Chapter 265


    After this, I ruled over my territory as leader .


    That being said, honestly my duties weren’t much different from beforehand .


    Each day I was pursued by my work, and hunched over a desk making my best effort .


    Although...there were a lot fewer people charging into my room with dramatic announcements, so I had a lot more spare time .


    I learned from Lady Letticia that she was officially seeding to the throne .


    Seems like after a year of mourning for Dean she was going to hold her coronation .


    I would attend the ceremony as well as leader of my territory .


    This would be the first ceremony I attended as leader...basically the first time I would appear in public as a territory leader .


    A year, huh .


    I couldn’t help but sigh .


    After he was gone, several weeks felt like a long, long time .


    Like Mother said, asionally I would feel a streak of pain in my chest .


    But now I even enjoyed this pain .


    “Where are you heading, mdy?”


    When I walked out the room, I encountered Tanya who was walking over with files in her hands .


    “I’m going to take a walk . I need to move around . ”


    “Then let mee...”


    “No, that’s fine . I’ll just walk around in the yard . ”


    I left her behind and walked out .


    The spring air enveloped me with warmth .


    When I stretched, my bones made a cracking sound .


    Sitting at my desk every day was making my body stiff . Thinking this, I gazed out at my beautiful garden to rx .


    “The weather is great...”


    Looking up, I saw the clear blue sky .


    “Is Dean somewhere in that sky?”


    I couldn’t help but say this to myself, sping my pocket watch .


    He was protecting me from above...it was a fairytale belief that I clung to .


    No, I forced myself to .


    “No . Not in the sky . ”


    My murmurs were greeted by someone responding behind me .


    The familiar voice made me freeze where I stood .


    Unbelievable .


    “It can’t be...”


    I was already hallucinating voices, huh, I attempted to calm my shaking body .


    But as if to mock me, the voice continued to ring out .


    “I’m so sorry, mdy . I always lie to you . ”


    My tears began to fall slowly .


    It wasn’t a mishearing or a hallucination .


    “What kind of lie is it?”


    The voice shuddered .


    “So many . An identity as the son of a merchant from the merchants’ guild . Pretending to be calm when I heard about your engagement . And my death . ”


    “None of it matters...!”


    Turning around, I rammed into his chest .


    It was him .


    It was him...Alfred Dean Tasmeria .


    His warmth, the heartbeat I heard in his chest, was enough for me to burst into tears .


    He was alive...alive!


    “As long as you’re still alive, I don’t need anything else...”


    His hands wrapped around my back .


    The shuddering in his hands couldn’t be a hallucination .


    Engulfed in emotions, I hugged him harder .


    I wanted the concreteness of him being right here, right now .


    We hugged each other, enjoying the warmth of our bodies .


    I wanted to see you...wanted to see you!


    And yet I was powerless to do so .


    Even if I knew I couldn’t see him again, I still hungered for him, chased after him .


    Lightly, our bodies separated . I raised my hands to his cheeks .


    “But why?”


    “I was indeed injured by arrows, and was in fatal danger...but thanks to the doctor’s hard work, I survived . But by that point the news that I had passed away had already made it back to the pce . ”


    “Ah...so you’re fine? Not in pain anymore?”


    “I’mpletely recovered, without any after effects . ”


    He said with a smile . I sighed in relief .


    “Is that so...that’s good . ”


    “Only the doctor who saved me knows I survived . I asked him not to spread the news . ”


    “Why is that?”


    “Letty said I wasn’t suitable for the role of king . She wanted to be king, so I should just back down . I think that in some ways this was the right thing for her to do...since she was already handling everything in the pce anyways . If I went back it would just be more chaotic . ”


    Dean chuckled .


    “My sister told me to do something I wanted to do . What I want to do is work here . ”


    Dean sped my hands on his face .


    “In the past I thought my only two paths were bing king or dying . I’d never thought of any other possibility . Everything I did was to be king...and I only connected with the people around me for this purpose . ”


    I listened quietly to his confession .


    “But when I was here, it was different . My imagined future disappeared from my mind . I enjoyed my work here...”


