Chapter 102 - The Return of the King 2 (2/2)

“Don’t feel too relieved yet, Lady Leifina. One day, I will steal His Majesty from you and make him mine.”

“...Stop with your delusions, Tinia. Leifina and I simply have a master-servant relationship, just like I do with you.”

“Is that the truth? Then what about that woman called Joanna? According to the vassals, they call her the future queen.”

“It’s the same thing with her. And the matter about the future queen hasn’t been addressed yet.”

Woohyuk didn’t want to take responsibility for any women as much as possible for now.

As a human who was challenging the Divine Thrones, he had to give up on living an ordinary life.

As he revealed his thoughts, Tinia made a satisfied expression.

“Well, that’s fine. If you won’t get involved with any woman until you achieve your goals… I will trust you and wait for you.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“I will not let another man embrace me even if they stab a sword through my neck. So you must take responsibility for me in the future.”

She didn’t care if she wouldn’t be his first woman. She simply wanted to stay by his side as one of his women. However, Tinia’s pride wouldn’t allow her to speak of these thoughts truthfully.

Once she left the throne room, Leifina spoke with concern in her eyes.

“My Lord, will you take Countess Tinia as your wife once you take your place on a Divine Throne?”

“Who knows? It’s hard to give a definite answer right now.”

If he were to marry her, it would definitely sprout a sense of responsibility within Woohyuk.

However, that was something that couldn’t happen to him, as he needed a clear mind and aim for the thrones.

Once she heard his answer, Leifina’s expression subtly changed.

“If that’s the case, then would you…”

“Do you have a good suggestion to make, Lady Leifina?”

“N-no, it’s nothing…”

Leifina wildly blushed as she shut her mouth. Woohyuk stared at her, puzzled, before he began chuckling.

‘She’s being shy.’

He suddenly remembered the night before his regression. Leifina professed her love for him out of the blue, and after racking his brain for a while, he took her to his chambers where they began a secret relationship.

He had broken the oath he had made after his first and last woman, Lucretia, had been killed by the Crimson Crow.

However, he did not regret his actions.

She had followed and served him for the last 40 years, and he couldn’t bear to turn down her feelings the last night they would see each other.

‘We were really honest with each other back then.’

They lay down on the bed without a piece of cloth on them, and talked until they fell asleep.

The words, feelings, emotions and thoughts they had kept hidden deep within their hearts were slowly unraveled.

He also finally learned the reason why Leifina always refused to stop cooking. She was trying to get acknowledged as a woman by perfecting her cooking skills.

‘You were a special existence to me.’

And although the past Leifina had vanished, he didn’t feel lonely. Her feelings from the past hadn’t changed compared to the present woman, as if the soul of the previous Leifina had transferred over to the present Leifina.

“Lady Leifina.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“I am emphasizing it again, but don’t think about learning to cook no matter what.”

“Wha, what are you talking about…?”

“You are the most beautiful when you behave as a knight.”

Leifina truly had no talent in cooking. He was certain of this fact due to his previous life.

Therefore, Woohyuk hoped that she wouldn’t try it out unnecessarily this time around.

“I don’t know what to say to those words, My Lord.”

“Are you embarrassed?”

“Tha, that’s not…”

Leifina’s face turned bright red as she blushed.

Woohyuk stared at her behaviour for a moment before returning to the throne.

“Let’s continue talking about the earlier topic now.”

“Ye-yes…!”

Leifina couldn’t hide her restlessness as she answered back.

Woohyuk gently watched her as he listened to her gibberish.

‘I’m sorry, Leifina. I cannot accept your feelings as of yet.’

This wasn’t a problem of his personal feelings. However, he believed that the day would come when they would finally be able to talk heart to heart once again.

‘Unlike Lucretia, you will be by my side until the very end once again.’

As he thought so, Woohyuk came to a realization.

‘Geez, I have as many worries as Sieg when it comes to the subject of love.’

While he tried to suppress his emotions as much as he could, it was impossible to completely forget his feelings from the past.

If he were to reunite with Lucretia, he would most definitely worry about her safety, even if they didn’t start a relationship like they did in the past.

‘I can’t make the same mistake again.’

If she were to become his lover again, she would be the target of many demons’ evil schemes and hostility.

Woohyuk silently raised his head as he recalled Lucretia, who had faced a miserable end with her entire body mangled.

After finishing the discussions about the current affairs, the empty hall entered his vision.

“It appears that the sun has set.”

“Following the previous idea, we should first send Aris to… Yes? Yes. Should we end it here for today?”

“I don’t think that we will come up with a good plan today. Let’s just go have dinner now.”

“U-understood.”

He was being unusually considerate today. Leifina followed behind Woohyuk with a face equally full of hope and concern.