SPECIAL SIDE STORY 15
Special Side Story 15
Perhaps it was because he had laid everything bare.
In that moment, the heaviness pressing on Kylus’s chest vanished.
But the lightness was fleeting—reason quickly flashed back to Kylus.
What did I just say?
Regret flooded in, but he couldn’t take back words already spoken.
Kylus avoided Alice’s gaze and murmured self-deprecatingly.
“…This is the worst.”
I only wanted to show you my best side.
Such obsession.
He wouldn’t blame Alice if she despised him now.
As his gaze darkened, Alice’s hand touched his cheek.
The warmth felt against his skin.
As if drawn by that warmth, he raised his eyes, and Alice spoke softly.
“I’m the same way. When other women look at you with sparkling eyes, I also think about locking you away somewhere so only I can see you.”
“…You?”
Kylus’s eyes widened, but Alice continued nonchalantly.
“You think that’s all? I get jealous even when you merely glance at another woman, and if you ever betrayed me, I’d make sure you faced divine punishment. I could never bear to see you happy with another woman, even if it killed me.”
“!”
“Kylus is mine, and I love Kylus very, very much.”
Kylus’s heart pounded heavily.
With overwhelming emotion.
Of course, others might say this wasn’t touching but terrifying, but Kylus would gladly receive Alice’s divine punishment a hundred or thousand times.
Especially if the reason for that punishment was her love for him.
“Rien…”
Kylus called her name with a trembling voice.
Alice smiled as she watched the darkness fade from his face.
“That’s how you feel too, right? You love me so much that you want to be alone with me, you get jealous. So you’re not the worst. We just love each other too much.”
Though perhaps a bit intensely.
Alice cleared her throat, brushing away a fleeting sense of reality, and spoke to Kylus.
“So I understand why you don’t want me to become the Holy Maiden. It’s only natural to dislike it—if I become the Holy Maiden, I’ll be busier and we’ll have less time together.”
Kylus faltered at her words striking the core of the matter.
Instinctively, he wanted to say, “No, I’m fine with it,” but Alice was one step ahead.
She firmly held his face with both hands.
“But Kylus, even if I become the Holy Maiden, you will always be the most important person to me.”
Kylus’s heart pounded heavily. Alice continued without pause.
“Even if I could save the entire world, it would be meaningless to me if I couldn’t be with you. You are more precious to me than the world.”
She meant it sincerely.
Of course, if people heard this, they would exclaim, “How could a Holy Maiden say such things!” and condemn her as selfish, but what could she do?
She was becoming the Holy Maiden to live more happily with him in this world, not because she harbored greater intentions than her love for him.
“So if you truly don’t want me to, I won’t. Therefore, Kylus, please think about it seriously and tell me honestly. Whether it’s alright for me to become the Holy Maiden.”
I can wait as long as needed.
Alice added softly, having said everything she wanted to tell him.
How refreshing.
Their married life had been so happy, but seeing him always yielding for her sake had been creating a strange discomfort in a corner of her heart.
But now that she had heard his true feelings and expressed her own, how could she not feel good?
Even if Kylus were to tell her not to become the Holy Maiden, she would still feel good about it.
Alice looked at Kylus with a radiant smile.
Her eyes filled with affection for him.
It was a face that anyone could see was deeply in love.
Looking at such an Alice, Kylus let out a deflated laugh.
Because he felt so foolish.
Wasn’t that right?
Always watching Alice, yet failing to see how much she loved him.
When she had been looking at him so steadfastly, without wavering.
He had been anxious about whether she might come to dislike him, whether distance in body would lead to distance in heart.
Alice would never leave him, no matter what happened.
Her love was no less than his.
Even if their bodies were apart, their hearts for each other would never change.
Kylus felt certain of this.
The anxiety in a corner of his heart melted away like snow.
And relief and happiness filled him completely.
Now, he felt—
“Well then, Kylus, I shouldn’t keep the High Priest waiting too long…”
Just as Alice turned her head toward the door, Kylus grasped her.
“Rien.”
Kylus’s expression was serious, devoid of any laughter.
“Yes?”
As Alice grew solemn in response, Kylus spoke.
“Become the Holy Maiden. I want you to be happy as the Holy Maiden.”
“No, this is too quick… you could think about it more slowly…”
Alice was taken aback by his unexpectedly swift answer, but Kylus smiled gently.
“Don’t worry. I’m not forcing myself. I truly mean it.”
Alice paused, meeting Kylus’s gaze.
“When I see you happy helping people as the Holy Maiden, I think I’ll be happy too.”
