Ludmila, whose legs were starting to ache from the continued festival sightseeing, sighed and released his hand.

Stopping in her tracks, Ludmila wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and observed Aden.

Clearly, despite walking in the same hot weather, Aden didn’t seem particularly hot and hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat.

Rather, he looked so calm as if it were autumn weather, to the point of seeming mysterious.

“Aren’t you hungry? We’ve been going around this place for the third time now. Wouldn’t it be better to eat something? We haven’t even had lunch.”

Ludmila suggested taking a break with a suitable excuse, thinking she might collapse if they walked around more.

“That would be good.”

Is he planning to keep using that formal speech? A chuckle escaped at his behavior of continuing something unsolicited, seemingly enjoying the act of being engaged, but she quietly nodded.

Like others, the two also took seats at a wooden table placed in the square.

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go buy some food.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I went?”

“I don’t think so?”

Ludmila grinned with a sociable smile and pointed to one side. Women were looking this way with sparkling eyes.

“They’re chatty and curious people. Do you think you can go and escape without being caught?”

“… Please go ahead.”

To think there are women’s gazes that could make even the leader of the Khan tribe take a step back.

Ludmila showed a cool smile and then stood up.

She went to the stall where food was being prepared and ordered things Aden might eat, along with fruits and drinks.

As if they had been waiting, women scurried over and took places next to Ludmila.

“Ms. Ludmila. Is it true that man is your fiancé?”

“Wasn’t he said to be a soldier away at war? An Islau soldier? Judging by his accent, he doesn’t seem to be from around here. Is he from the Empire?”

“How long have you been together? 1 year? 2 years?”

Sure enough, a barrage of questions followed from the women, each reciting what they wanted to hear.

Ludmila, now accustomed to their inquiries, deflected them with an appropriate smile and returned to the table with food and drinks after a brief greeting.

“… Aden?”

However, the man who should have been there was gone. No matter how she looked around, he was nowhere to be seen.

Ludmila put down what she was holding and slowly moved, but Aden was nowhere to be found.

For a moment, worry rushed in about whether something might have happened.

Then, a sturdy, large man standing far away caught her eye.

As his jet-black hair, vivid even under the sunlight, came into view, Ludmila swallowed a strange sigh of relief and slowly approached him.

Following his gaze, which was fixed on something to one side, she also lowered her eyes.

“Was this what you drew the other day?”

What Aden was looking at was the guide map Ludmila had drawn.

Though crude for a drawing, it briefly showed information and locations across the entire festival.

Along with cute drawings, there were small bears, wolves, and rabbits drawn, making children giggle as they passed by, saying there were animals.

“Why don’t you consider taking this path as a career? You seem to have quite some skill.”

“Thanks for the positive evaluation. But even people who’ve drawn all their lives can’t find patrons in this field, so I don’t have any particular thoughts about it.”

“Why? You have a patron right here.”

As the gaze slid diagonally, Ludmila raised her head to meet it, and Aden jerked his chin.

A thin smile spread across her lips at his high nose bridge, symbolizing arrogance.

“I’ll sponsor you.”

“I’ll just accept the thought. There’s no point in receiving sponsorship from someone who can’t distinguish between genuine and fake. Don’t you know that the character and personality of the patron are important?”

“That’s disappointing. I thought I didn’t fall short in terms of character and personality.”

“I’m sure you think so.”

Ludmila shrugged and turned away first.

“Let’s go. The food will get cold.”

Aden, who had been silently watching Ludmila’s back as she walked lightly away, looked at the map again.

He thought she only knew how to draw sad pictures, but that wasn’t the case.

Thinking he might have discovered a new side of her, Aden moved towards Ludmila with a smile on his lips.

It seemed about time to head back now. The sun had set, painting everything in rose colors for quite some time already.

Soft red torches, lamps, and lights were lit throughout the village.

People who had been waiting for the sun to set also came out one by one, creating a scene even more boisterous than the morning.

First, cool drinks. Then, cheap wine. Now, even cold beer.

Aden, who had been roaming here and there, holding drinks in his hand in turn, only sat down after Ludmila said she was tired and needed to rest.

“Even festivals are all about business. To think they’d rent out just a simple bench for money.”

A bench that would be packed with just three or four people lying down was more expensive than all the food they had eaten today.

Considering it was made of cheap wood and would likely need to be discarded as soon as this festival ended, it seemed excessively expensive.

Nevertheless, as she sat down and rested her tired legs, Ludmila swallowed a sigh of relief, thinking she might survive.

Ludmila wanted to rest her feet, which were burning from walking on the heated streets.

But there were too many eyes watching to take off her shoes here. That’s when Aden took off his coat.

