Chapter 47
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Chapter 47
Teleportation magic is susceptible to weather conditions, and it fails to function properly when conditions are unfavorable.
As a result, I was transported to an entirely different village and had to backtrack three times before finally arriving in Grunvalt.
Dale shed his heavy coat and returned in simpler attire.
The Dale that Enya knew.
The snow was so deep it sank past my ankles, and I realized that someone as small-framed as Enya could easily stumble and injure herself if she wasn't careful.
I would need to wake at dawn and clear away the snow.
"...."
Dale gazed at the house he shared with Enya.
It was their newly moved residence. Yet it still felt unfamiliar, just as it always had.
The fact that Enya waited for him inside—he could not grow accustomed to it.
Could not believe it.
"Daaaaaale! Why are you just now arriving!"
The moment the door opened, Enya came bounding out to greet him with unbridled joy.
Having rushed at full speed, she appeared breathless.
"...Miss Enya?"
Dale looked down at her while brushing snow from his robe.
Enya greeted him with unusual warmth today.
Her smile, radiant as sunlight, melted the ice that had encased his heart.
Simultaneously, he felt bewildered by such unbelievable fortune.
"Has something happened?"
"No! I'm just happy to see you, Dale!"
"...."
"Did you strain yourself because of this house? Why are you so late today? Have you been working hard? But what kind of work is it that you can't rest at all?"
Enya seemed to believe he was destitute.
But Dale's lateness stemmed from the grueling schedule of traveling to the Northern Region and back—nothing more.
When Dale merely smiled and remained silent, Enya misinterpreted his financial circumstances and her expression grew pitiful.
"If it's about the furniture, I told you I'll buy it all. I hired you under contract, and I feel terrible that you're making such enormous expenditures."
Dale did not refuse Enya's concern.
"But Miss Enya, why haven't you gone to sleep yet?"
It was far later than usual. Dale had naturally assumed she would be asleep.
"Perhaps you didn't eat dinner? Are you hungry? I instructed the servants to prepare a proper meal...."
"No. I was worried you might ask me to prepare dinner for you."
"I see."
"Right!"
Enya's eyes widened in emphasis.
Dale rarely read others' emotions well, but Enya's expressions were something he could interpret with perfect clarity.
This was the look of utter bewilderment.
Enya was wrapped in a blanket nearly as large as her body, and seeing the pen in her hand, it seemed she had come to greet him while working.
"Please wait a moment. I'll prepare the milk tea you enjoy, Enya."
Dale climbed to his study and changed his clothes.
In the mirror, I could see my body wrapped in bandages.
It had been several days since I'd set down my sword, and when I picked it up again, a moment of carelessness had injured my shoulder.
The wound was severe because we'd sparred with real blades instead of wooden swords.
"...."
I unwound the blood-stained bandages and wrapped my shoulder in fresh ones.
It wasn't easy to do alone, but having grown up without anyone's help since childhood, I managed quickly.
I swallowed two bottles of painkillers and another medicine.
Sometimes unbearable pain would surge through me, but seeing Enya's face made it seem to fade.
That's why I always returned here, no matter what. To Grunvalt, where Enya waited for me.
"Sigh...."
My face twisted with pain, then quickly relaxed as I descended to the kitchen.
The Previous Emperor's abuse had been useful only twice in my life.
Once was when it taught me to survive on my own, and the other was that because of it, I met Enya.
*Pop!*
I carried the milk tea with exactly the right amount of sugar cubes for Enya's taste into the first-floor parlor.
Enya was so absorbed in writing something that she didn't notice my arrival.
"Oh! Dale! Thank you."
Enya smiled brightly as she accepted the milk tea and inhaled its aroma.
When I saw what was written on the paper Enya had been working on, I nearly spat out my coffee.
"Cough, cough—what is that?"
"This? I was thinking about how to decorate the house."
Enya confidently showed me the floor plan.
"Madam Marie asked earlier how I wanted to arrange the rooms. So I tried this—what do you think?"
My face flushed as I examined what she had written.
"The bedroom...."
My eyes wavered.
"There's only one bedroom?"
"It was Madam Marie's idea. She suggested we knock down two rooms and make one large bedroom."
"...."
"We have servants, and the village women often come by to share food. You and I are newlyweds, after all."
"...Yes."
"So I thought about it, and if we kept separate rooms, it would look strange. Madam Marie seemed suspicious about it too. ...Dale? What's wrong? Are you all right?"
It seemed the coffee had caught in my throat.
As my face flushed and I coughed in confusion, Enya handed me a handkerchief.
As situation after situation I'd never considered poured from Enya's lips, my head spun.
She innocently rattled off her plans.
"Anyway, I think we should keep it to one bedroom. Since we each have our own study, I could put a small bed there too, and that would work fine."
"...."
"Oh! I'm not forcing you, Dale. You can use the large bedroom and large bed. I'm fine with a small bed in my study. I'm thinking of using that space as my personal room."
Her cheerful explanation carried not a trace of self-consciousness toward him.
Dale pressed his throbbing temples.
I couldn't decide whether to be delighted or dismayed about sharing a bedroom with Enya.
"I would prefer that you use the larger bedroom, Miss Enya."
"But your body is bigger than mine?"
When she said it that way, there was nothing to say in return.
Enya was wise in strange ways, perceptive about odd things, and strangely oblivious in equal measure.
"Perhaps we should think about it while choosing furniture."
"Yes!"
And she agreed readily.
Dale simply watched as Enya rolled up a blanket.
"But why were you in the drawing room all this time? It must have been uncomfortable."
"Ah, well...."
It wasn't even a difficult question to answer, yet Enya's face looked troubled.
She pondered for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.
"The weather was so bad today that I wanted to stay awake and watch for you to arrive. What if you couldn't get in? That would be terrible. You might collapse on the road. When we first met, you were rather delicate, after all."
"I see."
"But Madam Marie said you wouldn't have any trouble coming even if the roads were slippery."
It was endearing to see her speaking so happily, having grown close to the servants.
"She said The Emperor paid close attention to snow removal work."
"...."
"The Emperor seems to do many good things. I think that's a good idea."
Dale gazed at Enya quietly.
All the servants he had hired were skilled workers who had long served in the Imperial Palace.
Unaware of this fact, Enya kept chattering about Madam Marie's salary increase.
Madam Marie had just received three years' worth of wages as a bonus.
Dale smiled as he watched Enya, who looked delighted.
"Are you satisfied with the servants?"
"Yes. They seem fine. Seeing Madam Marie made me miss the nursemaid at our house and Emma too, and I felt a little homesick."
"...Do you wish to return to the Capital?"
At his question, Enya tilted her head.
"It's just talk. If I really went back, they'd both nag me endlessly. Being apart and missing them just the right amount feels nice."
"What does it feel like to miss someone just the right amount?"
At Dale's question, Enya's eyes widened. He was speaking with the face of someone who understood nothing.
"You've never felt that kind of emotion?"
"No."
It was a remarkably concise answer.
"I missed you every day. I don't know what it feels like to miss someone moderately. I only felt longing as longing itself."
Enya gazed into Dale's eyes as his expression grew serious. The way he looked at her with such infinite care and caution created an illusion.
As though his words were meant for her alone.
"I wanted to see you every day."
His baritone voice dropped even lower.
Dale exhaled softly as he met Enya's unwavering gaze, feeling the intensity of her stare.
Perhaps now was the moment.
Dale believed this was his opportunity.
He couldn't continue like this forever, and now he had to speak. It was time.
He could no longer conceal the truth.
"You, every day."
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