The Way She Loves. (3)

3.

I ran and hugged her.

"Raviel."

A million words were suspended in my mouth.

I could say [I'm sorry].

I'm sorry I left you a permanent scar.

I'm really sorry.

I could also say [thank you].

Thank you for trusting me, thank you for waiting for me, and most of all, thank you for loving me.

For loving someone like me.

But what I wanted to say was not an apology, nor was it words of thanks. This wasn't the first time I apologized to her, and this wasn't the first time I would be grateful to her.

In this moment, the night we reunited, I didn't want to apologize or thank her.

'Something I've never said before.'

I wanted to present her words that I could only say to her once. I wanted to give her an utterance I would only say one time in my whole life. My first. My last. I wanted to dedicate my time to Raviel Ivansia.

So. Therefore. That was why.

I took Raviel's hand.

"Let's get married."

A marriage proposal.

"..."

Raviel slowly nodded.

"I am called many names. I received the epithet of the Silver Lily from the emperor. The empire calls me by my title, Heiress Ivansia. But my name, Raviel, will eternally belong only to you."

We kissed.

Deeply.

4.

The two of us woke up at dawn.

The windows were a pale blue.

Hearing the sound of breathing, I turned my head to see Raviel wordlessly looking at me.

"..."

"..."

I also looked at Raviel without a word. Then, I moved my hand to hold hers. I felt her cool fingers. She was beautiful. Sharing our breaths, fingers intertwined, we touched foreheads.

"Raviel, you're a genius."

It was dawn. During that time called dawn, all meetings were secret trysts and all whispers became sweet nothings. Thus, those who shared their dawns were those who loved each other.

I whispered,

"You're amazing. You utilized the trauma I had to see to convey my memories… Really, you're amazing. I would never have thought of such a method."

"It's because you respect the pain of others."

Raviel's hand brushed against my earlobe.

"You're also incredible. How did you persuade the Tower? The Tower is like an inviolable administrator to Constellations. I know that you have a silver tongue, but I didn't realize you could cajole the Tower itself."

"Well, I don't actually remember much. It's like a vague dream. Memories probably disappear after meeting with the Tower's authorities."

"Nonetheless, you succeeded. My lover is quite capable."

"And my beloved is a genius."

"I won't deny that."

We pressed our foreheads together.

We could admire each other without vanity or showing off.

This fact made me happy again.

"When should we get married?"

"Are we in a hurry?"

"Saying it like that makes it sound dishonorable."

Raviel laughed lightly. I felt dizzy. Lightning shot up my spine to my head. No music could ever compare to the beauty of Raviel's soft laugh.

"The first step would be to break my engagement with the crown prince."

"Ah."

That was certainly true.

Raviel nodded.

"His Highness and I are bound by our engagement, which makes it difficult to marry you legally right now."

"Hm. I don't really care about legality. I'll be satisfied with a small ceremony with us two."

"No. It matters to me."

Raviel stroked my cheek.

"This is the world I live in. I am loyal to this empire. My world and my nation needs to recognize my marriage. Even if you are a commoner here, you are my lover, and every citizen of the empire must accept you."

"All right. But can we expect everyone to react well…?"

"It's fine, Gongja," Raviel said composedly. "Citizens who do not recognize you will die by my hands."

What do I do? She was too cool. I was falling in love again. I wanted to fall in love with her again and again.

"I understand. Let's have our wedding in your world, Raviel. But I also have a condition."

"Speak it."

"Breaking the engagement with the prince is necessary, but you shouldn't be the one to initiate it. I won't be able to forgive anyone who speaks poorly of you when they know nothing."

If anyone tried to point fingers at my beloved, I would break that finger. If anyone gossiped about her, I would cut off their tongue. If anyone besmirched her, I would kill them.

I wasn't kidding.

I'd give them a taste of hell.

"It should be obvious to everyone that it was the prince who is at fault and you simply had to break the engagement."

"Oho. Are you telling me to insult the nation's foundation now? Me, the heir of the Ivansia duchy, who works in the shadows for the sake of the empire?"

