‘Wow….’

It was a loose and casual attire never seen before in Yongseong.

He was wearing a thin light gray shirt, with few wrinkles and long drapes that faintly revealed the lines of his open upper body.

The darker gray cotton pants were slightly thicker but looked breathable. As Litania confirmed the silhouette spreading widely along his long legs, she quietly marveled, thinking that with legs that long, even pajamas look like designer clothes.

“Magnificent…”

“Litania seems to like this attire.”

“What? No, that’s not…!”

“I like your pajamas too.”

At Orbis’s response, Litania quickly covered her chest, then startled, lowered her arms. Her neck was flushed red.

“Mine are just ordinary pajamas…”

“You’re beautiful, Litania.”

Litania was wearing an ivory pajama dress made of feather-light chiffon. Fortunately, it wasn’t see-through, so there was no need to cover herself.

‘Clearly no skin is showing, so why do I feel so embarrassed?’

Litania kept touching her tingling ears with her fingertips, then said in a small voice.

“Let’s go to bed.”

At first glance, it looked like a large altar with a blanket spread over it and pillows placed on top, but up close, the bed surprisingly looked comfortable.

On both sides of the bed were embedded magic stones emitting a pale yellow light, making the atmosphere of the space even warmer.

‘We’re going to sleep together here…’

The bed was so large that it wouldn’t be cramped, but the problem was that it might be uncomfortable in a different sense.

“Litania.”

As Orbis approached and sat on the edge of the bed, Litania’s body trembled. Her heart was pounding heavily.

“O-Orbis. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“We came to this imperial palace as a married couple, didn’t we?”

“Only officially!”

Flustered, Litania quickly grabbed a large pillow from behind and used it as a shield between him and herself.

Even though she knew that such a fluffy and soft pillow could never be a real shield.

“No, no!”

As Litania shook her head with a flushed face and shouted, Orbis chuckled softly.

“Alright.”

“…”

He’s agreeing so easily?

As Litania looked up at him with wide eyes, Orbis gently stroked the pillow between them with his fingertips.

Her body jolted.

“You don’t have to be so tense. I told you, didn’t I? That I would do as you wish.”

“Ah…”

“But the night is long. You’re not going to sleep right away, are you?”

“Um, no.”

She wasn’t sleepy yet. Should she have some tea then? But drinking tea might make it harder to fall asleep.

“Shall I draw a picture for you?”

“A picture?”

“I noticed you were watching the portrait painter earlier today.”

Come to think of it, she did mention that. Orbis had offered to draw for her himself.

Litania had never seen a picture drawn by Orbis. But since he was offering to draw for her, it seemed he was quite skilled.

Well, it made sense since he would have learned various talents over his long life.

“Hmm… Alright! It’s not like we’re going to sleep right away.”

Litania gently pushed aside the pillow she had been clutching like a shield and sat up straight.

“How should I sit? Is a formal posture too unnatural in pajamas?”

“However you wish.”

Orbis got up from the bed and walked to the study corner, opened the desk lid and took out a few sheets of paper. He brought a white canvas placed under the blotter and a pencil, then sat down at a distance from Litania and began to draw.

‘Just like that? Should I not move while he’s drawing?’

Litania stiffened her body slightly, then thought it might be better to assume a natural pose and relaxed a bit, but then returned to her original position, thinking that changing her posture often might interfere with the drawing.

Orbis skillfully held the pencil and began drawing lines on the paper. His hand moved quickly, sketching the contours of Litania’s face.

The pencil moved smoothly across the paper.

It was closer to slowly revealing a precious subject hidden beyond the paper, rather than drawing an existing subject through touch.

As the scratching sound of the pencil intensified, Litania’s eyes, nose, mouth, and her soft cheeks were drawn.

Litania sat quietly while Orbis was drawing, observing the gentle movement of his hand and appreciating the scratching sound of the pencil on the paper.

It was a romantic night, enjoying the fragrant plants under the clear moonlight.

‘But…’

There was one strange thing. Throughout the drawing, Orbis never once looked at Litania, keeping his gaze fixed on the paper as he moved his hand.

“Orbis, are you really drawing me?”

“Would you like to check?”

Orbis drew the final line and put down the pencil.

Litania crawled on her knees across the bed and plopped down on the edge, and Orbis handed her the canvas.

There was Litania in her pajamas.

“You draw so well…”

Litania marveled at the portrait, examining the delicately drawn image of herself.

“You must have an amazing memory to draw this well after just a glance, Orbis.”

“I do remember longer than humans, but I don’t remember everything either.”

“But you didn’t look at me even once while drawing…?”

As she finished speaking, Litania carefully examined the picture again.

Upon closer inspection, there was a difference.

While Litania’s face was perfectly captured, her attire was different.

Litania’s actual pajamas had a round neckline with shirring below the chest and small frills at the end, but in the picture, Litania’s pajamas had frills on the shoulders and long pleats from the chest, appearing more comfortable.

“I see. You can draw my face without looking because you see it all the time, but you relied on memory for the pajamas, so they’re different!”

“You have a keen eye. That’s correct, I relied on memory for that part.”

“Haha. You could have just looked and drawn. Still, you drew the face so well. Orbis, you’re really talented.”

Litania chuckled and held up the picture to catch the moonlight, then lowered it with a satisfied expression.

“Orbis, can you teach me how to draw too?”

“I could teach you, but…”

“But?”

“You’re the only thing I know how to draw. I’ve never drawn anything else.”

“Oh…”

That means he must have started drawing at least since meeting her. So in less than a year, he became able to produce such a perfect drawing?

“Orbis, you really are very talented.”

“Not really. I’m slower compared to humans.”

“I don’t think many people could become this skilled in just a year?”

As Litania tilted her head, Orbis turned his gaze and softened his expression.

“It took me a long time too. I needed a reason to endure for an incredibly long time.”

Litania couldn’t understand what Orbis was saying. Was he saying he had years of experience observing and learning?

Either way, it was amazing and even touching that Orbis could draw her image so perfectly.

“I’m happy, Orbis. I’ll cherish this for a long time.”

Orbis smiled happily at Litania’s words.

“Shall we sleep now?”

“Wha-!”

Orbis pulled Litania’s shoulder and laid her down on the bed. They lay side by side, looking up at the ceiling.

The stars in the pitch-black night sky were pouring down on them.

“…It’s beautiful…”

“I like that place because it still contains nature.”

“You’re right. It’s nice to be able to see the sky.”

“If you like the sky…”

“Flying can wait for next time.”

Litania turned her body slightly and gave Orbis a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Even I’m flustered when you do this so suddenly.”

“Haha. Then I should make you even more flustered.”

Litania gave Orbis a quick kiss on the other cheek, then rubbed her nose against his while smiling.

“Good night, Orbis.”

Litania very lightly, barely touching, pressed her lips against his and then lay down beside him again. Then she closed her eyes and fell into a light sleep.

“…”

Orbis slowly blinked his eyes, then turned his head to look at Litania’s sleeping face.

Her face, glowing white under the starlight of the night sky, was lovely enough to completely erase the unpleasantness of this artificial scenery.

“Why do you keep making me so happy?”

Orbis gently brushed Litania’s bangs with his fingers.

As he gently rubbed her round forehead with his fingertips, she smiled and shook her head slightly, as if tickled.

“Good night, my love.”

Orbis closed his eyes, listening to the sound of water, the gentle rustling of vines, and Litania’s soft breathing.

It was a night more sparkling than the stars.