Episode 37. Emotions That Must Be Hidden
“Muha!”
A strange man’s voice echoed through the deep forest.
The man, with his waist-length, glossy black hair and muscular physique, seemed unfazed by the frigid northern weather.
Above him, a full moon stretched mysteriously.
“Muha—”
The man shouted again, reaching into the air, then, with his fingers clasped together, whistled.
“Kkiueek—”
A strange cry echoed from far away in the sky, and a giant shadow loomed across the sky.
A grin spread across his masculine, angular jaw.
“It’s late.”
Soon after, a loud, wind-splitting sound was heard, and a condor as big as a house, Muha, landed before him.
“What are you doing now?”
He approached Muha without hesitation and stroked his black feathers.
“Yeah, it’s okay. But I need to get used to it quickly, right?”
He rested his forehead on Muha's crown and muttered something, and Muha's large eyes blinked obediently.
He sang, rubbing the space between the condor's eyes.
"Oooh, sparkling blond hair, eyes even more like the sun. Just looking at them makes me blind."
His voice was sweet.
Muha flapped his wings excitedly at the sound of the song.
He smiled and stroked Muha's feathers.
"Even if Bercheria has forgotten us now, she will remember soon. Don't worry, Muha."
The man's bronze skin sparkled in the moonlight.
"Even if we miss her, let's hold out for a little longer."
Lacrahan lifted Bercheria's small face between his thumb and index finger.
Golden eyes met his, bewildered.
"We must suck out the venom,"
Lacrahan whispered in a low voice.
A snake's puncture mark remained in the center of the small jaw.
There was no time to hesitate.
If the venom spread, the situation would worsen.
"Shhh."
Lacrahan lowered his head and sucked Bercheria's chin.
He felt her body, which had never been startled by anything, stiffen.
Lacrahan supported one side of her body with his leg to keep her from collapsing.
The force of his sucking, so strong that her cheek was sunken, caused a gasp to escape her mouth.
"Ah."
Bercheria's eyes twitched shut tightly as her vision dilated.
Kissing her and having her chin completely engulfed in his mouth were completely different things.
He sucked up the snake's venom and spat it out onto the floor.
As his face drew closer, Bercheria covered Lacrahan's chest with her hand.
"Uh, wait."
"Not yet."
The bite was on her face, so it was dangerous because it could have gone down her throat if she had not been careful.
If her airway had been blocked, she would have had difficulty breathing and could have died.
As she repeated this several times, Bercheria's face turned bright red.
Even if she turned her head, she was still trapped in Lacrahan's arms, unable to escape.
“Would you mind lifting your head?”
He gently lifted Bercheria’s face with his fingertips, guiding her to face him.
“Still, we need to keep an eye on her just in case. She’s completely out of strength now, so she could be even more dangerous.”
Across the tree, Tatiana and the woman were still conversing.
Lacrahan, his gaze fixed on Bercheria, never took his eyes off her.
He carefully observed the line from her chin, which framed her small face, to her long, slender neck.
Bercheria tried not to notice Lacrahan’s gaze.
She tried to focus all her attention on Tatiana, but it wasn’t easy.
All her nerves were focused on where Lacrahan’s gaze landed.
She was flustered by something she’d never experienced before.
Her face flushed with heat, and her heart pounded.
They were so close that he thought he could hear her heartbeat.
“...How long must we stay like this?”
“Just a little longer.”
Lacrahan whispered, his earlobes tinged pink.
“Lacrahan. Say anything.”
The winter forest was quiet, but the wind was so loud that it was difficult to carry a single word.
"Hmm. I was going to talk about this later, but I plan to keep the wedding as simple as possible."
"Oh, yes."
Bercheria's voice trailed off.
The word "marriage" hadn't crossed her mind just a moment ago, but standing so close felt strange.
"Until now, we'd only been together when Timothy called, but from now on, I think we should be together all day."
"It's okay..."
Bercheria tried to say it was okay, but then quietly closed her mouth. She figured it wasn't something someone suffering from a snakebite should be saying.
"I usually wake up at dawn and read in the study or library. After that, I get a schedule briefing from the knights, and then I have breakfast."
Bercheria gulped, swallowing dry air.
Lacrahan, noticing the throbbing in her throat as she moved, slightly tilted his head away to avoid eye contact.
"After that, I patrol the castle. After that, I train with the knights, and in the afternoons, I usually do necessary work for the village or meet with the people."
She already knew he was a busy person.
But the tighter-than-expected schedule felt overwhelming for Bercheria, who always spent her days leisurely.
“We need to be together for every event. That way, it’ll be meaningful.”
“Yes.”
“And one more thing. From now on, I’ll be more lenient. People will find it strange for a married couple to use formal language with their young wife.”
