Chapter 111. < The Way She Loves. (3) >

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Translator: thursdays Editor: Yahiko PR: LightBrin

3.

I ran and hugged her.

Raviel.

A million words were suspended in my mouth.

I could say [Im sorry].

Im sorry I left you a permanent scar.

Im 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 wasnt the first time I apologized to her, and this wasnt the first time I would be grateful to her.

In this moment, the night we reunited, I didnt want to apologize or thank her.

Something Ive 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 Raviels hand.

Lets 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 t.i.tle, 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, youre 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,

Youre amazing. You utilized the trauma I had to see to convey my memories Really, youre amazing. I would never have thought of such a method.

Its because you respect the pain of others.

Raviels hand brushed against my earlobe.

Youre 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 didnt realize you could cajole the Tower itself.

Well, I dont actually remember much. Its like a vague dream. Memories probably disappear after meeting with the Towers authorities.

Nonetheless, you succeeded. My lover is quite capable.

And my beloved is a genius.

I wont 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 Raviels 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 dont really care about legality. Ill 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?

Its 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. Lets 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 shouldnt be the one to initiate it. I wont 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 wasnt kidding.

Id give them a taste of h.e.l.l.

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 nations foundation now? Me, the heir of the Ivansia duchy, who works in the shadows for the sake of the empire?

Yes.

Thatll 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, Ill 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 dont 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, youll be marrying into the Ivansia ducal family. The imperial family will directly give you a t.i.tle as my consort. And I will become your lord.[1]

My heart throbbed.

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

Its a hierarchical society, and youre from the Ivansia family. Im only an outsider. Dont worry. Its just following the laws of the empire. I dont mind it at all

Im glad you think its all right. I thought you would say that. So, test it out and call me Wife.

I paused.

Whats wrong? Are you embarra.s.sed?

Youre embarra.s.sed. I knew it. Ill try it out first.

Her eyes smiled.

Husband.

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.

Wife.

Raviel blinked.

A silence settled upon us.

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

Gongja.

Yes.

Say it once more.

Wife?

Again.

Hmm.

Wife?

Raviels eyelashes fluttered. Her shoulders shrank a bit.

What the heck is this reaction?

I didnt know it at first since Raviel kept a straight face, but I soon realized it. No way. Maybe? Could it be? No, this wasnt possible, even if it was the end of the world, but

Raviel. Are you embarra.s.sed right now?

Mm

Raviel mumbled.

Its insanely adorable. My man is

Her embarra.s.sment 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 Id received from Raviel so far. But I couldnt do that. I felt so fl.u.s.tered I thought I would die.

Instead, I compromised.

Wife.

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.

Husband.

Wife.

Husband.

Wife!

Husband

I love you.

I love you.

My wife

My husband.

Like that, an infinite cycle.

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

-f.u.c.k. You son of a

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

-You s.h.i.+tty couple. You dorks give me gooseb.u.mps. 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 dont even thank me and just dally with your lover, huh? Are you taking me lightly? You really want me to pa.s.s on? Huh?

[s.h.i.+ny comforts the Sword Emperor.]

-Aah. Youre the only one I have left, s.h.i.+ny!

The ghost and the sword came to build a mysterious friends.h.i.+p.

Im 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 wifes artifact, the Holy Swords fragment, and the spiraling of her wish.

In other words, if I recover the fragment, the world wont be destroyed by the demons.

But that wasnt 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.

Theyll definitely come.

I knew because there hadnt been a message about the stage being cleared.

My wife 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 s.h.i.+eld.

But my wife 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.

Lets plan the wedding for a month from now, I said. Itll be exactly ten days after I first possessed the butler.

One month later from this moment.

I see. Youre 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, itll 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 fathers 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 n.o.ble. Itll be annoying. Id rather become the d.u.c.h.ess 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 butlers memories. Its Isnt it quite difficult for the heiress to succeed as the family head? Especially for the Ivansias. Its the n.o.ble and great Ivansia family. Succeeding the duchy just because you want to is

Youre 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 duchys va.s.sals 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 princes 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 isnt that the same thing as blackmailing him?

Husband.

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

Yes, my wife?

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 n.o.ble t.i.tle.

Hearing it like this made me feel like a husband 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 Years. Furthermore, the events held by the Duke or d.u.c.h.ess and his or her consort are always political affairs. You will be the Moon of Ivansia, and you will be honored as the n.o.blest consort of the empire, barring the empress. Youll need some level of political prowess.

Mm. So

Loyalty to the emperor and blackmail of the imperial family can coexist, then. It isnt as if the empire is harmed when my wife becomes the Ivansia family head. Rather, I am fortunate to have such a capable n.o.blewoman as my wife.

My husband knows to read between the lines. Hes capable, smart, and cool.

Of course. Im Raviels 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 ghosts 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 wasnt in love, I would still be happy

[s.h.i.+ny regretfully points to the Sword Emperor.]

-I should beat myself up for this. Me

Then, we began to work busily.

For the greatest happy endingsno.

For the greatest wedding.

~~~

[1] The words that they call each other are () for Gongja and () for Raviel. is wife and is husband when it uses the hanja , but the raws specified the hanja is , which means female ruler. Anyway, the point is that Raviel wears the pants in this relations.h.i.+p.