The green scenery of early spring, just passing by, sped past outside the carriage window. A gentle breeze brushed against my cheek as if tickling it, and soft sunlight twinkled through the dense leaves.
It was no exaggeration to say that I could feel the warm climate of the East with my whole body. Enough to make it distinctly feel like I had come to a different region.
It was weather that would naturally make you hum a tune. However, there was one problem that prevented me from fully enjoying it.
'I can't believe I got motion sickness...'
I slowly lowered my gaze to the troubled day.
Unlike the cheerful atmosphere outside, where new sprouts blooming at the tail end of early spring were dancing in the wind, inside the carriage was Rood, languishing like a wilting flower.
It was all well and good that I came straight to the East using a magic circle from the Imperial Palace, but I didn't expect that having to travel further by carriage to my destination, Skedemon Province, would be a problem.
"What am I going to do since I'm in pain?"
"Let's turn the carriage around even now."
A grumpy voice overlapped with my voice, filled with worry.
I looked up and saw Thierry sitting next to me.
Thierry, who ended up sitting by the window opposite me instead of next to me because of Rood trying to stick right up to my feet, had been looking grim for a while. No, it wasn't just grim; honestly, it was absolutely terrifying.
Along with a groan of pinching, I felt Rood rub his cheek against my ankle. I habitually lowered my hand to stroke it, but seeing a crack form between Thierry's handsome eyebrows, I realized my mistake and gave an awkward smile.
"I've already come all the way to the East Coast, haven't I?"
"It's the same as not having arrived yet."
He looked as if he were about to turn the carriage around at any moment. I urgently grabbed Thierry's hand and shook my head.
I felt bad that I hadn't been able to look after Rood for a long time due to so many incidents and accidents leading up to the marriage. Moreover, hearing that Rood had also been outside helping the knights find traps and keep the elves in check while fighting Iker made me feel even heavier.
That was the reason I brought Rood along on the trip with Thierry. It was a plan I executed out of a desire to treat Rood even better and take care of him.
Even now, sometimes I get a sinking feeling in my heart, wondering what would have happened if Rood got hurt back then, so I felt a bit relieved only when he was within my sight for a while.
"It's our first trip together, you know. It's nice just the two of us, but I've always wanted to come here with Rood at least once—the three of us."
I knew Thierry wasn't keen on it, but even though it was our honeymoon, I just couldn't bring myself to come here by ourselves.
"Actually, since it's my first time, I wanted to come just the two of us."
"Sorry..."
I had nothing more to say, as I understood Thierry's feelings. I had practically forced him to come despite his continued reluctance, but the situation only worsened because Rood got carsick, causing me to focus all my attention on him the entire journey.
My eyes drooped involuntarily. As the corners of my mouth turned downward in a sullen smile, Thierry raised one eyebrow. I glanced at him, then looked at Rood, who was groaning and closing his eyes, and then looked up at him again.
Soon, his eyelids squeezed shut tightly as if to obscure his sun-like red eyes, only to open again. A faint sigh escaped when his eyes closed, but it was only for a moment, and he soon reached out his hand to me with his eyebrows turned down.
"Why the look? I was wrong."
His rough fingertips cautiously wandered the corners of my eyes. At that touch, which felt like caressing flower petals that crumble at the slightest contact, I grabbed his wrist and rested my cheek against his broad palm.
I lowered my eyes, feeling his warm hand gently cupping my cheek and the area around my ear.
"It’s partly because I haven’t been able to look after Rood for a while, but also because we don’t really have any memories together other than what happened in the Maze Forest, so I wanted the three of us to create some new memories together with the mindset of starting fresh in a new place."
His ring finger slowly rubbed my earlobe. As it naturally moved downward, his hand soon wrapped halfway around my neck. I felt his warmth transfer to me, turning into heat that spread throughout my body.
I slowly lifted my eyelids as if to soothe my fluttering eyelashes. I saw lips and a nose bridge that looked as if they had been drawn along a jaw as sharp as a statue, and soon, luminous, ruby-like eyes came into view.