    “Dean...”


    These words sounded like a deration of love .


    My heart kept leaping at his words .


    “I couldn’t help but wish . I couldn’t help but wonder . At another future . I wanted to build a future I had never seen and never imagined with you . ”


    His hands tightened .


    “Although in the past you only hired me on a temporary basis, I want to work here forever . I am a ghost now . May I have this privilege?”


    “...Of course!”


    Indeed, since he was dead he had no status .


    But what did that matter?


    After tasting despair once, I was willing tobor at any cost . No, this wasn’t even hard work for me .


    sping my hand, Dean knelt down on one knee .


    It was like a fairytale, a knight to a princess .


    “Hold on...Dean!”


    His sudden movement made me shout, my eyes wide .


    But he just smiled and shook his head .


    His determined eyes fixed upon me . They stole my consciousness away .


    “I love you . ”


    And then his words stunned me .


    No disguising, simple words .


    But the emotion behind them was enough for my tears to start flowing .


    “I’ve always been lying to you, this whole time . Now I’m a phantom with no real identity who can never step onto the stage of this world . I’ll create a lot of work for you, I’m sure . But I don’t want to lie to you anymore . I love you, from the bottom of my heart . Even if I know the toll it might take on you, I can’t give up . I want to walk into the future with you . Please, may I apany you in the journey of your life?”


    My face was hot .


    Joy, happiness . My chest felt full .


    “You care about these things . ” I took his hand .


    “These things...It’s odd for me to say this, but they really are a lot of trouble . A man without an identity cannot be husband to a territory’s ruler . Plus, this man has royal blood, the rights to the throne...so he can never walk onto the political scene . ”


    “None of this matters to me . Because this way I can be with you . I thought you were dead . Faced with a miracle like this, these things are nothing important . ”


    He was wide-eyed at my response .


    I pulled him to his feet, and buried my face in his chest .


    Everything I should say and do as ady, as the daughter of a duke, disappeared in my mind .


    “That being said, this also means you’re giving up the crown for me? Even if youe back as king, I’m already the ruler of this territory . I have no intentions of giving up this position, no matter how much I love you . ”


    “Iris...”


    “I’m a troublesome woman too, Dean . Even if I love you, I have my own wants and refuse to stray from my path . Because I love thisnd, and I love the people who live here . ”


    I couldn’t back down on this point, no matter how much I loved him .


    “That’s exactly the Iris that I love . ” Heughed .


    “Dean...”


    We were gazing at each other, with only the other person in our universe .


    “But you have to promise me this . ”


    His earnest eyes sought boration .


    “I’ve had enough suffering . Don’t tell lies that will make me shed tears anymore . ”


    The pain, the suffering, the tragedy .


    Feeling like my chest was about to be rent apart...I couldn’t handle those emotions any longer .


    “Of course . I’ve had enough of the lies too . ”


    His hands caressed my face .


    I let his hands take me, looking up to him .


    “I want to be with you . Closer than anyone else...I love you too . ”


    Finally, I could say the words . I love you .


    My true feelings, my intense longing .


    A deep satisfaction overcame me and I sighed in relief .


    His face approached mine gently . I closed my eyes .


    And so our lips pressed together .


    So touching and loving .


    Grateful that he still lived, grateful for everything I had .


    At the same time, my heart filled with a rash impulse .


    I wanted to erupt, to scream .


    I wanted him to bepletely mine, to the point where I couldn’t think about anything else .


    Hopefully he was satisfied as me . Perhaps we were thinking the same thought .


    And then we separated


    “Well then, let’s go back first . ”


    If we continued we’d be far too immersed . My embarrassment didn’t stop me from making this suggestion .


    “Yes . ”


    He was blushing too .


    It was an adorable sight that made me smile .


    “Everyone will wee you back . We were all so sad to hear you’d passed . ”


    “How should I say this...I’m sure everyone in the financial offices will be a little more reserved . ”


    “Indeed...”


    We held hands .


    The warmth at our fingertips made us shudder .


    Was it possible to keep walking like this from now on?


    “All right, let’s go then! Dean . ”


    “All right .