Side story 05. Love letter
Anna found the letter when she went on a summer vacation to the Verdier Castle. She was playing around with the old piano that her mother had used, and she found a corner of paper between the desk and the wall. Anna put her slender fingers in and pulled out the old letter.
“...His Excellency Duke Damian Ernst von Tisse.”
Anna looked out the window at Declan, who was fighting with Weiss. Declan had started learning swordsmanship with a real sword since he was nine. At first, he had sparred with his father. Because of his enthusiasm, the sword flew through the air several times, and eventually, for the sake of his anxious mother, her brother's swordsmanship teacher was changed to Count Weiss. It was a good thing for Anna. Damien fought Anna himself when her mother was not looking.
“Declan is becoming more and more clueless.”
Anna muttered as if she were talking to herself, then leaned against the window and read the letter carefully. The letter was half-written, and the end had been erased with ink, but there were more than one or two interesting parts. What was most interesting was that the letter’s owner had never seen this letter, which was clearly written in her mother’s handwriting. Anna was the one who discovered it.
“Hehehe!”
Anna folded the letter carefully and headed to the room where her mother had spent her childhood. The King and Queen were drinking tea in that cramped room, as if it were their first time. It was where her father had proposed to her or something.
“Princess, where are you going in such a hurry?”
Declan returned from his duel with Weiss and looked at her with a knowing look.
“I’m going to make a deal with His Majesty the King. Would you like to come with me, Prince? It’ll be really fun.”
“What kind of prank are you trying to play on Dad again?”
Declan pretended to be an adult, like an older brother. Anna whispered in his ear.
“I found an old letter. But the contents are a bit strange.”
“Look here.”
"No."
Anna giggled and ran up the stairs. Declan had no choice but to follow her, frowning, for fear that she might fall. Anna reached Chloe's virgin room and made a noise at the door.
“Your Majesty, the King, Your Majesty, the Queen. This is Diana.”
“Come in.”
As the door swung open, Damien and Chloe, who were sitting on the old sofa drinking tea, looked at Anna.
“Declan came too. What’s going on?”
“Your Majesty, Princess Diana of Swanton has an important message for you.”
Anna's formality was always because she had some ulterior motive. Damien nodded, raising his golden eyebrows.
“Try it."
“Would you mind sending Declan and me to Auntie Duchy’s house this winter? It’s also the time when Sophie goes home.”
“Anna.”
Damien's voice lowered a tone, sternly. He didn't like the idea of sending only the Prince and Princess on a trip. Above all, Damien didn't like the people of the duchy. He even planned to marry Sophie, whom the children loved and followed, to a nobleman in Swanton. As if he had anticipated his displeasure, Anna stretched her lips sideways.
“Well, if you refuse, Your Majesty will regret it greatly.”
“Is this a threat?”
“I’m just telling you the truth. I found a treasure.”
Chloe sipped her tea and looked at her daughter. She looked exactly like her, but when she spoke to Damien in a brash manner, she was often surprised by her personality.
“I do not allow you to travel.”
"Your Majesty?"
Chloe's eyes widened as the unexpected words fell from Damien's mouth.
“There’s no way I could refuse a bet with a face that resembles you.”
Anna was in the middle of a silent cheer as she looked at Declan. Damien asked her again, raising both arms in the air in admiration.
“So, what are you going to give to your father?”
Even Damien expected Anna to hand him an acorn she had picked up in the garden or a pebble of a mysteriously different color. But what his daughter handed him was different from what they had expected. Anna let out a fanfare with her lips, “Bam-bap-bap-bam,” and then pulled out an old letter from her bosom. Her hazel eyes, just like Chloe’s, sparkled.
“A love letter that you could not reach when King Tisse was a Duke! The sender is Her Majesty the Queen!”
Anna was dragged out of the room by Declan, feeling aggrieved. As soon as Declan confirmed that the letter Anna had found belonged to her mother, he bowed his head to his parents and apologized on behalf of his sister. According to Declan's theory, Anna was trying to make a deal with her father using something that was not hers, so the deal itself would not go through.
“You don’t want to go to the principality?! You wanted to go too!”
Declan spat out, holding Anna, who was crying, in his arms as if he was a piece of wood.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the duchy.”
Chloe shook her head silently, recalling Anna's tearful face. Where on earth did she find something like this? A smile spread across her face as she held in her hands an old letter she had completely forgotten about.
