“Episode 32”
And she changed into a fluttery dress. As she was putting her arms through it, she paused to tidy up the ribbon hanging on her chest.
Knock knock—.
Someone was knocking on the door.
“Is it Anna?”
How diligent of her for once. Yuliana said with a cheerful voice without even turning around.
“Come in.”
Her husband, who had to enter the palace for investigation due to the strange intruder from yesterday, wasn’t expected to return so soon. Yuliana chuckled at the thought of how reluctant he must have been to leave this room.
But the person who entered wasn’t Anna.
Her husband, still smelling of the cold dawn wind, stood near the door with his arms crossed. His smiling face even had a hint of mischief.
“Already changed clothes?”
“You, you’re already here?”
Yuliana quickly turned around.
Her dress was still loose, with the straps not yet tied. Yuliana fumbled to tie them in her embarrassment.
But whether it was because of her haste or her racing mind, they didn’t tie properly. Before she could feel more embarrassed, Evan closed the door and stood behind his wife. Then, he skillfully draped the dress over her shoulders and began to tie the straps. Yuliana tensed with anticipation. Was it intuition? Evan, who was tying the straps, was slow but meticulous. And when he finished, he gently took Yuliana’s hand, which was gathering the dress in front of her chest.
“I’ll do this part.”
Yuliana lowered her head.
Trying not to show her embarrassment, her face, peeking through the disheveled hair, was as red as an apple. It was like a piece of firewood smoldering in the ashes.
But Evan didn’t laugh or respond, he just gently held Yuliana’s hand and guided it downward.
Normally, Yuliana would have sharply rebuked him, but she remained silent.
This was all a consequence of last night’s events. Evan, threading his fingers through her armpits, began to tie the straps slowly and meticulously. Yuliana was slightly irritated by his skillful hands.
“You’ve touched the dress a lot.”
“Me?”
Evan said jokingly and then finally tied the end of the ribbon neatly.
Due to the design that exposed her neck and shoulders, Yuliana’s long neck and shoulders were visible. Evan ran his hand over her exposed skin with satisfaction.
“Your neck is beautiful. I thought it might be uncomfortable for you in this dress.”
“W-What do you mean?”
Yuliana hesitated in her response.
‘How could I be uncomfortable? After everything I did yesterday…’
With a loving smile, Evan brushed her hair aside and kissed her exposed neck. Yuliana felt his breath against her skin.
Chirp chirp—.
In the meantime, the sparrow reappeared and perched on a branch. When Yuliana met the round, black eyes of the sparrow, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. So, she tried to say something to Evan, but he spoke first.
“I would have done anything related to you without hesitation.”
“Excuse me?”
“If it’s related to you, I would have done anything.”
“…Excuse me?”
Yuliana blinked rapidly.
Although Evan, known for playing with people’s hearts like a mischievous child, seemed unlikely to be that kind of person.
‘…But really, is that possible for him?’
Smiling playfully at his wife’s glance, Evan finally replied.
“Was it good? I thought so.”
“Th-that kind of talk…”
“Later? Sounds good. Or maybe I want to do it again now.”
“Ugh…”
In the end, Yuliana lowered her head.
And to get away from his half-joking, half-serious conversation, she rushed to the window. And with a gentle wave of her hand, she shooed away the sparrow perched on the branch.
‘Why does that sparrow keep eyeing my window? I’m not Snow White.’
Evan, who was sitting comfortably on the now empty bed, chuckled to himself. And he responded to Yuliana’s earlier question.
“It seemed like a waste of time to dwell on the woman who intruded our lake. Surprisingly, he let us go early.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
That was really strange. The Emperor, who’s becoming more and more paranoid and insane, just leaves someone unfamiliar with his source of power in the palace quietly? “Is this also a protagonist buff?” If so, as “lala0419” said, would we soon see the protagonist overwhelming medieval people with modern culture? “Sorry, but I’m not that medieval. Where are the medieval folks who use magic and manage dragon ruins?” Yuliana clenched her fists in resentment towards the protagonist. Whether he knew her wife’s thoughts or not, Evan spoke.
“It seems that woman is quite articulate. Could she really be someone connected to the power from beyond dimensions, like a fairy?”
“Is that true? Emerald Lake, you know, is full of legends. Some say if you make a wish without much sincerity, you’ll be punished, and now this legend says it’s the power of fairies. I honestly don’t trust that woman. Of course, she has extraordinary power, but…”
Yuliana grumbled. And then she sighed heavily. She continued, feeling gradually exhausted.
“What do you think of the palace’s stance?”
“That woman made it rain in the drought-stricken central region today. Even this morning.”
“…Really?”
“And it seems she granted what Lucian desperately wanted.”
“What does he desperately want?”
“Lucian always wanted to go back to his old self. Being obsessed with the Emperor’s position wasn’t his thing. Although he’s a bit crazy now due to the magic surge, he’s always been…”
Evan chuckled bitterly.
Then he reached for Yuliana’s locked drawer. Yuliana said, “Ah,” and opened the locked drawer.
There was a yellow flower that he had given her, dried on the leaves. It was still half intact since it was occasionally lit before going to sleep.
Yuliana smiled faintly at the flower she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Memories of past lives and the chaos she caused, memories she tried hard not to intervene with, flashed through her mind.
She set fire to it, as if it were a gift from the gods that helps with insomnia and changes the mood with its scent, spreading a subtle fragrance in the air.
Yuliana first put it in her mouth and then handed it to her husband. Evan bit the flower through his tightly closed lips.
So silence ensued.
Evan, with a slightly furrowed brow, ran his fingers through his slightly longer black hair. The fragrance seeped between his fingers and through his lips.
As Yuliana, now sluggish, breathed in the fragrance, she said each time she inhaled and exhaled together.
“What do you think His Majesty will do?”
After his wife’s words, Evan smiled weakly as if relieved of strength and said.
“That woman said she could break the curse of the magic stone. She also said she’s a fairy with power from beyond dimensions.”
“Do you believe in that fairy’s words?”
“At first, I naturally didn’t believe it. So I tried to kill her, but she blocked Lucian’s magic and directly summoned the magic stone into her hands. And she said if she helps her return to her homeland, she will also help the empire.”
“Interesting.”
“Yeah.”
After laughing for a moment, Evan shook off the ashes of the flower petals he had burned out the window.
Creak—.
As he got up, there was a belated sound of the bed springs bouncing back from the bed that had been trashed last night.
Before the sound faded away, Yuliana, who was sitting on the bed, burned the flower, which was more precious than gold and had been recently demanded by the countess and humiliated at the temple, and then directly pressed her lips against her husband’s lips approaching from the window.
Slowly, he said as he touched the leaves again.
“Lucian may have inherited all the power of his predecessors, but he didn’t go completely crazy in the exact sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Unlike the past emperors who conducted experiments on their own children as well as the descendants of the royal family, he just doesn’t want to do that.”
“Then…”
“If that woman herself is judged not to be a threat, she says she can support her long-standing wish.”
“What’s her long-standing wish?”
“To not force the empress and their child into the torture of inheriting the throne.”
Yuliana burst into laughter at the slight confusion.
“What’s that? That man liked Empress Mama? And then after divorcing, he didn’t care for a year and left her alone?”
“If he got close to the empress, she might bear his child.”
“Seriously, couldn’t they just avoid relations or use contraception?”
“Maybe he thought it was better to just endure the desire. If you get close, you want to touch, and if you touch, well…”
“It’s ridiculous.”