Bercheria lifted her chin, lowering her gaze from the leaves she’d been gazing at to look at him.
“I’m not a young wife.”
“...?”
“I’m Bercheria, the weather goddess.”
He gave a short laugh.
“I know. Just in front of people. For the time being, we have to be seen as husband and wife. Even if it’s uncomfortable, bear with it for a little longer.”
“...Yes.”
Bercheria turned her head, and the round back of her head came into his view.
Lacrahan unconsciously reached out to ruffle her hair, but paused, clutching at the empty air.
He’d already been thinking about stopping talking.
He’d never seen a husband use formal language with his much younger wife before.
There was no need to act strangely.
But now that he’d actually spoken informally to her, he felt strange.
It felt like he was left with only a woman, without the goddess Bercheria.
But this was, after all, his one-sided emotion.
He had to keep it hidden.
Bercheria, unsure of what to say, raised her eyes again to the tree above their heads.
Since her strength had evaporated, she had been experiencing strange tremors and distractions whenever she was with Lacrahan.
Sometimes, when their eyes met, her heart would drop to the floor.
These new sensations weren't so pleasant, so she would sometimes hide from Timothy, who would come calling for her.
Usually, when she followed Timothy to Lacrahan, he would often be working alone, but Bercheria would spend time reading a book or looking out the window.
Sometimes, when she had some free time, Lacrahan would invite her to hold her hand or kiss her.
It was something she did periodically to regain her strength.
At first, she felt nothing from the sense of duty to regain her strength, but as time went by, things changed.
The feeling of holding his hand or kissing him for a long time without her strength returning was utterly strange.
Her head was spinning, and her stomach was tingling.
Sometimes, it felt like lightning was shooting down her spine.
This was definitely not normal.
Living alone in the tower made it difficult for her to react as calmly as others.
She was more sensitive than others and seemed to be more desperate for affection.
'This is going to be a disaster.'
Bercheria thought she should keep her distance from Lacrahan until the wedding two days later, once she entered the castle.
Of course, she knew she might run into her mother or other dangerous elements, but knowing that the north was a single-lane road and off-limits to everyone made her feel a little more at ease.
"...?"
Bercheria turned her head and looked at the woman standing with Tatiana.
But had she been in the north all along?
Or had she entered the north by some other route?
She suspected she might be her mother at first, but she couldn't believe she'd used the Parallel Butterfly just to get information from her child.
The divine substance itself had a lifespan.
Some could only be used once, while others could be used indefinitely.
But in most cases, it was unknown how much could be used.
It couldn't be proven because there weren't multiple divine objects.
In such a situation, no one would carelessly consume a parallel butterfly.
"Bercheria."
At the whispered voice, she looked up at Lacrahan.
"It seems okay."
"Ah."
He held her chin with his cold fingertips and examined her carefully from side to side.
"The wound hasn't healed yet, so it could leave a scar."
Bercheria turned her head to the side and pushed his hand away.
"It's okay."
"At least it won't hurt the new bride. I'll send some medicine to Timothy as soon as tomorrow morning comes. Apply it diligently."
"...Understood."
Bercheria fidgeted with her hands clasped behind her back. She kept praying to herself that Tatiana and the woman would disappear quickly.
In any case, it had been a strange night.
"Where the hell have you been?"
Leone approached Gerard, whose face was etched with discontent.
The revealing outfit, revealing her shoulders and cleavage, and the glass in her hand were only possible because she was the Empress.
The old-fashioned Empress must still be sleeping alone in bed, trying to maintain her dignity.
“Your Majesty. You know that everything I do is ultimately for Your Majesty, don’t you?”
“Hmph.”
It wasn’t the Empress that Gerard loved first.
It was Leone.
“Your Majesty. I think about it every day. What would have happened if I hadn’t been hit by Your Majesty’s carriage that day?”
Leone, lying on the ground blocking the Emperor’s procession, was enough to blind Gerard in an instant.
During the time they carried her, ailing, to the imperial palace, Gerard had to groan, suppressing his instincts.
“You know how much I think about Your Majesty.”
Leone naturally rested her hip on Gerard’s lap and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
When she rubbed his cheek, Gerard said in a slightly softened voice,
“How can I properly roast that Lacrahan brat?”
"Are you angry that Princess Kelita ended up like that?"
"Lacrahan disrespected me. How dare he disobey the Emperor's orders!"
Leone twisted his lips into a smile.
Gerard was a man of utterly selfish tendencies. He had never felt any pity or empathy for others.
That's why he didn't hesitate when Leone told him to kill his brothers.
"You must hurry. If Lacrahan marries Bercheria, the goddess of weather..."
Leone continued in a sad voice.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor will no longer be able to defeat Grand Duke Lacrahan. Perhaps you will have to hand over the imperial throne."
