(From Demetrius''s Perspective)


    The day of the kingdom visiting team''s departure had finally arrived. It had been dyed a bit since King Ford asked for a few more days. It was very annoying to see him chatting with my wife. Well, he was going to leave in a bit anyway.


    "This design is quite something. I also want to wear something like this, but that would be copying the Queen of Querencia," he said to Blue. "That won''t be good for my reputation."


    "It seems you are very fond of my wife''s attire," I said coldly.


    "I am actually," he said, smiling as if it was very amusing. "This is the first time I have seen a design like this. And it is also my first time seeing a Queen wearing a suit. I am pretty impressed that my friend is the first Queen to do so. It is inspiring for women."


    "She is not your friend," I said. That was the first that annoyed me the most. "I remember my wife saying so earlier."


    "Evan also should not talk like this right now. Everyone will gather here for their departure," Blue said.


    "You also like it when he talks to you, don''t you?" I asked.


    "What are you saying? Don''t be ridiculous," she shrugged.


    "King Demetrius is a very jealous person. I think everyone in the pce knows about it," King Ford said.


    "Honey, he is kidding," Blue mumbled, rubbing my arm.


    "Wow, honey? Haha, your rtionship improved, huh? Blue used to call King Demetrius ''Dem'', right? But now, it developed into ''honey''? Wow, how fascinating! It feels like I am witnessing the development of a love story?"


    "I did not know you were this childish, Evan," Blue said. Though she was clearly embarrassed, she tried to hide it and maintained her tone. She was getting better at it. But in front of me, she still could not hide her embarrassment. And I preferred it would remain that way. "And we are married.


    We are justfortable with each other. Isn''t it normal?"


    King Ford tried to say something more, but could not since Luc and the other members of the team had arrived.


    "I could not finish my research for this damn visit," Luc grumbled as he walked to us.


    "Well, it''s your job to maintain your work. Besides, it''s not like we told you to research on it," I snapped. "Why are you whining, idiot?"


    "See? See, how he behaved with me? And he is supposed to be the king...! This bastard should learn how to talk to someone first!"


    "Stop it, Luc. And Dem too," Blue sighed. "Don''t fight right before leaving. What kind of behavior is that? I am disappointed in both of you."


    "I am sorry," I said quickly. It was never a good choice to anger your wife.


    "Yeah, I am sorry too," Luc said. For some reason, he never went against Blue''s words and always tried not to anger her for real either. I had read his mind and it seemed he just thought of her as someone precious and close to him. The feelings were not romantic, because he never showed any interest in her in that way.


    I knew Luc was not that kind of person, so I never minded even if they hung out and chatted.


    "Just don''t fight anymore," she said. "Anyway, everyone is here now. I think it''s time."


    It was time for them to take their leave. They would teleport as it was the fastest way. Just before leaving, Luc inched closer to Blue and started whispering.


    "I am quite worried about Ruby."


    "Me too. But I told her to spend time with me every day after Athena is adopted since she will be alone in the magic tower. I will invite her for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She can also stay in the pce for the time being. You don''t have to worry at all," she reassured him.


    "In that case, I will leave her to you. Take care of her," he said.


    ''Take care of her?''


    "Sure. No problem," she smiled.


    Blue waved all of them goodbye, not so excitedly and not too elegantly either, rather it was very cute. It was not just my thoughts. Most of the members of the team thought that their Queen was very cute. They could not say it to her face since it was not something someone called a nobledy or a noble man. Others thought she was very easygoing.


    Actually, whoever she met did not ever think that she was a bad person. She just had a way to make everyone take a liking to her. Obviously, there were people who hated her and envied her, but they were fewer in number.


    ''Well, I don''t care about elegance. The fact that she is being herself matters the most.''


    "What does he mean ''take care of her''?" I asked.


    "Well, she is basically my friend and also a very close person to me. It is only natural that I will take care of her. It doesn''t mean I am going to do her nails, fix her hair. I just have to make sure she is okay, not lonely and she is doing fine," she replied. "It''s an easy task, honey. You don''t have to have that look on your face."


    I was not used to how these things work. I was constantly getting surprised by how she treated others and how things worked in others'' lives. The more I noticed, the more I understood how wrong my life had been all this time.


    I truly wanted to change. Not for others, but for my wife and myself. It was very hard to suddenly change the way I thought. She told me to take it easy and not push myself. But sometimes, I was not even sure if I was trying enough to change my way of thinking.


    "Ugh!"


    "What''s wrong? Is it because of the heat? It''s hot suddenly," she said, clutching my hand tightly with hers. "Let''s go back. You need to attend a meeting as well."


    "Yeah," I muttered.


    After returning to the pce, I started to look through the documents once more while my wife stared nkly at the wall, sitting on the couch. It was very rare to find her distracted by some thoughts. Usually, she maintained her daily life rather well.


    "Is something bothering you?" I asked.


    "Hmm... It''s about Ruby."


    "What did she do?"


    "She didn''t do anything... You see, thest time I went to the magic tower to dye Athena''s hair, she wanted my suggestion about something. She said that she is very bothered about something."


    "What is it?"


    "She has been using contraceptives since their first night. Luc knows about it too but never said anything about it. Luc is usually a very straightforward guy. So, since he did not say anything about it, she assumed that Luc doesn''t want a kid," I said.


    "And what did you tell her?"


    "I told her that she should not assume anything by herself. Then I asked for her opinion on whether she wants a child or not. She said it won''t be bad, but not right away. Then I told her to talk to Luc about it. I think it will bring her a solution if she talks to Luc rather than me. I can only suggest to her something, but I don''t have the right to give her a solution."


    "It''s solved then," I said. "You gave her a proper answer. She wanted to know what you thought about it, and you told her. That''s it. Now, it''s her job to do what she thinks. If she can''t talk to her husband about marital matters, it won''t work and there will always be a problem between them.


    If she asks Luc, Luc will give her a straightforward answer. But unlike me, he is more aware of people''s feelings. So, he won''t answer in a way that will hurt her. You don''t have to worry."


    "Yeah, I guess so. Communication is really important. Remember, we had a misunderstanding between us for one month because none of us said anything to the other? It was depressing..."


    "But the night when you cleared it up was very satisfying and hot," I said with a grin.


    "Jeez, you only remember those things...," she muttered as my words made her cheeks and ears burn. Again, she could not hide her embarrassment. Rather than that, she did not want to hide it. It was as if she was morefortable showing her real self before me.


    "If I think about the past, I remember the times when we could not have sex. For a very long time, we had to stay away from each other. And it makes me want to do it all day and night."