Chapter 299 (1/2)

I slowly reached out and put my hand on his back. Then I wrapped his hands that were hot with fever, and said with a smile, “Of course. You have always been my one and only love.”

“…Tia. ”

When I spoke word by word clearly, his navy blue eyes trembled. He looked at me silently for a long time, then slowly pulled me and held me in his arms.

“Thank you. Actually, I was worried that I forced you to do something against your will.”

“Oh no! How could I?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I just wanted to find a token that you were mine. That way I wanted to dissipate the fear a bit that you might leave me…”

I felt heartbroken to hear that.

I was such a bad woman. I made him hurt so much because I could not send him a clear signal. How much did he hurt, looking at me who didn’t clearly close my mind to him nor warm up to him? As he had been waiting for me like that, it was natural that he was afraid I might change my mind. On my part, I was also afraid I might be abandoned by him again, although I knew how he felt toward me.

“I will make a scarf for your formal dress tomorrow. Gloves the day after tomorrow and some other thing three days later…”

“…Tia. ”

“So, don’t worry. Okay?”

“Oh, how kind of you…” His navy blue eyes stared at me, which reflected another type of fever that’s different from one caused by body aches.

I glanced down, trying to calm down my pounding heart, and put my arms around his neck.

The moment he was about to kiss me, he suddenly stopped and relaxed his arm. Then he said with a sigh, “Oh, my God…”

“Your Majesty?”

“… You shouldn’t be infected by me. I think I have to refrain from it today with regrets.”

He grabbed my hand with a very regrettable expression and kissed the back of it.

Although I was thrilled by his very affectionate attitude, I was more concerned about his condition because I could feel fever even on his lips.

“Please take a rest. What if your condition gets worse?”

“Got it. Let me take a rest. By the way, Tia?”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“Do you remember what happened in the imperial garden on the day when the late emperor’s state funeral was held?”

“Of course I do. Why did you suddenly mention…?”

“That day I fell asleep before I knew it. In fact, I had been suffering from insomnia at that time, but I think it’s the first time I slept so comfortably. So…”

My heart was pounding because I thought I knew what he wanted from me.

As I blushed without replying anything, he smiled and leaned on my lap. I stiffened when I felt his warmth on my legs. “Are you uncomfortable?”

“Oh, no…”

His navy blue eyes, which I always looked up at, were now looking up at me. When I blushed because I felt a bit awkward and shy, he fell asleep with a smile.

His disheveled hair kept catching my eyes, but I tried to take my eyes off from him and pulled a bunch of documents carefully. As if to show Duke Verita’s competence, the documents prepared by him seemed to be a bundle of six folders, but two of them were unusually thick.

”Okay, let me take care of these first.’