CHAPTER 08
‘I guess I was tired from being outside for the first time in so long.’
Tomorrow’s hunting competition was a very important event, so Julia decided she should get a good night’s sleep and wake up in perfect condition.
With that resolution, Julia lifted the blanket and was about to crawl underneath when she suddenly added, as though reminding Endymion not to forget,
“By the way. You didn’t forget that the young ladies will be attending tomorrow’s hunting competition, did you?”
“…….”
“To be honest, it was a little sudden for me too, so I didn’t choose very selectively. I sent invitations to all the daughters of count-level families or higher who have decent reputations in high society. Just think of it as an opportunity to get acquainted with them for now.”
Indeed, this was actually another purpose of the royal hunting competition.
On the night Julia had brought up the need for an heir and a concubine, Endymion had left the bedroom in obvious displeasure.
Worried about him, Julia had gone to his study herself the next day.
But he had claimed to be busy and refused to see her.
After making Julia worry for an entire day, Endymion finally returned to the bedroom late that night.
—“I’ve thought about it, and you’re right. I completely agree with what you said about an heir.”
The straightforward answer brought Julia both relief and a faint sense of disappointment.
I wish you had been a little more opposed to it.
She had wanted to pout at Endymion, who had spoken in his usual cool, detached manner, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.
Even so, how could you agree so readily when I only suggested it once? What about our twelve years of friendship?
But she knew very well that, since she had been the one to suggest it first, she had no right to feel disappointed.
Besides, Julia was not merely Endymion’s childhood friend. She was his Queen.
Her position required her to put Endymion’s well-being before her own feelings.
In order to fulfill her duties as a good Queen, Julia cleanly brushed aside her childish emotions and spoke in her usual bright voice.
—“Then we should choose a concubine……”
—“Ah. There’s something I want to say about that.”
—“Hmm?”
—“We can’t choose the mother of the heir that easily.”
Julia merely blinked, wondering what he meant.
Then Endymion suggested that they use the royal hunting competition for this purpose.
They could observe the young ladies who might become candidates for his concubine at the royal hunting competition being held to celebrate their coming-of-age ceremony.
Originally, it had been an event attended only by a few high-ranking officials and their families.
But Endymion suggested keeping the concubine selection secret for the time being and inviting every young lady Julia deemed suitable without limiting the number.
It was an unusual idea, but considering that royal hunting competitions were famous as places where couples were formed, it was a plausible proposal.
Moreover, Julia herself wanted to bring in a suitable young lady as a concubine in her capacity as Queen.
Rather than judging them based on carefully prepared appearances, it would be better to observe their natural behavior and evaluate their character.
—“All right, if that’s what you think.”
And so, the current hunting competition had been prepared with the agreement of both King and Queen.
“Just take a look around and see how you feel. If there are any young ladies you like, we’ll invite them again to the coming-of-age ball, so don’t feel pressured……”
Julia was speaking kindly when she noticed Endymion staring intently at her.
“What’s wrong?”
Julia, who had just been about to slip beneath the blankets, tilted her head in confusion.
His gaze was certainly no different from usual, yet somehow the temperature in the room seemed to have suddenly dropped.
“There’s something I want to ask you instead.”
“Me? What is it?”
At his unexpected words, Julia asked curiously.
Endymion turned his entire body toward her as though he had been waiting for the question.
“What is it……”
He moved closer.
Seeing the distance between them rapidly shrinking, Julia’s voice trailed off.
As Endymion approached, the blanket he pushed forward brushed against her bare legs again.
She had momentarily forgotten about it, but the sensation of the soft fabric grazing her thighs made her shiver.
Unable to bear it any longer, Julia pushed aside the blanket and tried to get off the bed.
“Wait, Endymion? I’m going to change clothes. I think I should at least put on a robe. This is just too uncomfortable……”
“Isn’t there anything you want?”
His low voice came from behind her, and in an instant, Endymion’s arm blocked her way out.
Julia instinctively turned around.
Endymion blocked the other side with his remaining arm.
Before she knew it, Julia was trapped between his arms, with the pillows and headboard behind her.
“Endymion?”
“Not something for me. Something for you.”
Julia awkwardly straightened her upper body and looked up at him.
Endymion’s deep, lake-blue eyes were as beautiful as ever, and his well-balanced features remained as handsome as always.
His unusually smooth skin was like white marble, while his masculine jawline and prominent nose seemed almost more refined than a sculpture.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen him this close.
Enjoying the view despite herself, Julia smiled brightly at Endymion as he smiled at her with gently curved eyes.
“Do you mean a coming-of-age gift?”
“Yes.”
Julia had asked playfully, but her eyes widened slightly.
There was something different about Endymion today.
She couldn’t explain it, but somehow……
“Thank you. But you’re asking me so suddenly that I don’t really know……”
“Not a dress or jewelry. Something special.”
Something special?
Julia blinked in confusion.
Meanwhile, Endymion’s blue eyes didn’t blink even once as he stared at her more intently.