“Muha!”
A strange man’s voice echoed through the deep forest.
The man, with his waist-length, glossy black hair and muscular physique, seemed unfazed by the frigid northern weather.
Above him, a full moon stretched mysteriously.
“Muha—”
The man shouted again, reaching into the air, then, with his fingers clasped together, whistled.
“Kkiueek—”
A strange cry echoed from far away in the sky, and a giant shadow loomed across the sky.
A grin spread across his masculine, angular jaw.
“It’s late.”
Soon after, a loud, wind-splitting sound was heard, and a condor as big as a house, Muha, landed before him.
“What are you doing now?”
He approached Muha without hesitation and stroked his black feathers.
“Yeah, it’s okay. But I need to get used to it quickly, right?”
He rested his forehead on Muha's crown and muttered something, and Muha's large eyes blinked obediently.
He sang, rubbing the space between the condor's eyes.
"Oooh, sparkling blond hair, eyes even more like the sun. Just looking at them makes me blind."
His voice was sweet.
Muha flapped his wings excitedly at the sound of the song.
He smiled and stroked Muha's feathers.
"Even if Bercheria has forgotten us now, she will remember soon. Don't worry, Muha."
The man's bronze skin sparkled in the moonlight.
"Even if we miss her, let's hold out for a little longer."
***
Lacrahan lifted Bercheria's small face between his thumb and index finger.
Golden eyes met his, bewildered.
"We must suck out the venom,"
Lacrahan whispered in a low voice.
A snake's puncture mark remained in the center of the small jaw.
There was no time to hesitate.
If the venom spread, the situation would worsen.
"Shhh."
Lacrahan lowered his head and sucked Bercheria's chin.
He felt her body, which had never been startled by anything, stiffen.
Lacrahan supported one side of her body with his leg to keep her from collapsing.
The force of his sucking, so strong that her cheek was sunken, caused a gasp to escape her mouth.
"Ah."
Bercheria's eyes twitched shut tightly as her vision dilated.
Kissing her and having her chin completely engulfed in his mouth were completely different things.
He sucked up the snake's venom and spat it out onto the floor.
As his face drew closer, Bercheria covered Lacrahan's chest with her hand.
"Uh, wait."
"Not yet."
The bite was on her face, so it was dangerous because it could have gone down her throat if she had not been careful.
If her airway had been blocked, she would have had difficulty breathing and could have died.
As she repeated this several times, Bercheria's face turned bright red.
Even if she turned her head, she was still trapped in Lacrahan's arms, unable to escape.
“Would you mind lifting your head?”
He gently lifted Bercheria’s face with his fingertips, guiding her to face him.
“Still, we need to keep an eye on her just in case. She’s completely out of strength now, so she could be even more dangerous.”
Across the tree, Tatiana and the woman were still conversing.
Lacrahan, his gaze fixed on Bercheria, never took his eyes off her.
He carefully observed the line from her chin, which framed her small face, to her long, slender neck.
Bercheria tried not to notice Lacrahan’s gaze.
She tried to focus all her attention on Tatiana, but it wasn’t easy.
All her nerves were focused on where Lacrahan’s gaze landed.
She was flustered by something she’d never experienced before.
Her face flushed with heat, and her heart pounded.
They were so close that he thought he could hear her heartbeat.
“...How long must we stay like this?”
“Just a little longer.”
Lacrahan whispered, his earlobes tinged pink.
“Lacrahan. Say anything.”
The winter forest was quiet, but the wind was so loud that it was difficult to carry a single word.
"Hmm. I was going to talk about this later, but I plan to keep the wedding as simple as possible."
"Oh, yes."
Bercheria's voice trailed off.
The word "marriage" hadn't crossed her mind just a moment ago, but standing so close felt strange.
"Until now, we'd only been together when Timothy called, but from now on, I think we should be together all day."
"It's okay..."
Bercheria tried to say it was okay, but then quietly closed her mouth. She figured it wasn't something someone suffering from a snakebite should be saying.
"I usually wake up at dawn and read in the study or library. After that, I get a schedule briefing from the knights, and then I have breakfast."
Bercheria gulped, swallowing dry air.
Lacrahan, noticing the throbbing in her throat as she moved, slightly tilted his head away to avoid eye contact.
"After that, I patrol the castle. After that, I train with the knights, and in the afternoons, I usually do necessary work for the village or meet with the people."
She already knew he was a busy person.
But the tighter-than-expected schedule felt overwhelming for Bercheria, who always spent her days leisurely.
“We need to be together for every event. That way, it’ll be meaningful.”
“Yes.”
“And one more thing. From now on, I’ll be more lenient. People will find it strange for a married couple to use formal language with their young wife.”