Chloe got up from the bathtub. The letter she had read several times was starting to get damp at the tip. She lit a candle in front of the mirror and stood a little distance away to dry the letter. She was carefully warming the candle so as not to burn it when she heard the door open behind her.
“You don’t have to wait on me today...”
Chloe's side profile as she turned around to reject the maid was slightly raised. It was because she had spotted Damien coming in wearing a gown.
"Your Majesty."
The bathroom in the Verdier Castle was tiny. It was even more outdated than the palace. Chloe tried to put on the gown she had draped over the old chair, but Damien stopped her.
“Stay the same.”
“Have I been here too long?”
“The old saints even recommended that couples bathe together.”
She's never heard an adult say something like that. It was clear that Damien was scamming again.
“...Who is it?”
“I forgot your name.”
I knew it. Chloe headed for the bathtub, barely covering her body with her loose hair. No, she tried to head for it.
“Come here.”
Damien grabbed her slender shoulders and turned her around lightly. Chloe had no choice but to face the mirror. She looked quite primitive, having just gotten out of the bathtub. Compared to her, Damien, in his robe, seemed very polite. Chloe asked Damien, who was staring at her reflection in the mirror, with slightly pleading eyes.
“I’m embarrassed. Why are you doing this?”
“Is combing something embarrassing?”
Damien, who responded calmly, picked up the brush placed on the large mirror shaped like a dressing table and slowly began to comb her hair. Her long hair was wrapped around the brush and gently released repeatedly. Damien was a person who could delicately move his entire body if he wanted to. Chloe, who knew this fact well, quietly watched Damien slowly combing her hair. A cuckoo could be heard through the slightly open window. The bright moonlight of the summer night poured in through the window without any emptiness, sufficiently illuminating the dark room.
“It certainly seems like the castle is very old. I’m glad the kids like it, though.”
“I gave orders to maintain it in its original form as much as possible.”
"Why?"
As Chloe blinked slowly, Damien placed the hairbrush on the low side table.
“Because every place is filled with memories of you.”
Damien's answer was plain, but Chloe blushed without realizing it. Damien slowly lowered his head behind her and looked up at the mirror. At the end of his intense gaze, a slightly lower voice flowed out slowly.
“Do you know you are beautiful?”
"No."
Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head quietly. Damien smiled dangerously, as if he didn't like her answer.
“Let me know?”
It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. It was like being with a beautiful mythical snake that came silently, wrapped itself around her body, and when she came to her senses, left her unable to move. He hugged her body gently but firmly, and he bit into Chloe's delicate nape.
“Don't do that.”
"What."
As he continued to kiss her in one spot, she grew hotter and hotter. With her upper body flushed, Chloe turned her face slightly to the side and asked a question. She had to ventilate Damien. She knew better than anyone how poorly soundproof the Verdier Castle was, having been born there and lived there for over twenty years.
“Where did you go with the kids?”
“Night walk. I went to the forest.”
“I see.”
The forest closest to the castle was left as the mines were developed, so the castle of Verdier still has a small forest. Ever since they heard the story that it was the place where the King and Queen first met, the children loved going to the forest.
“Anna is really sad, isn’t she? She must have been excited to finally be able to travel to the Duchy.”
“Declan preached well and got to the point.”
“What did he say?”
“If I had sent a letter to my father first and asked him when he was in a good mood, he might have agreed.”
Chloe's shoulders shook as she laughed softly. The image of Damien and the twins walking and talking through the night forest unfolded before her eyes as if she were picturing it. Damien continued to explain the situation as if he had read her mind.
“But Anna laughs and fights back at Declan.”
"How?"
“She's saying that because she hasn’t read the letter.”
“What does that mean?”
Chloe asked with a shrug, and Damien smiled, his lips twisting slightly mischievously.
“The content of the letter was a bit strange. It was like a letter from a granddaughter to her old grandfather.”
“No way...!”
As Chloe blinked, seemingly taken aback, Damian reached out and picked up the letter.
“Shall we check it together?”
“Yes, I like it.”
Chloe read the letter together with Damien in her arms. Damien began to analyze it, unable to hide his smile.
“Yes, that was wrong from the start, Chloe. You should have said ‘dear’ instead of ‘respected.’”
“That’s ridiculous. How can you write ‘dear’ from the beginning?”
“Was it true that you respected me, then? It was a lie anyway, so who would care?”
Chloe was left speechless. Damien continued talking happily, looking at her neat handwriting without a single smudge of ink.
“Besides, if you write out the entire name, it sounds stiff. Instead of writing it like this, you should have shortened the title.”
