"Dear, are you going out tomorrow?"
I gave Nier a kiss on her face then answered, "Uhm. It won"t take long. I"ll be back very soon. I"ll definitely be by your side when you give birth, so you don"t have to worry."
"It"s all right. Her Majesty has sent a letter saying that she is on her way here, so you can go wherever you want, Your Majesty. I can take care of myself. Queen Vyvyan is taking care of Lucia, so you don"t need to worry." Nier gave me a kiss on my lips, and then pursed her lips into a smile. She gave me a tight hug and wrapped up in a soft voice: "I"ll wait for your return here."
"Ah, I"ll be back."
After bidding goodbye to Lucia and Nier, Freya and I set out to go and see Ling Yue. I brought just Tanya alone, since I left Shusia behind to look after Nier. Shusia was very excited to look after her senior. Freya brought Gerald and a small bodyguard team along. I, therefore, felt confident with regards to safety.
I brought food and some small presents for Ling Yue.
We headed to Ling Yue"s place under the pretext of investigating how to extract the Brilliant Moon Stone, but in reality, I went with the aim of visting Ling Yue. By my estimates, the North should"ve been up and running after my children were born, so I wouldn"t have much time to see Ling Yue by then. Hence, it was my only opportunity to see her and my child.
It didn"t take long to get to Ling Yue"s house from the Imperial Palace. Our approximate arrival was in half-day"s time. Freya sat in my lap and looked around, particularly at Tanya, who was boastfully humming a song. Tanya didn"t say a word. She looked at my back with a poker face. In reality, she was pinching on to a corner of my cape… I was worried she"d pull me down…
Gerald was on my right hand side. I didn"t pay attention to him, since he"s Freya"s bodyguard. Firstly, I trust him. Secondly, I don"t want to order him. Though he must obey my orders, I hoped that he"d disobey my order and prioritise Freya"s safety if my order put her at risk. I didn"t want to put him in a dilemma, so I wouldn"t give him any orders.
Current time at Ling Yue"s house.
"Ling Yue, you don"t need to be so excited, do you? You"ve been looking out the window ever since you woke up. His Majesty must"ve just left. How could he be here so soon?"
Evelyn placed the cup in her hand down then looked at Ling Yue, who was sitting by the window drinking tea.
Ling Yue and company didn"t drink tea in the past. It was a practice exclusive to elves and humans, not to mention the complete difference in the tea elves and humans drank. Elven tea was more similar to pressed juice, while humanity"s tea was similar tea in the world I came from.
They didn"t drink tea in the North, as such leaves didn"t exist in the North. Ling Yue only began drinking tea after knowing me. She wasn"t fond of the taste, in all honesty. She just felt that she should partake in the practice, since Lucia and Nier were both ladies with high standing, while she herself was previously from a n.o.ble tribe in the North.
Ling Yue placed her cup to the side, and then let out a soft sigh: "I used to think that it was fine even if he didn"t come to see me, but when I found out he was coming today, I began to look forward to it. I really hope he can arrive a little sooner. I really want to see him."
Evelyn smiled and remarked, "Didn"t you say you were very rational with love before? Seeing the way you look so eager makes me wonder, aren"t you a woman who"s fallen deep in love? I don"t see how you"re different by any account. I think Lucia and Nier are looking forward to His Majesty"s return in the palace the same way you are right now."
Ling Yue pouted. She gently stroked her stomach. She explained, "I feel that I hadn"t fallen deep in love when I was still very rational about love. Now, however, I"ve realised that it"s so blissful to be loved by the opposite gender, especially when you love him, too. As for Marvel… I should"ve given up on him when he closed his door on me when I begged him in tears. Troy is now my husband. It"s nothing strange for me to look forward to my husband"s return, is there? I"ve always looked forward to my marriage. My mom told me that marriage is very important to women. She said that I had to marry a man I loved. My marriage circ.u.mstances are somewhat unusual. That being said, I still very blissful. If he could be by my side, then I would be even happier."
Evelyn softly giggled: "In other words, you"re not very straight forward. How about flirting with Troy properly this time? You don"t get many of these chances, you know?"
Ling Yue giggled in an embarra.s.sing manner. She then s.h.i.+fted her gaze back outside the window and gazed at the land outside. Green strands of gra.s.s had begun to sprout from the formerly snowy land. The light green colour covered the brown soil, which represented new life for the seeds in the North. At the same time, a new life was gradually growing inside her belly.
A few months ago, she crossed flames and stepped over corpses. She staggered toward the South she had never been to with all her might. Her family lay sprawled out on the ground, while her home she grew up in was up in flames. She was left alone without food or money. The only person she could depend on closed his doors on her. She was left with no choice but to flee to the South, a place she never been to or heard of.
Months later, she returned to the North with her lover"s company. She met her lover in the snowy mountains. They laughed together, quarrelled with each other and worried for each other and, finally, they ended up together. He took her side when she was alone after being abandoned by everybody. He stood by her side as her knight and took her home.
Besides giving her everything she needed, he even gave her the love she desired most and a child. It was all thanks to him that she was able to sit there watching new life sprout. He gave her another life. He revived the North, and he gave her a new life. That was why she loved him in spite of him not being able to always be by her side. He was her lover. He was definitely going to love her. She was his wife forever.
Evelyn looked at Ling Yue, who was peering outside with a blissful smile. She then grabbed hold of Leah"s hand. Leah froze up and returned the feelings by interlocking her fingers with Evelyn. Leah lowered her head and met with Evelyn"s gaze. Evelyn giggled then softly said, "Ling Yue just said that being loved by the opposite gender is a very blissful feeling, but I think that being loved by someone of the same gender is also very blissful."
"Yes, My Queen. Being loved by you is very blissful, and I am very honoured to be loved by you. I could not feel any more honoured and blissful than I feel now."
"Me too, my dear Leah. I love you. I love you very much."
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