Chapter 5 Part 3
“I heard you went to the desert with Aksion.”
There was hesitation in his voice.
“Is Aksion fulfilling his role as a Mahart?”
Elia couldn’t hide her brief surprise. She hadn’t expected him to ask about Aksion.
‘Didn’t he show no interest before?’
Or perhaps he now felt some guilt.
But whatever the reason, it didn’t change anything.
The Duke would remain ignorant of his own sins.
Elia smiled brightly.
“My husband is excelling far beyond what you imagine.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad he isn’t causing any trouble for you, Princess…”
He trailed off, but his tone wasn’t accusatory towards Aksion.
In fact, for a brief moment, his face seemed to reflect that of a concerned father.
However, the moment was so fleeting that Elia couldn’t be sure she had seen it.
“This sword will continue to uphold the contract between you and me, Princess.”
The Duke stepped back, holding the sword case.
It seemed the conversation was coming to an end.
“No, you’re mistaken.”
“…What do you mean?”
He raised an eyebrow. For some reason, the Duke’s face overlapped with Aksion’s.
“I’m not a princess, I’m your daughter-in-law. Now, I’ll take my leave. Have a good night.”
Elia curtsied, holding the sides of her dress.
As she turned away, she felt a sense of relief, as if she had solved a major problem.
The Duke remained frozen in place. Despite knowing this, Elia did not look back.
* * *
Spring comes even to the far edges of the Empire.
The snowstorms had vanished, and the melting snow revealed budding greenery everywhere.
The Mahart Castle, under the unusually peaceful blue sky, seemed exceptionally serene, thanks to the short, mild weather of the North.
“Elia!”
The twins called out to her simultaneously.
The twins, who had crossed the desert with her, were now frolicking in the spring garden.
“Flowers are blooming over there!”
“The gnome showed us!”
Rein and Rena held fresh wildflowers in their arms.
Elia accepted the flowers, which looked like daisies.
“Are these for me?”
“Yes!”
The children, who barely reached her waist, nodded vigorously.
Their bustling brown heads were so cute that she kept patting them on the head.
Rein and Rena were living in Mahart Castle, nurturing their affinity with the spirits.
Since spirit summoners were rare, it was decided that they would receive help from the castle’s magician until a proper mentor could be found.
‘It’s a different power, but the principles of use are similar.’
Magic and spirits were fundamentally different beings.
However, despite their different origins, the principles of mana and spirit affinity had similarities in their enlightenment.
‘The world is interconnected.’
No matter the power, the logic was the same, only the methods differed.
Elia would never have understood this if she hadn’t dealt with shamanism.
She was lost in thought, watching the children play in the garden.
“You are quite perceptive. It’s surprising even to a spirit like me.”
The butterfly on the table fluttered its wings.
The spirit of the book, Sasha, seemed to enjoy the sunlight, moving to different spots as the light shifted.
‘Well, if you live twice, anyone can figure this much out.’
The peace felt strange, making her smile self-deprecatingly.
Elia rolled the grains in her palm. The jewels, which sparkled in different colors under the light, were rare sapphians.
They were all gems from the desert, and Elia was contemplating what to do with them.
‘Selling them as they are would be fine, but I feel like I could make a bigger profit.’
She already had plenty of money. But what Elia wanted to cultivate wasn’t wealth.
It was connections and reputation.
These two were another form of power in the aristocratic society.
‘I need to gather people who will be on my side.’
Those who wouldn’t betray her even in the final moment, those with high loyalty.
Elia clenched the jewels in her hand.
‘I feel like there was something around this time.’
She had a vague sense.
The problem was that although she had read the original work, she didn’t remember it perfectly.
‘What was it again?’
Elia was deep in thought when she heard a voice.
“Elia.”
“…Aksion?”
Startled, she looked up.
Outside the white canopy, Aksion was standing in front of her.
“Am I interrupting?”
“No, I was just thinking. Would you like to sit?”
When Elia gestured to the seat next to her, he sat down without a word.
Perhaps because of the warm weather, he was wearing a light shirt. His rolled-up sleeves revealed his well-defined arm muscles.
‘He handles a sword, after all.’
When they first met, Aksion had fought wolves with a sword.
She had once asked him if he practiced swordsmanship.
Between night and dawn.
Aksion said he used the empty training ground alone before the knights arrived.
She stared at him for a long time. Aksion was the first to break the silence.
“Elia, you always seem busy.”
Did he notice her cluttered mind?
Elia pretended to be unaffected and tilted her teacup.
“I have a lot to do.”
After setting the cup down, she poured tea for him as well.
“Is this your favorite tea, Elia?”
“Oh, yes. It’s not bad.”
It was an unexpected question. Elia answered reflexively.
‘Risha makes it often, so it’s just okay.’
The tea before her was white rose tea.
Warm and fragrant, it was a high-quality tea that could be enjoyed regardless of the season, and was generally well-liked.
Risha knew she preferred this tea. However, to Elia, it was just a fine tea, nothing more or less.
‘Even in my past life, I didn’t have specific preferences.’
Everything about her changed according to the people around her.
Whether it had become a habit, in this life too, she had no particular likes or dislikes regarding food or tea.
Elia didn’t mind, but Aksion seemed different.
“I’m curious about you, Elia.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your hobbies, favorite foods, what you like and dislike, everything.”
Her hand trembled, holding the teacup.
He was acting as if he knew exactly what Elia had been desperately avoiding.
‘Because I didn’t want to recall the pain.’
All the causes and effects of her past life were painful to Elia.
Even if she pretended not to know while vowing revenge, the fact wouldn’t disappear.
Sometimes, it felt like this man could see right through her. As she leaned back, lost in thought, it happened.
He clasped her wrist.
Startled, Elia blinked. Aksion looked puzzled by her reaction.
“We’re a married couple. Holding hands shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
His innocent face, today, seemed more strikingly clear.
“That’s… true. For a married couple?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Aksion smiled brightly and pulled her hand closer.
Soon, her hand was resting on his cheek.
Sunlight illuminated his face. With his eyes closed, he looked like an affectionate animal.
‘Why is he turning into more of a fox?’
The innocent face she first saw was nowhere to be found.
Aksion showed new sides of himself with each passing day.
These sides repeatedly confused Elia. Whether he knew it or not, Aksion’s gaze was now on the garden.
“Gardening seems like a good hobby.”
In the North, spring quickly turned into summer.
Soon, the warm weather would end, and winter would come again.
The flowers in the garden would be buried under snow. As if knowing what she was thinking, Aksion said,
“With magic stones, it’s possible to maintain the garden.”
As he said, stones imbued with magic could accomplish many things.
Elia knew that too, but she still shook her head.
“Sometimes, letting things flow naturally is better.”
Spring flowers in spring, winter flowers in winter. It was better to let the garden flow as it should.
Unless there was a special purpose, it was better to let the garden follow the natural course.
‘Because I can’t always take care of it.’