Then he calmly reached out and grabbed Ludmila’s ankle.

Startled, Ludmila grabbed Aden’s shoulder.

“What are you doing now?”

Golden eyes rolled over to gaze intently at Ludmila.

As her startled eyes trembled like wind-blown flowers, Aden let out a chuckle and moved his hand again to remove Ludmila’s shoe.

As her foot was freed from the stuffy shoe, a cool breeze touched it as if it had been waiting.

After removing both shoes, Aden lifted her feet onto the platform.

As the center of gravity shifted, the long dress that had reached her calves flowed down.

Knees, thighs, and the hollow behind them flowing down.

Embarrassed by her suddenly exposed legs, Ludmila quickly tried to grab her dress, but Aden’s coat covered them.

Carefully raising her gaze, Ludmila saw Aden’s eyes, which had been fixed on her legs, slowly rising.

As their eyes met, his grinning face made Ludmila’s face turn red in an instant, but Aden eased her embarrassment by moving slightly to the side.

“Isn’t that a bit better?”

Freed from the stuffy shoes, her feet could breathe, and the cold platform touching her soles felt like salvation.

However, realizing that Aden was the reason she had abused her feet to this extent, Ludmila’s eyes sharpened.

“Are you giving medicine after causing the illness? If we had gone back early, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Aden swallowed a small laugh at her uncharacteristically grumbling voice.

He nodded, accepting Ludmila’s complaint.

Left with nothing to say as he readily admitted it, Ludmila turned her head away with a disgruntled face.

As comfort arrived after retreating from the ongoing festival site, the scenery at the boundary between darkness and afternoon captivated the eyes.

The people’s sentiments and laughter were quite different from the capital’s festival, which was riddled with splendor.

The humid air seemed to envelop them distinctly.

The trees made sounds in the occasional breeze, and flower petals fell, piling up on the ground.

On the faces of people passing over them, no emotions other than happiness and joy could be read.

It was a scene Ludmila had never seen before.

For Ludmila, a festival had been another name for a banquet and simultaneously a task she had to endure.

As a result, she never had the chance to observe what emotions people were expressing. No, it would be more accurate to say there was no need to.

Most of the nobles who attended banquets and festivals, like herself, would have been wearing artificial expressions all the same.

Ludmila, who had been staring at the festival, turned her head to examine Aden.

His bangs fluttering in the wind. The thick eyebrows visible each time. His golden eyes were invaded by the soft lamplight, taking on a faint red color, and his lips held a gentle smile.

It’s nice.

Although embarrassing, Ludmila liked this appearance of Aden. If she could continue to see Aden smiling like that.

A villa by the flowing river. Aden and herself next to a tree built beside it.

And imagining spending a peaceful day facing the spring breeze blowing from beyond the plateau, holding the hand of a child born between them.

Smiling at the feeling of becoming abundantly rich, but soon realizing the meaninglessness of such imagination, her lips eventually drew a horizontal line.

“How about us too?”

How long had they rested? Aden’s voice dropped in the scenery where even the sunset had completely disappeared and night had arrived.

As Ludmila’s head tilted slightly, Aden jerked his chin.

Far away, people could be seen dancing folk dances centered around a place where firewood was piled high for a campfire.

“I’m fine.”

“Do your feet still hurt?”

“That’s not it, but…”

Ludmila, who had been caressing her feet that had already cooled down after resting enough, hesitated as Aden stood up from his seat.

“Then let’s go.”

“Why the sudden dance?”

“Why? It seems like something all lovers or families do. If we’re pretending to be engaged, shouldn’t we do at least this much?”

“Aden. You’re getting too immersed in this role-play now. We’re not really engaged, you know.”

Ludmila lowered her voice, trying to remind Aden of their relationship.

She hoped he would understand by now and back off, but he grabbed Ludmila’s hand like a child stubbornly insisting.

Her body followed as he gently pulled. Ludmila, who had put on her shoes in a daze, stumbled as Aden led her.

By the time she barely regained her balance, she was mixed in with the crowd of people.

Like others, Aden also held Ludmila’s hand and slowly moved his body.

Ludmila, who had been staring blankly at the man smiling and dancing with his whole body covered in the lights, burst into laughter.

Even a newborn might dance better than that. Unexpectedly clumsy.

Thinking she might have seen a new side of Aden, Ludmila burst into laughter.

“Slowly. Move like this.”

Eventually, Ludmila, unable to bear it anymore, approached him, took his hand, and led the dance.

From afar, faint singing could also be heard.

Not from the orchestra that filled the banquet hall, but a cheerful song so intertwined that it was hard to tell what song it was.

It filled the night scenery of the festival.