“I thought you would like to be formal, since you were a soldier.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Chloe. This is how you distance yourself from me. I'm a duke. You're the powerless, beautiful daughter of a Viscount.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and slipped out of his arms. She walked carefully toward the bathtub before her wet body dried and her body temperature dropped. Instead of chasing after her, Damien took off his robe and dropped it. After Chloe had soaked in the bathtub, he slowly entered the bathtub. Chloe bit her lip slightly as she saw that he was still holding the letter in his hand. It seemed that Damien would continue to tease her.
“Anna’s point is also here. ‘It’s already been three months since I came back from Swanton.’ Haha.”
“...Are you saying that it’s strange that I haven’t written to you for three months?”
“Of course I did. According to Anna, you were reluctant to write for a hundred days, but then finally got the urge to pick up the pen.”
Damien really liked the look on Chloe's face when she was hiding her awkwardness.
“Anna looks dull, but why is she so quick-witted in that regard?”
“Whose daughter do you think that child is?”
She had not yet told the twins that their parents' first meeting had been quite a spectacle, thinking that they would learn it naturally as time went on. The story of the royal couple was still a great source of entertainment for the people of the market.
“You might think I couldn’t write because I was nervous.”
“They say the rest is even funnier?”
“Which part?”
“It’s probably the same here. ‘The summers where I am are famous for being hot’ part.”
Damien continued, shaking his head.
“It was strange that you were suddenly emphasizing the heat in a letter during the sweltering summer. As if you were telling me not to even dream of coming. Declan laughed at that part too. He added, ‘I guess Mom didn’t know Dad enjoyed the hot sun.’”
Thanks to her highly analytical family, Chloe felt like she had found a diary rather than a letter.
“I’m sorry, but can we stop now...?”
Chloe looked at Damien, her pretty brown eyebrows furrowed. Damien laughed, folded the letter, and dropped it on the chair next to the bathtub.
“Yes. Come here.”
When Chloe, who was facing him with her knees bent, did not move easily, Damien pulled her body towards him. The force of the water filling the bathtub caused it to splash and spill onto the floor.
“Chloe, my love.”
"Yes."
“Will you destroy Anna’s theory?”
Chloe covered Damien's face with her wet hands, feeling annoyed at his bangs that were not wet at all.
“How?”
“Actually, I was dying to write you a letter.”
Wouldn't it be better to be honest than to make up a lie? Chloe took a deep breath and opened her mouth to whisper.
“It’s true that I wanted to write a letter. But I felt like I shouldn’t write exactly what was on my mind.”
“Tell me now with your own mouth. What did you want to write?”
“Shout out to that scoundrel Duke.”
Damien rested his arms on his head, letting out a sound that was neither a sigh nor a laugh. Chloe couldn't stop talking because she found the way his eyes were squinted annoying.
“Is having a lot of money the answer? Is having a lot of power the answer? If you cared as much about your personality as you did about your pretty face, your reputation on the ground would have risen by a little bit... Mom...!”
Chloe couldn't help but close her mouth in surprise as her vision suddenly shot up. It had been years since she had called out for her mother, but given the location, she felt she could get an absolution.
“You told me to be honest.”
“Who said what?”
Damien held her half-lying in the water, muttering.
“Keep going.”
Chloe tried to get up by placing both hands on his broad shoulders, but Damien was leaning forward more and more, so she couldn't get up as easily as she wanted.
“Were you so happy that you took advantage of my weakness in Rose Castle? Were you relieved to see me finally kneel?”
“You know I wanted to kiss you.”
“I didn’t know then. Not at all.”
Damien gently stroked her calf. Chloe whispered softly, not hiding her love-struck eyes.
“I know now.”
Clang. The water in the bathtub rippled once more. The nights in Verdier were hot, and the water didn't cool down easily even in the summer. Chloe whispered softly to Damien, who was embracing her.
“The kids’ room is close to here.”
“Ah. Then Your Majesty, you must be careful not to raise your voice.”
The sound of splashing water was a little louder. Chloe followed his words and pursed her lips, gasping for breath. Damien whispered in her ear.
“I didn’t know if you actually wrote the letter.”
“I told you so.”
“Then you should have sent it.”
“Before I was born, someone came to me with a very hot body.”
“Three months is enough time to wear out my patience.”
It was the same now. Damien smiled lowly and kissed her wet face. He was glad to finally have the letter in his hands after such a long time. He thought it would be good to ask her to write a letter tomorrow.
