I jumped up, washed, and changed into simple clothes. It was spring, perfect weather for traveling.

I went downstairs and greeted the servants loading the luggage. Andre, who had been supervising them, approached me.

“Everything is ready.”

“I’ll go say goodbye to Anan and come back.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Andre and I entered Anan’s room. I found Anan sitting on the sofa drinking tea and greeted her.

“I’ll be back soon!”

“I’ll be going, Lady Anan.”

“Yes, Annelia. Andre.”

Her smile was like a bright spring day.

In the original story, Anan died two years after Luden left for knight training. But now she had become healthy.

Anan stood up and hugged me tightly.

“Annelia, could you approach Luden first?”

At Anan’s words, my eyes widened.

“Luden is a timid child. Since he was young, he hasn’t been good at speaking honestly.”

At Anan’s words, I nodded.

Well, the original Luden was like that too.

Hmm.

The original Luden and the current Luden are a bit different, but their personalities are still similar.

Me approach first? Yeah, this body will take the initiative!

When we left Anan’s room, Andre asked.

“Is there nothing else to prepare? Since my lady is confessing first, wouldn’t it be a bit much to just confess like that?”

“That’s true.”

Rather than just confessing, it seemed good to create some kind of event.

After pondering, I came up with a good idea.

I should stop by there!

I hummed as I climbed into the carriage.

* * *

“I’ll be leaving next week, so you don’t need to reply!”

The last sentence written in Annelia’s letter kept circling in his mind.

After finishing training and entering his room, Luden habitually took out her letter from the drawer and read the last part again. Then Reytan approached and asked.

“What’s written that you’re reading the same letter so many times?”

“Annelia says she’s coming.”

“Laysia said she’s coming too.”

Reytan replied and sat on the bed. Glancing at Luden sitting in the chair, Reytan asked what he was curious about.

“Aren’t you going to confess?”

“May I?”

Why does Luden lack confidence?

“Annelia likes you, doesn’t she? So why aren’t you confessing?”

Then Luden sighed.

“Something happened.”

He couldn’t say he was forced to eavesdrop on that conversation in the Empress’s room. More than anything, what bothered him was that Annelia seemed to be hiding something from him.

Until he knew what it was, it was hard to move forward readily.

And confession…

Without certainty, fear still came before confirming her feelings.

He ran his hand through his hair.

“Your Highness Reytan, how were you able to confess honestly to Laysia?”

“That’s my ability.”

Reytan laughed.

“Well, I was anxious too, but more than that anxious feeling, I wanted the other person to give me love too.”

Love. What would it feel like to receive love from Annelia? If she approached him with passion?

Huu.

His heart moved like it would jump out of his body.

Luden placed his hand on his chest.

Excitement—it had found him.

* * *

The carriage I was riding in arrived at the knight training location through the warp. Looking at that desolate place, I thought of Luden.

Is he doing well?

With an expectant heart, I walked toward the building where Luden would be waiting.

Thanks to the knight who recognized the Charlot Marquis family crest, I passed through the entrance without being stopped for inspection. 

With the help of unnecessarily kind knights, I was guided to the room where Luden was. Since I met him last winter, this was the first time meeting him this year.

From now on, I hope to come once every season.

“At this time, the knights will be training. You can go inside the room and wait.”

At the knights’ explanation, I nodded and went inside.

I also brought a special gift for Luden. With a pounding heart, I held the box and waited for him.

Not long after, he and Reytan entered, drenched in sweat and wearing training clothes.

“Why is it so hard today?”

“We also finished later than usual.”

“They say we’ll have strategy classes starting tomorrow. I hate using my brain.”

Reytan, who was grumbling as he entered the room, suddenly spotted me and shouted.

“Annelia!”

Then Luden, who had been talking while looking at Reytan, quickly turned his head to look at me.

“…You’ve already arrived?”

He looked at me with surprised eyes, then soon showed an affectionate expression.

“Are you unhappy I came early?”

Luden pondered. No, at times like this there’s a set response!

“That’s not it.”

Luden said that and checked his own condition. Then he quickly drank some water and subtly moved away.

