* * *
Yenikarina cried for a long time, laughed, cried again, and then fell asleep.
Buried in her sleeping arms was her nephew, Actsion.
The little boy had also fallen asleep while trying to comfort his crying aunt.
Hamill watched them with a smile on his face.
“Is something wrong?”
Aristine asked and a bitter smile appeared on Hamill’s face.
“…I’m starting to feel like I’ve put my father and sister through something I never should have.”
“But for Lu, it was the right thing to do.”
Hamill turned to look at Aristine.
“You look relaxed. And you look happy. That time was something ‘Lu’ needed. Am I wrong?”
Hamill’s lips moved slightly.
How did she always know what he needed to hear?
“…You’re right,” he admitted.
“Of course, you hurt Father and Yenika very deeply.”
“…”
“But I know both of them would rather ‘Lu’ was happy again instead of living by their side in misery.”
A smile appeared on Lu’s face.
He was always aware that Nephther wanted to pass the throne to Tarkan, not him. Due to that, he couldn’t help but misunderstand his father. He thought that Nephther would prefer it if he just disappeared.
After all, his absence would remove the headache of dealing with a complicated succession. But now, he knew that it was a foolish thought.
Because Aristine made him realize it.
“In any case, you have returned to their side, haven’t you?”
“I have.”
“If you feel sorry to them, treat them well from now on.”
“It seems I must. That kid hates having puffy eyes and swears against crying hard. And yet, here she was, pouring out floods of tears without a care in the world.”
At those words, Tarkan suddenly cut in, “Yes, you take care of your sister. I’ll take care of my wife.”
“Khan…”
“Are you tired?”
Tarkan pulled Aristine into his arms. A golden wave of energy pulsed from him and seeped into Aristine.
“Thanks to you, I’m okay.”
It was true.
She didn’t need to rely on the Chrysea flower anymore because Tarkan, her knight and her flower, was by her side.
She didn’t even need to stay in Chrysea Palace.
Even stabilizing her body was more effective with Tarkan.
Tarkan smiled and kissed his wife on the cheek.
“Shall we go back then?”
“Hm?”
“As you know, there’s a way to transfer energy even more effectively.”
He finished his words with a kiss and Aristine blushed as Tarkan planted kisses on her ears, eyelids and everywhere he could see.
“When I see you like this, I can’t tell who’s the real flower here.”
“…?”
“Red and sweet—aren’t those all features of a flower?”
“Silly.”
Hamill looked dumbfounded as he watched the Imperial couple get into lovey-dovey mode right in front of him.
What was even more absurd was that everyone else was acting like they were completely used to this.
‘Don’t tell me they act like this every day?’
Of course, this was better than them being on bad terms. Yes, he genuinely wished for Aristine’s happiness.
Regardless, the fact that it burned his eyes could not be changed.
* * *
Yenikarina was chattering away while applying an ice pack to her puffy eyes.
“I can’t even explain how shocked I was. Sister Rineh, you’re too much. You could have at least hinted that Big brother was alive.”
Normally, Yenikarina hated showing her puffy eyes to anyone.
‘Normally, she wouldn’t even come out of her room.’
And seeing her sticking so close to Hamill, Aristine felt she knew exactly why Yenikarina was out even with the state of her eyes.
So Aristine obediently apologized. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t say that to make you apologize.”
Yenikarina muttered awkwardly, then suddenly she exclaimed, “Oh! That reminds me, something was odd about the whole thing.”
“What was?”
“Sion said that his mom and dad were coming.”
“…?”
“I thought he was just saying that because he missed you two. But that wasn’t it.”
Aristine and Tarkan’s faces turned grave.
“He said Your Majesties were coming and you came right away. And also…”
“Also?”
“He told me not to cry. I wasn’t even crying, so I was wondering what he was talking about…”
“And then you cried.”
“Yes, isn’t that a little too strange to call a coincidence?”
“…”
“And then, he said the word ‘Lu.’ It was too odd for me to dismiss as a meaningless outburst.”
“Could he have awakened?”
“We should at least confirm.”
Aristine and Tarkan spoke in turn and Yenikarina tilted her head in confusion.
Aristine turned to her court lady, “Where is Sion?”
“He is taking a nap right now. Would you like me to wake him up?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Bring him to me when he wakes up.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And tell Elder Brother Launel to come as well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
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