Chapter 210 - (Extra Story Complete) > Book Rabbit

Side Story Episode 5

Arpad threw down the documents and leapt from the window in a single bound.

Between the Empress's Palace and the main palace lay a beautifully manicured garden.

Arpad did not miss the sight of his wife walking slowly through the fully bloomed cherry blossoms.

After a few bounding leaps, he landed gracefully before his wife, who was elegantly crossing the garden.

“Good heavens!”

Hilia, who had instructed her ladies-in-waiting to prepare a simple picnic basket and was walking slowly, laughed like a flower at this unexpected welcome.

“You must be so busy...”

“I was desperately holding back the urge to run to you, and then you came. How could I possibly stay still?”

“So you jumped out the window?”

Arpad chuckled and whispered with utter honesty into Hilia’s ear.

“I was on the verge of death from missing you. You saved me by coming.”

Hilia felt a renewed sense of relief and happiness.

She had heard similar words from Arpad spoken in a completely different tone before.

When they reunited after she had left, vowing to protect him.

Arpad had spoken then with a heartrending, desperate intensity.

But now, it was merely a calm statement, tinged with a bit of exaggerated complaint.

“Even this morning, you waited for me to wake up to say goodbye before leaving.”

“That’s not enough. Even if we were together all day, even if I followed you into your dreams, it wouldn’t be enough.”

Arpad, acting like a child, pulled Hilia into an embrace and rested his cheek on her shoulder.

At her husband’s rare display of affection, Hilia giggled with laughter.

By now, the palace attendants were no longer surprised by the eccentricities Arpad displayed only in front of Hilia.

Nearly three months had passed since his accession. Moreover, many of the close attendants were from the former Crown Prince’s Palace.

It was no exaggeration to say they were thoroughly accustomed to Arpad’s clingy behavior.

The attendants all maintained their composure without batting an eyelash.

Responding to her husband’s affectionate nuzzling against her shoulder, Hilia asked in a gentle tone,

“Wouldn’t it be better if I helped with the state affairs as well? As it is, you’re handling almost all of the Empress’s duties too.”

With Yulken, the most senior among his aides, also away, Arpad was even more burdened with heavy duties.

At her words, Arpad shook his head with a resolute expression.

“Absolutely not.”

Arpad’s insistence held significant weight in why Hilia was currently refraining from state affairs.

It was partly because he knew she had suffered excessively after fleeing the imperial palace early in her pregnancy.

But above all, the biggest reason was that she had collapsed once in the imperial palace right after the coronation ceremony.

It was right after her pregnant body had endured numerous major ordeals, and she had sorely lacked time for rest and recovery.

When she awoke at dawn, Hilia had to face Arpad, whose face looked worse than her own after her collapse.

He had looked as if he had died a second time and barely come back to life.

He could not endure a third time like that.

So when Arpad declared he would not return her duties until three months after the birth and took them away, she nodded obediently.

Arpad remained firm.

“Not until I collapse about five times.”

Even after Artanus vanished, the powerful magical power and strength flowing through Arpad’s body remained.

While the dragon’s bloodline and authority would weaken over generations, Arpad was an exception.

His stamina, far surpassing that of ordinary people, remained, so it was safe to assume he would practically never faint.

Nevertheless, Hilia did not hide her feelings.

“I worry that you’re pushing yourself too hard.”

Because Arpad very much liked it when Hilia worried about him as if he were an ordinary person.

“Just worry about me. Of course, I’m perfectly fine, so just a little. But don’t let worrying make things difficult for you or the baby.”

Hilia smiled softly and whispered something she knew Arpad would like even more.

“And actually… I feel sad, because I miss seeing you, and it feels like you’re being taken away by work.”

Just as Hilia had predicted and aimed for, Arpad’s mouth softened into a smile.

He replied with a petulant tone.

“You can play with this pitiful me as a reward.”

And so, beneath the fully bloomed cherry tree, the Emperor and Empress’s modest picnic could take place.

* * *

In the center of the garden planted with countless cherry trees, the two spread a mat and sat down.

A soft spring breeze blew, causing white petals to fall like snow.

To Arpad, it seemed as if the trees, blinded by Hilia’s beauty, were shedding their blossoms.

When he expressed this sentiment with complete sincerity, Hilia laughed brightly, saying he was exaggerating again.