Our gazes, which had been meeting intently for a while, wavered slightly as Thierry let out a chuckle. As his head tilted toward me, the hand supporting my neck tightened faintly.
As the distance between us gradually narrowed, my eyes were just about to naturally close.
"Hnngg..."
At the sound of a particularly loud groan, I reflexively leaned my upper body toward Rood.
"Rood! Does it hurt a lot? Oh, what to do. If you just hold on a little longer, you can get off."
Thanks to the good care it had received over the past few days, I kept stroking its glossy black fur and whispered to it in a soothing tone. Worried that something terrible might happen if things continued like this, the blood that had been boiling seemed to cool down in an instant.
I felt like I absolutely couldn't go on like this. I suddenly turned my head and spoke to Thierry.
"Thierry, stop for a moment, ah..."
I was immediately left speechless at the sight of Thierry, who was still leaning forward with only his upper body and eyes tightly closed. A vein bulged on his forehead as he quietly exhaled.
...Will this honeymoon be okay?
***
Skedemon, considered a famous tourist destination in the east, was a seaside village boasting beautiful scenery. As it was quite a large place, some of it was provided as a private beach for aristocratic couples on their honeymoon to use in seclusion.
The large villa had many spacious windows, making it perfect for admiring the sea. I opened the slightly ajar window wide and took a deep breath. The transparent cobalt blue sea filled my vision, and the salty air filled my lungs.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes. I love it!”
I leaned on the windowsill and only turned my head. Thierry approached, stroked my hair, and naturally kissed my cheek.
'Looks like you're feeling better.'
A smile escaped from him during the day; his eyes and mouth softened.
Just moments ago, he had been so sulky when we were with Rood, but by the time we arrived, he seemed to have gotten used to it and was fine. Leaving Rood behind, I entered the villa and saw that he had instantly relaxed.
"Did I buy only this place for no reason? Just give all my heart..."
"No! This is enough!"
What? You actually bought a vacation home? I was startled and waved my hand in denial.
"Why? Since you're at it, it's better to have it all."
"Rather than that, even if we keep this place just for the two of us, I’d like the other places to be a bit more crowded. If there are a lot of people, there’ll be more things to see."
“Hmm. I see.”
Thierry muttered indifferently and pressed his lips firmly against my head. Then, naturally following the lines down from my forehead, the bridge of my nose, and my cheeks, he languidly held my lips in his mouth before pressing his forehead against mine.
"I want to walk freely down the street like any other ordinary couple. If I see something delicious along the way, I want to buy and eat it, and when night falls, I want to sit in a spot with a good view of the fireworks and have a glass of wine. How about that?"
"... Good."
His eyes unfocused languidly, as if he were dreaming.
I laughed involuntarily. I felt my heart completely full, without a single empty space.
I pulled my head back slightly and stretched both arms over his shoulders. As I clasped my hands together and slowly leaned back, I felt his left hand wrap around my lower back.
"Shall we take a look at the sea first? Having lived only in the forest, seeing the ocean from such an open beach feels like a completely different experience."
I leaned my head slightly and gazed toward the window. Under the sunlight that seemed to hold the light, the shimmering reflections visible even from afar filled the seascape. A cool sea breeze brushed against my cheek and ruffled my hair.
I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them again to look at Thierry. My brightly smiling face was reflected in his feverish, red eyes.
"...I know, right. Is it because it's different? I don't want to let go anymore."
"Yes?"
"There's no rush. Let's stay like this just a little longer."
“Just a little bit?”
“Yes, just a little bit.”
I rolled my eyes wide. I couldn't take his words at face value; based on what I'd observed, his concept of time was quite different from mine. If my "little" was roughly five minutes, I suppose his was five hours. Since this wasn't the first time this had happened, I cautiously opened my mouth.
"...Exactly how much is 'a little'?"
"Do we really have to decide that in advance?"
"That's not it, but what if the sun goes down before we know it at this rate?"
"Then we can look at the sea tomorrow. You must be tired from the journey, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some good rest now and go out to play tomorrow."
I knew it would be like this!
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