There was no wavering in Kylus’s eyes.
He truly meant it.
Still, she had expected him to contemplate it a bit more, yet here he was, trusting her without the slightest hesitation.
“Kylus…”
As Alice called him, moved with emotion, the dimples in Kylus’s cheeks deepened.
“In return, there are a few things I’d like you to keep in mind.”
“What are they? Tell me anything! I’ll definitely follow them.”
With tender eyes, Kylus seated Alice back on the sofa.
Sitting opposite her at an angle, Kylus began listing in a sweet voice.
“It’s fine to heal everyone regardless of their status as the Holy Maiden, but when treating men, don’t get too close.”
“What?”
“As for interactions with priests, focus on female priests and elderly high priests. Young male priests are off-limits.”
“…Ah.”
Is he seriously addressing every single thing I said to rile him up…?
The honest Kylus seems to hold more of a grudge than I expected.
Alice was dumbfounded, but Kylus calmly drove in the final stake.
“Lastly, with High Priest Prion, ABSOLUTELY NEVER go anywhere alone with him. Otherwise, one day the High Priest might suddenly change.”
With a grin.
Kylus spoke words that would horrify others if they heard, and attractively lifted the corner of his mouth.
He wasn’t just holding a grudge.
His jealousy was also tremendous.
Enough to boldly bare the teeth of a predator.
I don’t know how he managed to hold back all this time.
Alice was bewildered by the brazenly honest Kylus, but soon found herself smirking.
Because even the jealous Kylus’s smile remained intoxicating.
As if bewitched, Alice nodded.
“Yes. I’ll definitely keep all of those promises.”
The two smiled happily and embraced each other tightly.
Outside, Prion was momentarily forgotten.
Unfortunately for him.
Three days later.
The Eastern Kingdom’s critically ill princess regained consciousness through the Holy Maiden’s divine power.
The temple officially announced the existence of the Holy Maiden.
A sacred being chosen by the main deity, Helios, had appeared, and she was none other than Alice Dearrut, the Duchess of the Dearrut family of the Pentaum Empire.
Citizens of other nations envied how both the Duke and Duchess of Dearrut had been chosen by the main deity, while the Empire’s citizens felt immense pride and praised the ducal family.
The Emperor also bestowed great honors upon the Dearrut ducal family, further elevating their prestige.
And that wasn’t all.
He held a festival in honor of the Dearrut ducal couple and sent the Imperial Knights to the south where the ducal couple was staying.
However, the knights were bewildered to find the southern villa empty and sent an urgent report to the Emperor.
“What do you mean the ducal couple isn’t in the south? Then where on earth are they?!”
Alvin’s surprised exclamation echoed through the Emperor’s office.
And at that very moment.
Alice and Kylus were on a ship headed for the Luxe Empire.
Their journey wasn’t over yet.
So they had left the Eastern Kingdom immediately after saving the princess.
Leaving the Eastern King and royal family to the High Priest.
In a special cabin, on a wide bed.
Alice wriggled in Kylus’s arms and slightly furrowed her brow.
“Kylus, is it really alright for us not to return to the Empire?”
They had also heard that the Emperor was holding a festival.
He must be bewildered and troubled to learn we’re not in the Empire.
Alice felt slightly worried, but Kylus firmly replied.
“Don’t worry, Rien. I didn’t teach His Imperial Majesty to be so weak. He’s an intelligent person who will handle things well even in our absence.”
Though he might tear his hair out a bit.
And suffer some harassment from the nobles.
But that’s what being an Emperor is all about.
Kylus calmly patted Alice’s back.
“Well, Sienna is there too, so…”
Alice quickly forgot about the Emperor in the warmth of his affection.
“What should we do first when we arrive in the Luxe Empire?”
Kylus gazed at Alice who was looking up at him lovingly, then slowly laid her down properly on the bed.
Naturally positioning himself above her, Kylus lifted the corner of his mouth languidly.
“We still have three days before reaching the Luxe Empire, and the night is still young. How about we enjoy this night a bit more, Rien?”
With a soft rustle, the blanket that had covered his body slipped down, revealing a bare, firm torso without a thread of clothing.
So sexy.
How could she refuse someone so alluring?
Alice stroked his well-defined abs and lifted the corner of her mouth.
“Alright, Kylus.”
As if he had been waiting, Kylus kissed her lips.
Soon, their movements on the bed became more intense than the waves outside.
The night, filled with passionate happiness, continued endlessly, stretching long.
So it was, in a way, only natural.
When they returned to the Empire after completing their long journey.
That they were no longer two, but three.
End of Special Side Story
