74 – One spring day’s oath

By the time the thickly bloomed spring prepares to leave little by little. I visited a village belonging to the dukedom with Iris.

It is an ordinary village with nothing special except that it is warm for a northern country.

In such a town, we are walking the streets hiding our identities. while holding each other’s hands.

I am happy at this moment when I walk while feeling her warmth.

As I was savoring the happiness, she pointed to a store.

Following her fingertips, an ordinary shop with nothing special comes into view.

“There it is.”

Saying that, she pulled my hand.

I followed her hand and entered the store.

When I entered the store, I felt full of calm fragrance.

The calm scent added happiness.

“Give me two spring evenings.”

She ordered as usual.

“Aris, have you ever been here?”

Since she is hiding her identity, I called her by the name she used to call at the Harvest Festival.

“I came here with my mother when I was little.”

The word mother comes out of her mouth for the first time, and nostalgia permeates her face.

It raises many questions.

You deserve to be questioned. But fearing it might be her wound, she swallowed it without asking.

I swallowed my doubts and asked something else.

“okay. But what about a spring evening?”

“You’ll know when it comes out.”

she said with a smile.

When her memories came back and there was something she wanted to show, she always replied like that.

As if you want to see it without adding anything.

“If you say so, I look forward to it.”

“Yeah. Would you like it?”

There was joy in her voice, and a little bit of anticipation in her voice.

While waiting in such anticipation, a clerk came with fragrant incense.

“This is the spring dinner you ordered.”

Along with the clerk’s words, a glass that seemed to contain the sunset was placed.

As I admired the colors resembling the sunset and savored the fragrance, I felt as if I was in a flower field as the scent of the flowers was overwhelming.

“You have a good name.”

“It’s a good name, but it tastes good too.”

At her words, I drank the sunset while savoring the incense.

The sweet yet slightly bitter taste spreads in the mouth and disappears leaving a subtle scent.

As I savored the satisfying taste, she looked at me with a smile.

He smiled at her.

“As you said, this is my favorite taste.”

“I’m glad you seem to be satisfied as I thought.”

Saying so, she took a sip of the sunset.

“There are other names for this.”

“Do you have another name?”

She nodded and opened her mouth.

“It’s my first love.”

“That name suits you well.”

The sweet and bitter taste goes well with its name.

“right. So I wanted to drink with you.”

I felt heat rise to my face at her words.

Feeling that way, I heard her laugh.

“Your face shows your thoughts well.”

She said and put her hand on my cheek.

Her warmth mixed with the hot heat.

“It’s hot.”

“It’s because someone said something embarrassing.”

“Didn’t you also make embarrassing noises often? It is a reward for that.”

She smiled and raised her hand.

“Looking at your reaction, I think I know why you often say such embarrassing things.”

“That was not my intention.”

“I will believe you.”

Even her playful words felt endearing, and laughter leaked out.

“Why are you smiling so much?”

“I love you, it’s because I’m happy just looking at you.”

Her cheeks turned a little red. Just like she did earlier, I reached for her cheek.

I feel the heat.

“It’s hot.”

“It’s because someone who doesn’t know shame makes an embarrassing noise.”

Hearing her words made me laugh again.

“I’m enjoying it too.”

“I didn’t know either, but thanks to Aris, I found out.”

Saying that, he stroked her blushing cheek once and removed his hand.

She drank the sunset with a slightly pouty expression.

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Looking at her lovely expression, I savored the sunset.

It feels a little sweeter than before.

I savored it, which was sweeter than the first time, and slowly emptied it.

The glass containing the sunset was emptied, and he moved along with her touch.

The footsteps headed for a deserted mountain.

“Iris, where are you going?”

“You’ll know when you go.”

Watching her speak with a smile, I swallowed my question and followed her hand.

As time passed, a wind carrying the scent of flowers blew from across the hill.

The wind tickles the heart.

Feeling it, I crossed the hill, and a field full of white flowers spread out.

“I came all the way to this village because I wanted to come here with you.”

Saying so, she led them to the center of the field.

I sat on a thin cloth under a large tree in the center of the field.

And she held my hand, looked at the flower garden and opened her mouth.

“This is also the place my mother told me about.”

As she said that, she put on a sad expression.

“My mother was born in this village.”

A story I had never heard of flowed out of her mouth, and I listened quietly.

“My mother was an aristocrat, but she was from a distant side, so she was no different from a commoner. A young man came to visit such a mother. That man was your father who hid his identity.”

Her grip gets a little stronger.

“My father confessed to my mother that he fell in love at first sight. Mother rejected it. My father, who was rejected, continued to come and confess to my mother every day after that. My mother refused every day.”

I can’t imagine the appearance of such a father-in-law.

“It became a day, a season, a year, but my father did not give up. Seeing my father like that, my mother surrendered and accepted my father’s confession.”

Her grip gets a little stronger.

“My mother, who was like a commoner, and my father, who was deeply permeated with the life of an aristocrat, matched each other strangely, even though they were different. Thanks to that, the two of you are getting closer.”

The wind blew and the petals fluttered.

“One sping day. My father revealed his identity to my mother here and proposed to her. My mother hesitated for a while because of my father’s true identity, but accepted the marriage proposal because she loved him.”

Her voice seemed a little dry.

“They got married and were happy for a while, but soon after I was born, they became like us in the other life.”

That sounded sad.

“Because of that pain, my mother died at an early age.”

A slightly wet voice was heard.

“According to my deceased mother’s will, her traces are scattered here.”

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Listening to her, this place feels a little different.

“So to me, this is my mother’s grave, a place of happy memories, and a place of pain.”

She said that and looked at me.

I can see her slightly wet eyes.

“That’s why I came here. I wanted to introduce you to my mother.”

Saying that, she lifted me up and pulled out a small box from her bosom.

“And at the place of memories of my father and mother, I want to announce the end of the curse on the family.”

A small box opened, revealing a pair of rings encrusted with blue jewels.

“I already said it, but I will say it again. Alik, please marry me. I will make you happy for the rest of my life.”

I grabbed the ring she was holding and put it on her ring finger.

“I will make you happy for the rest of your life. Iris, my first love and my last love.”

She put the ring on my ring finger with a wet smile.

Our ring fingers settled into each other’s hearts, and our breaths touched.

The wind blew and the petals fluttered, hovering around us.

The wind died down, and our breath fell.

“Be sure to keep your word.”

“I will definitely keep it. So please protect Iris too.”

“I definitely will.”

She put her arm around my neck and took my breath away again.

I hugged her and took her breath away.

Taking each other’s breath away, our breathing and warmth are entangled.

As time passed, the sky began to turn red little by little.

“It is already evening.”

“It took a while to get here, so no wonder.”

Saying so, she took my hand.

Holding my hand, she smiled as she often did at night.

“You know what? The day my father confessed, I nestled in my mother’s belly.”

After she said that, she wrapped her arms around my neck again and whispered.

“You will do your best until our children come back.”

“I will.”

Her words remind me of the children, and my heart hurts, but I will definitely show them this world again.

Even if you find the invisible pendant again, it will definitely give you this beautiful world.

“And I want to give Evan and Ellie more family presents.”

“I will try.”

After that, he was led by her hand.

A little more than a year has passed since a life that was painful enough to die ended and a new life was given.

I swore to turn around and come back to her side and infiltrate her life.