“Rublier Ka Dillon. Do you respect your only wife and love her until the end of your life?”

There were past experiences they had gone through because of love. There were past emotions they had to endure because of love. Once, they thought love was happiness. They thought it was excitement. They believed love was smiling just by seeing each other’s face, feeling joy just by hearing each other’s voice.

But love could also bring pain, and love could also bring hatred. Love clouds rational judgment. It’s not efficient. So now they know that love is not necessarily a positive emotion. When they soared, they rose endlessly, and when they fell, they plummeted without bottom. Even after experiencing such ups and downs, they stood here because it had to be this person.

Rublier faced Satin.

“I trust Satin more than I trust myself.”

Some guests who didn’t understand tilted their heads, but it was a sufficient answer for Satin. Satin nodded.

The cardinal gazed at Satin.

“Satin Del Mare. Do you stand here of your own free will?”

Somehow, it felt strangely new. At the last wedding, Satin had not entered the wedding venue of her own will. It was an engagement arranged early by both families, and the wedding was too close to back out. She had been about to reluctantly submit to external pressure saying that Delilah’s status and position were nothing compared to Satin’s, so she should not worry and accept it.

It was the same even after the groom suddenly changed. Although she accepted it in a daze out of a sense of responsibility to resolve the situation, in reality, it was a scenario she had never even imagined. Satin had demanded a consensual divorce after three months, and he…

He…

Satin smiled gently.

She was marrying that man again. This time, clearly of her own will.

“Yes.”

“Satin Del Mare. Do you respect your only husband and love him until the end of your life?”

Satin’s language was trust, and Rublier’s language was love. They might seem different at first glance, but they’re not different at all. They love because they can trust, and they trust because they love. Satin answered in his language.

“Yes. I love you.”

“In the name of God, I bless the marriage of these two people.”

The cardinal proclaimed the marriage of the two. As soon as the solemn declaration echoed through the church, Rublier immediately pressed his lips to Satin’s. He soothed Satin, who was trying to keep her lips tightly closed out of embarrassment and surprise, coaxing her to open her mouth and exploring inside.

Some of the more conservative guests half-closed their eyes, but those who weren’t watched the couple’s display of affection with wide eyes. Amidst the uproar in the wedding hall, the new Pope sat in the VIP seat, applauding louder than anyone else.

Few people knew, but the first official document the new Pope signed after taking office was the approval of these two people’s remarriage.

Satin and Rublier set up their second newlywed home in a mansion on the outskirts. Although it was called a newlywed home, they were living in the same house they had been living in, so nothing had changed. As a result, acquaintances frequently sent letters inquiring about their well-being and invited them to gatherings and parties. With the tremendous daily attention, it was difficult to rest comfortably at home.

After the wedding, while waiting for the baby to enter a stable period, Satin left the newlywed home under the pretext of a belated honeymoon. Of course, her husband Rublier was with her.

1.

Baa. Baa. Hearing the bleating, she looked up to see a flock of white sheep moving about.

Satin sat in a long lounge chair, gently rocking her back. Thanks to the wide awning, the shade was deep, and it wasn’t as hot as she had thought.

A cool drink suddenly appeared next to her face. The coldness condensed on the glass cooled her cheek. Satin just stretched out her arm to take the glass.

“Do you like country life?”

“Yes. I’ve always wanted to live quietly at least once in my life. The city is vibrant and glamorous, but it’s complicated and noisy.”

As long as the Del Mare mansion was in the capital, Satin was destined to live her entire life in the bustling capital. Born into a guardian family, she wasn’t fated to live a quiet and peaceful life. The same was true for Rublier, who was on leave from his duties as a paladin.

So they left home with a generous travel period. When her parents asked when they would return, Satin answered that they would come back when the time was right after playing and resting to their heart’s content. When she left the capital, she was surprised to realize how tired she had been.

Thinking back, there had been almost no time to comfortably take care of herself since becoming pregnant. She divorced Rublier while being tormented by Gjorn, not knowing she was pregnant, and suffered in prison, not knowing it was morning sickness. Just as she finally learned about her condition, the trial began, and she was dragged to the Papal Palace and confined.

It was such an eventful winter that she wondered if everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. She would believe it if someone said all the misfortunes destined for her life had converged at that time.

“I thought the glamorous life of nobility suited you well.”

The lounge chair was furniture that Rublier had placed here and there inside and outside the house for Satin, who would doze off anywhere. The backrest was deeply reclined, making it perfect for falling asleep when drowsiness hit.