Anna found the letter when she went on a summer vacation to the Verdier Castle. She was playing around with the old piano that her mother had used, and she found a corner of paper between the desk and the wall. Anna put her slender fingers in and pulled out the old letter.
“...His Excellency Duke Damian Ernst von Tisse.”
Anna looked out the window at Declan, who was fighting with Weiss. Declan had started learning swordsmanship with a real sword since he was nine. At first, he had sparred with his father. Because of his enthusiasm, the sword flew through the air several times, and eventually, for the sake of his anxious mother, her brother's swordsmanship teacher was changed to Count Weiss. It was a good thing for Anna. Damien fought Anna himself when her mother was not looking.
“Declan is becoming more and more clueless.”
Anna muttered as if she were talking to herself, then leaned against the window and read the letter carefully. The letter was half-written, and the end had been erased with ink, but there were more than one or two interesting parts. What was most interesting was that the letter’s owner had never seen this letter, which was clearly written in her mother’s handwriting. Anna was the one who discovered it.
“Hehehe!”
Anna folded the letter carefully and headed to the room where her mother had spent her childhood. The King and Queen were drinking tea in that cramped room, as if it were their first time. It was where her father had proposed to her or something.
“Princess, where are you going in such a hurry?”
Declan returned from his duel with Weiss and looked at her with a knowing look.
“I’m going to make a deal with His Majesty the King. Would you like to come with me, Prince? It’ll be really fun.”
“What kind of prank are you trying to play on Dad again?”
Declan pretended to be an adult, like an older brother. Anna whispered in his ear.
“I found an old letter. But the contents are a bit strange.”
“Look here.”
"No."
Anna giggled and ran up the stairs. Declan had no choice but to follow her, frowning, for fear that she might fall. Anna reached Chloe's virgin room and made a noise at the door.
“Your Majesty, the King, Your Majesty, the Queen. This is Diana.”
“Come in.”
As the door swung open, Damien and Chloe, who were sitting on the old sofa drinking tea, looked at Anna.
“Declan came too. What’s going on?”
“Your Majesty, Princess Diana of Swanton has an important message for you.”
Anna's formality was always because she had some ulterior motive. Damien nodded, raising his golden eyebrows.
“Try it."
“Would you mind sending Declan and me to Auntie Duchy’s house this winter? It’s also the time when Sophie goes home.”
“Anna.”
Damien's voice lowered a tone, sternly. He didn't like the idea of sending only the Prince and Princess on a trip. Above all, Damien didn't like the people of the duchy. He even planned to marry Sophie, whom the children loved and followed, to a nobleman in Swanton. As if he had anticipated his displeasure, Anna stretched her lips sideways.
“Well, if you refuse, Your Majesty will regret it greatly.”
“Is this a threat?”
“I’m just telling you the truth. I found a treasure.”
Chloe sipped her tea and looked at her daughter. She looked exactly like her, but when she spoke to Damien in a brash manner, she was often surprised by her personality.
“I do not allow you to travel.”
"Your Majesty?"
Chloe's eyes widened as the unexpected words fell from Damien's mouth.
“There’s no way I could refuse a bet with a face that resembles you.”
Anna was in the middle of a silent cheer as she looked at Declan. Damien asked her again, raising both arms in the air in admiration.
“So, what are you going to give to your father?”
Even Damien expected Anna to hand him an acorn she had picked up in the garden or a pebble of a mysteriously different color. But what his daughter handed him was different from what they had expected. Anna let out a fanfare with her lips, “Bam-bap-bap-bam,” and then pulled out an old letter from her bosom. Her hazel eyes, just like Chloe’s, sparkled.
“A love letter that you could not reach when King Tisse was a Duke! The sender is Her Majesty the Queen!”
Anna was dragged out of the room by Declan, feeling aggrieved. As soon as Declan confirmed that the letter Anna had found belonged to her mother, he bowed his head to his parents and apologized on behalf of his sister. According to Declan's theory, Anna was trying to make a deal with her father using something that was not hers, so the deal itself would not go through.
“You don’t want to go to the principality?! You wanted to go too!”
Declan spat out, holding Anna, who was crying, in his arms as if he was a piece of wood.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the duchy.”
Chloe shook her head silently, recalling Anna's tearful face. Where on earth did she find something like this? A smile spread across her face as she held in her hands an old letter she had completely forgotten about.
Chloe got up from the bathtub. The letter she had read several times was starting to get damp at the tip. She lit a candle in front of the mirror and stood a little distance away to dry the letter. She was carefully warming the candle so as not to burn it when she heard the door open behind her.
