It was six months later. To get straight to the point, Redian and I did not get married.
“It took nearly half a year just for the reconstruction.”
“Well, it’s a relief. The weather is better now than it was back then.”
At Juyong’s words, I looked up at the sky beyond the window. It was blue, very blue. Summer has come again. The unusually long winter had passed, and the returning season sparkled with sunlight.
“Yes. It’s better to open the resort island when the weather is good.”
According to the original plan, the resort island should have opened at least twice by now.
“But it can’t be postponed any longer. Absolutely not!”
However, due to Redian flooding the continent and the grand duke’s rebellion, unexpected events kept pushing things back until today.
“Grand duke, or rather, that b*stard Benio gave us a sort of gift.”
I nodded at Juyong’s playful words. Yes, thanks to the grand duke, we could open it in the summer instead of winter. The world is so peaceful now. I should think positively.
“Goddess!”
“Mori.”
At that moment, someone ran in with a thump, thump, thump. Even though summer had returned, those short, chubby limbs showed no sign of lengthening.
Ah, right, I shouldn’t call her Mori anymore.
“Saintess, what did you learn today?”
“Ummm, the high priest tauth me about merriage.”
“Marriage?”
Why a marriage when there’s so much to study about the empire and theology? I tilted my head at Seraphiel’s uncharacteristic behavior.
“Yes. And dat thing! The one who trows flowers at the front! Mori will do it!”
“Ah.”
Throwing flowers at the front, putting the words together, it seemed to mean the flower girl at a wedding. But Moriana was the saintess of the Meteora Empire. Who could possibly hold a wedding grand enough to have the saintess as the flower girl?
Uh? No way. At that moment, I suddenly felt uneasy.
“Saintess, here you are.”
“Seraphiel.”
Someone came in, panting as if chasing after Mori.
“You’re both here too.”
At Juyong’s greeting, Seraphiel blinked playfully.
“High Priest Seraphiel greets Your Majesty the Empress and the Princess.”
“…”
I rested my chin and looked at Seraphiel. Somehow, I had a hunch that the grand wedding scheme was planned by the Rixon family.
“Oh dear, it’s already this late. Aren’t you busy? I heard you have another meeting at the duchy later this afternoon.” Seraphiel skillfully changed the subject.
I thought she was on my side in Pronaea… But now that we’re in the capital, it turns out she’s one of the Rixon people.
Actually, I should have been the high priest or the saintess. But thanks to my stubborn refusal, I was able to give them those positions. Since they were the elementalists of Meteora, they were perfect for inheriting my position. The only problem was…
“Oh, and you also have to give a lecture to the priest and priestesses soon. You must be very busy.”
Even though I didn’t hold any official title, strangely, I had a lot of work. Somehow, I ended up being the heir to Duke Felicite, the godmother of the saintess, and the mentor of the priest and priestesses. On top of that, I was the hottest celebrity and entrepreneur in the Meteora Empire right now. What else was there?
Well, it’s not bad. Anyway, it was just enough to keep me from being completely overwhelmed.
“First of all, the resort island needs to be opened. What about His Majesty?”
“He’s fishing with Duke Felicite at the lake in Pronaea.”
He’s really living the life. How much money of mine went into that resort island!
“Take father with you, Irik.”
“It seems like he’s more suited for that than managing the duchy.”
I remembered Irik’s words.
Unfortunately, the duke and the emperor seemed much more comfortable and happy now. So, politics or whatever, the life of a wealthy idler basking in the sunlight by the lakeside.
“How about the Norma? Did they take photos at the resort island?”
“Yes. Especially this time, Francis’ photoshoot turned out great.”
Judging by Juyong’s expression, it seemed they really turned out well.
Thanks to those idlers, I was even promoting Norma’s photos.
“All right, got it.”
Feeling stiff, I realized it was time to get up.
“Ah, by the way, Big Sis. The upcoming prayer meeting will be held at the southern monastery…” Just then, as if she had remembered something, Juyong said to me “Will you attend?” She had a cautious face.