“I might smell like sweat.”

“Luden doesn’t have much body odor though.”

Why are we being like this when we’ve already done everything? I already know what scent comes from him. Why worry about such things between a married couple?

Of course, if Luden’s body odor had been strong, I would have stepped back and waited until he washed…

I quickly approached him.

“So there’s no greeting for our reunion?”

I tilted my head slightly and smiled. Then Luden put down the towel and held my hands with both of his.

“I’m happy you came.”

Hmm, I thought a hug might be too much to ask for, but I’m not satisfied with just holding hands.

“Then I’ll come back later!”

At that moment, the quick-witted Reytan grabbed his clothes and towel and dashed out.

“I’ll wash up and come back too.”

Luden also took his clothes and entered the bathroom.

I listened to the sound of water and imagined him bathing. Actually, Luden’s body is very… ahem.

Ah, I’m embarrassed thinking about it.

Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since we had marital relations. Thanks to that, I’m quite thirsty right now. Having an exceptional husband, I’ve awakened to desire.

So…!

Unable to overcome my desire, I knocked on the bathroom door.

“Should I help you wash?”

I heard Luden’s flustered voice from the bathroom.

“It’s fine.”

But I’m not fine?

When Luden came on strong, I had no choice but to sit obediently back on the sofa.

A while later, Luden came out, shaking his wet hair and looking at me.

“Seduction is absolutely forbidden.”

“It’s not like I seduced you very lewdly…”

When I expressed disappointment, Luden sighed.

“I’m holding back from wanting to embrace you even now.”

D*mn rules! It’s too much to live abstinently when we’re newlyweds.

“If Annelia seduces me even a little, I might crumble, so please.”

“Yes.”

At Luden’s earnest request, I had no choice but to nod. Then Luden stared at me intently and tossed out a comment.

“Do you like looking at men’s bodies?”

At his words, I smiled gently.

“I like looking at my husband’s body.”

Then Luden put the towel on the desk and sat next to me.

“Annelia’s thoughts are hard to understand.”

His eyes looking at me moved slightly.

Somehow he seems nervous.

“I’m simple though?”

“But still…”

He pressed his lips tightly together. He seems to have a lot he wants to say.

But targeting the moment when his words cut off, I first held out the box to him.

“What is this?”

“A gift.”

Luden opened the box. Inside was a beautifully wrapped bouquet.

“I wanted to pick flowers from the garden myself and make it for you, but I didn’t have enough time.”

Luden’s eyes wavered.

“So I went to a flower shop and picked the flowers myself.”

I didn’t have someone else do it.

Receiving the gift containing my sincerity, Luden silently touched the bouquet with his hands. Then soon his face flushed slightly.

“Annelia, why something like this…?”

“You give them to me too.”

Luden couldn’t continue his words.

“I tried following Luden’s example once.”

Luden looked at me with quiet eyes filled with deep emotion.

Ah, why didn’t I realize until now? Now that I’ve looked closely at what kind of eyes he makes, I think I know what emotion he’s feeling.

“Luden, I…”

Actually, there’s a lot I want to say, but I need to say this first. I wanted to say the conclusion first.

“I love you.”

Saying this made me feel relieved.

It felt like something that had been blocked was cleared.

But he stiffened his face. For a long time, he couldn’t take his eyes off me. I placed the bouquet on his frozen knees. The flowers were shining beautifully. They said it was specially treated with magic so it wouldn’t wilt for at least a month.

Luden finally came to his senses after a while and gasped for breath.

“Annelia, you really…”

“Why?”

“How do you charge in like this?”

He pressed his palm against his forehead and shouted.

“I agonized so much, and not knowing that, you confess first like this.”

He said that and pulled me into his arms. Then he kissed me frantically. It was his answer to my confession. I accepted his kiss.

In the sticky atmosphere, Luden smiled gently. His alluring yet comfortable smile shot through my heart. How handsome! That smile suited Luden so well. My heart pounded as he smiled with just one corner of his mouth raised.

“Luden could really use the handsome guy tactic.”

Luden lightly rubbed my cheek.

