"You don't have to dance in these high heels. From the next ball, wear what you normally wear. Or, you can wear something comfortable like slippers."
"Phew. What is that?"
Julia burst into laughter, tickledy the joke-like words and the hands that entered her soles and relaxed her muscles.
At the same time, she felt a sense of secret satisfaction at the strange situation in which the King of a country was kneeling and serving his Queen.
That King, was known throughout the continent for being arrogant and cold-hearted.
"It's nothing. Everyone dances if they want to. Of course, I have to endure that much."
"Why do you have to 'obviously put up with it?"
Endymion raised his head, her feet firmly propped up on his knees.
"Ever since you were little, you never said no, you never said you were sick. You always said it was okay, it was natural."
"I am..."
Julia was taken aback and couldn't continue speaking.
"I've waited a long time. The day you tell me your true feelings. Whenever you tell me, I'll change the law to do whatever you want, but you've never done that before. In the end, I finally heard it for the first time on the day of your coming-of-age ceremony."
"..."
"Don't hold it in. If it hurts, say it hurts. If it's hard, say it's hard. If you don't like it, say you don't like it."
Julia, speechless, stared blankly at the wall that seemed to be swallowing her up.
No one had ever said anything like that to her. Not her father, who loved and cared for her, nor the gentle and affectionate Killian.
Everyone just tried to console her by telling her to just endure it.
"My feet really hurt."
"Just do a little more and then rest."
It was like that even just a moment ago.
"My feet hurt because of those shoes!"
The circumstances were different, but the reactions she got when she said her feet hurt were the same.
"Don't put up with it."
Coincidentally, the two were contrasted. Both were meant for her, but the words that struck her heart were, of course, the latter.
"..."
Something deep inside her stirred. Something agitated seemed to surge up and soak her from head to toe, not just her body but her soul.
Julia clenched her fists, unable to continue speaking, and the hem of her dress wrinkled.
Endymion placed Julia's tired feet on his thighs and reached out to take her hand.
The strength in his hands naturally went away.
"But I am the Queen..."
A faint tremor came from her clear voice. Julia was confused.
Up until now, all she's learned is patience. She's been cut down to fit the norms and rules, and she's been praised as the perfect Queen.
For 12 years, she's been hiding her true feelings as if they were nothing more than a passing fad.
"Please, don't hold back."
In Julia's shaking eyes, there was a blue eye without a trace of agitation. Endymion was looking at her with eyes like a huge, calm sea.
"Because you are more important."
At that moment, Julia realized.
The reason why she did not regret her choice as a child. The reason why she naturally became attached to her husband, whom she chose after seeing only one portrait, and was able to live with him for 12 years.
'Because he's this kind of person.'
It was the first time that anyone had told her that she was more precious and important than the Queen's honor or strict rules.
So that's why she feels like crying right now.
"Mion."
But Julia didn't cry.
At the clear voice calling his name. Endymion's stiff face gradually loosened.
Julia smiled brightly, seeing the smile of spring sprouting from the frozen winter ground.
"Thank you."
The person who said this to me, this man, is my husband.
Julia whispered, rolling her eyes.
"..."
Endymion, who had been staring at the night sky filled with stars and the girl smiling within it, slowly got up from his seat.
Meanwhile, Julia smiled brightly and playfully wiped Endymion's hand with a handkerchief she took out of her bosom. She wetted it with a small bottle of water placed on the corner of the table and cleaned it.
"What if you touch other people's feet like that? You'll get your hands dirty."
"It's not dirty."
She tried to tease him out of gratitude, but Endymion pretended not to hear her and grabbed her hand.
Then he took a small velvet box out of his bosom and handed it to Julia.
"This is..."
Julia opened it with both hands and let out an exclamation.
A sparkling diamond in the shape of an upside-down water drop. Topped with small violet diamonds resembling her eyes, it resembled a crown.
The milgrain gold surrounding the diamond was a delicate work that she had never seen before, and it was obvious at first glance that it was the work of a top-class craftsman. In addition, it sparkled like starlight whenever the angle was slightly changed, and it matched well with the elegant joint of the ring and the sculpture.
The ring was more splendid and beautiful than the most precious jewels she owned, or even any treasure she had ever seen...
"Mi-on, is this by any chance..."
"Coming of age gift."
As Julia watched with a look of rapture, Endymion answered with a satisfied look on his face, took out the ring, and gently took hold of her left hand.
"What should I do, I haven't prepared anything..."
Julia muttered regretfully. There was something she had originally thought about, but there had been so many incidents that shr had completely forgotten about it.
"It's okay."
"What should I give you? Tell me anything. I'll give it all away..."
Julia answered with a flushed face, then suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Endymion was pulling the gold ring off her fourth finger. As if he had been practicing the act of removing it, the ring she had worn for twelve years was slipping down her finger joint without a feeling.
"Wait for a second!"
Julia stopped Endymion by curling her fingers.
Then Endymion looked at her ask ance.
"What's the matter?"
"Ah... um... I've had this since I was little, so it's a bit hard to take it off..."
"...You can keep that one and just put in a new one."
