T/N: hi. so i actually made a mistake and uploaded c25 on this chapter instead. same goes for the next chapters until c36. but its fixed now

It had always been him who reached out to touch and explore her despite her refusals. Hadn’t he even made her cry by trying to take her against her will?

Until very recently, she had politely refused to the point of crying and begging, her pride being strong.

Yet for some reason, she had suddenly allowed him too abruptly. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the reason.

Dade’s troubled thoughts completely vanished when he saw Nian coming out of the bathroom with a click. It didn’t matter for whatever reason.

Even if the clever Nian had planned this for some other use, even if he had known such impure intentions beforehand. He would never have been able to refuse Nian’s seduction last night anyway. Above all, it was a trivial thought compared to the satisfaction that she had now truly become his own.

He opened his mouth with a smile that had now become quite familiar.

“You take quite a long time to bathe. I thought you’d drowned in the bathtub.”

“The water was warm, so I stayed longer.”

He opened his arms.

“Come here.”

Nian flinched in surprise and instead took a step back.

“Your Majesty. I can’t take anymore.”

Dade chuckled.

“Try to endure it. Now come here.”

Nian still looked at him with suspicious eyes but eventually approached awkwardly and nestled into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her.

‘Yes. Ilena. What does the reason matter?’

The two remained embracing for a long while.

* * *

Some time later, Nian and Dade left the Kingdom of Rund. With all the gifts that the King of Rund had generously provided, they had more luggage than when they arrived. After riding for quite a while and reaching the imperial palace, Azel was waiting at the entrance.

“Empress!!”

Discovering their white horses, Azel came running with quick steps. She seemed quite pleased, her face bright with smiles. Nian also smiled naturally at her before suddenly putting on a stern expression.

Azel, who had already reached Nian’s feet, asked with slightly labored breathing from running.

“Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes. Thanks to the ‘luggage’ you packed, I had a very comfortable stay.”

Nian answered with one eyebrow raised. When mentioning the luggage, she emphasized her tone by tensing her jaw. Despite her uncharacteristically rigid tone, Azel laughed innocently and answered cheerfully.

“Hehe. Are you angry?”

When Nian didn’t easily forgive her despite her cute laughter and instead glared at her, Azel quickly lowered her head. Nian looked at her with a small sigh.

Always cheerful and bright, she sometimes went too far and made those around her uncomfortable. Nian deliberately scolded her harshly, as she hadn’t seen her for a while, knowing that without occasional warnings, she would act like an undeniable tomboy.

After staring at the somewhat frightened Azel for a moment, Nian finally walked past her without a word.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

Only after Nian had moved away did the dejected Azel raise her head and meet eyes with Dade, who was still standing there. Dade looked at her and playfully smiled with his eyes.

“Don’t worry. It was quite useful.”

Only then did Azel smile brightly.

Afterward, even though Nian warned her several more times after returning to the East Palace, Azel, for some reason, just smiled and said “Yes, yes” without showing any signs of remorse. Finally, Nian grew tired and stopped scolding her with a sigh.

“Hah. Let’s stop. Was there anything unusual while I was gone?”

“Hmm. A few gifts arrived. Jewels and fabrics. I made notes about where they came from and left them together, so check them later when you go to the dressing room.”

“Alright.”

“Hmm. And the herbs we planted recently were struggling for a few days, then finally died yesterday. I pulled them out and cleared them away.”

Nian’s brows furrowed involuntarily.

“I must have left the herb garden unattended for too long.”

“I’m sorry. I also noticed they weren’t doing well when I came back from my family home.”

Hearing Azel’s dejected voice, Nian comforted her and replied.

“I’m not blaming you, so don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm…… Ah! Count Cain came to visit.”

“What?”

“He seemed urgent and asked to be notified as soon as you returned.”

After Dade’s warning, Cain had been careful for a while, but now he had come in person—he must have discovered something. Nian’s expression visibly darkened. Azel, who already felt guilty, watched her carefully and asked.

“Are you alright?”

Though it was certainly something she was very curious about and news she had been waiting for, somehow it wasn’t welcome at all. Suddenly, she thought she’d rather continue living without knowing. Just like this, without wanting anything more.

