Isillis firmly established Berthas’s position by bestowing upon him a special name reserved for imperial family companions. No one opposed her words.

As she watched Berthas enter hurriedly, Isillis asked.

“What is it?”

“I have something to discuss.”

He replied freely while in a private setting. Despite the presence of the maids, he didn’t seem to mind their presence. As she noticed something amiss in his expression, which seemed urgent, she gestured for her maids to leave, and they quietly exited the room.

“What is it?”

“Isillis.”

Berthas called her name as he knelt before her. His black eyes were fixed on her. As she gazed into his eyes, Isillis smiled.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Marry me.”

“Marriage? We’re going to have the imperial wedding, aren’t we?”

“It’s different from that. I’m proposing to you.”

“Haven’t we already done that?”

“No, Isillis. I’m proposing to you as a woman, not as the Empress of Larchen.”

His words made Isillis’ expression change.

“Woman?”

“Of course. You’re the one I have to protect. To me, you are a woman. Not Larchen’s Emperor.”

“Me?”

“Is there another Isillis Larchen here?”

His playful smile left her momentarily speechless.

It was the first time someone had spoken to her like this, even though he knew her true position. His confident demeanor was dazzling.

Woman.

She smiled brightly, feeling like she had become an ordinary person. It felt like she was transported back to her innocent childhood—a time when she knew nothing. Everything was beautiful.

“I love you.”

His words made her feel like she had the whole world.

“I’ll always be by your side.”

“By my side?”

“By your side and our daughter’s side. Always.”

The beautiful knight she had only read about in books before her rise to the throne, before she knew the world was now in front of her, with beautiful black hair that seemed to have been cut from the night and intense black eyes looking at her face.

His sharp nose and tightly closed lips awaited her response.

His cape fluttered in the wind that came through the window. The wind passed through her, too. She couldn’t find the words to say.

Was it this hard to respond to his sincerity?

It wasn’t about the courtesy she should show. It wasn’t about the man who had given up everything for her.

Now, she understood the meaning of Faylos’ words.

[ “Don’t try to judge with his heart. Isilis. He is a stronger man than you think.” ]

Faylos’s words were true. He was a man who made her believe that he could protect her.

…Berthas Larchen.

After staring at his face for a while, her lips finally opened.

“I’ll allow it.”

A warm smile that seemed to bathe in the spring sunlight appeared on Isillis’s lips. Berthas, with a radiant smile, brought his lips to her hand.

* * *

[ “Save me.” ]

She heard someone’s voice.

Isillis woke up to a voice that was earnest and sorrowful. For the past few days, she had been frequently awakened in the middle of the night by the voice that echoed in her ears. It was still a dark night, far from passing.

On that deep night, Berthas was by her side as Isillis gazed at him. He was sleeping, holding her waist. It was as if she wanted to erase the voice of her dreams by intently watching his sleeping face.

As she looked at his face, memories of the grand wedding day came flooding back.

It had been a beautiful and splendid moment. A variety of flowers fell from the sky over Larchen, and fireworks of different colors shot up into the heavens. It was all prepared by the wizards for this day. Everything was perfect.

Wizards and knights, as well as nobles and the citizens of Larchen, all knelt before her. What was most perfect was Berthas Larchen, who now had the right to stand beside her.

‘Merely gazing at you like this is making my troubled dream better…’

Feeling Berthas, who was firmly holding onto his position beside her, Isillis tossed and turned. Berthas woke up and looked at her.

“Why… are you awake again?”

“…That voice keeps coming back, Berthas.”

“It’s strange.”

Berthas held her in his arms and whispered to her.

“I wonder who keeps calling my woman.”

“Don’t joke around.”

“It’s not a joke. Could it be that someone is using forbidden magic to find you?”

She faintly smiled at Berthas’s guess.

Forbidden magic, indeed. Books on witchcraft other than magic were extremely rare to find anywhere in the world. Especially in Larchen, the wizard’s empire, using non-magic would lead to immediate execution if discovered.

“From Larchen?”

“Of course not, but…”

He held her hand, lowered his lips onto the back of her hand and kissed it passionately. In his eyes, which only rolled his eyes and looked at her, there was a sense of possessiveness.

Isillis felt her heart skip a beat as she met his gaze.

Berthas whispered in her ear, conveying what he felt from her.

“Can’t sleep, Your Majesty?”

“What are you trying to—”

She couldn’t refuse his tender touch as he held her affectionately. She felt like she would lose her stamina after a whole day like this. But she didn’t want to reject him.

Suddenly, she was more afraid of the night’s silence. She laughed as she seemed to be taming a well-fed lion. It was hot everywhere he touched, but she couldn’t hide the laughter that kept leaking out.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, it’s because it’s amusing to see you like this.”

“Aren’t you tired of holding me like this?”

“Tired?”

Berthas’s gaze changed at her words. His sharp eyes made her smile awkwardly. She hadn’t meant it that way, though somehow, it seemed to have been misunderstood.

“Isillis.”

“Berthas, that’s not what I…”

“I’ve been too lenient.”

“What?”

With a sigh, she looked at him with puzzled eyes. Berthas began to undress one piece of clothing after another. Despite her curiosity, she couldn’t help but watch as he undressed, and when he finished taking off his nightclothes, he whispered in her ear.

“Tired, you said. I thought you might have such thoughts. I would have done it many more times if I had known.”

“Berthas… Hu-uhk!”

The moment she felt his rough hand squeezing her breast and his thumb pressing her n*pple, her entire body tingled. Berthas twisted her peaks with his thumb while his tongue licked her sensitive earlobe.

“Isn’t that right?”

“No, that’s, a, ah!”

“I thought you might have such thoughts as you seemed to have the time. If I had known you thought that way, I wouldn’t have left you alone.”

His lust-filled eyes filled her eyes.

As his dark, intense eyes stared directly at her, she couldn’t help but swallow hard. His lips curled up slightly, and she could see that he was still smiling as he continued to softly whisper to her, though it was clear he was irritated.

Despite the harsh words she heard and the sharp glances she received, his whisper was gentle, and his touch was cautious, as if he was handling something precious.

__