“I went to meet you. I was surprised to find the bed empty.”
“You went to the Canary Room?”
“I thought I lost you again. If I couldn’t chase after your fragrance, my heart might have burst.”
Deep wrinkles formed on Nicolai’s forehead.
The expression that had comforted me by finding him and worried me at the same time looked grim.
At the moment I saw that expression, my stiffened mind gradually softened.
“Actually, I also went to Her Majesty.”
“In this attire?”
Nicolai scanned me with an unsatisfied look.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the thin slip, delving into what lay beneath.
Unconsciously, I tightened the shawl.
It couldn’t cover my flushed face, though.
“You keep doing dangerous things. What if something happens?”
“Could there be any danger inside the palace?”
“Still, you should be careful. You’re too reckless.”
Muttering, Nicolai took off his jacket.
Nicolai’s scent enveloped my shoulders.
Covered in his clothes, which were larger than mine, I felt like a small child.
Unbeknownst to Nicolai, I subtly absorbed the faint scent from his jacket.
“Tell me every detail of who you met while coming and going.”
Nicolai ordered seriously.
“What are you planning to do?”
“I can’t let a lady who will become the queen roam around in such attire.”
“It’s proper sleepwear!”
The voice raised significantly.
Nicolai stubbornly insisted.
“In the eyes of men, that’s what it is. It looks provocative enough.”
Provocative?
When there are no gaps or see-through areas?
“Who would wander around wearing only underwear?”
I retorted, raising my hand to my waist.
Nicolai, who had been nibbling on his lips, hesitated and wrapped his arms around me.
“Your Majesty?”
His heart was pounding like a boy running at full speed.
My pulse quickened, too.
Through the thickening silence, he touched his lips.
“I want to see only you.”
The low pitch, mixed with a sigh, tickled my ears.
A warm sensation surged in my abdomen.
The hand on my waist, the turquoise eyes looking down at me—what they wanted was unmistakable.
“I want everything about you, alone. Your hair, eyelashes, cheeks, nose, lips…”
His touch moved gradually.
He stroked my head, caressed my eyelashes, tickled my cheeks, and poked my nose and lips.
A strange shiver passed through my entire body.
Late at night, the imperial garden was filled with the not-yet-blooming scent of roses.
“I love you, Elizabeth.”
With that single phrase, reason crumbled.
The soul I had tightly held onto seemed to fly away.
A piece of long-suppressed tears welled up.
‘This dream, which will probably disappear tomorrow…’
That a man I loved loved me with the same intensity.
Such a miraculous event was happening.
It felt more ecstatic than receiving the gift of a new life.
People cry when they are too happy.
I realized that belatedly, but I endured it.
In this long-awaited moment, I didn’t want to show tears.
“I regretted it insanely. Proposing without any gifts, turning up the dust.”
His voice was filled with regret.
Gathering all the courage inside me, I bit my lip.
“I regretted it too. Not accepting your proposal right away…”
My two cheeks blushed like a boiling kettle.
It felt like something that had been hanging on the nape of my neck was flowing down.
“Then, will you marry me?”
Nicolai looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it.
Relief and joy overflowed in his trembling pupils.
“…Yes.”
I answered, pressing down my bursting heart.
I didn’t want to delay it any longer.
I wanted to end the tiresome misunderstandings.
I also wanted to affirm my desire for him.
“I have many rings at home. The one that represents Your Majesty’s sincerity is the most beautiful.”
“….!”
“Will you become my husband, Your Majesty?”
“You will be the most wonderful husband in the world, Elizabeth!”
Nicolai’s eyes glistened with moisture.
My eyes, too, were unexpectedly wet.
“I thought I didn’t deserve to have you.”
“I also thought I shouldn’t be greedy for Your Majesty.”
So we always missed each other.
Afraid of getting hurt, afraid of being rejected.
Both of us were a bit cowardly, and because of that, we were hurt for a long time.
“I believed that I had to let you go. To a man who only looks at you, unlike me, a complicated man…”
He confessed, trying to ease his fear.
With tightly clenched hands, I answered.
“I was afraid that Your Majesty might be using me. Afraid that someday, I might lose my value…”
The first meeting on the terrace, the first kiss of that day, were stamped in my memory.
The moon was as bright as that day.
The tension, as if something was about to explode, and the dizzyingly intense atmosphere were the same.
Above all, what remained unchanged was Nicolai’s eyes, shining as if absorbing everything about me.
“I couldn’t give up on you. I wanted to keep you, Elizabeth, the woman, by my side for the rest of my life.”
Nicolai’s lips approached slowly.
Further conversation was meaningless.
“Your Majesty…!”
“Elizabeth!”
Without anyone saying who should go first, we pulled each other close.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
