*******
The scenery of the peaceful afternoon did not change at all compared to before she was taken into the Imperial Palace. It felt far-fetched that not so long ago, there were those who tried to destroy this peaceful landscape and those who tried to protect it.
「What are you looking at?」
Yulif approached quietly and dropped his lips on Canaren’s rounded shoulder. Canaren smiled briefly and moved to make room for Yulif to sit. She tapped the empty seat with her hand, and Yulif sat down. Canaren rested her head on his shoulder.
「Just looking at the village.」
「It’s been a long time. How do you feel?」
「Fine. It’s a bit unfamiliar… It really feels like I’m back home.」
「Take it easy. If there’s anything you want to do, you can do it all. You have a lot of time.」
「Really? What would you do if you said I wanted to live here?」
「I would agree to that.」
Yulif simply answered as if there was no problem. The Lord of Pionia, the uncle and duke who must assist the newly crowned young emperor. He did not care at all about his status or position. She seemed to understand Derek’s feelings as he cried while holding on to Yulif, and whenever this happens without any countermeasures.
Canaren slapped Yulif’s thigh as if reprimanding him.
「If it’s not Yulif, who else? Roana and Derek would be waiting every day for Yulif to come.」
「It doesn’t matter whether others wait or not.」
Yulif clasped her little white hand. Canaren turned her head to look at him. The eyes of Yulif, who was holding her, as if for granted, softened gently.
「Your happiness is the most important to me.」
‘Cause I’ve only hurt you all this time and I want to spend all the remaining time for your happiness. This is not just for you. Because if you’re happy, I’m several times happier than that. So I want you to be happy to your heart’s content.’
The words from Yulif’s eyes penetrated into her heart. She felt the feeling of his love overflowing with suffocation several times, but it was so enchanting that tears filled her eyes every time. Canaren squeezed her pounding chest and clenched her toes.
「Do you like Ocard and Derek more than me?」
「What kind of question is that?」
「You always care about the two of them. You’re all friendly too.」
「Yulif now… Are you jealous?」
Yulif narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t answer. There was a saying that silence was positive, and seeing his slightly heartbroken expression on his face, he seemed to be sincere. Jealous. Yulif is jealous! Canaren wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned over to look into his face. A faint spark flashed in his purple eyes, which she liked.
She didn’t know anything. All the things that went through her hands, no matter how trivial, were all owned by Yulif. Of those who work in the duchy, only Yulif, Roana, and Derek can call her by name.
Even so, the fact that Yulif didn’t like it. George was evicted from his position as chef for a non-comenity charge of calling Canaren by her name, and became dedicated to peeling onions in tears.
Canaren, who knew nothing, wanted to see Yulif jealous. Yulif rarely showed his emotions outwardly. Besides, wasn’t Yulif the most handsome and handsome person in the world? She thought he wouldn’t feel anything like jealousy. Seeing Yulif’s jealousy, she seemed impatient with her friends who showed interest in him, and the times she was angry would not be unfair.
Canaren teased Yulif with twinkling eyes.
「You’re jealous, aren’t you? Right?」
「Yes. that’s right.」
With his soft reply, Yulif hugged her. Trapped in his tight chest and his arms, Canaren took a deep breath. The scent of Yulif was deeply permeated in the fresh air of her forest. Canaren hugged Yulif’s back.
「Look at me.」
—Don’t see anyone else. Don’t talk to other people. Don’t make other people laugh. Don’t call anyone else’s name but me. Only with me Don’t go where I am not.
Yulif suppressed the burning desire for monopoly and possessiveness. He knew well how gloomy and dark his own feelings were. If he let it run wild, he would lock Canaren in a stuffy room. It would take away her barely regained freedom from her, and suppress and crush her, making her unable to think of anything but him. She, who loved him, would even think it’s affection, and she would accept it silently. And she would die slowly.
Canaren said she dreamed of a future where the two would be happy together. It was the same with Yulif. Twisted possessiveness would do nothing to the couple’s future. More than anything else, Yulief didn’t want to see Canaren withering away despite attaining freedom.
‘Affectionately. Kindly. So that you can always smile. When you have no choice but to show heavy emotions, just a little. So that you don’t run away in fear of me.’
「Yulif looks only at me.」
But Canaren, his lovely wife, had always exceeded his expectations. Suddenly, with her two hands covering Yulif’s face, she said with a more serious face.
「You must never make other people smile. Don’t even show them magic. I will only see Yulif’s magic. Since Yulif is mine, the magic is mine too. All right?」
Really. He can never beat her.
Instead of answering, Yulif kissed Canaren’s forehead and cheek in turn. Canaren followed him, kissing the forehead and cheek in the same way, and smiled broadly. Yulif was overjoyed to think that behind her beautiful smile, a sticky, dark emotion similar to his own was curled up.