If it’s the southern monastery… I pondered for a moment.
After that day, Ash was sent to the northern monastery, and Luna to the southern monastery.
“No, I won’t go.”
I wondered how long her hair had grown by now. Sometimes I was curious, but…
“Send Irik instead.”
I decided not to think about it.
* * *
Am I late? Oh, it’s just 5 minutes.
Panting, I grabbed the door handle and took a moment to catch my breath. The promised time with Redian was exactly at the hour. But thinking about Luna, I found myself lost in thought in the hallway.
He’s probably sulking because I’ve been so busy lately. Thinking of Redian’s recent demeanor sent chills down my spine.
This wasn’t the time to be standing around.
“Rere?”
“…”
“Rere, I’m here.”
I stepped inside, trying to make my eyes look as pretty as possible.
Is he not here? Could it be that he’s running late?
There was no sign of anyone.
Redian was just as busy as I was. If we didn’t set a specific time to meet, it would be hard to see each other. The fact that Redian had never been late for an appointment until now was almost miraculous.
“What the heck? If I had known this, I wouldn’t have rushed.”
It was summer, so I felt a trickle of sweat.
“You can take a shower now.”
“…”
As I was fanning myself, a chilly voice from behind made my skin crawl.
“From now on, you won’t be able to leave the room…”
I slowly turned my head.
“Wouldn’t it be wise to save even a little bit of time?”
The man I locked eyes with shrugged.
“Oh, maybe it’s better not to shower.”
His blue eyes slowly scanned me from head to toe. I didn’t know when it started, but there were times when his gaze on me felt overly peculiar.
“Since you’ll get wet anyway.”
“…”
Just like now.
Why? How does that make sense? I brushed away the brief, inexplicable question.
“No, I should still take a shower.”
It was clear that Redian was in a twisted mood. After living together for several months, I had learned to read him.
“I’ll be back soon, Rere.”
At times like this, it was best to leave Redian alone or avoid him.
“Just wait a moment.”
But,
“Master.”
Before I could take another step, he grabbed me.
“How much longer do I have to wait?”
My vision flipped in an instant.
“Yesterday, you didn’t hug me because you ran late for the meeting…”
His red lips briefly touched my collarbone and then withdrew.
“The day before, those Norma b*stards barged in, so you couldn’t hold me.”
“You…”
His breath mingled with my skin, making it even more ticklish.
“You’re doing this on purpose.” I glared at Redian, who was above me.
“On purpose, you say.”
Yes, this was exactly it. It felt like heat was rising wherever those blue eyes landed.
“What did I do?”
Was it since I shared body heat with Redian? There were times when his gaze felt like it was holding me captive.
“Oh well.”
So, when we just stared at each other without saying anything.
“How’s your wound?”
“…!”
His hand would gently, yet teasingly, soothe me.
At that moment when I unconsciously tried to wrap my arms around his neck.
“No.”
I snapped back to reality.
“There’s still so much to do.”
It was almost dangerous.
The day wasn’t even over yet, and it was still bright outside because it was summer.
“Rere, at least you and I need to discuss the resort island first.”
“…”
Day or night, this cunning fox could shake my patience.
Let’s focus on work.
“First, we need to select newlyweds to stay on the island. From the noble social circles, those who recently married.”
As I tried to push Redian away and get up.
“Nuna.”
“…What?”
“We could go.”
A strange sensation shot through me.
“What’s so special about newlyweds?”
“…”
“If you’ve done everything, you’re a couple.”
What should I do because of those words? Seriously, why is he saying something trivially like that?
“Then from now on…”
His voice brushed my ears, turning my vision white.
“Please only love me.”
I had to admit it again.
“Ha, this won’t do.”
There’s no other fox like him in this world.
“I’ll be on top.”
“As much as you want.”
A smile that never left each other’s faces.
Indeed, you… You had the power to turn even hell into heaven, My Rere.
<The end of the main story>
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