“Y-Yes.”

“And……”

Snow glanced up at Orbis, then quickly lowered his eyes.

“If there’s anyone who doesn’t respect Lady Litania, you should properly admonish them.”

“Hmm……”

Would Herna or the imperial family members really listen to Litania’s admonishment? It seems like it might lead to a fight instead since they wouldn’t understand. However, knowing Snow’s concern, Litania smiled and patted the boy’s head.

“I understand. I’ll handle it well. You take care too, Snow? Don’t pick fights with anyone.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, alright. Then stay well until I return.”

“Yes. Have a safe trip, Lady Litania.”

Snow took a step back and bowed politely, not like her old friend but truly like a close servant attending to the mistress.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Receiving farewells from Snow and over a hundred others, Litania departed the Dragon Castle with Orbis.

He lightly lifted Litania’s body and whistled. The surrounding scenery smeared in one direction like wet paint, then a new landscape unfolded.

“Oh, Orbis? This isn’t the imperial palace?”

“The ball is in the evening, isn’t it? Litania, you didn’t get to see the lycoris parade last year, did you?”

When she was in the imperial palace, she couldn’t leave, so she couldn’t see the event held in the capital’s square. Confetti and flower petals were scattered on the wide boulevard, and wagons full of flowers could be seen rolling by in lines.

“Wow, it’s beautiful!”

“They call it the wedding of flowers.”

“It does look like that. Just like a mass wedding.”

A carriage filled with white and yellow flowers in full bloom passed by, followed by another carriage abundantly packed with vibrantly colored flowers.

The coachmen driving the flower carriages wore brightly colored clothes and wielded their whips, while the attendants sitting next to them blew horn signals, to which the musicians on the boulevard continued their performance.

After watching the procession full of flowers, the two slipped into the streets.

Orbis’s magic, which drastically lowered facial recognition, was effective this time as well.

Nevertheless, due to Orbis’s exceptionally tall stature, people passing right by them would sometimes shrink back in surprise with a “Eek!”

“Litania, is there any food you’d like to eat?”

“Hmm… Waffles. The simplest basic style!”

Pepper’s cooking is truly excellent, but when having luxurious meals at the Dragon Castle, sometimes you crave this kind of cheap street food. And at a street festival like this, I don’t really want to eat fancy food anyway.

Orbis purchased a crispy baked waffle from a food stall and handed it to Litania.

The outer surface of the waffle wrapped in thin paper was crispy and warm, and when she took a bite, hot steam rose and moist syrup seeped out abundantly.

“Is it to your liking?”

“It’s delicious. We can’t eat things like this in the Dragon Castle.”

“I’ll have Pepper make it.”

“What? No, don’t!”

High-class chefs have strong pride, wouldn’t they consider it an insult to be asked to make such cheap food?

Of course, there was that movie where a first-class chef saved his life by making a cheeseburger, but still.

“Orbis, look, there seems to be an exhibition over there.”

“Shall we go take a look?”

In the open space, easels of various sizes were set up with different paintings hung on them. After looking at landscape and abstract paintings, the two saw a crowd gathered in front of an artist doing portraits.

“Litania, do you want to get a portrait done?”

“No. They can’t distinguish faces anyway, right?”

If they asked for a portrait while under the magic that prevents recognition, the artist would be confused. Besides, they had to go to the imperial palace anyway, so there was no reason to increase their luggage.

“I see. Then I’ll draw your portrait for you next time.”

“Orbis, you know how to draw too?”

“Sometimes pictures are more efficient than words for recording past events.”

“…Are you saying you keep a picture diary?”

As Litania tilted her head, Orbis chuckled and pulled her closer by the waist.

“I was so desperate for something to ease my longing during the times I couldn’t meet you.”

It seems he consoled his loneliness by looking at her portrait when he couldn’t visit her due to work.

If he had said so earlier, she would have gone to his room to show her face even for a short while. Litania felt a little sorry and hugged Orbis’s waist.

‘Wow, his waist is thick!’

He looked slim and slender, but his shoulders were so broad that in contrast, his waist only appeared thin, but being a man’s waist, it was incredibly firm.

