Realising what she was referring to, Lucian let out a soft sigh and replied in a calm tone. 

“That is just an old saying that remains on the surface world. Even though the Four Seasons no longer exist, there are still those who remember them. Most of the ruling class these days belong to the long-lived species.” 

“Long-lived species?” 

“Races that live for thousands of years or more, like you. Elves or dwarves, for example…” 

“Elves? Don’t you mean nymphs?” 

“They were called that in ancient times, but since ‘nymph’ carries the connotation of being female, the term ‘elves’ was adopted from the northern language to include male fairies as well.” 

“Huh… I see.” 

Rose, who had been ready to complain about him proposing with an idiom about non-existent seasons, forgot her irritation and looked intrigued instead.

‘Even the names of the races have changed in my absence. How fascinating.’ 

“…Knowing about nymphs suggests you’ve lived quite a long time yourself.”

Lucian, a beat too late to answer, asked hesitantly, clearly not expecting Rose to know anything about nymphs. 

“Well, of course. I may not look it, but I am the queen of the demon realm.” 

“That’s true.” 

“So how old did I look to you?” 

“I was taught that it is rude to guess someone’s age.” 

“I’m giving you permission, so go ahead and guess. Please?” 

“Two thousand years?” 

At his completely unexpected answer, Rose burst out laughing. 

“Oh dear, I’ve been married alone for three thousand years.” 

“I see.”

“Look at your expression. You really didn’t know?” 

“It is difficult to estimate the age of long-lived species. You can’t tell just by looking at them.” 

“When I hear you say that, it sounds like you’re a short-lived species, Lucian.” 

“It doesn’t sound very good the way you put it, does it? But by your standards, yes, I suppose I am short-lived. Still, I have some elf blood in me, so I live longer than other humans.” 

The smile on Rose’s lips froze. Elf blood? 

“Lucian, you’re a half-breed?” 

“Only a small amount of elf blood, but yes. I don’t know the exact details, but it seems that I had an elf among my ancestors.” 

“And how long do you live?” 

“It varies from person to person, but the average is about five hundred years.” 

Rose frowned in disbelief. How brazen this human was! She had shortened the contract, thinking of his lifespan, only to find out this now. 

“You deceived me.”  “Pardon?” 

“You don’t even have pointed ears, yet you call yourself a nymph? How is that possible?” 

“The characteristics of a species diminish as the bloodline thins. How is that my fault?” 

“But if you’re going to live for five hundred years, you should have told me sooner! I thought you’d only live about a hundred, so I reduced it to a year.” 

As Rose grumbled, Lucian sighed in response. 

“You may call me a long-lived species, but I’m only twenty-five. In the monastery where I lived, anyone over seventy was considered old.” 

“And what does that have to do with anything?” 

“The time we’ve lived is different, so how can the value of time be the same? For me, ten years would mean giving away almost half of my life. Don’t take the one year I promised you lightly.” 

Rose’s lips, ready to retort, suddenly froze. 

“Let’s eat the food you brought. It’ll get cold and hard if we don’t.” 

“…….” 

“…Demon Queen?” 

“Huh?” 

“Why are you like this now? You’re just staring blankly.” 

Despite Lucian’s curious gaze, Rose stood frozen like a broken doll, her eyes not even blinking. Her mind felt fuzzy, as if she had been hit on the back of the head. 

“How can the value of time be the same if the years lived are different?” Those words shattered everything Rose had known and believed about time. Beyond the blurred landscape of the lakeshore, the memory of her first meeting with her husband suddenly rose like mist and consumed her.

“You won’t die and you’ll live forever. So what does it matter if you spend a part of your youth with me, hmm?” That’s what her husband had said when he took her to the underworld. She had just shed the remnants of her girlhood and blossomed into a graceful young lady. He had assured her that he would send her back to the surface when she was old and no longer desirable, so she had nothing to worry about.

It was a form of cruelty disguised as kindness.

With no one to lean on, Rose had been swept away by those words. It had been excruciatingly painful at first, but once she had accepted it, she realised that it was easier than resisting. After all, the Underworld was a place where the rules and morals of the surface had no influence. If Lucian could make everything fit that way, perhaps the clashes and petty squabbles between them would diminish.

“…My Lord?” For some reason she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Demon Queen.”

It was only when she heard her name called again that she blinked. The murmuring noise around her faded, and in an instant, silence enveloped the world.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

In the silence, as if they were the only two people left, the man’s clear, gentle face stood out sharply.

Looking at Lucian, who had turned his whole body to speak to her, Rose thought to herself, It’s always been like this since I met him.

Long ago she had forgotten the rules of the surface, yet she found herself softening when it came to him.

It seemed the best thing to do. Strangely enough.

“Hmm? It’s nothing.”

What was this feeling? Maybe if she spent more time with him, she’d understand.

Swallowing the strange sensation that fluttered deep in her chest, Rose picked up a slice of cheesecake and put it to his lips.

“Try it, dear. Say ahh.”

Lucian, however, just stared at the pie in front of him, showing no intention of opening his mouth. Moments later, he snatched the slice from her hand, almost as if to snatch it from her.

“I’ll eat it myself.” 

“Even when your beautiful wife feeds you, you insist on doing it yourself?” 

Lucian didn’t answer, just took a bite of the cake. He chewed in silence, his posture impeccable, without a hint of disorder. 

Rose found herself transfixed, staring at his calm profile as if he were a still life, perfectly placed in the middle of a beautiful landscape. Slowly, her eyes followed his. 

In the middle of the unfrozen lake was a small island. In its centre stood a towering tree, its massive branches scattering soft pink petals into the air. 

“What’s the name of that flower?” 

“Take a guess.” 

After a moment’s thought, Lucian replied, though his answer came a beat too late.

“A rose?” 

“Was that a joke to make me laugh?” 

“No, it’s just the only flower I know.”

Rose burst out laughing. 

“It’s a magnolia. I had it planted in my favourite colour.” 

“There are other colours for the same flower?” 

“There are many. White magnolias, yellow magnolias, red magnolias…” 

“You’re not teasing me, are you? Is it really true?” 

“Honestly, it’s as if you’ve never seen a flower before.” 

“I lived in a monastery. Unless you were a farmer, it wasn’t easy to see flowers. I only know roses because they were painted on the stained glass windows in the monastery.

“Really?” 

“I told you, didn’t I? There’s no spring in the human realm

Lucian tilted his head back, staring into the empty air as if lost in thought. The concept of spring in the human realm – it was closely tied to the very reason he had come to this place. 

“Do you know why the humans have been relentlessly challenging the Demon King for thousands of years?” 

“Hmm, let me think. Perhaps because they hate demons and want to get rid of them?” 

“What a truly demonic assumption. No, that’s not it.” 

“Then what is it?” 

Did she really not know, or was she pretending not to? Lucian stared at the demon queen for a long moment, her round eyes blinking in feigned innocence before she finally spoke. 

“The demon lord stole Spring from the human realm.” 

“I have never done such a thing.” 

“I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about your husband, thousands of years ago.” 

The words she was about to speak froze on her lips. 

“Didn’t he kill the Goddess of Spring?” 

The sound of the forest trembled, a low rustle echoing as if the trees themselves were responding to the revelation. 

“For thousands of years, mankind has relentlessly sought to defeat the Demon King. The Goddess of the Earth could not bear the death of her daughter, and since that day she has refused to tend the land.”

Restoring spring by avenging the Earth Goddess has long been a wish of mankind.