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TN: What do you think about Ardion and Laila's wedding? To think that Ardion just snapped his patience is lol. What do you guys thing? Leave a comment!
Now that I thought about it, there were quite a few stairs in the villa. Since I wasn’t walking, it felt strangely comfortable. It was warm, and the arms supporting me tightly were not bad either.
I leaned against Ardion’s broad chest. Before I knew it, I was asleep. It was because I had been suffering in the carriage for too long. He had definitely changed right after the marriage. To be exact, he didn’t seem to mind showing his true self.
However, when I didn’t behave obediently, he would persuade me with a bright smile.
“Laila, let’s do it one more time, okay?”
“No. It’s too much to keep saying that I didn’t call your name.”
Ardion’s expression hardened in an instant. “I’ve told you to call me by my name many times. You didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“Still, it’s hard to change all at once. Maybe if you give me more time.”
“I think I’ve given you enough time. You weren’t interested in calling my name in the first place, were you?”
I sighed. Was calling his name that big of a deal? He was getting upset over something so trivial.
“My mana is okay now, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
Ardion had been like that since yesterday. Even though I said it was hard, he said that I had to do it for mana.
“Laila, are you using me?”
I flinched at his choice of words. “No! How could I use you?”
“Then are you going to eat me and discard me after?”
“Ardion, why are you saying that…”
“Then why don’t you look at me? Can’t you see how desperate I am for you?” Ardion held my hand tightly and studied my face, his eyes endlessly dark. His tone was sad, but his gaze almost looked as though it was going to eat me.
“Before we got married… were you even interested in me?”
Whenever he said such things, it seemed as if he was trying to make me feel sorry for him.
“We’re married, so I’m telling you to take it slow. Besides, I’ve been here for two days, and I still haven’t been outside.”
“Then is it okay to go outside?” He smiled at me.
“What do you mean by okay?”
Ardion muttered seriously to himself, “No, the sand might be hard. I should bring something to put under.”
“Ardion?”
When I called his name, he looked at me with gentle eyes. “What’s the matter, Laila?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Let’s go to the beach. Let’s go now.” Ardion held out his hand.
I could only take his hand. But as soon as I got off the bed, my legs gave out, and I almost fell.
Ardion quickly supported my waist. “Laila, should I carry you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I blurted out. Who was to blame for this?
But Ardion just smiled. I looked at him once and strode out the door.
❋ ❋ ❋
The weather outside was very nice. The wind was moderately cool, and the sand was moderately warm. As I was scattering sand here and there, Ardion approached me. He seemed to have brought everything he needed, even his servant.
I said to him with a trembling face, “Ardion, you didn’t need to bring so much. Just your body.”
“Just my body?” A strange smile spread across Ardion’s face. Before I could panic, he pushed the servant away. “Then let’s just go, Laila.”
He grabbed my shoulder and headed towards the beach. I couldn’t keep up with his thoughts for a while. On top of that, I felt uneasy somewhere in my heart. The original story kept coming to mind.
“Is it okay for us to stay like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Rowell is still in the shadows, acting nefariously. And I’m worried about the emperor’s safety.”
“He’ll pass away soon anyway.” Ardion’s voice was so calm. There was no trace of sadness, as if he was telling me something obvious.
I raised my head.
Ardion met my eyes and said calmly, “He’s been in poor health since I was a child.”
“…”
“Rowell got worse after he went to the temple.”
“He went to the temple…”
“When the temple proclaimed my oracle, I couldn’t go. I was too young, and they said I wouldn’t get better if I heard the oracle about the future in advance.”
The reality of Ardion being persecuted by Rowell flashed through my mind. He had been so tormented by Rowell that he had not been able to trust people at first and had been hostile to them.
"Are you okay?"
"Hmm?" Ardion looked at me with a smile.
"The emperor isn’t well…"
I couldn't bring myself to say anything about his brother. When I didn’t raise my head, Ardion calmly held my hand, and his voice softly rang in my ears.
"He's going to die anyway, and I don't have much affection for my father. When I was young, I used to be grateful, but in fact, he didn't take good care of me."