“You don’t have to wait on me today...”
Chloe's side profile as she turned around to reject the maid was slightly raised. It was because she had spotted Damien coming in wearing a gown.
"Your Majesty."
The bathroom in the Verdier Castle was tiny. It was even more outdated than the palace. Chloe tried to put on the gown she had draped over the old chair, but Damien stopped her.
“Stay the same.”
“Have I been here too long?”
“The old saints even recommended that couples bathe together.”
She's never heard an adult say something like that. It was clear that Damien was scamming again.
“...Who is it?”
“I forgot your name.”
I knew it. Chloe headed for the bathtub, barely covering her body with her loose hair. No, she tried to head for it.
“Come here.”
Damien grabbed her slender shoulders and turned her around lightly. Chloe had no choice but to face the mirror. She looked quite primitive, having just gotten out of the bathtub. Compared to her, Damien, in his robe, seemed very polite. Chloe asked Damien, who was staring at her reflection in the mirror, with slightly pleading eyes.
“I’m embarrassed. Why are you doing this?”
“Is combing something embarrassing?”
Damien, who responded calmly, picked up the brush placed on the large mirror shaped like a dressing table and slowly began to comb her hair. Her long hair was wrapped around the brush and gently released repeatedly. Damien was a person who could delicately move his entire body if he wanted to. Chloe, who knew this fact well, quietly watched Damien slowly combing her hair. A cuckoo could be heard through the slightly open window. The bright moonlight of the summer night poured in through the window without any emptiness, sufficiently illuminating the dark room.
“It certainly seems like the castle is very old. I’m glad the kids like it, though.”
“I gave orders to maintain it in its original form as much as possible.”
"Why?"
As Chloe blinked slowly, Damien placed the hairbrush on the low side table.
“Because every place is filled with memories of you.”
Damien's answer was plain, but Chloe blushed without realizing it. Damien slowly lowered his head behind her and looked up at the mirror. At the end of his intense gaze, a slightly lower voice flowed out slowly.
“Do you know you are beautiful?”
"No."
Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head quietly. Damien smiled dangerously, as if he didn't like her answer.
“Let me know?”
It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. It was like being with a beautiful mythical snake that came silently, wrapped itself around her body, and when she came to her senses, left her unable to move. He hugged her body gently but firmly, and he bit into Chloe's delicate nape.
“Don't do that.”
"What."
As he continued to kiss her in one spot, she grew hotter and hotter. With her upper body flushed, Chloe turned her face slightly to the side and asked a question. She had to ventilate Damien. She knew better than anyone how poorly soundproof the Verdier Castle was, having been born there and lived there for over twenty years.
“Where did you go with the kids?”
“Night walk. I went to the forest.”
“I see.”
The forest closest to the castle was left as the mines were developed, so the castle of Verdier still has a small forest. Ever since they heard the story that it was the place where the King and Queen first met, the children loved going to the forest.
“Anna is really sad, isn’t she? She must have been excited to finally be able to travel to the Duchy.”
“Declan preached well and got to the point.”
“What did he say?”
“If I had sent a letter to my father first and asked him when he was in a good mood, he might have agreed.”
Chloe's shoulders shook as she laughed softly. The image of Damien and the twins walking and talking through the night forest unfolded before her eyes as if she were picturing it. Damien continued to explain the situation as if he had read her mind.
“But Anna laughs and fights back at Declan.”
"How?"
“She's saying that because she hasn’t read the letter.”
“What does that mean?”
Chloe asked with a shrug, and Damien smiled, his lips twisting slightly mischievously.
“The content of the letter was a bit strange. It was like a letter from a granddaughter to her old grandfather.”
“No way...!”
As Chloe blinked, seemingly taken aback, Damian reached out and picked up the letter.
“Shall we check it together?”
“Yes, I like it.”
Chloe read the letter together with Damien in her arms. Damien began to analyze it, unable to hide his smile.
“Yes, that was wrong from the start, Chloe. You should have said ‘dear’ instead of ‘respected.’”
“That’s ridiculous. How can you write ‘dear’ from the beginning?”
“Was it true that you respected me, then? It was a lie anyway, so who would care?”
Chloe was left speechless. Damien continued talking happily, looking at her neat handwriting without a single smudge of ink.
“Besides, if you write out the entire name, it sounds stiff. Instead of writing it like this, you should have shortened the title.”