“I’ll give you my all, so you can rest assured.” Yulif whispered softly and hugged her as tightly as she could. At that whisper, Canaren nodded.
*******
Contrary to the idea that she would be able to spend each day in a leisurely manner, Canaren left the newlywed home the next morning. She ran to her best friend’s house, hearing that she was about to give birth to a child.
Thanks to that, Yulif, who was left alone by the newlyweds, sat there doing nothing. With Canaren not by his side, he had no thoughts and no motivation. He seemed really stupid.
“It’s open.”
“Madam Anera.”
When he went out to the sound of a knock, he found a smiling Anera. Yulif got a little shy and patted his hair so that it wouldn’t be messy. Anera glanced into the quiet house, and gave him a look that seemed to know everything.
“Canaren seems to have gone to Hartia. She’ll be back when the evening is over… Do you have anything special to do until then?”
“I don’t. If there is anything you want me to do, please feel free to tell me.”
“Good for you. I just had something I wanted to discuss. Follow me.”
Annera took the lead and Yulif followed slightly behind her. He thought they were going to her house, but she was heading to a large building a little further inside the village.
It was the building he found while looking around and wondered about its purpose, although he had to put a barrier on the day he visited the village instead of the wedding. Unlike other houses, there were few windows and the walls and roof were thick, so it was certainly not a building built for residential purposes.
“It’s like a town hall. It’s built to serve as a shelter in case of an emergency.”
Anera, who immediately answered Yulif’s question, opened the door. Upon entering, Yulif quickly gauged the people. It was not an act performed with any intention, but a habit that had been hardened while being threatened with life by Deltinus for many years.
There were a total of eight people gathered at the meeting, excluding Anera and Yulif. There were four women and four men, and most of the men had good physique and gave a strong impression. They glared at Yulif with bewildered eyes. The man who looked the oldest among them stared.
「You look like a human no matter where I look. Will this guy understand us all just because he’s married to Canaren?」
「Everyone, sit down first. This is not the way to treat a guest.」
「You have spoken well, Chief. This is a guest. It means outsider. How can I tell such a person the future of this clan…」
「Calm down. This is not the place to draw conclusions. Why are you acting so hastily when you know everything?」
Anera scolded the man in a stern voice. The man turned his body roughly and sat down on the empty seat. Anera directed Yulif to a vacant seat, and she herself sat next to him.
Yulif observed the people sitting around him with a nonchalant expression. There were so many meetings that he usually attended that he was always bored, and the atmosphere that didn’t welcome him was so familiar that he couldn’t even snort. However, the expression of the Hwira men gradually worsened as they thought that Yulif’s dignified attitude was ignoring them.
Either way, while continuing to observe, Yulif looked at the man sitting at the end and frowned for a moment. He felt a sense of déjà vu as if they had met before, for he could not recall the exact memory.
Feeling Yulif’s gaze, the Hwira man raised his head, he said loudly, ‘Ah!’.
「Y-you are…!」
The man reacted violently, even getting up from his chair. They must have met somewhere. But he couldn’t remember when or where he met him.
Anera asked the man while Yulif pretended not to be interested with his characteristic blank face and traced his memory.
「Have you met each other before?」
「He is the one who saved me when I was sold in the capital. You seemed to have a special relationship with Canaren, but you’ve even gotten married!」
The man stood in front of Yulif and pulled out his wings. The moment he saw the dark green wings resembling his hair, the completely forgotten memory appeared in Yulif’s mind.
He had once dealt with a slave auction for Canaren, who was shocked to see the opera singer. It was this man who he saved from the auction house. It was this man who told him that Canaren had a marriage partner.
「At that time, I was too busy to give a proper thanks. Though this is late, I thank you very much for saving me.」
「I received enough thanks, so you don’t have to.」
「At the end of the day, this is how the wind-guided relationship arrived. You’ve married Canaren…? Oh, my name is Randel.」
Randel smiled meaningfully and held out his hand politely. Yulif lightly shook hands with Randel. Anera, who was looking at them happily, spoke as if telling the rest to listen.
「It seems like we’re indebted to Yulif a lot without knowing it. I think he is well qualified to discuss with us how to manage the village in the future, am I the only one who thinks this way?」
「I agree. I absolutely agree!」
「If you saved Randell, it’s bad to refuse.」
「Anyway, the chief accepted him as a family…」
「If you can communicate in Hwira, isn’t it okay to just share your opinions?」
「I think a new perspective is needed for the village.」
The atmosphere changed in an instant when the unexpected fact that he had rescued Randel was revealed. Randel, who was sitting across from Yulif, smiled and greeted Yulif once more with a wink. Yulif also responded to the greeting with a nod.
Anera did not miss this opportunity to organize the roaring people and start the meeting.