Julia suddenly realized that the atmosphere surrounding him was different from before.
She wasn’t imagining it.
“For example.”
Endymion spoke in a low whisper as he ran a hand through his hair, and Julia’s gaze naturally followed.
She watched his dark hair slip through his long, straight fingers.
The firm wrist moving slowly through his hair, the sleek muscles of his arm, and even the faint veins visible beneath his skin……
“Something you want from me.”
His languid voice seemed to take control of the entire room.
Julia realized that her body was gradually lowering, but for some reason, she couldn’t move.
Before she knew it, she was lying back on the bed, with Endymion easily bracing himself above her.
“Ah, um…… Endymion?”
“Don’t think about anyone else. Tell me what you truly want from me.”
His arm extended lazily toward her, brushing the golden hair away from her face.
His firm fingers lightly touched her soft cheek, seeming to cup her face before reaching her earlobe.
His fingers gently brushed the delicate skin.
“……”
“I’ll give you anything.”
The touch was fleeting and almost teasing, as though it had happened by chance.
It made Julia feel as though she wanted to hide beneath the blankets all the way up to her head.
“Even the right to rule the King, or the authority to place the King beneath your feet.”
What kind of joke is this?
But Endymion wasn’t the sort of person who played trivial jokes.
And because he sounded so serious despite the absurdity of his words, Julia was even more flustered.
Julia swallowed nervously as she felt the atmosphere of the bedroom surrounding her.
Being pinned beneath Endymion’s arm somehow made it even harder to breathe.
Trying to break the unfamiliar tension, Julia instinctively waved her hand.
“No, I don’t want anything like that……”
Endymion immediately caught her wrist and gently pulled it toward him.
“If you really don’t know, I can help you.”
His lips brushed the inside of her wrist.
The brief contact was soft and fleeting before he pulled away.
Julia’s eyes widened.
Watching her reaction, Endymion reached for her other wrist as well.
Once again, she was easily caught by him.
“When I say I’ll give you anything, it doesn’t have to be an object. For example……”
“……”
“My crown, my throne…… even myself.”
He whispered the last words so quietly that they somehow seemed to sink even deeper into her ears.
The blanket separating Julia and Endymion was pushed aside.
The two of them were suddenly much closer, their gazes tangled together.
Endymion slowly lowered his face again, his eyes curving as he spoke.
“So, if you want a concu—”
“A hunting outfit!”
Endymion froze.
Julia’s clear voice had interrupted him at the very last moment.
She abruptly sat up and, with a bright smile, called out again.
“I just remembered! I want a new hunting outfit!”
“……A hunting outfit?”
“Yeah. Not something thin like my old one. I want one as sturdy as yours!”
“……”
“Why? Is it not possible?”
“……No. I mean……”
When Julia asked again, Endymion instinctively nodded.
He silently watched the delighted Julia with a complicated expression.
Eventually, seeing her beaming smile, he smiled softly as well.
And just like that, the strange atmosphere from earlier disappeared as though it had never existed.
The couple’s conversation naturally shifted toward tomorrow as they prepared for bed.
“Wow, is the Duke of Tristan really that old already? What if he overexerts himself tomorrow?”
“I told him he didn’t need to come, but the old man insisted. He’s stubborn for his age.”
“Endymion, you shouldn’t talk about an elder like that.”
As usual, the couple lay side by side beneath the blankets, chatting quietly.
When the night grew late, they wished each other good night and turned off the lights.
Soon, silence filled the bedroom.
Several hours later.
Moonlight streamed through the window into the quiet room.
The only sound coming from the bed where the couple slept was the occasional rustle of the blankets.
Then Endymion, breathing evenly in his sleep, turned over.
The blanket slid with a soft rustle, slightly revealing Julia’s body.
The hem of the shirt had ridden up, allowing cool air to brush against her bare legs.
“Gasp!”
At the same moment, Julia’s eyes flew open.
She hurriedly checked whether Endymion was still asleep.
After confirming that he was deeply asleep, she let out a relieved sigh and quickly turned onto her other side.
‘What am I supposed to do……!’
Her face burned red.
Her normally calm heart was pounding so violently that it felt as though it might burst.
Her earlobes, the inside of her wrists, and even her thighs where his shirt brushed against them all felt strangely warm and ticklish.
—“My crown, my throne…… even myself.”
—“I’ll give you anything.”
Like an echo, Endymion’s languid voice refused to leave her mind.
She had been so startled earlier that she had pretended not to understand anything.
But in truth, Julia had been in a state of complete panic ever since.
‘W-why would you suddenly say something like that and scare me? Did he even realize how it sounded? Surely I’m not reading too much into it by myself……?’
Her thoughts refused to settle, keeping her wide awake.
Julia tossed and turned countless times with her burning face until, in the end, she stayed awake the entire night.
‘……I suppose I’ll have to use the second method.’
Completely unaware of what her husband, lying back-to-back with her, was thinking.