"…"
"When I was young, I knew that Rowell hated me because of my ability. I wanted to hide what I had, and I wanted my power taken away. But now, it's better."
Ardion looked at me with a smile. "Because you're here."
"Your Highness…"
“Laila, you broke it again.”
“Can’t you let it slide?”
“Then kiss me.”
“Here?”
“What’s the problem? There’s no one here.”
But seagulls were practically staring at us. We were standing on the beach, with lots of rocks around us. There were a lot of seagulls gathered there, squawking.
“If it bothers you, I can get rid of them.” Ardion raised his arm, and a large amount of mana light began to leak out of his arm.
“No! It’s okay,” I hurriedly said and kissed Ardion on the lips.
I only planned to kiss him once and then break away, but he wrapped his arms around my waist, bit my lips gently, and explored my mouth, as if he had been waiting for this moment. His soft tongue touched my tender flesh and wrapped around my tongue.
I felt uncomfortable. As Ardion's power grew stronger, there would be no one to stop him. That meant that he himself wouldn’t be able to control his mana.
The words of Ventu, the healer who had treated me, still rang in my head.
"His mana is so strong that it’s dangerous. So please, you should use and treat his power appropriately. If not, you might not be able to control it and inevitably die."
I pushed Ardion's shoulder.
"Laila?" Ardion looked at me with a worried face.
I remained stern as I looked down at his arm.
The color of the mana light seemed to be much darker than before. Maybe it was because he had been using a lot of mana lately, but his strength was clearly visible.
Maybe I was really using Ardion. I only received from him, but he didn't really gain anything from me.
I spoke the truth with difficulty. "I might not be of any help."
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s exactly as it is.”
“Laila, do I have to tell you the same story again? I told you back then. I don’t regret marrying you.”
When I remained silent, Ardion pulled me closer. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t love me. You’ve been the only one for me for the past ten years.”
“…”
Ardion leaned down to be level with my lowered head, meeting my eyes. “And even if you’re using me, I’ll gladly be used by you, even if your eyes are lying to me.”
I couldn’t bring myself to meet Ardion’s eyes. But he cupped my cheeks with both hands, and our eyes met with warmth.
“I’ll always be yours. Even if you abandon me, I’ll be there for you to find me whenever you want.”
Ardion’s words made me weep in a flash. He raised the corners of his handsome lips and swallowed my lips. While I was kissing him absentmindedly, rain suddenly started pouring down from the sky. I opened my eyes. He was still supporting the back of my head and exploring my mouth. I tried to step back, out of breath, but his hand only grew stronger.
In the end, I stepped on his foot. Only then did he stop and open his eyes. His deep green eyes flashed hungrily.
I pushed his shoulder. Ardion met my eyes but obediently stepped back.
I turned my head. “It’s raining.”
It was really pouring now.
It was clear just a moment ago.
As I looked at the sea with a serious face, a shadow appeared above my head. Ardion took off his jacket and put it on my head.
“You’ll catch a cold. Let’s go quickly.” Ardion pulled my shoulder to him, fearing that I might run away. His arm felt a bit stronger than before. As soon as we returned to the villa, the villa keeper came running in a hurry.
“His Majesty, His Majesty has passed away. The capital is…”
Before he could finish speaking, a large carriage stopped in front of us. The person who got out of the carriage was none other than the palace knight commander under Rowell. He greeted Ardion and looked down at me. I didn’t feel good about the rather arrogant gaze.
Ardion asked in a low voice, “What’s going on?”
“The princess’s mana was found in His Majesty’s medicine.”
“What?”
The knight commander nodded to the knights who had just gotten out of the carriage. “The princess is suspected of poisoning His Majesty. She’ll have to come with us.”
“Me?”
“What are you doing? Hurry up and catch the culprit.”
I was really confused at this moment. Suddenly, I was the culprit who killed the emperor? While I was panicking, the knights grabbed my arm.
“Let go of her hand.”
It was a voice suppressing anger. Mana light had already begun to spread on Ardion’s arm. If he were to use mana here now, it would be counterproductive.
Now that I was a suspect, if he used his mana to help me run away from everything, then things would be bad for him too. It hasn’t even been a few days since Ardion finally washed away his crimes.