The moment when all thoughts are about to volatilize in Medea's head as she receives the kiss.
"Handsome man, why haven't you heard from your wife to see her condition? Do you know how laborious it is to boil medicine soup? What else is it like? The owner is going to call you. Oh my god-!"
The hostess, who looked stern, grumbled and inadvertently opened the door. Then, when he saw the two of them tangled together, he jumped up angrily.
"Oh no! I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I even do what I used to do."
Medea, who had come to her senses, hurriedly pushed Cesare.
"No, ma'am!"
Then, she followed the mistress.
"I just woke up a while ago, and he checked on my condition. I was going to go down right away."
While adding a rather urgent excuse that is not usual.
Creaak. The door was closed.
The gust of wind pushed away the heat that filled the empty room.
"..."
Only then did Cesare look down at his throbbing upper body.
Blood was seeping into the bandage around his upper body.
"Hah."
Cesare swept his thin face.
He had an irrepressible regret and squeezed his fingers.
On the other hand, he thought it might be better to pour cold water on the fire that was burning up in an Instant.
***
Evening time when the sun went down.
"Eat a bite. It's a soup made with herbs used as a tonic and boiled to the fullest. There's nothing better than driving away the cold of the snowy mountains and making your stomach feel better."
The harsh but acceptable hostess seemed to take Medea's clumsy excuse as an immature deviation of a young couple.
'Ha. I'd rather move on like this... I'll get better.'
Medea swallowed a sigh.
It really wasn't like her just now.
While thinking so, she put the back of her hand on her cheek. It still felt like her cheeks were on fire.
Instead of asking any further, the mistress scooped up the steaming soup and pushed it in front of Meden.
"Hmph, I don't know what it is about the man who made you suffer so much that makes you cling so tightly to him, well."
The hostess also glanced at Cesare, who came down shortly after.
Only the middle-aged man, who did not know anything, tilted his head.
He immediately checked on Cesare's condition and nagged him, asking what he had done to burst the wound that was healing.
"...Thank you very much. My wife and I saved our lives thanks to the two of you."
While eating, Medea offered a reward to the landlord, Mr. Jenkins, and his wife.
However, the couple refused to accept it.
"It's done. I don't know why you came to this rough place, but God must have guided you to find my house."
The owner and his wife, who came to live in this remote place after serving as a council member in the capital, did not disclose their detailed history.
And Medea and Cesare, too, said that they were just a young couple who had traveled, but they didn't seem to believe much.
'His appearance and attitude must be from a noble family.'
Mr. Jenkins observed a young couple eating quietly.
He doesn't know much about etiquette, but there was nothing wrong with it.
Even if he looked closely, the eye-catching etiquette of a good man and a good woman was not unusual.
And the wounds that the man suffered... It's definitely not something that an ordinary person can wear.
There is no way that a criminal will be poisoned or threatened with assassination.
Mr. Jenkins had seen the high-ranking nobles several times.
The young man in front of him exuded an arrogant and precarious aura, like the highest person he had ever seen, the Northern Emperor.
"Anyway. It's hard to send a message to the group until the blizzard stops. It's a canyon in front of here, so it's hard to find a single rat cub in the snow."
Mr. Jenkins muttered that it was even more miraculous that Medea had found their home.
"I'll stay here until I recover. My wife agreed."
"That's right. It's not even suitable, and it's so good. My husband and I only use the first floor anyway, so let you use the second floor. We'll never go upstairs, so don't worry at all from now on."
Mrs. Jenkins winked at Medea as if she knew everything.
"..."
Medea hesitated for a moment, then chose to keep her mouth shut.
In any case, the Jenkins couple carefully helped Medea and Cesare with treatment and rehabilitation.
Mr. Jenkins's herbs were so effective that the poison that had remained in Cesare's body had long since disappeared.
Cesare glanced at Medea's pale complexion and nodded silently.
"Then, I'll take care of you a little."
After dinner time, her eyes stopped.
Mr. Jenkins came out into the yard and gave the young couple a seat in front of the bonfire, which was still alive.
"There's no need to go out tonight, so you can come back after getting some fresh air and looking at the stars. The mountains are rugged, but there are a few places closer to the stars than here."
