“Brother!”
Hestia waved brightly. Jupiter frowned briefly at her before turning his gaze to the Empress.
“So you were here.”
The Empress covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. He had clearly come looking for her, and yet he pretended their meeting was a coincidence. Still, she received him with grace.
“It should be your study hour, Your Highness. What brings you here?”
“I merely passed by and thought to pay my respects to Your Majesty.”
“Is that so? Then perhaps you should continue on your way.”
At her words, Jupiter faltered.
“Would you not at least offer me a cup of tea?”
Hestia lowered her head, giggling.
“What do you think, my lady?”
Leda stiffened slightly before replying.
“Since study hours are not yet over, I believe it best for His Highness to return.”
Jupiter’s expression soured with frustration, then quickly returned to its usual composure.
“You heard her, Your Highness.”
“I was thoughtless. I shall return to my studies.”
He inclined his head politely and left the room. Leda, watching his retreating back, allowed a quiet smile to form, dimples blooming faintly in her rose-tinted cheeks.
Hestia, who had been observing them both, finally spoke.
“Sister, why do you even like my brother?”
“What?”
“Jupiter is stubborn, humorless, cold, selfish. Why would you like someone like that?”
Her expression was one of genuine curiosity. Perhaps all elder brothers were the same toward their younger sisters. Even Darius was little different, and yet noble ladies still admired him.
“…To me, he is truly kind, Your Highness.”
After some thought, Leda gave her answer. Hestia gave a small laugh.
“So, he’s one of those men who are cold to the world but gentle to their own woman? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never dated my brother.”
“Oh, please, Hestia.”
The Empress shook her head.
“If Clovis Crown Prince were to see you like this, I wonder how much he’d approve.”
“I have no need for approval from a man I was betrothed to at the age of four, Mother.”
Hestia answered with a pout.
“And yet you once wrote him every day, didn’t you? Golden hair like the radiant sun, eyes like the fresh green of leaves…”
“Mother!”
Watching the mother and daughter, Leda felt a strange wonder. She had imagined royals to be solemn, serious people who never allowed themselves a single jest. Yet here, the Empress and her daughter were no different from any ordinary family.
“I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable,” the Empress said warmly.
“Not at all, Your Majesty.”
“I’m glad. The Greitz court was once far more rigid. When I first arrived, it was difficult. But with the children, the palace softened, little by little.”
“Yes.”
“Now that you are family, let us live well together. His Majesty may seem stern, but he is generous at heart. In time, he will open himself to you.”
“I understand.”
Leda bowed her head politely and sipped her tea. For some reason, she felt a reassuring sense that life in the palace might not be so difficult after all.
***
“Is it hard for you?”
“Not at all.”
“No one troubling you? If Hestia misbehaves, you must tell me.”
“There’s no one.”
Leda and Jupiter were out walking at night. He had grown a little thinner since she had last seen him, and somehow that only made him seem more manly. Her heart raced.
“Were you very startled?”
“I was. You could have at least told me you were the crown prince.”
Leda pouted, and Jupiter laughed.
“Forgive me. I wasn’t in a position to say so then.”
“It’s all right now. I was shocked, but I think I’ll be able to live here without the worries I imagined.”
“You’ll walk with me like this sometimes, won’t you?”
Her eyes widened.
“Sometimes? You must walk with me every day.”
Jupiter quietly reached for her hand. Leda flinched, startled, but his grip was firm and warm around her smaller fingers.
“I will. I’ll always keep this time free.”
“Thank you.”
Turning her face toward him, she smiled brightly. Jupiter stopped in his tracks. In the dark night, her blue eyes gleamed as though lit from within. He couldn’t hold her gaze for long; his ears flushed as he looked away.
“I have something for you.”
From his jacket pocket, he produced a small, plain wooden box.
Leda’s hand trembled as she opened it. Inside lay a pearl ring, glowing with a soft, radiant light. Clearing his throat, Jupiter spoke.
“My letter said I would gather the world’s treasures for you, but strictly speaking, those belong to the crown. They are not mine to give. So instead, I prepared this.”
“You chose this yourself?”
Her voice wavered, near tears.
“Yes. It suits you best. I thought of it when we walked together by the sea.”
“You chose it remembering the sea?”
“That’s right.”
Leda was overwhelmed. Never before had anyone chosen a jewel for her with such thought, remembering her as they did. That it was Jupiter who had done so moved her all the more.
Her nurse had been right. A beautiful face amplified every emotion.
“The first goddess was said to rise from a shell, pearls at her throat. And since you are entering my world for the first time, I wished to place a pearl ring upon your hand.”
“Ah…”
Her lashes trembled—fragile, alluring—and without thinking, Jupiter bent and brushed his lips across her eyes. Her warm tears clung to him.
“Marry me.”
Leda did not answer. No, she could not.
“Marry me.”
She nodded. He smiled, gathering her into his arms.
The early summer garden breathed the fresh scent of trees. Leda drew in a long breath; even he seemed to carry that same fragrance.
Slowly, they parted. His golden eyes flickered with longing. She instinctively stepped back, bumping lightly against a tree.
At once he closed the distance, his left hand steadying her back, his right hand caressing her flushed cheek.
“You’ll grant me this, won’t you?”
The earnestness in his gaze left her parched. She bit her lip. His face lowered closer.
The night breeze brushed into her mouth, cool and fleeting, until it shifted, becoming like scorching sandstorms, like storm winds heavy with rain.
Barely breathing, Leda accepted his kiss. Then, timidly, she found her courage and answered, moving into that storm. Jupiter, delighted, drew back with a brief laugh before kissing her again.
In the shadows of the trees, his face looked strangely unfamiliar—like a stranger’s. That newness descended again, and Leda shut her eyes.
Much later, the young lovers returned to the path. A pearl on her slender finger glowed white in the moonlight. Before them stretched the smooth walkway, like a magic carpet unfurled.
Hand in hand, they walked beneath the night’s enchantment. Their strides differed, yet their pace was the same. Their lives, too, would become like this—different, yet moving as one.
It was a dream without sorrow, without misfortune.
When Jupiter woke from the dream, he brushed the face of his sleeping wife. Her fair skin, still holding the youth of their first meeting, quivered under his touch before settling peacefully again.
He felt both regret and no regret, guilt and no guilt.
“I love you.”
It had not begun like a dream. Yet the present, and the future—these would be dreamlike. He was certain of it.
And perhaps she shared the same dream, for a smile spread across Leda’s face.
Another day without sorrow, without misfortune, was about to begin.
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sandy0806
Thank you for the 10/10 translation! That was such a lovely novel :)) my favorite couple was definitely Hestia and Clovis, but that ending was so bittersweet of what Leda and Jupiters lives could’ve been without all that struggle they went through.