Delia blinked her eyes, riding on Aaron’s back.

His back, which seemed so vast as to be dismal when she tried to jump over it, now felt so warm and solid when she leaned against it.

Through the body in contact, she could hear Aaron’s pleasant voice.

“Let’s go hunting together. The royal hunting ground is really wide, so people who come for the first time often get lost.”

His voice was unrealistically sweet, tender, and smooth.

“I’ll guide you, so don’t worry. When I was a child, my brother and I practically lived there, so I know it even with my eyes closed.”

All of this was possible if she abandoned Iorenti.

But…

There was no way she could abandon Iorenti, where her grandfather and parents were, and every stone was precious.

“Commander. That’s not what I wanted.”

The wind from Mount Tarence softly brushed Delia’s cheek as she murmured as if to be heard or not.

Thanks to that, Aaron’s body heat transmitted through his back felt even warmer.

Delia, who had been blinking in the dreamlike tremor, quietly called out to Aaron.

“Commander.”

“Why?”

“That flower over there, I really like it.”

Delia stretched out her hand long and pointed somewhere.

The guards following quietly at the sound of Delia’s voice were startled.

That prisoner, no, princess.

Again with the flowers.

Dyke and his men unknowingly stepped toward the flowers.

“Stop.”

Aaron stopped his men who were about to walk toward the flowers.

“I’ll get it.”

Aaron blocked his men who were habitually going toward the flower, and went to where the flowers were blooming.

He carefully put Delia down on a flat rock and smoothed her disheveled cloak.

As he tidied up her fluttering hair, he stared into Delia’s blue eyes. Then, Aaron turned his body and started to pick the flowers.

“The only commander of the empire is going to pick it himself?”

Delia blinked her eyes in surprise.

“You act like you can’t do it even if you die, but you’re good.”

Even if Delia made fun of him with a weak voice, Aaron just silently picked flowers.

Each flower was picked as carefully as if he were stroking Delia’s hand.

His silver hair gently fluttered among the grass and flowers swaying in the wind.

Aaron, bending down and picking flowers, seemed so beautiful that she would never forget.

“Thank you.”

Delia, who received Aaron’s bouquet, inhaled the scent of the flowers that resembled the faint scent of apple.

Only then did a bright smile rise on Delia’s face.

“Do you like flowers that much?”

“Yes. They’re pretty. You have to feed them when you’re anxious.”

At Delia’s bright expression, Aaron softly smiled, his eyes softening.

At first, he suspected her intentions.

He thought it was a signal to his men, but it wasn’t.

He suspected there was a geographical trap, but there was nothing unusual.

Seeing her bright smile, all his suspicions were in vain.

If you could soothe an anxious mind with flowers, he could have picked all the flowers in the empire.

Delia, who was looking at Aaron’s smile, offered the flowers.

“Commander, you worked hard picking flowers. Want to try some?”

Aaron shook his head as he dusted the dirt off his hands.

“I’m satisfied just looking at it. I don’t have a hobby of eating flowers.”

When Aaron refused, Delia’s face brightened like a white flower.

“That’s really too bad.”

Aaron showed a puzzled expression at her brighterthanever smile.

“Why are you smiling so brightly when I refused? Let me try. Seeing that expression, I think I really should eat it.”

“I’ve had enough. The opportunity has passed. I’m not going to give you even a blade of Iorenti grass.”

Delia, as if to be snatched by Aaron, quickly took the flowers and put them in her mouth.

She began to chew the flowers with her red lips.

The neatly lined white flowers trembled slightly.

Aaron watched her in silence.

Anywhere, in any situation, she was a fearless princess.

Her confident appearance, as if she had regained her original self, gave Aaron a sense of relief.

Yes. Even though it’s tough now, she will live confidently as time passes.

In Aaron’s territory.

“Commander. Isn’t this flower really pretty? Fairies are said to use this flower as a cup when they have parties.”

“If you eat the cup like that, the fairies will be sad.”

Aaron’s eyes naturally flowed to the beautiful flowers.

It sounded like a clear bell, like Delia’s voice.

He was captivated by the sight of the white flower buds being sucked one by one into Delia’s mouth.

The contrast between the red lips and the pure white flowers was vivid in Aaron’s retinas.

“But, Commander. Do you know the meaning of this flower?”

“I have no interest in the language of flowers.”

“It’s a pity you’re not a romantic. It’s a flower that lovers who are in love because of its beauty give each other.”

“It doesn’t matter if I can’t have a romance. I’ll be getting married soon.”

At the mention of marriage, Delia hardened her face, seemingly at a loss for words, and stared into the far sky.

Marrying the enemy’s commander.

The thickly spread ashy clouds dyed Delia’s eyes.