Then, after holding each wooden glass containing steaming tea, the couple went inside...
"..."
Once again, an awkward aura swirled between Medea and Cesare.
This is because there was a heat between the two that had not completely subsided, like the embers of the bonfire that heated the air.
"It's still windy."
A heavy weight fell on Medea's shoulders.
Cesare wrapped Medea's shoulders with a blanket he had brought from somewhere.
"...It's hot."
"I'm doing it even though I'm tired. You just got up from your seat."
In his voice, she could feel the concern for Medea.
"..."
Silence ensued again.
Still, it wasn't uncomfortable.
From then on, Cesare became a comfortable partner with whom Medea could share her silence.
"Dea."
At that moment, Medea raised her head at the voice calling her.
"...I'm always sorry for letting you step into Katzen."
On a dark night when the two of them were alone, an apple was suddenly handed to them.
It was a different kind of sincerity from the fear he had confessed in the room a moment ago.
"Why?"
Why is he apologizing?
"If it weren't for me... You are here... What about coming back? It would never have been."
Cesare's answer was low and heavy.
Medea was far away.
"..."
She didn't answer.
Oracle, Evil Dragon, and Jason.
Numerous events occurred before he walked back to Katzen.
Can they attribute the cause of all of this to one Cesare?
In any case, Cesare himself seems to think so.
"So."
Contrary to his usual languid voice, she could tell from swallowing his breath in between that he was carefully choosing what he was going to say.
"I'm going to leave Katzen."
Medea paused. She looked back at him as if she doubted her ears.
"I'm going to be independent. Medea, so that you and I, the two of us, can remain by each other's side. I don't need any purpose or cause anymore."
"What is that..."
"...This Katzen was a sore land for you, ah... So, I want to change. I hope you will live in a warm and sunny place. Of course, I'm with you next to you."
Medea was momentarily speechless.
What is he talking about now?
"...Cesare, I don't understand what you're talking about now."
"I'm saying I'm going to be Independent."
Cesare said casually.
The lightly scattered voice made what he said sound like it wasn't a big deal, but she knew better than anyone else that the meaning behind it wasn't.
"Can you give up on that? You've spent your whole life trying to become an Emperor, to be the master of this empire. Are you going to give up just because of me?"
"You know it's not just that. I didn't even know it would be like this. But it's clear. Medea, I will not sit anywhere and hold your hand for the rest of my life, rather than sitting on the throne without you."
Medea was momentarily speechless.
"You're going to have to start all over again. Do you know that you have to let go of everything you've built up so far?"
"It doesn't matter. If I hadn't been prepared for that, I wouldn't have even thought about it."
He kissed the back of Medea's hand. The warmth on her skin was like a burn that could not be erased by anything.
"So, Medea. I'm courting you. Don't abandon me."
"...You are not a person who can live as a criminal."
"Who said I would become a criminal?"
Cesare laughed.
The corners of his beautiful mouth were filled with the arrogance characteristic of Cesare, which she knew.
"Dea. I'm going to be where I want to be in the end. It's just that it will take a little longer. So there's no need to feel guilty. You just let go of my hand."
"...You'll regret it. It's not such a simple and hasty decision."
"In that cave, when I thought it was the last, it became clear. My dream hasn't changed. My ambitions and wishes are the same. I'm just... dea, I'm just going to go with you."
However, a deep heat exuded from his golden eyes. Medea was suddenly at a loss for words, with a monotonous voice.
"So, stay by my side. You chose me."
"..."
No one in the world looks better with the Emperor's crown than Cesare.
For half his life, he has been running towards Katzen's throne, and now he is only a few steps away from it.
Nevertheless, Cesare said that he would only throw away that glory for Medea.
Such a sober and astute person would not know what to pay for it.
Only Katzen, for the sole reason that this vast land would be hard for her.
Knowing the price and the weight, Medea did not dare to say anything.
"..."
Hear rushed to the corners of her eyes. She bit her lip because she was about to cry bitterly.
"Medea. I will never regret your choice for the rest of my life."
He slowly leaned down on one of Medea's wrists so that it wouldn't hurt.
When they touched each other again, there was a bitter, salty taste.
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