Chapter 59
Yulias was still holding onto Anna’s ankle after finishing the treatment.
It was as if he knew that once he wrapped the bandage, she would leave.
Seeing that, Anna sighed and spoke softly.
“I’ll help you clear up the misunderstanding.”
“You? What if you end up being hated too?”
“I’ll try. But in return, tell me something.”
“What is it?”
“You said something like, it would be a problem if Her Highness found out. When you had that clash with the Grand Duke.”
Yulias looked at Anna’s clear face for a moment before turning his head away.
“If you tell me that, I’ll help you fix the misunderstanding. But in exchange… you can’t forcefully take Her Highness away.”
***
“…I still love you.”
When Harvich heard Lincia’s hesitant confession, he wanted to kiss her like a madman.
His heart tingled.
“Please say that once more.”
“…No. It’s embarrassing.”
Lincia buried her face in his chest.
Her trembling hand clutched the hem of his clothes.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“Not anymore. You said you loved me… didn’t you?”
Harvich, who had stopped crying, pulled her into his arms.
“Thank you for believing in me. I’ll do better from now on.”
He had never known that having his heart connect with someone he loved could be so joyous.
He felt as though he could talk with her all night and never grow tired.
“Please don’t skip your meals.”
“I won’t.”
“When the baby is born, let’s go on an outing. I want to show you that there’s a sea in this land that never freezes.”
It wasn’t as colorful as the southern sea, but it was the Grand Duchy’s only unfrozen harbor, full of people and life.
The salinity was high enough to be like the Dead Sea, yet on the surface, it looked beautiful.
“Let’s also visit that two-story house you liked. When the weather warms up, we can stay there for a while.”
“I loved that place.”
“It would be nice to see the spring flowers in the capital too.”
Still holding Lincia in his arms, Harvich kept talking about plans for the future.
Just thinking about a life with her made his mouth curve into a smile.
“When things here settle down, we’ll travel abroad too.”
Holding the woman who was already breathing softly in sleep, he whispered one last wish she wouldn’t hear.
That the child might resemble Lincia.
Harvich kept murmuring dreams of their future, unable to sleep as his heart pounded wildly.
He brushed Lincia’s hair aside and tucked it behind her ear.
Then he kissed her round forehead.
Even that small gesture made his heart feel like it would burst.
His gaze followed the line of her nose down to her red lips.
“…You can.”
“I wasn’t planning to…”
Only then did Harvich realize how close he’d gotten to her.
He had never meant to kiss a sleeping woman.
He’d only remembered that time he’d given her water mouth-to-mouth and felt a bit curious.
“Do you not want to?”
He felt Lincia’s lips move.
They were that close.
Their lips met.
The soft, sweet feeling was exactly as he remembered.
Harvich realized again how poor his imagination was.
Gripping the sheets, he slowly moved his head.
The gentle rubbing of their lips felt new to him.
He pulled back for a brief moment, then kissed her again.
Even though she hadn’t said he could continue, he couldn’t stop.
He kissed her lips, cheeks, nose, eyes, and forehead in turn.
When his kisses kept coming, Lincia burst out laughing.
“It… it tickles.”
Their eyes met, violet against blue.
Harvich intertwined his fingers with hers.
This time, the kiss lasted longer.
Their lips parted slowly, a gap opening between them.
Harvich bit softly and entered deeper.
“…Mm.”
Hearing her soft moan, he tightened his grip on her hand.
As her breath grew ragged, he finally released her lips.
A deep satisfaction filled his chest.
He took a long breath and looked at her flushed face before kissing her forehead.
“I love you.”
“…Me too.”
“When you recover, there are so many things I want to do with you. So please, don’t skip meals.”
Harvich hadn’t properly slept in two days, but he felt wonderful.
Honestly, he doubted he’d ever be able to sleep peacefully beside Lincia for the rest of his life.
Still, lying beside her, talking, playing with her hands—those moments were precious.
If he could end each day like that, he felt he could endure anything.
He was so elated he almost forgot about the regular council meeting.
If Hue hadn’t come before the meeting, he would’ve gone straight to their bedchamber.
When asked in a cold tone why he’d come, Hue spoke carefully.
“…What if we take the Emperor as a hostage?”
“How would you do that?”
“I heard he wants to enter the underground prison. We could grant his wish and then…”
“What’s the purpose?”
“After killing him, we could declare the Grand Duchess as the new Emperor.”
Harvich let out a deep sigh.
“If His Grace can’t give up the woman, why not make him Emperor? That way, he could still serve a purpose…”
As Hue’s voice trailed off, Harvich’s expression darkened.
“Do you think anything will change if Lincia becomes Emperor?”
“…Well…”
“Do you think she can protect the Grand Duchy from those greedy old nobles?”
That wasn’t the only issue.
Lincia was far too fragile to bear the weight of an empire.
“She’s often sick. If they use that as an excuse for a regency…”
“…”
“Do you think those vultures will send us supplies the way Yulias does? No. They’ll try to use me, the Emperor’s husband, as a hostage instead.”
Hue couldn’t answer.
He bit his lip, then spoke again after a pause.
“Then… what do you plan to do?”
Harvich tilted his head.
“I’ll try to negotiate with the Emperor one last time. If that fails, we’ll use the final measure we prepared.”
He stood up after saying that.
Seeing Harvich’s firm stance, Hue didn’t argue further.
Maybe he was disappointed to see a man chasing love instead of responsibility.
But so what.
Harvich could no longer look away from the season called Lincia.
“Handle today’s council meeting yourself. I’m going to see the Emperor.”
“…Understood.”
