After the Rain (17)

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That night, a small banquet was held.

The missing Princess Consort had been found, and Tarkan had once again defeated a great demonic beast, so naturally, congratulations were due.

Inside the huge barrier, people were relieved of their worries, and chatted loudly while clinking their glasses.

“Woah, to think Her Highness came to such a dangerous place for Milord’s sake. And she even persuaded Count Tallistan to take the border guards along.”

“Sure enough, our Princess Consort is amazing.”

“Right? How did she know that we would retreat to the Great Demon Beast’s territory just by seeing that communication was cut off?”

“I knew she was smart, but I can’t help but feel awe.”

“I guess that is the connection between couples. They have such a harmonious relationship, after all.”

People laughed and chatted happily.

However, the protagonists of the banquet, Tarkan and Aristine, were nowhere to be found.

This was because Tarkan had to leave first because he was exhausted after his battle with the Great Demonic Beast. Of course, as he was leaving, his hand was holding Aristine’s hand tightly.

Thanks to the priest who came along with the border guards, Tarkan’s wounds were recovering quickly.

Considering Tarkan’s usual stamina and the constant blessings from the priest, it felt weird to have him leave because of fatigue. Even more so because Tarkan did not like to reveal his condition outwardly.

There had been many times where Tarkan looked very okay on the outside that people thought he was fine, but later, they found out that he had internal injuries and the warriors under his command were frightened.

But this time, Tarkan himself said that he was not feeling well and left because he was tired.

If the court ladies were here, they would have definitely started snickering.

Being alone in a foreign land, it was vomit-inducing to see him holding hands with his wife and acting all lovey-dovey, but as the loyal warriors that they were, they pretended not to see it.

Honestly, it was more eye-burning to see him kiss that photo every night when it wasn’t even the real thing.

‘Now that they’re together, he probably wants to spend some time alone.’

If the demonic beasts didn’t exist, then a night on the plains would be romantic.

It was a place that preserved its primordial innocence, untouched by human hands.

The autumn moon lit up the world even more brightly, and the stars in the sky seemed to pour down like a canvas.

Even the warriors felt sentimental when the sweet scent of the vast plain brushed past their side.

Lying side by side on the grass, watching the moon and stars, and talking about each other’s story; imagine what a good memory that would be.

‘Plus, we messed up before we left…’

Jacquelin thought as he wet his lips with a drink.

They brought up his lord’s first love for no reason, making the relationship between the couple turn awkward.

He had been worried about what to do but seeing as Her Highness came to help like this, it seemed everything had been sorted out.

‘Honestly, when Her Highness was mad at Milord, Milord was just…’

Jacquelin shook his head.

When he saw the two of them on the podium during the battle ceremony, he thought it had been resolved but that wasn’t the case at all.

After they arrived at the demonic beast plains, Tarkan sat alone every night, looking at his wife’s picture, and mumbling apologies.

It made anyone watching feel pity for him.

It was the first time Jacquelin had seen him like that ever since he began serving his lord.

Of course, that pity was shattered once his lord kissed his wife’s picture.

The behavior at night was one thing but during the day, he slew demonic beasts like they were his mortal enemy.

It was practically a one-sided massacre.

The ordinary warriors were excited about Tarkan’s charisma, and it boosted their morale, but those who knew what was going on had mixed feelings.

Who knew why he was taking out his anger about being hated by his wife on some unrelated demonic beast.

For the first time in his life, Jacquelin felt sorry for the demonic beasts.

In any case, thanks to that, the expedition moved much faster than expected, so their return date was also sped up.

Of course, when the communication with other divisions was cut off, things got complicated, and he had to handle how they would move forward in the future.

“Milord and Her Highness must be looking at the moon by now, right?”

“It’s been a while since we met, so they must have a lot to talk about.”

“My dream was to walk holding hands while looking at the moon when I get a girlfriend.”

A huge warrior, seemingly drunk and flushed, began to mutter, “This star is yours, that star is mine…”.

Normally, Jacquelin would have turned away saying it was a sight for sore eyes, but right now, everyone was drunk, and no one was thinking straight.

On the contrary, Asena cackled and joined the warrior in counting the stars together.

“Honestly, no other place quite captures the view in the demonic beast plains.”

“I hope both of them can reconcile.”

Although it made their stomachs cramp, they smiled brightly at the thought of the royal couple walking on the grass under the moonlight.

However, they soon realized how pure and innocent their thoughts were.

Because the place where the royal couple was heading, was not a field under the moonlight, but a perfectly secret space where not even the moonlight could shine.