The two returned to their room and started preparing to sleep a bit early.

Reus, who came out of the bathroom late, sat at the end of the bed and quietly watched Roel drying her hair. Then, with a deliberately casual expression, he casually spoke up.

“You seemed to be having a long conversation with Teron earlier.”

“Ah…”

It was clear to anyone that he was curious about what they talked about. Roel also quickly discerned his intention. However, after pondering for a while, she soon glossed over it.

“Just… this and that. It wasn’t anything special.”

To put it nicely, it was appropriately evading the question, but in reality, it was no different from blatantly avoiding it.

But Roel also had her own reasons.

‘What if I accidentally make a mistake while trying to make up a plausible excuse.’

Especially when talking with Reus, she often got unintentionally drawn in and made promises she didn’t intend to or added words she never even thought of.

If it was a trivial matter, she would have sat beside him and chattered on and on, but the conversation with Teron from beginning to end was only about Reus.

In particular, since she indirectly revealed her feelings in the process, it felt even more awkward to talk about the contents of the conversation.

However, it’s not like she could make up an excuse by bringing up something that might anger Reus if he heard it.

Roel eventually circumvented and told Reus, who still looked curious, that she no longer wanted to talk about it.

“We didn’t have any special conversation, so I have nothing more to say.”

“…I see. I understand.”

Reus answered more nonchalantly than expected. However, Roel’s reaction, which seemed unable to clearly explain something, had already made him uneasy inside.

‘Could it be that she asked Teron for something again. What is it this time?’

Previously, Roel had asked Teron to return money in her name so that she could freely use it anytime.

Just hearing that made him very anxious, but now he couldn’t even know what kind of request she made this time, so he became very restless.

In a brief moment of distraction, it felt like Roel would suddenly leave without a word. On the other hand, it was very… disappointing that Roel, who never used to hide anything, was keeping a secret from him.

‘What on earth could she possibly have to hide from me, the person closest to her, when she can tell Teron?’

And it stimulated a certain emotion hidden deep within Reus’ heart. However, it soon disappeared without a trace, so Reus was completely unaware of the change taking place inside him.

‘It’s not like I can openly ask…’

As always, what he was most curious about was Roel’s trip to Velliais, but he could no longer bring up that topic himself.

If he directly brought it up like last time, it was obvious that Roel would think he wanted her to leave.

Reminding himself that if he hastily mentioned it and made her uncomfortable, she might leave him earlier than expected, he suppressed his feelings.

‘As expected, it’s better to avoid the Velliais story in any way.’

Soon Reus lowered his head weakly and looked at his palm.

Earlier, Roel clearly hesitated for a moment before holding his hand. Her slightly different expression from usual and her hesitant gestures full of hesitation could not be erased from his mind no matter what.

Reus silently sighed. And he raised his head again to look at Roel’s back.

The woman reflected in the mirror had her gaze lowered, lost in thought.

He only took in that sight for a very brief moment, but the anxiety he had barely suppressed seeped into Reus’ heart and shook violently.

Not knowing that Reus was anxiously looking at her back, Roel was pondering what Teron had said earlier.

[“What’s so important when you’re going to part ways anyway. Perhaps the most important thing is maintaining an appropriate distance. Both in the relationship and the entangled truth.”]

She had not realized it until she opened up her heart a little, but the guilt that had been silently growing since Reus regained his strength was now dawning on her.

And the fact that she seemed to have given more of her heart to Reus than she had thought.

Although she had no immediate plans to do anything, Teron’s words lingered in Roel’s mind for quite a while.

* * *

We spent most of the remaining two days on the cruise resting. And finally, on the last day, we arrived at the Leveren Kingdom across the ocean.

As soon as we got off the cruise, the intense sunlight pouring down from above greeted us. Even just standing for a very short time, the breaths we inhaled and exhaled quickly became stuffy.

‘Leveren is hotter than I thought.’

The Assilyt Empire has relatively low humidity, so it was difficult to feel the heat unless it was midsummer. But the Leveren Kingdom was different.

Facing the occasional wind that made breathing stuffy, it felt like being trapped in the peak of summer.

At the same time, however, it wasn’t bad as the complicated thoughts that had been filling my head these days seemed to melt away in the heat.

