Chapter 74

“Alec. Do you think we can really govern the North?” she asked softly.

“Excuse me?”

“Looking out from such a high place, everything seems so vast and mysterious… it’s making me feel scared.”

Scared?

Alec didn’t know Louise all that well yet, but fear didn’t seem like something that fit her.

After a moment of thought, Alec replied, “From what I’ve seen of you, Louise, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

“Huh?” Louise’s eyes wavered slightly before she lowered her gaze.

“No… There are many things I can’t do,” she said quietly.

She glanced back out from the tower, her face thoughtful.

“I’ve only ever failed and made mistakes.”

“…”

Alec felt slightly thrown by her serious, somber tone. Had he said the wrong thing?

“I didn’t bring you here to burden you,” he said gently.

“I know. That’s not it…”

“…”

“I’ve never told you this before, but the truth is, I’ve been abandoned many times. There were countless moments where I felt truly hopeless.”

“…”

Alec wondered if he should apologize for unintentionally bringing her mood down but decided to let her continue.

“But I always shrugged it off because I wanted to be happy. As long as I didn’t give in to despair, I believed everything would be okay.”

“…”

“But no matter how much I brushed it off, the fact that I was alone didn’t change.”

“…”

Hearing a married woman speak about feeling alone gave him a strange sensation.

It wasn’t just the fact that she was alone; it felt more like a deep-seated loneliness far greater than being physically isolated.

Until now, Alec had thought that Alec and Louise were a couple who shared love in their hearts, but at this moment, they seemed more like strangers.

Louise raised her head slightly and looked at him cautiously.

“But… we’re together now, right?” she asked.

‘I’m not alone, am I?’

Her somewhat forlorn eyes seemed to be asking him that question.

A shift occurred within Alec as if his world had been subtly altered once again.

He felt as though he was being tested by this world, yet again.

“Standing up here, it really hits me… the weight of the burden I’m carrying,” Louise said softly.

Louise, after speaking those words, let out a soft sigh and looked down from the tower again.

“Thanks to you, I made it here without dying, but it feels like it’s only going to get harder from here, maybe to the point where it feels like I might die.”

“…”

Louise gave a faint, somewhat melancholic smile.

But there was no reason for her to worry. Alec couldn’t explain everything, but there was one thing he could promise her.

He found himself wishing that Louise wouldn’t have to fear anything.

“Louise.”

At the sudden sound of her name, Louise looked up at him.

“Yes?”

Alec opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again. He had something he wanted to tell her but hesitated.

However, he soon spoke with a steady, unwavering gaze.

“I am someone who must defeat the tyrant.”

“…What?”

“I think that’s the reason I was brought to this world.”

Perhaps, after he kills the tyrant and completes his mission, he might be returned to where he belongs. If the real Alec were to return, it could mean that Alec would no longer be able to stay here.

“So, I promise you this.”

“…”

“I will bring down the Emperor, and I will restore everything you once had.”

Her title as Duchess, the fertile and warm lands, and a peaceful country free from a tyrant.

By completing his final quest, he could also achieve Louise and Alec’s revenge.

Louise stared at him, looking as if she had heard something unbelievable.

Then, she took a deep breath, stepped closer to him by two steps, and grabbed his arm.

“Have you been thinking the same as I have?”

“…”

Her eyes had changed. It was as if a fire had ignited within her, burning fiercely with determination.

“Yes, Alec. Let’s destroy the tyrant together.”

“…”

“We’ll make sure the Emperor regrets ever sending us here.”

Her voice carried no hint of hesitation.

Alec gazed into Louise’s eyes for a long time. Everything about her seemed both soft and strong. Her hands holding him, her body close to his—she was delicate yet not fragile.

He couldn’t resist her lips.

A breath that felt as though it would last forever intertwined between them.

*Ding!*

[Congratulations!]

[Your Affection Level has increased by 300!]

[You have leveled up to Level 8!]

[Your title has changed.]

[From: Cold-hearted Novice Husband → To: Novice Husband Awakened to Desire]

“…?”

* * *

‘Ha.’

The faintest touch, and their tongues daringly intertwined. It felt like caressing something cherished and long awaited.

How much time had passed?

Maybe it was the exhaustion from the climb, but being at the highest point of Wiltsbrook Castle, I didn’t want to leave anymore.

“I will bring down the Emperor, and I will restore everything you once had.”

When Alec said those words, I realized we were exactly what I had been longing to hear.

My life, fragile and held at the Emperor’s whim, was too light. If I was going to die anyway, it seemed less unfair to at least try something before going down.

When Julia was imprisoned, I felt a spark ignite within me. Who would have imagined that Julia, once ruling over high society, would end up abandoned by all and trapped in prison?

After that, it became impossible not to hope for the impossible. And knowing that Alec shared the same thoughts made me fall for him even harder.

I wanted to hold him, to caress him a hundred times over.

‘Ha, really…’

My emotions overflowing, Louise hugged him tighter, my arms wrapped around his back. His tongue held mine firmly, twisting inside her mouth, sweeping across and caressing my lips smoothly.

The broad muscles of his chest swelled hotly as he let out a heated breath, almost like a sigh. His hand pressed firmly against the middle of my back, pulling her tightly against him. I could distinctly feel the contours of his chest, so different in shape and size from my own.

‘It’s too sweet…’

Our tongues entwined even more as if we were both craving something deeper. I ran my hand down his back, feeling the muscles beneath my fingers.

Even though I was wearing a leather dress, every place his hand touched burned as though it was my bare skin.

“Haah.”

His breath, as though it was setting my chest ablaze, was sweet as it filled my mouth, pulling my tongue out to tangle with his over and over again, mixing our saliva in a desperate attempt to quench our thirst.

At this rate, would we both melt into one and become a single being?

I could sense what he wanted, and where his wandering hands were desperately trying to go.

“Alec,” a breathy moan escaped my lips.

My vision blurred, and my strength drained from my body.

As I felt myself collapsing, Alec tightened his grip on my waist and steadied me by holding my elbows.

“Louise.”

Leaning my head against his shoulder as if I were about to fall, I placed one hand on his chest.

“We can do it here.”

I could feel his rough breathing pouring down on my from above as a wild thought slipped from my mouth.

If we don’t do it now, you’re guilty.

At that moment, his body stiffened.

My entire body shuddered with the certainty that this time, it was really going to happen.

His large hand trembled as it approached, then gently cupped my face, lifting it with a warm touch.

Before his face fully entered my view, his lips came down, and his tongue sensually licked my lips.

‘Ah.’

It feels so good… Clearly, he wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

He hugged me so tightly, almost crushing me, and pressed his lips against mine with a groan, as if in pain.

But just as a sense of foreboding crept in, he pulled away from my lips, as if tearing himself away with great difficulty.

Then, without looking at me, he lifted me into his arms and, with a heavy sigh of frustration, said,

“…Let’s head down now, Louise.”

“…”

* * *

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories