Episode 28
It happened a while after we got married.
That day, I had dozed off in the library while secretly watching Ian read, under the warm sunlight.
When I opened my eyes, he was sitting in front of me, reading a book. He was blocking the sunlight for me.
Ian had grown from a boy to a young man.
Just looking at him made my heart flutter. But when he suddenly looked at me, not the book, I blushed and lowered my head quickly.
‘Um, Your Grace. So…’
‘When it’s just the two of us, you can call me by my name.’
That one unexpected sentence made me look up at him.
‘Huh?’
‘Yes. Let’s do that. People say it’s what couples do nowadays.’
Calling each other by name had become popular because of romance novels in the capital.
Maybe he was worried I felt lonely.
Even if he wanted to keep his distance, he couldn’t hide his kind nature.
‘But still…’
Was this a dream?
While I was confused, Ian smiled and gently said,
‘Amelia.’
That was the first time he had ever called me by my name.
In that moment, everything stopped. All I could see was him. My face felt hot.
…But now…
This younger Ian stared at me when I didn’t answer. Then he closed his mouth tightly like he had given up.
“Fine. If you don’t want to, do whatever you want.”
“…”
He glanced at me and held out his hand.
“From here, the path gets rough. It’s safer if we hold hands.”
Carefully, I put my hand in his.
His hand was bigger and warmer than mine. It felt strong.
He held my hand gently and said,
“You can do what you want. I’ll do what I want too.”
What does that mean?
Just as I was wondering, Ian added,
“Let’s go, Amelia.”
He looked at me while still holding my hand.
My heart started to beat faster.
Thump thump.
I could feel a slight tremble in our joined hands.
When I looked into his red eyes glowing in the moonlight, I finally answered—just like I had once before, with a smile.
“Ian.”
It was the first time in this life that I had called him by his name.
Was it just my imagination, or did his cheeks turn pink beneath his red eyes?
“Wow! It’s so pretty!”
As soon as we left the dark forest path, I shouted with shining eyes.
Colorful lights lit up the street beautifully.
“Yeah, it is,” Ian said with a small smile.
A knight came up to Ian quietly and then disappeared again.
“Here, Amelia. Put your mask on.”
“Oh! Right!”
Calling each other by name still felt a little awkward, but I tried not to show it.
Even if we hid our hair with cloth, Ian’s red eyes—symbol of the Vespers—were hard to hide.
I looked at Ian, who was already wearing his mask.
…And then I laughed.
“Pfft.”
“What? You picked it.”
“It really suits you!”
Since it wasn’t a noble’s party, fancy masks would’ve made us stand out more.
So a girl with a bunny mask and a boy with a cat mask didn’t look strange at all—
Even if the boy was much taller than other kids.
Ian’s cat mask looked just like him. I giggled again.
Ian pouted.
“It doesn’t suit me.”
“Yes, it does. It’s perfect!”
When I shook my head, Ian finally laughed too.
Then he started explaining the festival to me.
“At the Herod Festival, people share the pride of Vesford. So there are lots of beautiful and delicious things. Like this.”
He stopped in front of a stall.
“Wow!”
It was a dessert stall with sweets shaped like flowers, fruits, and rabbits in all kinds of colors.
“Which ones would our young friends like?” the shop owner asked, showing us the best-sellers.
“Go ahead and choose.”
“Hmm… they’re all so pretty….”
After thinking hard, I picked four: a red flower with green leaves, a cute bunny, a pink peach, and a red apple.
“We’ll take two of each—eight total, please.”
“Oh my! Looks like our little gentleman and lady got plenty of pocket money! I’ll throw in a free one~”
I smiled shyly at the friendly owner.
Where else could Ian hear this kind of casual talk?
I felt so happy.
Maybe I wasn’t the only one enjoying this day together.
Once Ian took the desserts, he started buying more and more food like he’d gone wild.
“My mom said this skewer is a must-try. Let’s get three.”
“This is crispy corn chips. Try it with the sauce.”
“This noodle dish with meat and veggies is good if you’re hungry.”
At the manor, people always took care of us.
So choosing food and buying it ourselves was a totally new experience.
Before long, Ian’s arms were full of food.
“I think we bought almost everything that looked good. Do you want anything else?”
Ian wasn’t usually this interested in food, was he?
He looked around with eager eyes like he didn’t want to miss a single stall.
Wait a second… could it be?
“Did you research everything before coming?”
Ian’s face instantly turned red.
“I-It’s just… if we’re coming, we should enjoy it properly. That’s what Mother said!”
I knew it.
I smiled warmly.
“Thank you.”
He had clearly prepared everything so I wouldn’t miss any part of the fun.
His thoughtfulness warmed my heart.
“Th-thank me later. There’s still one more place I want to show you!”
So diligent, really.
I smiled again at Ian’s words and walked close beside him as he kept glancing to make sure I didn’t get lost.
Then he brought me to—
“Wow!”
—a pretty accessory shop filled with sparkly things.
“Welcome! What are you two looking for?” the kind middle-aged shopkeeper asked.
Before I could answer, Ian looked at me.
“Pick one.”
I leaned over to look at the accessories.
Then the owner said something unexpected.
“Aw, your boyfriend’s so sweet.”
…Boy… what?
That shocked me. I quickly ducked my head as the cloth on my head slipped a little.
Boyfriend? Ian?
My hidden face turned bright red, and my heart pounded loudly.
The shop owner kept chatting without knowing how I felt.
“Rings are really popular now. During the plague, people avoided wearing them because of sanitizer. So once the plague ended, everyone rushed to buy rings.”
She then placed a box of rings in front of us.
There were all kinds—simple ones with small gems, and fancier crown-shaped ones.
“There’s even a saying: if your boyfriend buys you a ring during the Herod Festival and you hold hands while wearing it, your love will last forever.”
That’s definitely fake. I’ve never heard that before.
“What’s the most popular one?” Ian asked, pretending to believe it.
The shopkeeper, excited, began showing us more options.
“I think we can leave now….” I whispered.
But Ian ignored me and pointed at a ring.
“Can I try that one?”
The ring he chose—
“So pretty.”
—was suddenly on both our hands.
On our ring fingers.
The ones where our real wedding rings usually were, though we took them off for today.
It was a thin silver band with a tiny jewel. Simple and cute—perfect to wear with our wedding rings.
I held out my hand and looked at the ring shining on my finger.
Then a bigger hand placed itself next to mine.
And Ian whispered in my ear—
“What do you think about a ring from your boyfriend, not your husband?”
Dude. They’re child right?