Chapter 82

As the small boat began to sway on the seawater, Isabelle extended her hand toward Leophris and the others.  

“I will make sure the mission is a success.”  

After shaking hands with Isabelle, Leophris and his party boarded the small boat.  

In the meantime, the night sea had darkened so much that it was impossible to distinguish the sky from the water. They moved the boat forward using only oars.  

+++

Thanksgiving had arrived.  

Adelina and her maids decided to hold a modest Thanksgiving party at Camellia Palace.  

Hoping to change her mood, Adelina expressed her desire to visit the market. With the escort knights and Hailyn accompanying her, she was granted temporary permission to leave.  

‘Truly… we are just hostages, aren’t we…’  

Adelina held the exit permit stamped with the Emperor’s seal and smiled bitterly.  

While she could move freely within the Imperial Palace, since that day, she had to obtain a permit whenever she wanted to leave the palace grounds.  

“The Tiola Empire seems to have had another bountiful harvest this year… I hope Ernst has a good harvest too.”  

The lively market reminded the maids of their homeland as they saw the fruit-laden stalls.  

“Elder Sister! So, who will you kiss, Elder Sister?”  

Seyra, trying to lift the maids’ spirits, clung to Hailyn’s arm with a bright voice and leaned in close.  

“Haha… no one.”  

Hailyn tried to remove Seyra’s arm, but Seyra clung even tighter, pressing herself closer.  

“Who should I kiss? I want to kiss someone too.”  

When Seyra glanced subtly at the escort knights, a few of them blushed and cleared their throats awkwardly.  

“Seyra. You’re still a minor. Don’t even dream about it. Tonight, don’t take a single step out of your room.”  

Adelina deliberately raised her voice for the escort knights to hear.  

When Seyra puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction, the other maids stifled their laughter.  

“Your Majesty, I’ll keep an eye on her. After all, I don’t have anyone to kiss either.”  

“Elder Sister! There are less than 100 days left! I’m all grown up now!”  

Though Seyra protested in disappointment, she ultimately spent that night confined to her room under Hailyn’s watchful eye.  

+++

After finishing the simple Thanksgiving party, Adelina returned to her room and gave her maids some free time.  

For some, it would be a night filled with excitement over a Thanksgiving kiss, while for others, it would be a night of tears, thinking of their families back in Ernst.  

Adelina stepped onto the terrace, resting her hands on the railing as she gazed at the full moon in the sky.  

‘In my past life, the Harvest Moon was always full too. That’s the same here and there.’  

The full moon over the Tiola Empire was so large that staring at it for a long time made her feel as if she might be drawn into it.  

“Your Majesty.”  

“Jaeyon?”  

Startled by Jaeyon’s voice calling her from right beside her, Adelina turned her body to the side.  

“Why? Why didn’t you come through the door? Why the terrace?”  

There was no secret mission today, so why…?  

‘Why are you carrying an umbrella on such a clear night?’  

Adelina crossed her arms and gave Jaeyon, who appeared suspiciously in a black silk robe, a cold glare.  

“They say that kissing under a birch tree in the Tiola Empire makes love come true.”  

Jaeyon opened an umbrella made of wood.  

“I’ve heard that too.”  

Adelina tilted her head at Jaeyon, who was now sharing the umbrella with her.  

Why use an umbrella when it wasn’t raining?  

Jaeyon leaned closer to Adelina’s ear, lowering the umbrella further.  

Startled by his sudden approach, her golden eyes widened, and Jaeyon’s face completely filled her vision.  

“This umbrella is made of birch wood.”  

Before Adelina could burst into laughter, Jaeyon’s lips moved closer to hers.  

“Jaeyon, I told you friends don’t do this.”  

Adelina flicked his forehead with her finger, as if to scold him.  

“I… no longer see us as friends.”  

Jaeyon rubbed his forehead with his finger, squinting his eyes.  

“Well, I told you we can’t break off our friendship.”  

“There’s nothing I can do about that.”  

Jaeyon’s lips lightly brushed against Adelina’s before pulling away.  

“Hey!”  

“Just a kiss between friends for tonight.”  

Blocking Adelina’s incoming punch, Jaeyon jumped over the terrace and disappeared.  

‘That guy… why is he still carrying that umbrella…?’  

In the Imperial Palace garden, amidst couples secretly sharing kisses, the brown birch umbrella spun and passed through them.  

A faint sound echoed in the deep shadows of the terrace where the moonlight cast its shade.  

“Who are you looking at?”  

“Ah! You startled me!”  

+++

“Could it be… that guy, Jaeyon?”  

A voice filled with anger emerged from the darkness and grabbed Adelina’s hand.  

“Truly, you’ve been unfaithful. Your husband risked his life to cross the sea.”  

“Lexion.”  

When Lexion pulled her hand, Adelina was drawn into the darkness as if by magic.  

He still carried the scent of the sea.  

With her back pressed against the terrace window, Adelina clutched Lexion’s collar tightly before wrapping her arms around his neck.  

Lexion’s embrace around Adelina grew stronger.  

Though her soft curves were pressed against his firm chest, Adelina had no time to care.  