The clear blue sky without a single cloud, the leaves gently swaying in the light breeze, and the people leisurely passing by in light clothing. The weather made the exotic scenery feel even more real.

But that was short-lived, and after walking a bit, I started to sweat profusely. Unable to bear the heat, I unknowingly fanned myself with my hand as I moved forward.

Fortunately, not long after, we were able to board a carriage sent by the Leveren royal palace. The inside of the carriage maintained a cool temperature thanks to the magic stones.

Soon the carriage slowly increased its speed. The scenery flashing by the window was unique.

Unlike the capital of the Assilyt Empire with relatively tall buildings lined up, most buildings in the Leveren Kingdom were only up to 3 stories tall, and even those were few and far between. Most of the buildings in sight consisted of 1 or 2 stories.

And interestingly, there were really many white-colored buildings. Looking at the white buildings bathed in the bright sunlight, even ordinary streets felt as beautiful as a midsummer landscape captured on a canvas.

And soon, not too far away, the Leveren royal palace started to come into view.

The royal palace also had a distinctly different architectural style from the Assilyt Empire. If the Assilyt imperial palace was the epitome of splendor and grandeur, the Leveren royal palace had a much stronger image of being somewhat simple yet clean.

Captivated by the unfamiliar scenery as if I were a tourist, I suddenly glanced at Reus, who was quiet today.

‘He doesn’t seem to be in good condition since earlier…’

Actually, he had been looking unwell for the past few days.

After Reus was able to get a good night’s sleep, we usually woke up around the same time together.

But last night, he seemed to be tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep easily, and this morning, he was already up and ready much earlier than me.

Even if it was just one day of poor sleep, his complexion looked so bad that I kept worrying. But his mood seemed noticeably down, so it was hard to talk to him easily.

Hesitating for a while, I carefully spoke to Reus, who looked too stuffy, out of concern.

“Reus… are you perhaps tired?”

Normally, he would have immediately denied it and told me not to worry too much. But the usual nonchalant answer did not come back. Only a faint smile that seemed to say it wasn’t something to worry about came in return.

* * *

As soon as we got off the carriage, the king and queen of Leveren approached us as if they had been waiting. Among them, the woman with blonde hair tied up high took bold steps and came right in front of us.

The woman, who gave a very lively and bright impression, introduced herself briefly with a somewhat playful smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Helen. You said your name is Roel, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Soon, Helen lightly touched her cheeks to both of my cheeks.

I already knew that Leveren was an open-minded country, but I was surprised by the sudden skinship and my body stiffened a bit. But then, all of a sudden, Helen hugged me tightly!

“If we’re talking about being happy to meet, I should be the one saying that more? I never imagined I would actually get to meet Reus’ wife in person. I was truly looking forward to today’s meeting. Thank you so much for visiting the palace, Roel.”

As expected from someone who served as the knight commander of the Leveren Kingdom before becoming the queen, her body was very firm. From the arms wrapped around my back to the upper body pressed against me, muscles could be felt everywhere we touched.

But perhaps because Helen’s strength was so great, my body gradually felt crushed and it became difficult to breathe.

Just as a suppressed groan was about to escape, Reus slightly pulled me away, allowing me to break free from the immense pressure.

“Take it easy, will you.”

After hearing Reus’ gentle voice these days, his tone sounded cold and indifferent, making me feel a bit strange.

Then, Helen, who seemed to have pursed her lips tight in disappointment, said,

“Do you think I’ll devour your wife or something? You’re still prickly even after getting married, as always.”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since we met, so don’t be like that, Reus. You know how much Helen has been waiting for this day.”

The reason they could speak so casually with the king and queen ruling a country was due to the deep bond between the three that had lasted for quite a long time.

I heard that since the Assilyt Empire and the Leveren Kingdom are allies, they often go on expeditions together. It was nice to see that the three of them, who had met on the battlefield from a young age, still maintained a good relationship.

Especially since I never even imagined Reus would have close friends, they felt even more welcome to me.

Of course, Reus didn’t show any signs of being particularly happy to see them.

‘But judging from his tone that isn’t cold, he definitely feels comfortable with Claude and Helen.’

And then, this time, King Claude approached me.