The Night with Commander - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

“Are you in pain?”

Evan looked at Anne’s body, covered with the marks from the previous night, blaming himself for his lack of restraint.

‘How could I have done this to her body?’

Wasn’t this no different from being a beast?

“I’m fine.”

When Anne answered tearfully, Evan sharply turned his head to avoid her gaze.

“…You’re not fine.”

Evan replied in a trembling voice and began to fill the nearby bathtub. It must have been hard for her.

She might have gotten tired of such inconsiderate lovemaking and left him.

Evan was filled with deep regret for his actions.

It was at that moment.

As Evan checked the water temperature with his right hand, he felt a warm presence behind him.

“Evan, hold me.”

When Evan turned around, she was crouched beside him.

Anne tickled the side of Evan’s neck with the back of her hand, smiling faintly. Her eyes were still filled with unshed tears.

“Anne?”

“…”

Anne rested her forehead on Evan’s shoulder, leaning her entire body into him.

“You know… that dream…”

Anne recalled the dream once more.

After spending the night with him, the dream became even more vivid. It felt so real that it drove her to the brink of madness, bringing on a headache.

‘It’s really strange.’

Anne groaned as she hugged Evan’s waist tightly. The dream kept showing her the end—her final moments.

So much so that her own death seemed to become dull.

Despite being a dream, it felt real.

It was torturous because it felt like reality.

“Does that dream keep coming back to you?”

Anne replied in a small voice.

“Yes.”

“…Even if it keeps coming back, try to forget it.”

Evan bit his lip and thought.

It has to be just a dream. If Anne knew about the past, if she knew why he had made such decisions…

The thought of her bearing all that guilt made Evan desperately grab her wrist.

“Don’t remember it. It must be a painful dream.”

“…But I do remember.”

Anne, nestled in Evan’s embrace, continued.

“So, before I go back, promise me one thing. I’ve made a difficult decision. But because of that dream, I keep getting anxious…”
“Yes?”
“If you die before me, I think I’d be too sad to bear it. It’s a nightmare, just like you said. The thought that you might have died….”
“……”
Anne, realizing how absurd her words were, smiled awkwardly and corrected herself.
‘Wow, I’m really believing in that dream as if it’s real.’
“Oh, seriously. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? You don’t have to listen to such silly talk. It’s because you keep humoring me that I end up saying such absurd things.”
Without a word, Evan kept checking the temperature of the water in the bathtub. Seeing Evan’s silence, Anne thought she had indeed misspoken.
But then Evan suddenly lifted Anne into his arms and carefully stepped into the bathtub. The warm water enveloped Anne’s entire body.
“I’ll think about it when our hair turns gray.”
“What?”
Evan answered while gently stroking Anne’s hair.
“Now that I think about it, one of us will have to leave first, right? Ideally, we’d die on the same day, but…. Let’s live together until our hair turns gray and our skin wrinkles, and then we can worry about it.”
“Is that something we can control?”
“Once we’re old, we could just do a bunch of unhealthy things.”
At that, Anne lightly slapped Evan’s arm.
“Evan!”
‘Anne, I don’t know how much you love me, but if you love me even half as much as I love you…. I don’t want you to experience losing the one you love first.’
“Well, I was thinking of something like smoking.”
At Evan’s endlessly serious and melancholic words, Anne stared at him in disbelief, then raised her voice.
“Well, that’s a matter of taste, but I still want you to stay healthy…. If we grow old, your lungs won’t be in good shape, so smoking is out of the question. Come to think of it, that’s not an option!”
Anne sat up slightly and embraced Evan. As she wondered whether he was joking or genuinely serious, she grabbed his shoulders and spoke.
“Goodness, Evan, you’re so serious. That dream was really weird. There’s not a trace of your playful side in it! It’s just a silly dream—a ridiculous dream!”
“Is that so?”
“Of course.”
“So, do you prefer the me in that dream or the me now?”
Anne was about to say, without hesitation, that she preferred the Evan who was alive and beside her, but in truth, she loved Evan no matter what.
Whether he was prickly, playful, or like this, taking things seriously over something trivial.
“I think I need to think about it.”
“Isn’t it an easy answer?”
“I don’t know. Why can’t I choose?”
It’s definitely just a dream….
***
The warm sea breeze of Vails blew softly. The scorching sunlight. Taking in the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen, Anne began preparing to leave, wrapping up her work at the sanatorium.
Recently, Evan has been frequently summoned to the royal palace of Vails. She was curious about what was going on, but she didn’t ask further after Evan told her it was still classified.
And so, due to the hospital incident, the fame of Evan, Anne, Carly, and Kyle spread even in Vails.

Some people reacted with hostility when they learned that they were from Terossa, but most welcomed them.

It was a heartwarming story that could thaw the still-cold hearts of the two nations’ people even after the war had ended.

Considering the divided sentiment of Vails’ people, Garnet assigned guards to them.

The statement that they were lifesavers and that they would be looked after without inconvenience was half true and half false.

It was surveillance.

No, it was not surveillance…

It was breeding.

The first thing Garnet did after waking up was to ensure they were well-fed.

Anne, tired from her long vacation, began to gradually resume hospital duties with Kyle, but thanks to the guards who followed them everywhere and provided food, she was full all the time.

By the time she started feeling a bit burdened by it.

Evan returned with Blue.

Anne ran to the returning Evan and embraced him tightly. Perhaps out of jealousy, Blue poked her head beside them.

There was a note tied to Blue’s leg.

“Evan, you could have delivered this yourself.”

