“There should be no problem other than this small thing. But now is the time to talk about something else.”

He pushed the letter she wrote in front of him.

Cloe, who understood the intention, decided not to ask anything else. At the moment, it was the best choice to tell him the story he wanted to hear.

“Happy birthday.”

After that, the sound of a gentle wind filled the air.

“When did you prepare such a cute thing?”

“Just because I wanted to.”

“Our wife never listens to the worry of her husband telling her to rest quietly.”

“So, are you going to scold me?”

“I’ll make an exception for today.”

It was a time for playful conversation between lovers that rarely occurred. Just as the sudden commotion interrupted their nap, Pippi, who had been sitting quietly, woke up and flew towards them.

Kun’s eyebrow twitched at the sudden appearance of the bird.

“What’s this bird again?”

“Eh? It’s Pippi.”

“Pippi?”

“It’s one of the birds raised by Her Majesty, called Pippi because it cries like ‘Pippi.'”

Examining the bird closely, Kun’s eyes lit up.

“Different.”

“Is it different?”

“My Pippi is a bit more splendid.”

“Um… Anyway, it’s a precious bird. It’s the one that told you about my location to Kun.”

It was disappointing that it was a different bird, but well, if Cloe raises it, it should be fine. At least it didn’t seem to avoid human hands like some other birds.

“Well, I learned about your location not through the bird but through the notes in the forest.”

“The forest?”
In an unexpected response, Cloe questioned as if surprised.

She had definitely attached a note to the bird…

“Oh, it wasn’t Kun’s bird, so naturally, it couldn’t deliver the note.”

Then, the note tied to the bird’s leg seemed to have fallen in the nearby forest.

“Then, how did Kun find out where I am?”

“It’s a series of coincidences.”

“Ah.”

In the end, her attempt seemed to have been in vain. She tried her best in her own way.

Still, when coincidences overlap, it becomes inevitable. Cloe believed that the fact that the two of them ended up here was entirely inevitable.

“But when coincidences overlap, it becomes inevitable.”

And it seemed like her man thought the same way.

With a man’s statement that seemed to read her mind, Cloe burst into laughter.

“And fate?”

“That too.”

Unless it’s fate, there’s no other way to describe our relationship.

The man’s inner thoughts, accompanied by an arrogant smile, seemed to convey that.

“Oh, there’s something I couldn’t say in the letter.”

Cloe suddenly raised her head.

“Thank you.”

“Haven’t I said that enough times?”

With a mischievous expression and a cheeky response, Cloe couldn’t stop shaking her head in both directions.

“Not that. Thank you for something else.”

“Oh, really?”

The man’s eyes lowered, staring intently at Cloe. As if anticipating her next words.

“For making me Cinderella.”

Gradually, the arms that enveloped her entire body tightened. It was quite a passionate reaction for the repercussions of a single word.

Cloe turned her body slightly, facing the man.

“I love you, Cloe.”

With a persistent gaze, the two bodies entwined deeply, exploring each other silently.

It was on a certain day, at a certain moment.

In a quiet room where only the sound of breathing was heard. In such an endlessly boring place, Cloe stared absentmindedly outside.

“Is he okay?”

As she gazed at the landscape outside where a snowstorm was raging, Cloe inevitably thought of a certain man.

Her husband, who was powerful enough to be indifferent to such disasters.

Beyond the window, Inyoung looked faintly white. To figure out the identity of the figure, she swept her fingers across the window. The outside scenery became clear where the fingerprints had brushed past.

A narrow field of vision that could be covered by just one finger. People running vigorously, bravely defying the storm-like disaster.

The one standing at the forefront. The one approaching with a pitch-black mantle. The one proudly displaying the flag of the prestigious Friede Imperial Family.

Kun Friede.

The lord of the empire and Cloe’s husband was returning to the hero’s battlefield.

As soon as the emperor reached the imperial palace, he sought his wife.

“Cloe!”

He effortlessly embraced Cloe, who had been waiting at the gate, and gently kissed her forehead.
Due to Dylan’s criticism that he needs to be more careful, the dance of happiness quickly came to a halt. Although the stern face, accusing him of not expressing affection to his wife, changed in an instant. Soon after, he carefully lowered Cloe to the ground as Dylan had suggested. A gaze filled with excitement followed. The hands, stained with tension, trembled for a while before finally landing on the Empress’s belly.

Fin