"Yes."

"That'll be easy."

We took a moment to kiss each other.

Life became a bit brighter.

"Do you have a plan?"

"Of course. Who do you think I am? I have a record of each time the crown prince met with the Lady of the Golden Silk piled up in a drawer in my library. There are hundreds of pages in storage. I have prepared both alibis and witnesses. If I drag him to court, I'll win."

What do I do? She was too cool. I was falling for her again. I wanted to fall in love with her again and again.

"Of course, we don't actually have to go to court. The imperial family would not want to advertise this. I just need to ask the emperor for a meeting with the evidence in tow."

"When will you go to the palace?"

"As soon as possible."

Raviel quietly pushed back my bangs.

"Gongja. When you marry me, you'll be marrying into the Ivansia ducal family. The imperial family will directly give you a title as my consort. And I will become your lord."[1]

My heart throbbed.

"Officially, I will call you 'Wife.' You will call me 'Husband.' Is that acceptable?"

"It's a hierarchical society, and you're from the Ivansia family. I'm only an outsider. Don't worry. It's just following the laws of the empire. I don't mind it at all…"

"I'm glad you think it's all right. I thought you would say that. So, test it out and call me 'Husband.' "

I paused.

"What's wrong? Are you embarrassed?"

"..."

"You're embarrassed. I knew it. I'll try it out first."

Her eyes smiled.

"Wife."

My heart.

"..."

I gulped. Spit stuck to the back of my throat. I slowly tried to open my mouth, but it was glued shut. My upper lip slid across my lower lip fruitlessly before barely making a sound.

"…H…usband."

Raviel blinked.

A silence settled upon us.

My lover's red eyes stared straight at me. How do I describe it? Her face looked like that of someone who saw a hedgehog's paws. In other words, I had no idea what her expression meant.

"Gongja."

"Yes."

"Say it once more."

"…Husband?"

"Again."

Hmm.

"Husband…?"

Raviel's eyelashes fluttered. Her shoulders shrank a bit.

'What the heck is this reaction?'

I didn't know it at first since Raviel kept a straight face, but I soon realized it. No way. Maybe? Could it be? No, this wasn't possible, even if it was the end of the world, but…

"Raviel. Are you embarrassed right now?"

"Mm…"

Raviel mumbled.

"It's insanely adorable. My man is…"

Her embarrassment infected me in an instant. This was crazy.

My face turned red, and my lips were dry. Still, my head worked just fine. At this time, it would be best to counterattack by saying [Raviel is the cutest person in the world]. I could return all the damage I'd received from Raviel so far. But I couldn't do that. I felt so flustered I thought I would die.

Instead, I compromised.

"Husband."

Rather than a one-sided attack, both sides could flirt. We could force a draw with no winners or losers. Did she understand my strategy? Raviel also opened her mouth.

"…Wife."

"Husband."

"Wife."

"Husband!"

"Wife…"

"I love you."

"I love you."

"My husband…"

"My wife."

Like that, an infinite cycle.

Before we knew it, the dawn had already become morning.

-Fuck. You son of a…

Bae Hu-ryeong muttered, facing away from me. He had been trying to protect our privacy.

-You shitty couple. You dorks give me goosebumps. Matching idiot couple. Fuuuck, what about me? Do you know how fervently I called you when you got immersed in the butler, huh? As soon as you become conscious, you don't even thank me and just dally with your lover, huh? Are you taking me lightly? You really want me to pass on? Huh?

[Shiny comforts the Sword Emperor.]

-Aah. You're the only one I have left, Shiny!

The ghost and the sword came to build a mysterious friendship.

'I'm sorry, and thank you both.'

But for now, I wanted to shower love on my beloved a little more.

5.

In the throes of love, I remembered the goal of this stage.

[To prevent the destruction of this world.]

Also, the main cause of the end of the world was my husband's artifact, the Holy Sword's fragment, and the spiraling of her wish.

'In other words, if I recover the fragment, the world won't be destroyed by the demons.'