Steeped in happiness, Arpad watched Hilia’s smile and opened the lunch basket.

Wanting to feel as if they were truly alone, the prepared meal was very simple.

Freshly baked bread with butter and jam, a stew with tender goat’s milk cheese and venison, and fresh fruits.

Though it might seem excessively humble for an imperial couple’s meal, Arpad paid it no mind.

The fact that Hilia had prepared it for him was most important, and he was happy just to spend this intimate time together.

Even seeing the still-steaming stew bowl, Arpad did not immediately realize why Hilia had chosen this menu.

“Come to think of it, is the smell alright? You went to the trouble of bringing this even though meat and fish have been difficult for you...”

While expressing concern, Arpad diligently laid out the food, spread a napkin on Hilia’s lap, and then looked up.

Only then did he belatedly notice Hilia smiling more brightly than moonlight.

“What is it?”

Hilia silently curled up the corners of her mouth into a grin.

Then, she opened her mouth wide.

“Feed me. I think it will taste better if you feed me.”

Startled by this rare request, Arpad felt as if his heart had been struck.

Flustered for a moment, he scooped up some stew with a spoon and fed it to his wife.

“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”

Though less severe than in the very early stages of pregnancy, some morning sickness still remained.

It was natural for Arpad to worry, as she had found it difficult to eat not only fish but also meat.

“Yes. It’s delicious.”

Arpad let out a sigh of relief and rejoiced.

“I must reward the head chef of the Empress’s Palace. I don’t know how many months it’s been since I’ve seen you eat meat so comfortably.”

And he busily moved his hands. He wanted to feed her plenty of the food she was enjoying.

Fortunately, Hilia readily accepted and ate the venison stew.

Then, a completely unexpected remark tickled his ear.

“It tastes good… but still, the one you made for me back then was several times more delicious.”

“…?”

A look of surprise spread across Arpad’s face, which had been briefly puzzled.

Arpad did not immediately understand what Hilia was referring to.

But within seconds, he remembered.

Memories piled layer upon layer over too long a time, their weight pressing down on Arpad’s soul.

Mixed within were fragments of moments that shone like gold dust.

Arpad could easily pluck those shining moments from the mire.

They were the reason he hadn’t gone completely mad, the source that made his current happiness possible, memories that were like pillars supporting his soul.

Hilia spoke shyly.

“I dreamed about that time this morning. And then I really wanted to eat it.”

After gazing at his wife with a momentarily choked expression, he soon filled his face with firm tenderness.

“Ask me to make it for you.”

“I know you’re busy, how could I?”

“You can. Anywhere, anytime, wherever we are. Please do that for me.”

“Then you do the same for me.”

Hilia nodded brightly with a smile.

Though simple, it was a meal more abundant than any banquet, because they were savoring their memories together.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Honestly, the meal now is several times more luxurious, but what we ate back then feels several times more delicious.”

Even though it was only stiflingly dry barley bread, pungent cheese, and old dried fruit.

In truth, the venison stew prepared by the imperial chef now was likely more luxurious and refined in taste than what Arpad had made back then.

Yet, the heart receiving it was different.

Arpad’s head shot up.

“Shall we go there together?”

“Hmm? Where?”

“That hut in the forest.”

Hilia asked in surprise.

“Does that place still exist?”

“Yes. It’s not a place I visited often, but it was originally one of the safe houses I had prepared.”

“…!”

Hilia covered her mouth with both hands.

Longing overflowed. At the time, she hadn’t known she was in the midst of happiness.

But now she knew.

When she savors those memories, she knows that within the bittersweet shell lies something sweeter than honey.

Hilia nodded enthusiastically.

“…Yes. I really want to go. Let’s go!”

Her amethyst eyes, soaked in happiness and longing, shone brighter than jewels.

And this time, Hilia could voice the words she hadn’t managed to say in her memories.

“This time, you can’t sleep on the floor alone. We must sleep together in the bed. Actually, I wanted to ask you to come up to the bed back then too.”

“…I know.”

Amidst the shower of brilliantly falling petals, the two kissed again and again.

Afterwards, Arpad concluded his duties with superhuman effort.

He earnestly requested Sang-hwang, who was enjoying retired life in a detached palace, to act on his behalf, and departed on leave.

No one except the imperial couple knew the destination of this holiday.

(Side Story Concluded - ★)

Romance, Fantasy