‘Moreover…’

The fact that she was embracing a man became too vividly apparent, and Litania, feeling embarrassed, quietly let go. Noticing her reddened ear tips, Orbis’s fingertips lightly touched her earlobe.

“You can keep hugging me.”

“No. It’s embarrassing.”

“I’m the one being touched, so why are you, the one doing the touching, embarrassed?”

“…Because Orbis looks too composed, it made me feel embarrassed instead. Happy now?”

“Oh my.”

Orbis sighed as if regretful.

“From now on, I’ll have to practice being embarrassed too. To satisfy my capricious beloved.”

“Haha, that’s enough.”

Litania, her mood lightened a bit by the joke, rubbed her still-warm cheeks and took Orbis’s hand.

“Let’s go see the fountain.”

The large fountain on the left side of the square was also spraying more spectacular streams of water than usual to welcome the festival. Colorful artificial flowers were floating on the water, and beneath them, coins thrown by people could be seen sinking.

“People here also make wishes by throwing coins into the fountain.”

“Litania, do you have a wish you’d like to make?”

“Long life and good health, wishes for success, happiness attainment?”

“Those are difficult words. What do they mean?”

“It means I want to be with you.”

Always like now, I want to have enjoyable experiences with Orbis. I hope this moment continues where we don’t have to be sick, sad, or think about complicated things.

‘May the end of this love be successful.’

At this point, the possibility of suddenly going crazy and rolling into a bad ending is slim. Of course, I can’t be completely at ease, but right now, Orbis was a completely different being from the male leads I knew in tragic novels.

A future where Orbis hurts Litania and mercilessly slaughters the people around her will never come.

“Hehe, shall we go back now?”

“Litania, you didn’t throw a coin.”

“I’m penniless right now, you know.”

Because she had sent the luggage carriage to the imperial palace, she was broke. Judging from the waffle he bought earlier, Orbis seemed to have cash on him.

“Then I’ll throw one.”

Orbis took out a gold coin and lightly flicked it with his finger.

Though it didn’t seem like he used magic, the shining gold coin easily fell into the lotus decoration at the center of the fountain.

“May this time continue forever.”

“Haha, is that the same wish as mine?”

“We have the same heart, after all.”

They looked at each other and shared a smile.

It was a spring day filled with warm happiness.

As the sun set and darkness fell, a dazzling wave of light began to flow through the already splendid banquet hall of the imperial palace.

“Have you heard? At this spring ball…”

“The Duke and Duchess of Aeternitas will be attending, right?”

Because the Divine Dragon is a more noble being than the Emperor, when nobles mention Orbis in his absence, they call him ‘Duke of Aeternitas’ instead of ‘Divine Dragon Orbis’.

Carelessly calling him the Divine Dragon could be seen as disrespecting the Emperor, who sits in the most glorious position in the empire.

“Last year, I could only see him from afar.”

“I’m envious that you even saw him from afar. I missed last year’s ball because I was down with a seasonal cold.”

“So, was he as beautiful as the rumors say?”

“No matter how I describe it, it won’t compare to seeing him in person.”

“Oh ho.”

Conversations filled with mutual interest and expectation were exchanged among the ladies and gentlemen. Instead of the Emperor who doesn’t attend official events or the Crown Prince and imperial grandchildren they always see, interest was higher in the Divine Dragon, whose silhouette is hard to catch except at special occasions like this.

Unless he completely reveals himself, expectations were further amplified because there are records of him unusually frequenting the imperial palace for a long period from spring to summer last year.

“Now that he’s married, he’ll show his face more often, right?”

“I think so. He’s married to the Imperial Princess, so he’s part of the imperial family now.”

“From the guardian deity of the imperial family to a family member, you mean.”

When Divine Dragon Orbis was the guardian deity of the imperial family, it was difficult to even dare mention his name, but just by becoming the husband of the Imperial Princess and the Emperor’s son-in-law, he somehow felt more approachable.

Now, among them, Divine Dragon Orbis was not some untouchable, supreme being, but felt more like a mysterious wizard or a king from a very distant foreign land.

“But the Duchess…”

“You mean the Imperial Princess, right?”