But that wasn't the only reason the world would end.

– The apostle of 'The Ox That Harvest Ruins.'

– The apostle of 'The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains.'

– The apostle of 'The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness.'

On the last day, beings from different worlds descended from the rifts littering the torn sky.

I clearly remembered the invasion of the apostles sent by other Constellations.

'They'll definitely come.'

I knew because there hadn't been a message about the stage being cleared.

'My husband ascended to a semi-Constellation from stabbing a fragment of the Holy Sword in her heart.'

A Constellation was said to be the representative of a world. They were barriers that protected the world.

In other words, this world only had half a shield.

But my husband currently had no sword in her heart. Therefore, she had not yet ascended.

Rephrasing that statement, there was no Constellation protecting the world at the moment.

"Let's plan the wedding for a month from now," I said. "It'll be exactly ten days after I first possessed the butler."

One month later from this moment.

"I see. You're matching the timing."

We set the date for our wedding for the day this world originally would have ended. It was to reject the last moments of the world and remake it into our new beginning.

It was an audacious choice.

"If so, it'll be quite a bit of work for me. But should everything go well, we can have our wedding next month."

"What sort of things need to be done?"

"First, I need to break the engagement with the crown prince. Next, I must succeed my father's position."

Raviel said it as if it were only natural.

"It will be difficult to marry you with my current status. The legal procedures are bothersome, and society will squawk about having a commoner betrothed to a noble. It'll be annoying. I'd rather become the duchess and take you as my consort. When I become the family head, I can arrange things as I please."

"Uh…"

I was speechless.

"Raviel. I still have quite a few of the butler's memories. It's… Isn't it quite difficult for the heiress to succeed as the family head? Especially for the Ivansias. It's the noble and great Ivansia family. Succeeding the duchy just because you want to is…"

"You're right. It would be difficult if I were not me," Raviel said calmly. "However, I am Raviel Ivansia."

What do I do? She was too cool. I was falling for her again. I wanted to fall in love with her again and again.

"The duchy's vassals have already pledged allegiance to me. I also have military power. If my father wants to hold on to his power until the end, his only choice is to go running to His Majesty the Emperor."

Thud.

Raviel dumped a stack of papers onto the table.

"I have plenty of evidence that proves the crown prince's infidelity. The emperor is as competent as the special operatives he commands. He will defend the dignity of the imperial family rather than stay loyal to my father, who has no real power."

"You phrase it like you have respect for the emperor, but Raviel… isn't that the same thing as blackmailing him…?"

"Wife."

Raviel looked at me seriously. I twitched when she called me her wife. We were calling each other [husband] and [wife] in order to get used to the new titles, even when we were alone.

"Yes, my husband?"

"You have a job in the Tower, not in this world. I understand if you do not frequently return to my world and this empire. You should understand that I cannot relinquish my noble title."

Hearing it like this made me feel like a spouse who worked abroad…

"But there will be occasions when you need to be with me. For example, at the events for the end of the year and New Year's. Furthermore, the events held by the Duke or Duchess and his or her consort are always political affairs. You will be the Moon of Ivansia, and you will be honored as the noblest consort of the empire, barring the empress. You'll need some level of political prowess."

Mm. So…

"Loyalty to the emperor and blackmail of the imperial family can coexist, then. It isn't as if the empire is harmed when my husband becomes the Ivansia family head. Rather, I am fortunate to have such a capable noblewoman as my husband."

"My wife knows to read between the lines. He's capable, smart, and cool."

"Of course. I'm Raviel's man."

"I love you."

"I love you."

We took a moment to kiss each other.

Life became a bit brighter.

-Fuuuuuuccck…

For some reason, the ghost's face became more and more sunken.

-Who was it? Who taught this idiot to love? Who put this guy up to the madness and sickness of love… Why is he in love? If this guy wasn't in love, I would still be happy…

[Shiny regretfully points to the Sword Emperor.]

-I should beat myself up for this. Me…

Then, we began to work busily.

For the greatest happy endings—no.

For the greatest wedding.