Bercheria lifted her chin, lowering her gaze from the leaves she’d been gazing at to look at him.
“I’m not a young wife.”
“...?”
“I’m Bercheria, the weather goddess.”
He gave a short laugh.
“I know. Just in front of people. For the time being, we have to be seen as husband and wife. Even if it’s uncomfortable, bear with it for a little longer.”
“...Yes.”
Bercheria turned her head, and the round back of her head came into his view.
Lacrahan unconsciously reached out to ruffle her hair, but paused, clutching at the empty air.
He’d already been thinking about stopping talking.
He’d never seen a husband use formal language with his much younger wife before.
There was no need to act strangely.
But now that he’d actually spoken informally to her, he felt strange.
It felt like he was left with only a woman, without the goddess Bercheria.
But this was, after all, his one-sided emotion.
He had to keep it hidden.
***
Bercheria, unsure of what to say, raised her eyes again to the tree above their heads.
Since her strength had evaporated, she had been experiencing strange tremors and distractions whenever she was with Lacrahan.
Sometimes, when their eyes met, her heart would drop to the floor.
These new sensations weren't so pleasant, so she would sometimes hide from Timothy, who would come calling for her.
Usually, when she followed Timothy to Lacrahan, he would often be working alone, but Bercheria would spend time reading a book or looking out the window.
Sometimes, when she had some free time, Lacrahan would invite her to hold her hand or kiss her.
It was something she did periodically to regain her strength.
At first, she felt nothing from the sense of duty to regain her strength, but as time went by, things changed.
The feeling of holding his hand or kissing him for a long time without her strength returning was utterly strange.
Her head was spinning, and her stomach was tingling.
Sometimes, it felt like lightning was shooting down her spine.
This was definitely not normal.
Living alone in the tower made it difficult for her to react as calmly as others.
She was more sensitive than others and seemed to be more desperate for affection.
'This is going to be a disaster.'
Bercheria thought she should keep her distance from Lacrahan until the wedding two days later, once she entered the castle.
Of course, she knew she might run into her mother or other dangerous elements, but knowing that the north was a single-lane road and off-limits to everyone made her feel a little more at ease.
"...?"
Bercheria turned her head and looked at the woman standing with Tatiana.
But had she been in the north all along?
Or had she entered the north by some other route?
She suspected she might be her mother at first, but she couldn't believe she'd used the Parallel Butterfly just to get information from her child.
The divine substance itself had a lifespan.
Some could only be used once, while others could be used indefinitely.
But in most cases, it was unknown how much could be used.
It couldn't be proven because there weren't multiple divine objects.
In such a situation, no one would carelessly consume a parallel butterfly.
"Bercheria."
At the whispered voice, she looked up at Lacrahan.
"It seems okay."
"Ah."
He held her chin with his cold fingertips and examined her carefully from side to side.
"The wound hasn't healed yet, so it could leave a scar."
Bercheria turned her head to the side and pushed his hand away.
"It's okay."
"At least it won't hurt the new bride. I'll send some medicine to Timothy as soon as tomorrow morning comes. Apply it diligently."
"...Understood."
Bercheria fidgeted with her hands clasped behind her back. She kept praying to herself that Tatiana and the woman would disappear quickly.
In any case, it had been a strange night.
***
"Where the hell have you been?"
Leone approached Gerard, whose face was etched with discontent.
The revealing outfit, revealing her shoulders and cleavage, and the glass in her hand were only possible because she was the Empress.
The old-fashioned Empress must still be sleeping alone in bed, trying to maintain her dignity.
“Your Majesty. You know that everything I do is ultimately for Your Majesty, don’t you?”
“Hmph.”
It wasn’t the Empress that Gerard loved first.
It was Leone.
“Your Majesty. I think about it every day. What would have happened if I hadn’t been hit by Your Majesty’s carriage that day?”
Leone, lying on the ground blocking the Emperor’s procession, was enough to blind Gerard in an instant.
During the time they carried her, ailing, to the imperial palace, Gerard had to groan, suppressing his instincts.
“You know how much I think about Your Majesty.”
Leone naturally rested her hip on Gerard’s lap and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
When she rubbed his cheek, Gerard said in a slightly softened voice,
“How can I properly roast that Lacrahan brat?”
"Are you angry that Princess Kelita ended up like that?"
"Lacrahan disrespected me. How dare he disobey the Emperor's orders!"
Leone twisted his lips into a smile.
Gerard was a man of utterly selfish tendencies. He had never felt any pity or empathy for others.
That's why he didn't hesitate when Leone told him to kill his brothers.
"You must hurry. If Lacrahan marries Bercheria, the goddess of weather..."
Leone continued in a sad voice.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor will no longer be able to defeat Grand Duke Lacrahan. Perhaps you will have to hand over the imperial throne."
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