“I didn’t write it. It’s that bastard Howard… I mean, Prince Howard didn’t trust me to deliver it.”

When Anne unfolded the note, it contained unexpected news.

To my dear friend, Miss Anne Vanessa.

I was relieved to hear that you were safe. This will probably be the last personal letter I send to Miss Anne Vanessa.

You and the Duke have become such dear friends to me that it is hard to believe we were once enemies.

I am sure that your marriage will be fulfilling and joyful, and although I am tempted, I think it’s time for me to step back for the sake of my other friend, Duke Evan Davis.

Ah, and, of course, for your sake as well. I hope you no longer take the long way around. Even without me saying this, I’m sure you’ve already made your decision.

Even while in the hospital, the Duke’s gaze was always on you. If I may make a request, don’t tease him too much…

But for the future, do tease him just enough to keep him humble.

By the way, there is some news.

The death of Javier of Terossa is not so much bad news but rather good news for us. I believe Ailon Terossa, who is about to ascend the throne, is quite a rational person.

So I’m sure he will accept this proposal.

After consulting with the Duke, we’ve decided to expand the medical facilities that were mostly destroyed during the war. The dramatic increase in drug addiction after the war has become a serious problem.

To address this, our two nations will conduct joint research. I would like you to take charge of this research. Once post-war recovery has progressed, the two nations plan to collaborate in training many medical professionals.

It seems we will need your help again then, and I believe you will accept it, won’t you?

Well, then, I will always be cheering for Anne’s future.

P.S. When you set the wedding date, please send me an invitation.

Your friend, Howard of Vails.

Anne looked up at Evan. Then, with a smile, she held up the letter.

“Evan, are you curious?”

“Is it something I should see?”

“Hmm, if I show you this, I might end up being rude to Prince Howard, right?”

Anne thought as she noticed Evan’s uneasy expression.

‘But it’s better than letting you feel anxious.’

As Anne moved closer to hand the letter to Evan.

“Never mind. What can that guy do now?”

Startled, Anne broke into a bright smile and said.

“You two have really become close friends, haven’t you?”

“What? We are not close.”

“Really?”

Anne began to reread the letter.

She held it close to her face, determined not to show it to Evan. One of Evan’s eyebrows twitched at this, but Anne turned away entirely.

Even upon rereading, the letter was entirely for Evan.

A warm feeling stirred in Anne’s heart.

In fact, Anne still sometimes had dreams that were not real but felt all too real. She had another one around the time Evan was summoned by the royal family of Vails.

That dream showed Evan’s final days after Anne’s death, when he had become a broken man.

His end was a horribly lonely death. Carly was by his side, but it was no comfort at all.

His blue eyes, which once shimmered like the waves, had lost their light and died.

His silent final moments appeared in Anne’s dreams over and over again.

Even when she tried to calm her heart after waking from those nightmares each night, the pain lingered. She couldn’t help but wonder if her death would bring such agony to Evan.

She remembered something he had said.

“Now that I think about it, one of us will have to leave first, right? Ideally, we’d die on the same day, but…. Let’s live together until our hair turns gray and our skin wrinkles, and then we can worry about it.”

If one of them were to leave first, it would undoubtedly be as painful as the dream.

For the one left behind and for the one leaving.

It was unbearable to even think about.

But unlike in her dream, she hoped Howard would be there for Evan.

As well as Carly, Kyle, Joseph, and all the dear people they would meet in the future.

If she married Evan, she wished that the children they hoped for would also stay by his side. She wanted to live a life with no regrets, dedicating herself fully.

So that, in the end, they could smile.

So they could part with a smile.

Anne turned back and took Evan’s hand.

“Evan, marry me.”

Evan, who had been in a daze, soon realized that Anne was proposing to him. He hugged her tightly.

“Gladly.”

Anne’s heart raced.

“When everything is settled, I’ll go to the duke’s residence. And I’ll write a letter to Vanessa House and probably send invitations to dear people like Howard. We’ll have a wedding. There’s no backing out now!”

As Anne listed off the tasks while counting them on her fingers, Evan burst into laughter.

“Anne, shouldn’t we inform your brother first?”

Anne nodded.

Anton would definitely congratulate them with a hug. But part of him would likely smile bittersweetly, saddened by the thought of them being apart.

After all, she hadn’t lived with Anton for very long.

It was a heavy thought.

“How about we all live together? So we won’t be separated anymore. You, me, and your brother.”

At those words, Anne burst into tears. She had been worried about Anton even as she planned the wedding. Her heart swelled with emotion, knowing that Evan had thought about Anton too.

“Is that really okay?”

“Isn’t he your brother? Oh, and I’ve already told him I’m taking you with me. He called me ‘brother’ and asked me to take good care of his sister.”

Evan smiled softly.

After that night, when Anne had given her consent, they were destined to become a family.

Even if they didn’t have the children she wished for, having her lost brother with them was a blessing. Sometimes, she even wished her brother, though grown, would act like a child again.

“….”

“And since it’s strange for siblings to have different surnames, we should ask Vanessa House for a favor once more. I’m sure they’ll welcome it.”

Anne covered her face with both hands, trying to hold back the tears that kept flowing.

“Anne? Please stop crying.”

The fact that she couldn’t have children.

The fact that their social statuses were so vastly different.

None of it mattered to Evan. As long as their hearts beat together, they could love each other freely.

She realized that, foolishly, only now.

Anne’s face was a mess with tears, but at last, she smiled brightly.

“Evan, I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I love you.”

Evan smiled back and replied.

“I love you too.”