Their lips parted and met again repeatedly.  

Tilting their heads slightly to adjust the angle, they stayed connected, unwilling to separate.  

Like sipping wine, they shared each other’s essence.  

They worried about being overheard.  

Even the sound of their lips brushing might be caught by the moon above.  

Adelina stood on tiptoe, clinging to his neck to stifle even the faintest sound.  

“Haa… haa…”  

Though she tried to suppress her moans, she couldn’t help but gasp for breath as their kiss continued.  

Resting her forehead against Lexion’s chest, Adelina caught her breath.  

The unusually bright sky seemed to grow brighter, and the deep darkness began to fade.  

The garden grew lively once more.  

“Wow! A meteor shower! Make a wish quickly!”  

“I’ve never seen so many shooting stars before!”  

Those who had been whispering love in the garden exclaimed in awe at the rain of shooting stars.  

Stars, once fixed in the sky, burned brightly as they spent their last moments.  

They shimmered several times before sliding and falling.  

Women who had been secretly sharing love didn’t hide, even when their identities were revealed.  

Instead, they held their lovers’ hands and stepped into the open, gazing at the sky.  

Please, let this love come true.  

Please, let this peace last.  

Please… let this man return safely.  

The women all shared the same wish as they looked at the sky.  

They prayed to have the man they kissed tonight return to them.  

+++

Adelina felt as though she might be caught at any moment as the shooting stars continued to fall.  

Once the garden grew noisy, it didn’t quiet down again.  

Hearing whispers of love louder than the chirping crickets, she gently pulled away from Lexion.  

“Adelina.”  

Lexion’s voice, filled with longing, spread over her head, prompting her to look up.  

“Shh! We’ll get caught. Let’s go inside.”  

Adelina carefully opened the terrace window.  

Though she felt uneasy about having left the room’s lights on, she reassured herself that everyone was too busy watching the shooting stars to notice this side.  

Taking Lexion’s hand, she led him inside, drawing the curtains tightly and leaving only one light on.  

Walking on tiptoe like a ballerina, she approached Lexion, who stood by the terrace window.  

‘Should I turn on one more light?’  

She regretted not being able to see Lexion’s face clearly in the dim light.  

“How did you come here today?”  

Adelina furrowed her brows and crossed her arms, looking at Lexion as if interrogating a guilty child.  

“By wyvern.”  

When her golden eyes questioned him, Lexion slyly wrapped his arm around Adelina’s waist.  

Though he wanted to look elsewhere, his gaze kept drifting toward her lips.  

“That’s not what I meant.”  

Her voice, though small, carried thorns, as if she were truly upset. She even glared and furrowed her brow.  

“Today is the day husbands kiss their wives.”  

Having removed his gloves at some point, Lexion gently cupped Adelina’s cheek with his large hand and pulled her closer.  

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”  

No matter how much she searched her mental encyclopedia, she couldn’t recall anything like that.  

Adelina considered questioning him further but instead chose to close her eyes.  

‘Perhaps… he’s anxious because of the impending war?’  

Lexion’s gaze on her was not entirely bright.  

Even his voice carried a faint heaviness, as if burdened by some concern.  

“What… have you forgotten something? Is there nothing else you want to say?”  

When Lexion’s lips lightly touched hers and then pulled away, Adelina widened her eyes and asked.  

However, seeing the deepening darkness in his gaze, she pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes.  

‘Today… isn’t this the day everyone says that? Can’t you just say it, even if it’s just because of the mood? Do you dislike saying it that much?’  

Was I unworthy of hearing those words? Why wouldn’t anyone say them to me?  

‘Is it because… I’m fake?’  

Unconsciously, Adelina clenched the hem of her dress tightly.  

+++

“Adelina. My wife.”  

Breaking the brief silence, Lexion called her name.  

His expression remained serious.  

“Lexion…”  

Adelina called his name as softly as she could, reaching out to touch his cheek.  

‘Alright. Say it. Now is the time. I’ll give you the chance! You just have to say it!’  

His grave expression seemed to suggest that he wanted to say it.  

As if confirming her assumption, Lexion took her hand on his cheek and pressed a long kiss to her palm.  

Gulp. Adelina swallowed her breath silently.  

She was finally going to hear those words.  

If she could just hear them, she felt she could do anything.  

Well, he was her legal husband, so even something as intimate as last time wouldn’t be a problem.  

Adelina let herself be guided as Lexion kissed her softly and led her toward the bed.  

When he gently pushed her shoulders, she flopped down onto the bed.  

Looking up at Lexion, who loomed over her with his hands on either side of her shoulders, she continued signaling him with her eyes.  

Now. Say it. Those words.  

As if he were about to say what she had been longing for, Lexion’s expression grew even more serious.  

The words seemed so difficult to say that deep wrinkles formed between his brows.  

“I need… a child. A child to take my place.”  

‘What? What did you just say?!’  

The words she heard were not what she had been yearning for.  

Adelina gasped and tried to sit up, but Lexion pressed her shoulders back down onto the bed.  

“Lexion!”  

“You just need to stay still. I’ll take care of everything.”