At that moment, Everitt realized. He, too, was now included among those Natalie acted cute with. It meant she saw him as a man, as husband material. Yet he had never once seen Natalie as anything but a sister.

‘But why…’

Why did his heart sink at this moment? Why did those eyes looking up at him seem so lovely?

“…I’ll escort you to your door.”

As he held out his hand, Natalie took it and stood up.

“You could carry me there, too.”

“You should ask a guard knight for that.”

So they walked arm in arm. After that day, Everitt’s worries began.

‘…Is this love?’

Until now, Everitt had never considered any woman as an object of romantic desire. He hadn’t even experienced puppy love in his childhood. Until he was fifteen, he had no leisure time as he built his strength to join the monster hunt, and from fifteen to twenty, he was busy preparing to inherit the Grand Duchy. After his mother passed away and he became Grand Duke, he was even busier. He postponed all marriage proposals that came his way, using the excuse of someday meeting his destined match.

He had no siblings, and Natalie was his only close cousin. He certainly cherished her greatly. She was very precious, like a sister. Yes, perhaps he did love her.

But is this what love between a man and woman is supposed to be?

If Natalie disappeared from this world, his heart would surely ache and feel empty. But was it as deep as how his mother loved his father? It wasn’t to that extent.

Could he live with her for the rest of his life? That would be possible. They could get along well like siblings or friends. But could he share a bed with her, make love every night, and have and raise children with her?

“Sigh…”

Everitt sighed and pressed his temples. Just asking himself these questions gave him a headache. The remaining time was filled with constant worry.

On the last day of that summer, Everitt finally accepted Natalie’s courtship.

It wasn’t because he fully loved Natalie. Nor was it because he saw her only as a sister. There were very rare moments when he saw her as a woman. When Natalie wasn’t like her usual self and acted innocent as if someone else was inside her, or when she acted impulsively, somehow she would strangely sparkle in those moments. At such times, something in his chest would feel tight.

These moments didn’t last long. They were unpredictable.

He wasn’t in love with her, yet he was concerned about her, and then suddenly she would feel surprisingly attractive, but such moments would vanish in an instant.

Everitt ultimately took Natalie’s hand because of those brief moments. And the next day, he woke up in a carriage heading to the summer palace.

When he realized that everything had been reset and the first day of summer was starting anew, Everitt closed his eyes tightly and muttered:

“Thank goodness…”

He had almost spent his life with a woman he didn’t truly love. It would have been wrong not only for himself but also for Natalie. She deserved to meet a truly good man.

That’s what he thought at first.

But when summer started again, he couldn’t think it was fortunate anymore. On the last day, he looked up at the moon and prayed. Please let him escape this repeating summer. Please save Natalie, who kept repeating the same things without knowing anything.

‘And may I have the fortune to meet someone so radiant I cannot take my eyes off them, someone I cannot help but love even if it costs me my life.’

That wish came true.

In another summer that arrived, on the first night at the summer palace.

He was angry. The summer palace was already full of people who maintained outward courtesy while behaving immorally behind the scenes, and Natalie had appeared wearing a flimsy dress that looked like sleepwear. It was called sleepwear, but to his eyes, it was practically underwear. His head throbbed.

‘She’s so stubborn that even if I tell her not to wear it, she won’t listen.’

Not knowing what to do, he was sighing while looking at the moon when someone entered the balcony he occupied.

He had definitely lowered the curtain. He turned around with an irritated expression. And the next moment, Everitt froze as if electrocuted, unable to take his eyes off the intruder.

The person who entered was a woman he had never seen before. Round gray-blue eyes, red lips parted in surprise. Her skin was pale in the moonlight, but her cheeks were flushed like summer peaches.

There was a sweet champagne scent, and he saw the woman holding a champagne glass at chest height. She was wearing a dress like that of an ancient goddess, which naturally revealed her body’s curves and looked extremely elegant. And those white br*asts rising beneath the thin, light blue fabric.

His groin felt tight.

He wanted to touch those lips. He wanted to grasp those br*asts beneath the impossibly thin fabric. What would it feel like? Both would surely be surprisingly soft…

The moment he felt this impulse, Everitt was flustered. He had never had such thoughts while looking at a woman before.

To have such thoughts about a woman he was seeing for the first time. He felt disgusted with himself.

But this woman was also seeing him for the first time, so why did she have such an expression? Her face looked as if she recognized who he was.

‘I am somewhat well-known…’

But there was no need for such an ecstatic expression as if she had just tasted a sweet dessert. Yet he didn’t particularly dislike or find it bothersome. That was rare for him. He even found it somewhat cute.

“Ah, I’m, I’m sorry. I thought no one was here. I’ll go back out.”