“Annelia could use the beauty tactic too.”

“But only on me.”

At my firm words, Luden tilted his head and whispered in my ear.

“Annelia’s seduction should also be only for me, only for your husband. Since you said you love me.”

“But Luden, why didn’t you express your feelings until now? Because you were embarrassed?”

At my question, Luden was lost in thought for a moment. Then soon he made serious eyes and held my hand tightly.

“Rather than embarrassment, the meaning those words carry is heavy, so I couldn’t say them easily.”

Ah, he means he needed mental preparation. But I want to hear it…

When I showed disappointment, Luden took a deep breath.

“I love you, Annelia.”

His confession was calm but hot. His eyes looked like they would catch fire at any moment.

“To receive a confession during knight training.”

Luden shook his head.

“If you intended to torment me, you succeeded.”

“No way.”

Why is he being so contrary? When I glared at him, he stroked my cheek.

“I want to hold you.”

But he can’t.

“You can’t though.”

“I know. So.”

His lips collided with mine again. At the feeling gently washing over me, I closed my eyes.

He explored my lips again.

* * *

Luden stroked Annelia’s hair, who was looking at him with hazy eyes. She, who had been immersed in the afterglow of the kiss, quickly came to her senses and focused her eyes.

He thought that this moment of sitting affectionately on the sofa, holding each other’s hands tightly, was happiness.

“But why did you say that back then?”

Hearing Annelia’s love confession, he suddenly became curious.

“What are you talking about?”

“What you said to Princess Lorina.”

Luden couldn’t bring himself to directly say what Annelia had said, so he spoke indirectly, and Annelia immediately understood the meaning.

“You heard that?”

Annelia was surprised.

“It wasn’t my intention.”

“It must not have been, right? Luden doesn’t secretly eavesdrop or anything…”

“Her Majesty the Empress called me, so when I went, you and Her Highness Princess Lorina were talking.”

The Empress set a trap…

“And there was something strange.”

“What was it?”

“I felt that Annelia’s heart was coming to me, so why did you say that?”

Luden spoke of the question he’d been holding.

“We’re a couple with deep emotional exchange, so why did you say such pessimistic things?”

Annelia gently turned her gaze away. Then Luden’s eyes sharpened.

“What are you hiding?”

When he pressed, Annelia pondered, then looked at him with serious eyes.

“Luden, don’t think I’m crazy.”

What is she trying to say with such a preamble?

“Actually, I saw the future.”

And so her story began.

* * *

I told him everything about the possession. Then Luden frowned.

“You read the future in a book?”

“It’s hard to believe, but yes.”

“What kind of future was it?”

“A future where I married Luden, but Luden fell in love with another woman and divorced me.”

I said it simply.

The novel’s content was long, but from Annelia’s perspective, there was nothing else to say.

“…”

Luden looked at me like he couldn’t understand.

“How could I look at another woman while having a wife?”

“Ah, that wasn’t Luden’s will. The future Luden fell in love at first sight and agonized a lot himself.”

Luden tilted his head.

“Love at first sight?”

“That’s how it was in the novel I saw.”

The author just set it that way. There’s no reason.

“I see. So thinking I would love another woman, you said that…?”

“Right.”

Hearing that, Luden touched his lips with his finger, then touched my lips.

“Even with a husband who kisses you this passionately, do you still think that? Then why did you confess?”

“Well… because Luden didn’t fall for that person.”

“Is that person by any chance Princess Lorina?”

He guessed exactly right. I nodded, and Luden’s expression was truly worth seeing.

“Of all people, her.”

Luden disliked Lorina. Otherwise, he wouldn’t make that expression.

“What on earth did she do?”

“I dislike everything.”

Luden said flatly and held my hand tightly.

“So if I fall for another woman, will you let me go?”

Just imagining it is terrible. My heart ached.

“No. I’ll absolutely never divorce. The future Annelia did it because she was kind, but the current me, no way.”

Right, I can never let Luden go. I spoke firmly to him. Luden seemed pleased and nodded.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.”

At the words that I wouldn’t give up on him, Luden was happy.

“…Luden, since when did you like me?”