The backrest and footrest of all the lounge chairs were adjusted to the right angle for Satin to lie down. Rublier never sat in the lounge chairs. Rublier, who engaged in a lot of static activities like walking and running, seemed to somewhat dislike soft chairs. A knight’s position was far from physical comfort.

A servant quickly brought a chair with a hard backrest and disappeared.

“A glamorous life is nice, but I once decided to go down to the countryside and live raising sheep.”

“You? When?”

Uh, when was it?

Satin, trying to recall, smiled sheepishly.

“Right after getting married, I thought about running away to a quiet place because there would be a big fuss if I divorced…”

“Oh, really?”

“…I said I’d go live with Larie.”

Rublier’s eyes, which were starting to feel a bit hurt, softened after hearing Larie’s name which he hadn’t heard in a long time. Last year, Satin lost people she had known for a long time.

Larie, whom she liked enough to bring to her newlywed home, and Gjorn, who, although it ended badly, she had believed without doubt to be her lifelong best friend as her betrothed from the womb. The absence of someone who had shared a period of life doesn’t get filled or forgotten; one just gradually gets used to their absence.

Rublier also occasionally thought of Kirion. As Satin’s honor was restored, the names of Kirion and Delilah completely fell to the bottom. His old friend was someone who harbored the ambition to become Pope more than anyone else. That greed led him down the wrong path. Rublier couldn’t even fathom how great the greed must have been to give one’s shadow to the devil.

Still, in his final moment, he wanted to be the Archbishop of Caldeblanca. This was a secret known only to Rublier, Satin, and Vitalis. Rublier hadn’t told anyone about it.

Rublier smiled slightly, trying to change the atmosphere.

“I ruined your plan, didn’t I?”

Satin rolled her eyes, not unpleasantly.

“That’s right. None of my plans came true, because of you.”

“Now that we’re in the same boat, your wishes are my wishes. Tell me, I’ll dream along with you.”

“How do you know what I’m going to say? Aren’t you scared?”

“It’s your wish, so whatever it is, it’s fine.”

Rublier declared confidently without even listening.

It’s a confidence that makes it seem like he would bring down the moon from the night sky if asked. Satin pondered what wish could make him feel perplexed.

Money isn’t important. Both Del Mare and Ka Dillon are among the wealthiest families, so a few jewels or houses would be nice, but it seemed a waste to use a wish on such things.

What should she say she wants?

Satin recalled a cheerful voice she could no longer hear. In truth, if it were possible, she wanted to turn back time that had already passed.

Then she could prepare to prevent Larie’s death. She could persuade Gjorn that they should remain good friends and take steps to break off the engagement early.

She could meet Rublier earlier and see him from a completely different perspective, and she could try to prevent Kirion from being consumed by the devil.

To prevent as many people as possible from dying, from getting hurt or regretting…

Imagining this, Satin soon shook her head to shake off the lingering attachment, realizing it was too unrealistic a wish.

“…I don’t want anything more.”

There really was nothing more to wish for here. This is enough. Wanting more would be greed.

Through the sacrifices and pain of many people, someone was able to have this reality where they could dream of the future and have hopes. Since we can’t turn back the days that have passed, we must continue to live. Honoring the will and efforts of those who were sacrificed and those who sacrificed themselves, day by day.

Her heart grew heavy. Satin closed her lips and rested her cheek on the cushion of the lounge chair. Rublier reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear and caressed her face. His careful touch was ticklish, making her eyes close involuntarily.

“I thought of one thing.”

Rublier whispered.

“What is it?”

Satin asked softly.

“I hope you live every day with the feeling that there’s nothing more to wish for.”

Satin slowly opened her eyes and stared at Rublier’s face. She knew the guilt and sense of debt this man held towards her. She had told him, who said he would atone for a lifetime by her side, that she hadn’t forgiven him yet. Among the various marriage proposals Rublier had made, perhaps the one that most revealed his sense of responsibility was the promise not to let her lose out.

“Rub.”

He believes that Satin suffered a great loss by marrying him.

Satin placed her hand on top of Rublier’s.

“We can’t undo what has already happened.”

“I know.”

“But… despite that, I married you again.”

Even though it was she who had said that recovering lost trust is much harder than building trust from scratch, she chose that difficult path.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? I know we’ve become a couple that needs to put in several times more effort, I know there are too many memories that can’t be forgotten… But including all of that, with you.”

Satin finished primly.

“I’m going to try living a life of constant bickering and squabbling.”