Endymion responded gently to the hesitant Julia and tried to take off the ring again.
She knew very well that it was an ordinary and shabby piece of jewelry that did not suit the Queen of Semele.
But the problem was that this was a ring that hid magical powers. It was a ring that could never be revealed or taken off because you never knew what would happen!
Julia felt a chill down her spine as if the ring would slip off her finger at any moment, so she quickly reached out her hand.
Bam!
"Here! Your ring goes here."
Julia quickly put a new ring on the fourth finger of her right hand and showed it to him as if telling he to look.
Endymion's frown softened at the sight of the ring, which seemed to fit so well on her long, slender, white finger.
"So that's how it is, huh?"
Julia smiled brightly as if to say that there was no problem and comforted Endymion. She pretended not to notice his gaze alternating between her left ring finger and her right ring finger.
Finally, Endymion, whose gaze had been stolen by her lovely face for a long time, sighed. Then, he kissed the new ring and buried his lips in it, muttering.
"...I want to pretend not to see you because you're pretty."
"Huh?"
Julia flinched at the breath touching her hand and asked back a beat later. Her heart raced again at the word "pretty," and the end of her voice trembled.
But he seemed to have taken it to mean something else, so he raised his head and slightly lifted Julia's left hand.
"I care."
The ordinary ring on her left hand and the beautiful ring on her right hand were contrasted before his eyes.
"I thought it was your father or mother's belongings because you had it with you every single day and wore it even when you slept."
"What?"
"Be honest. Is this a ring that you can't take off?"
"...No? I had it for 12 years, so it would be sad to suddenly take it away, so that's why."
Julia tried to hide her embarrassment and lied confidently. But she was also worried that Endymion might take the ring off while she was sleeping.
For a moment, she thought about ending this awkward situation by telling him about the magic ring. But Julia immediately shook her head.
'I must never get caught.'
It's not that she doesn't trust Endymion, it's just that she didn't want to leave any excuse for the secret to leak out.
Hasn't she been doing well for the past 12 years? If she continued to do the same as before, there wouldn't be any problems, but she didn't want to make Endymion worry and leave him with something to be anxious about.
'I have to make a reason right now, even if it's tonight.'
Julia, who had made up her mind, hid her left hand behind her back as if she was protecting the ring. Then she blinked her round eyes and made an expression that showed that she had no idea.
Endymion, who saw that, muttered into the sunken wall.
"Then, is it a coincidence that he's wearing the same ring as you?"
Gasp.
Julia took a deep breath.
"That's why you were on guard?"
I made a mistake. I should have covered it so that Mion, who is quick-witted, wouldn't see it!
Julia touched her forehead. The situation turned out to be a coincidence, as it happened to be the ring that Killian had given her. However, Julia instinctively felt that talking about this would make things complicated, so she started to refute it.
"Really? I guess it's just a coincidence that the design is the same, yes?"
"Yeah, that's the first time I found out about it."
As Julia began to make her excuses earnestly. Endymion's expression softened and he reached out his hand.
Julia flinched as if her body temperature was about to touch him, and she blatantly pulled away. Endymion lowered his hand and stared at her without saying a word.
'Why are you just watching?'
Julia swallowed dryly with trembling eyes. A few minutes of silence passed, a silence of a completely different meaning than before, as the two simply explored each other.
Finally, Endymion asked softly.
'...Why are you avoiding me?"
"Me, when did I?"
Julia shook her head in denial, but when he next spoke, she froze like ice.
"You keep avoiding my touch. Is it because he's comfortable and I'm uncomfortable?"
“...Ah.”
Only then did Julia realize that she had avoided Endymion's touch again. She had completely forgotten that she had promised herself to get used to it!
Recently, she would be startled and run away if she made even the slightest contact with him, but earlier, she was dancing and talking comfortably with Killian. It was definitely not her intention, but from Mion's perspective, it was a situation that could have been misunderstood in addition to the ring issue.
'But it's not because it's uncomfortable...'
As Julia made a blank expression, Endymion stood up without saying a word and turned around. It seemed as if he was about to open the curtain and return to the ballroom.
Julia, who had come to her senses, hurriedly jumped down from the table and grabbed Endymion's arm.
"Mion! Oh my!"
Julia managed to turn him around, struggling. Endymion looked at her with sunken eyes.
"You dance comfortably with a guy you're not even close to, but you keep running away from me, so you're saying that's a misunderstanding?"
"Yeah, that's definitely not what I meant!"
"Then what on earth is the reason for that...?"
"Because you're a man and he's not!"
Julia's face turned bright red.
The voice shouted in a low voice, did not reach the ballroom where music was flowing, but stayed only Inside the curtain and then dispersed.
"You, whenever you touch me, I get tense and my nerves get on edge. What should I do? I don't feel anything when I hold hands with him, but when you touch me, my body temperature keeps rising and it tickles. That's why I avoid you without realizing it. It's not because you're uncomfortable!"
Julia squeezed her eyes shut and poured out the words that had been on her lips.
"If I really hated you enough to avoid you, I wouldn't have slept with you!"
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