”

When he asked about my illness, I responded instinctively without thinking.

I felt a slight pang of unease, but he hadn’t asked if I was completely cured, so it wasn’t a lie.

“That’s a relief. How do you feel?”

“Oh, I’m feeling good. I’ve been doing much better lately, so I’ve been going out a bit.”

I made sure to answer as truthfully as possible.

We continued to hold each other tightly and talk.

Suddenly, Lloydin pulled away from me hurriedly.

“Oh, I must smell terrible. I was only thinking of myself. I’m sorry, Madam.”

“No, it’s fine. As I said before, I don’t mind at all.”

I smiled, showing that I truly didn’t care.

“Still, I should go wash up. After that, I’d like to continue our conversation.”

“Yes, go ahead. I had water prepared for you to bathe in before coming to bed, so enjoy a hot bath.”

“Yes, I will.”

While Lloydin was bathing, I thought about preparing his meal.

I waited for him to leave, but he remained still, staring at me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I asked, puzzled by his behavior. He seemed hesitant to speak.

‘What’s on his mind?’

“Do you have something to say to me?”

I encouraged him to speak freely.

“…Why aren’t you teasing me today?”

“What?”

Teasing? What was he talking about?

I tilted my head, confused.

“I remember you jokingly offered to help me bathe last time.”

“Oh…”

His words reminded me of what I had said before.

Though it wasn’t a joke, Lloydin seemed uncomfortable, so I had brushed it off as one.

“Do you want me to help you bathe? I wanted to, but you seemed uncomfortable, so I didn’t mention it this time.”

I responded quickly, a bit flustered. Secretly, I hoped he would allow it.

“I was joking. I would never want to burden you with such a task.”

“Oh… it was a joke.”

It didn’t seem like a burden to me.

I felt a slight pang of disappointment but tried not to show it, not wanting to make him feel pressured.

I smiled as best as I could, and Lloydin returned a faint smile.

“I’ll be back soon. You can rest in the meantime.”

“Yes, take your time. I’ll prepare dinner.”

“Alright.”

I watched his back as he left the bedroom, then shook off my disappointment and headed to the dining room.

I prepared a delicious dinner with his favorite foods.

While arranging flowers on the table for the meal, Lloydin, now clean and refreshed, entered the dining room.

“Madam.”

“Duke, please sit here. The food will be out soon.”

I seated him and finished the preparations before sitting across from him.

As the dishes were brought out, we enjoyed a delightful dinner filled with lively conversation.

After the meal, Lloydin escorted me to the bedroom before returning to his office.

He had urgent matters to attend to after being away for so long.

While he worked, I took a bath and then settled on the sofa with a book, waiting for him to return.

He was working so late that I ended up dozing off on the sofa.

I woke with a start when I heard the bedroom door open.

Looking up, I saw Lloydin entering, wearing only a robe.

“Duke, have you finished your work?”

I raised my voice slightly, as if I hadn’t been dozing off at all, and spoke to him.

“Yes. It’s finally finished.”

He took a seat on the sofa opposite me.

“Have you been reading a book?”

“Yes, but I got sleepy and didn’t get very far.”

I smiled sheepishly, showing him how much I had read before closing the book.

“Shall we go to bed now? You must be very tired.”

“I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I was very tired earlier, but seeing you has made all my fatigue disappear.”

Indeed, the exhaustion I saw on his face in the square was completely gone.

“But you look tired, so we should probably go to bed.”

“Well, I do feel a bit tired.”

Not just a bit; I was actually very tired. When Lloydin was at the battlefield, I had spent many sleepless nights thinking about the unexpected revelations. When I heard he was returning to the capital, my excitement had kept me awake.

I had wondered if I had insomnia, but knowing he was by my side now filled me with a sense of peace, making me feel drowsy.

“Then let’s go to sleep for tonight.”

“Yes, let’s.”

We got up from the sofa and moved straight to the bed.

The bed, which had felt empty when I was alone, now felt complete with his presence.

Yet, it felt a bit awkward since it had been so long.

We lay there silently, not even holding hands, until he pulled me into his embrace.

Only then did I naturally nestle into his arms, as I always had.

The warm and comforting energy I felt from him made me smile.

“Good night, Duke.”

“Good night, Madam.”

His words of goodnight echoed in my ears, and I quickly fell asleep.