“I thought you would like to be formal, since you were a soldier.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Chloe. This is how you distance yourself from me. I'm a duke. You're the powerless, beautiful daughter of a Viscount.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and slipped out of his arms. She walked carefully toward the bathtub before her wet body dried and her body temperature dropped. Instead of chasing after her, Damien took off his robe and dropped it. After Chloe had soaked in the bathtub, he slowly entered the bathtub. Chloe bit her lip slightly as she saw that he was still holding the letter in his hand. It seemed that Damien would continue to tease her.
“Anna’s point is also here. ‘It’s already been three months since I came back from Swanton.’ Haha.”
“...Are you saying that it’s strange that I haven’t written to you for three months?”
“Of course I did. According to Anna, you were reluctant to write for a hundred days, but then finally got the urge to pick up the pen.”
Damien really liked the look on Chloe's face when she was hiding her awkwardness.
“Anna looks dull, but why is she so quick-witted in that regard?”
“Whose daughter do you think that child is?”
She had not yet told the twins that their parents' first meeting had been quite a spectacle, thinking that they would learn it naturally as time went on. The story of the royal couple was still a great source of entertainment for the people of the market.
“You might think I couldn’t write because I was nervous.”
“They say the rest is even funnier?”
“Which part?”
“It’s probably the same here. ‘The summers where I am are famous for being hot’ part.”
Damien continued, shaking his head.
“It was strange that you were suddenly emphasizing the heat in a letter during the sweltering summer. As if you were telling me not to even dream of coming. Declan laughed at that part too. He added, ‘I guess Mom didn’t know Dad enjoyed the hot sun.’”
Thanks to her highly analytical family, Chloe felt like she had found a diary rather than a letter.
“I’m sorry, but can we stop now...?”
Chloe looked at Damien, her pretty brown eyebrows furrowed. Damien laughed, folded the letter, and dropped it on the chair next to the bathtub.
“Yes. Come here.”
When Chloe, who was facing him with her knees bent, did not move easily, Damien pulled her body towards him. The force of the water filling the bathtub caused it to splash and spill onto the floor.
“Chloe, my love.”
"Yes."
“Will you destroy Anna’s theory?”
Chloe covered Damien's face with her wet hands, feeling annoyed at his bangs that were not wet at all.
“How?”
“Actually, I was dying to write you a letter.”
Wouldn't it be better to be honest than to make up a lie? Chloe took a deep breath and opened her mouth to whisper.
“It’s true that I wanted to write a letter. But I felt like I shouldn’t write exactly what was on my mind.”
“Tell me now with your own mouth. What did you want to write?”
“Shout out to that scoundrel Duke.”
Damien rested his arms on his head, letting out a sound that was neither a sigh nor a laugh. Chloe couldn't stop talking because she found the way his eyes were squinted annoying.
“Is having a lot of money the answer? Is having a lot of power the answer? If you cared as much about your personality as you did about your pretty face, your reputation on the ground would have risen by a little bit... Mom...!”
Chloe couldn't help but close her mouth in surprise as her vision suddenly shot up. It had been years since she had called out for her mother, but given the location, she felt she could get an absolution.
“You told me to be honest.”
“Who said what?”
Damien held her half-lying in the water, muttering.
“Keep going.”
Chloe tried to get up by placing both hands on his broad shoulders, but Damien was leaning forward more and more, so she couldn't get up as easily as she wanted.
“Were you so happy that you took advantage of my weakness in Rose Castle? Were you relieved to see me finally kneel?”
“You know I wanted to kiss you.”
“I didn’t know then. Not at all.”
Damien gently stroked her calf. Chloe whispered softly, not hiding her love-struck eyes.
“I know now.”
Clang. The water in the bathtub rippled once more. The nights in Verdier were hot, and the water didn't cool down easily even in the summer. Chloe whispered softly to Damien, who was embracing her.
“The kids’ room is close to here.”
“Ah. Then Your Majesty, you must be careful not to raise your voice.”
The sound of splashing water was a little louder. Chloe followed his words and pursed her lips, gasping for breath. Damien whispered in her ear.
“I didn’t know if you actually wrote the letter.”
“I told you so.”
“Then you should have sent it.”
“Before I was born, someone came to me with a very hot body.”
“Three months is enough time to wear out my patience.”
It was the same now. Damien smiled lowly and kissed her wet face. He was glad to finally have the letter in his hands after such a long time. He thought it would be good to ask her to write a letter tomorrow.
First, let’s enjoy the moonlight of the night as long as possible. The sound of the waves lapping grew louder like a dream. It was a long summer night.
<End>
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