She couldnât take her eyes off him. Dark black hair with cool blue-violet eyes.
The countryâs sunâŠ
The man who became her sun.
The man who appeared in front of her wearing a black suit grabbed Yuriaâs heart and shook it.
Just like that day.
âWill he remember me?â
Yuria was curious about that. He probably wouldnât remember.
How could such a high-ranking person remember a woman who thought of her own life as nothing but a bugâs and tried to die?
He didnât need to remember.
It was just that Yuria was so happy that she had finally met him â she was overwhelmed.
The crown prince willingly did his first dance with a young lady who lived in her room for a long time and came out to do her debutante without a partner.
Just holding his hand made her dizzy.
Their dance together⊠Seriously, she was so ecstatic that it didnât feel real.
âItâs so good to be alive.â
That was what Yuria thought. It was for this moment, surviving without dying.
Everything was dreamy and moving.
Beautiful melodies surrounded them and the sound of people applauding.
And that person with a masculine body scent and cold, beautiful eyes.
Like a beautiful dream that disappeared when she closed and opened her eyes, it was a sad yet exciting and good time.
Finally the first dance was over.
Yuria spit out the words that she had been pondering on throughout the dance.
She was so nervous that her heart felt like it was going to explode.
ââŠI was holding on.â
As he said, she survived all this time.
She was living like that, desperately holding on to that old and dreadful life, enduring misfortune.
ââŠâŠâ
Rixus looked down at her with those indifferent blue-violet eyes.
He then said,
âI donât know what youâre talking about.â
The smile that flashed across Rixusâ lips as he turned aroundâŠ
That smile captured Yuriaâs heart alive.
From then on, Rixus became like a compass in her life, which had never been oriented.
She was unaware of his smile and warmth, but sometimes it seemed that she could never turn back again.
At first, she didnât even dare to want to be his woman.
People in social circles thought she loved Rixius, but her admiration was far greater than that feeling.
If only he, who had endured day by day with the same misfortunes as herself, could shine high as the sun of the empire.
As long as she could see him happy, that would be enough.
âIf he is happy.â
She seemed to be able to suffice with that.
SoâŠ
âThis is not a marriage!â
Yuria shouted hysterically and tore up Deborahâs letter.
Now he was sacrificing his life to marry a terrible woman to prevent war.
Could there be a worse hand than this?
She, who only wished for her god to shine highâŠ
The feeling of watching him walk into despair, step by step, was terrifying.
âNannyâŠâ
âMy ladyâŠâ
Yuria collapsed on the spot.
ââŠMy heart hurts so much. I feel like Iâm being ripped to pieces.â
Tears welled up in the corners of the nannyâs eyes.
The nanny knelt down on her knees and hugged the little girlâs body.
âMy poor lady, my poor little girlâŠâ
ââŠâŠ.â
âHow can you love someone like that?â
Yuria lifted her head and cried as she laughed.
âNanny, this is not love.â
If she had only loved him as a man, she would have changed her mind already.
She wouldnât have continued to love someone so cold-hearted.
Because love was bound to change, and its essence was very shallow.
âIâd rather this be loveâŠâ
Was this love or yearning, or was it the obsession of a bird that clung to the first thing it saw the moment it came out of its eggshell?
She didnât even know herself.
Rixus told her the splendor of sunlight, the fragrance of the spring breeze, the joy of eating food, and the beauty of a little childâs smile.
He was the first to tell her.
He was the one who taught her how to live.
It wasnât just her life that he saved that day.
She had been locked in her room all her life waiting for her deathâŠâŠ It was her life itself.
(TL/N: as in, âlivingâ or âwill to liveâ, not just life like health.)
âI want to pay back at least half of what he gave me.â
All of that was so precious, and Yuria was so thankful; she couldnât just let him go unhappy.
âMy ladyâŠâ
Yuria looked out of the window with translucent eyes.
Before she knew it, a red and blue sunset was embroidering the sky.
Looking at the blazing sunset that was like the eyes of Rixus⊠Yuria suddenly remembered a certain voice.
âLadyâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
âHow far can you go for the Crown Prince?â
It was Deborahâs voice.
She had asked, as if she was trying to test her mind.
âCan you kill the Queen?â
Yuria quietly closed her eyes and opened them.
âNanny.â
ââŠYes, my lady.â
âTell Madam Deborah that I want to meet her.â
The nannyâs eyes shook.
She was the one who didnât interfere in her meeting with Deborah, in the hopes that Deborah would be a companion to Yuria, who had not had any friends until now.
But she thought it was time to tell Yuria the truth.
âMy lady, my lady. Listen carefully.â
ââŠâŠâ
âDonât trust Madam Deborah too much. Sheâs taking advantage of you.â
But then she got a very unexpected answer.
âI know, nanny.â
â!â
In fact, Yuria knew. How Deborah treated her.
Yuria looked at her nanny expressionlessly.
âIâm not an idiot.â
The sun shining through the window made her tearful face red.
âŠâŠEven if she already knew, what could change in this situation where she was hanging on a cliff?
Her dry lips budded hopelessly.
âBut nowâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
âI canât stop anymore.â
* * *
In order to get married in a month, there was a lot of paperwork to be processed.
I was doing huge amounts of work without ever leaving the office.
In particular, today, we started the work of transplanting âSpinelâs medical systemâ to Aktoum.
On the day of the high priestâs visit, the benefits of this policy were explained in terms of tax revenue expansion to meet the needs of the nobles.
But in actual fact, it was a policy to save even one more life.
The sooner the better.
âSeryl is going to die while workingâŠâ
âIt hasnât even started yet.â
âNonsense.â
Seryl looked at Laura and Maribel with tearful eyes.
The three chicks were also suffering because of me.
We also ate in the office this morning.
âYou guys get some rest.â
As I said that while casually turning over the papers, I could feel the three of them looking at each other.
Their faces were probably expressing âHuh, weâre getting off work while our boss is overworking alone.â
It stung a little, so I put down the papers and started chatting.
ââŠBut, where are Rixus and I going today? I still havenât heard about it.â
Not surprisingly, Serylâs face brightened.
âAh, itâs supposed to be kept a secret, Your Majesty!â
âMaybe itâs the flower of marriage.â
At Lauraâs explanation, Maribel, who was diligently flipping through papers while wearing glasses in a corner, laughed like a sly chick.
âFufufu⊠Today is a day to customize the groom to the brideâs will, Your Majesty.â
ââŠCustomize? Iâm customizing Rixus?â
In the past, when I played RPG games, I was the kind of person who would spend a whole day on character customization to create a handsome man, then delete the game with satisfaction.
Maribelâs hint was bound to lure me in.
But I couldnât even guess what I was going to do today.
âItâs a common tradition, but itâs usually done by women.â
Laura gave me some more hints.
âBut in Aktoum, only men do it.â
ââŠHmm.â
I shrugged and looked at them with curious eyes.
âWhat the hell is it? Iâm looking forward to it.â
Anyway, I was kind of excited that I could change Rixus at will.
âItâs gonna be fun.â
I worked tirelessly yesterday and today and didnât have any fun, but it was clear things would be fun later in the afternoon.
Once my attention was focused on that, I couldnât concentrate well on my work.
In the corner of the document, I wrote âRixus. If itâs a custom. Handsome as much as possible.â, then shook my head.
âCalm down, focus!â
âIf you donât want to sleep on top of papers on the first night of your wedding, itâs time to work hard.â
I sped up the paperwork.
What I was dealing with now was an important one, so I engraved it on parchment, not paper. Then I rolled it up, tied it with a string, sealed and handed it to Seryl.