Thinking about it, his heart seems to have been directed toward me from long ago. Since he denied it for quite a while.

“Since the debutante.”

But I never expected this.

“What happened that day…?”

“Annelia won’t remember. But for me, it became an unforgettable day.”

What was it like? When I made sparkling eyes, Luden turned his head and stood up.

“Remember the details yourself.”

“That’s too much!”

You need to tell me what point made you fall so I can keep attacking that part.

But I didn’t press Luden further. Looking at him with a flushed face, I felt I could understand why he couldn’t say it. My face flushed too.

“You’ll have connections with Lorina in the future.”

“I know what Annelia is worried about. An opportunity seems to be coming soon, so just be patient a little.”

“What opportunity?”

Luden, what conspiracy are you plotting this time?

At my gaze, Luden raised one corner of his mouth slightly.

“I might be able to remove an uncomfortable person.”

His feelings toward Lorina are to that extent. I was very satisfied. The probability of Luden going to Lorina was decreasing.

“Annelia, even after my knight training ends, please don’t make a lover. I’m asking.”

I can guess how much he agonized to say this.

“If Luden doesn’t make one.”

“That’s hopeful.”

He was satisfied with my answer. I shrugged my shoulders and hugged him tightly as he stood looking at me. Since he’s tall, it became a situation where I’m being held rather than holding him, but so what?

“Absolutely don’t fall for any woman other than me.”

He just needs to be careful of this. Luden stroked my head.

“I’ll be careful so that never happens in my lifetime.”

Luden gave me a firm answer.

I like it.

That’s how I won Luden’s heart. Fate had completely changed and I couldn’t know the future ahead, but it didn’t matter.

* * *

After saying a reluctant farewell to Luden, I got into the carriage heading home. Lella asked me like she’d been waiting.

“Did the talk go well?”

“It went well. Who am I? I’m the wife of Marquis Charlot.”

I answered and smiled gently.

“I confessed my love well and got an answer too.”

“I was right, wasn’t I?”

Lella said confidently.

“I told you the Marquis loves my lady.”

Well… everyone said that.

The future could change, but I alone was bound by it. If I had looked at it with a more flexible perspective, couldn’t I have known Luden’s heart earlier?

I recalled the words he must have heard next to the Empress. My heart ached terribly.

“So I went on a business trip. Because if I saw Annelia, I felt like I would press her to love me.”

I also knew the reason he wasn’t by my side from the wedding until he left for knight training.

“I was anxious.”

That’s why he told me to keep the contract before leaving.

Now I could understand the actions he had taken. I’m glad I found out even like this.

“When everyone says the same thing, I should look at it objectively once more.”

I said that and stretched.

Luden needed more time to finish knight training. And there’s also the war. It’s long. Too much time remained until he returned to me.

Still, if his heart loving me didn’t change, I could wait during that time.

“Every time I come here, tears come out. Because of this, I keep coming.”

“Right?”

“Everyone says this place is ordinary…”

That’s because I serve special tea to Sallen.

“To me, it’s like a hometown for my heart.”

Hearing her words, I nodded. If she thinks that way, it’s rewarding for me who works here.

After Sallen left, I separated the tea with magic from the tea without magic. Since I could sense the feeling of magic, there had been no mistakes so far, but still, classifying them like this looked nice.

The bell rang. Is it Laysia this time?

With an expectant heart, I waited for the door to open.

The consultation room door opened and the person who appeared was not Laysia but a man. Thanks to this person who always appeared wearing a robe, my heart sank.

“You were closed not long ago.”

Kajian visited this place again.

“I came back from meeting my husband.”

Kajian walked steadily and sat in the chair in front of the desk.

“I wanted to come here again. When I didn’t come, my heart strangely became stuffy.”

I looked at Kajian and made tea for him.

“People don’t know this is a special place.”

“Ah, I didn’t particularly want to reveal it.”

Kajian stopped moving. He, who had been lifting the teacup, put it down again and looked at me.

“His Majesty knows it’s a special place, but other people don’t. Not people who come because it’s hard, but even those who come out of mere curiosity?”