With a sudden wave of anxiety making her somehow restless, Nian slightly bit her lip.

“I’m a bit tired today. Tell him I’ll send word separately once matters in the palace are settled.”

“Yes.”

Azel left the East Palace to deliver her message, and Nian rummaged through the pile of documents on her desk, trying to shake off the thoughts that kept surfacing.

* * *

After roughly organizing her backlogged work, Nian headed straight to the cottage. Having been away for a long time, it already showed. There were traces of Azel trying to do something in between, but it seemed she hadn’t been much help.

It’s always difficult to nurture things.

Nian’s expression was incredibly dark as she busily organized the cluttered workbench. It was because an inexplicable troubled feeling had been bothering her since the news that Cain was looking for her.

No, it would be a lie to say she didn’t know the reason.

Dade had said he still loved that woman. That’s why he still hated her. Was it right to dig up his wounds again, which had become slightly blurred by the passage of time? Wouldn’t it be better for him to just quietly bury it as it was?

Nian finally smiled bitterly.

Her shallow excuse was utterly ridiculous. In truth, she was the one who was afraid, shrinking back at the mere thought of that woman’s existence, yet here she was, uncharacteristically trying to use him as an excuse……

“What are you thinking about that you don’t even notice someone coming?”

“!”

Lost in thought, Nian didn’t notice Dade’s visit at all until he gently embraced her from behind. Nian turned around in surprise.

“Coming straight to the herb garden even after returning, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“I left without any preparation, so it’s quite damaged.”

“I wondered why you looked so dejected, so that was it.”

Since she had nurtured it with care, it made sense. Nian quickly nodded as if she had found a plausible excuse.

At her response, he helplessly chuckled and stroked her hair. Then he held out his clenched fist in front of her.

“Here.”

“?”

When Nian looked at his fist with a puzzled expression, he opened it.

“Take it.”

When Nian received it with a bewildered face, it was seeds.

“What is it?”

“Flower seeds.”

“?”

“I bought them in Rund. What flower it is is a secret. See for yourself when they bloom.”

Nian felt like she might burst into tears at his unexpected gift, the first she had ever received. She quickly turned away to hide it. Seeing this, he asked in a somewhat disappointed voice.

“You don’t like it?”

“No. Thank you so much.”

Only then did he smile brightly.

“Then quickly make me a cup of tea.”

After secretly wiping her eyes, she hurriedly put water on to boil. Then she took out plenty of precious tea leaves that she rarely used even for herself, steeped them strongly, and promptly brought it to him.

Somehow, whatever she offered seemed too humble compared to the gift he had given. He took a sip of the fragrant tea filled with her heart and spoke.

“By the way, it’s impressive. Did you build the cottage yourself?”

“Of course not. It was originally housing for workers who were building the annex palace.”

“When did it become an herb garden?”

“After the annex palace was completed, it was abandoned and was going to be demolished because it looked unsightly, but it seemed such a waste. The empty space in front was also nicely compact, so I took it up as a hobby.”

“That’s quite an elaborate hobby, isn’t it?”

“I always had time to spare. So even an elaborate hobby didn’t matter.”

During the days when Dade didn’t seek her out, she was extremely busy during the day and could forget, but when the quiet night came, she found it hard to bear how pitiful and lonely she felt.

Loneliness was something that never became familiar no matter how long it lasted, and the overwhelming size of it was actually better for her. Physical exhaustion made it easier to forget, and lack of time made it easier to endure.

Dade approached her, seeming a bit embarrassed. The indifferent Nian didn’t even glance at him, who had rushed over unable to wait even a day, but instead turned away and only busied herself at the workbench.

He came up and embraced her waist from behind.

“Then how about stopping now? I don’t think you’ll have much time to spare anymore.”

Nian caught his hand as it started to rise and pushed it down. She was in a hurry because there was quite a lot of work to do today. She turned to face Dade.

“You’re finally paying attention to me.”

“Did you have something to say, Your Majesty?”

He laughed as if incredulous.

“Are we still at the point where we can’t face each other without official business?”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t have anything official to say. I just came because I wanted to see you.”

He whined with his face buried in her neck.

Thump.