After staring at each other silently for quite some time, the woman spoke first, flustered. Only then did Everitt come to his senses. This wasn’t the time to be exchanging words with an unknown woman. He needed to deal with Natalie’s clothing issue first.

“No need. I was about to return to the hall anyway. I’ll make way for you. The night view is beautiful, please enjoy it to your heart’s content.”

His now-heavy groin was bothering him. He needed to leave quickly before the woman noticed. Why was he feeling such an impulse… was it because of the dress she was wearing?

‘…The dress.’

Everitt paused. He turned to look at the woman he had just passed by.

Indeed. The dress the woman wore was the same design as that troublesome dress Natalie was wearing today.

It was absurd. How had he not noticed that another woman was wearing such a dress? When Natalie wore it, it looked like sleepwear or underwear, but on this woman it looked…

It made him completely unable to resist.

“Before I go, may I know the lady’s name?”

***

He recalled what Eloise had said before she closed her eyes. She had wished him luck and added:

That perhaps at first, he might not realize that person was his destiny. But even so, with time, he would gradually come to understand. And then suddenly he would know that he couldn’t be without this person. So when that time came, he should never let go of his love.

‘How surprisingly accurate those words were.’

He gently stroked the hair spread across the pillow as he looked down at the sleeping Bella.

‘At first, I had no idea. I just thought she was an impudently beautiful… arousing woman. But it didn’t even take days for me to become completely infatuated with her.’

He carefully kissed the ends of her strawberry blonde hair and murmured softly.

“That’s right, Bella. I can’t be without you.”

So lovable, pretty, cute, and her sleeping expression was not just beautiful but almost sacred. All the complimentary adjectives in the world wouldn’t be enough.

Everitt’s kisses moved to her forehead and cheeks. Even when he lightly kissed her lips, Bella remained deeply asleep without stirring.

He hadn’t been that rough last night. He thought he had tried to restrain himself.

Just recalling it briefly made his lower body painfully heavy again. Ah, if only Bella would wake up soon.

Since evidence of their lovemaking from last night remained inside her, he could enter her as soon as she opened her eyes, and it would serve as lubrication, allowing him to slide in all the way smoothly without causing any pain. He wanted to hear her sweet m*ans before starting the day, but he was impatient because he didn’t want to forcibly wake his wife from her sleep.

While he was looking at her sleeping face, idly wrapping and unwrapping her hair around his finger, the bedroom door swung open and two small figures rushed in.

“Mom!”

“Mo… Mother.”

Bella let out a small m*an, “Mmm…” But she was sleeping so deeply that she didn’t wake up. Everitt sighed once and quietly got up from the bed.

“Shh, Mother is sleeping.”

“Daddy.”

One child smiled bashfully and twisted her body, embarrassed at having shouted. The other child, unconcerned, happily clung to his leg. Everitt lifted the children, one in each arm. Hurrying out of the bedroom, he kissed each child’s forehead once.

“Charlotte, Aiden. Why are you up so early? We promised not to disturb Mother while she’s sleeping, right? You should knock quietly and enter.”

Then the boy with golden-brown hair, red eyes, and snow-white skin babbled:

“Umm… but today the princess is coming to visit…”

Not to be outdone, the black-haired girl with gray-blue eyes curved into a smile and added:

“She said she’d play with us a lot this time.”

“Melki promised to bring lots of presents too.”

“That’s right. And she said she’d stay for more than ten nights.”

Was that today… Has the date already come? Everitt shook his head. A gentle smile appeared on his lips.

“Then we need to get ready. You both need to eat breakfast first. Shall we go to the dining room?”

“Yes!”

“Yes… What about Mother?”

“Father will take care of that.”

Thinking about enjoying a long morning while leaving Natalie’s reception to the children, Everitt carried them as he walked. It was a morning filled with love and happiness.

Side Stories End

T/n:  I understand what the author intended to do here – showing us more clearly that Everitt never truly loved Natalie but rather Bella. However, I didn’t enjoy the first half of this chapter much. The whole “I love her just as a sister” followed by questioning “would I want to be intimate with her and have children” felt uncomfortable to read. (⋟﹏⋞)

To be fair, I never enjoyed Everitt and Natalie’s interactions, especially in the later parts, because I was always concerned he might end up like 2 other male leads who love both women simultaneously (not naming names, since they suffer enough already!( ◣∀◢)ψ)

I might be alone in this opinion, but I would have loved a “what if” chapter. Either showing everyone’s alternate paths simultaneously or individual “what if” scenarios for each character. I would have enjoyed reading more redemption arcs, especially seeing the prince evolve from completely irredeemable trash to somewhat redeemable. Yes, he deserved his fate, but he had the worst ending, and I sometimes feel too sympathetic… I just pity him.

Some of you read novels with far worse male leads! So let me have my opinion! ~( ˘▾˘~)