“Oh my god.”
My face was as red as a strawberry as I ran back to my room.
How could I not be fluttered when a handsome man in uniform was lying on my lap, saying romantic things like, ‘I like spring’?
“……I even said I liked it too.”
Whether it was spring or a man like spring. Anyway, I liked something!
I leaned my back against the door, gasping for breath. My heart was rioting, shouting, ‘Hey! That was a confession!’
If I were a vile person like Helene or Count Queensguard, I would have smirked, ‘Heh heh, just as planned,’ but I was just an ordinary person. Someone who would fall for someone’s flirting, giggle, and then be kicked out when my lies were discovered.
‘What should I do? Should I start the runaway heroine plan before my feelings get deeper?’
But it could all be just my own excitement, so I decided to postpone it for now. More than anything, it was too cold right now because it was the peak of winter.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Then, I heard a cheerful and expectant knock.
Nervously, I opened the door to find my stylist maid and my excellent aide, Dahlia, standing there with flushed faces.
“Isn’t tonight the night of the bedding ceremony?”
“Brigadier General will have no choice but to come, right? Because it’s a ‘promise’.”
They said with determined expressions.
After the incident that day, no one was unaware of the subtle awkwardness between us. Their intention to make tonight the turning point in our relationship was obvious.
Girls! No matter how much you dress me up, nothing will happen between us!
“Um. I appreciate your thoughts, but I want to spend tonight quietly, like usual.”
“Yes, we prepared it as usual.”
The stylist maid showed me leopard-print pajamas that I don’t know where she got.
“It’s too much like the clothes of a tribal chief with the spirit of a tiger.”
“I had a hard time finding it because you wanted something that looked strong before……”
“I’m not going to wear it even if you make that pitiful face. And it’s still broad daylight, you know?”
“We need to prepare the strategy in advance.”
Following her, Dahlia unfolded a shocking dress.
“So that you can arrive in the bedroom earlier than your usual bedtime-”
Eek! How embarrassing!
I trembled at the sight of the cruelly cold-looking dress.
“Then…… please wear this at dinner. I made it myself for you, Princess.”
After numerous rejections, the dejected stylist maid held out another dress.
Weak to such sincerity, I looked at the dress with an impressed expression.
“You made it yourself? It’s pretty? I’m really touched……. Thank you.”
This time, it was a pretty crinoline dress that wasn’t too revealing.
The bedding ceremony was a somewhat important event, so the servants would make the dinner and bedroom look fancy for just the two of us.
But in the meantime, I had been so excited to eat special meals without even bothering to dress up, and they must have been worried about it.
“Then make me pretty.”
It’s definitely not to look good for Masera.
Seeing me sit in front of the mirror on my own, the stylist maid approached with a smile of the highest job satisfaction.
“You might not be able to sleep all night? Hehe.”
She looked too excited to say that such a thing wouldn’t happen.
* * *
Before I knew it, dinner time with Masera was approaching.
Had there ever been a time when a meal with just the two of us was this uncomfortable? I ate in silence, wrapped in awkwardness.
I, who usually chat so much that I could even talk to my enemies, was being quiet. Even the delicious food that I would normally go crazy for didn’t catch my eye.
Masera, sitting across the table from me, stared at me and asked.
“Do you have plans for today?”
Yes, your bedding ceremony with me.
He must have thought I was going to a party in the evening. I shook my head with a slightly stiff smile.
“No.”
“That’s good.”
What’s good about it? Masera cut the meat and continued slowly.
“They say we can see a total lunar eclipse tonight.”
“I saw it in the newspaper. They said it only happens once every 200 years, right?”
How about a man who knows about the total lunar eclipse even if he doesn’t know about the bedding ceremony?
He said with a face that seemed indifferent but was full of kindness.
“I thought it would be nice to watch it together in a place where the moon is easy to see.”
“Where? On the roof? At the outpost? On the mountaintop?”
“The bedroom.”
Masera, who gave a simple answer, added while swirling his wine glass.
“Isn’t it the bedding ceremony tonight?”
So he knew. That adorable man.
I chugged water to cool my flushed face.
He still added with a relaxed expression.
“I thought you had forgotten.”
“Can’t you tell by how dressed up I am?”
“I’ve already seen it, and I know.”
He smiled sweetly.
“That you’re pretty.”
I felt like my breath was taken away for a moment, and I ended up dropping my fork.
* * *
Before I knew it, the night had deepened.
Fortunately, I didn’t wear the unusual tribal chief’s pajamas, and I packed warm padded pajamas that were good for watching the moon on the terrace.
‘Watch the moon together? Isn’t that similar to the line, ‘Want to come in for ramen’?’
And I wish he would stop scattering flower petals on the bed because it’s embarrassing.
I didn’t think much of it because it was the bedding ceremony, but now I was somehow bothered by it.
I thought as I gathered the rose petals scattered on the bed and hid them.
‘Pretty? Pretty? How can he say such things to me?’
Is he trying to cause arrhythmia? The shocking words I heard during dinner kept running through my head.
Then, was the saying that he liked spring a confession?
“I’m here on time.”
“You’re pret…… Pardon?”
Masera was standing there in his uniform, as if he had come straight after finishing his work.
Embarrassed, I sipped the weak cocoa that Dahlia had made and asked.
“Brigadier General, have you ever seen a total lunar eclipse?”
“It was 200 years ago, so I haven’t seen it.”
“Ah.”
Holding a warm mug, I went out to the terrace and pointed to the night sky.
“The moon looks really big and there are so many stars. See that cute Ursa Minor over there? It stays with Ursa Major all year round.”
“Are you talking about the Big Dipper? You know a lot about constellations.”
He seemed to be very interested in astronomy.
Then, would he also like legends, superstitions, and ghost stories? A man who even has similar interests to me, perfect.
I unknowingly smiled slyly, then quickly put strength into my mouth.
‘I shouldn’t be greedy anymore.’
As the cocoa cooled, the total lunar eclipse began.
As the saying goes, ‘The night when the moon imitates the sun,’ the round moon hid behind a black curtain and slowly began to reveal itself, dyed in red.
It was like a curtain call after a performance.
“Wow.”
I was mesmerized by the red moon.
Masera, who was standing next to me, looked up at the moon and said.
“Your name is said to be a nickname for the goddess of the moon.”
“You even know that?”
I asked, still fixed on the moon.
“What does Brigadier General’s name mean?”
“It means a slowly flowing destiny.”
The red moon was submerged in the distant frozen river. It seemed to be stopped on the outside, but it would be constantly flowing under the ice.
“People live up to their names.”
As I muttered without realizing it, Masera looked down at me.
“Whatever the meaning of the name, whatever destiny you live. To me, you are just the same person.”
“What kind of person am I to Brigadier General?”
At my cautious question, his lips relaxed.
“At first, a chatterbox who talks so much that it’s tiring.”
Hey. I was feeling a little disappointed, but suddenly he took my hand.
My heart fluttered at the feeling of his fingers gently interlacing with mine.
“Next, I didn’t know I liked that.”
Soon, a languid voice mixed with breath reached my ear.
“Now, you are a unique existence.”
My head overloaded, I blankly looked up at him.
‘Unique…….’
In the end, I couldn’t resist and was drawn to his touch.
I hoped the world would turn a blind eye.
I felt the joy and anxiety of the moon stealing the sunlight.
As I looked into his eyes, which were getting closer than the moon, my heart was filled with both excitement and fear.
Soon, his lips, bowing politely, touched the back of my hand. Like a knight vowing to protect the Princess for the rest of his life.
“I no longer want to be a husband who pretends to be affectionate, but to be real.”
