“Yezar? Why are you asking me when you said you were going to wash…….”

“Wasn’t that a suggestion to wash together……?”

“What?”

It seemed like he had misunderstood what I said. I hurriedly spoke to him.

“No!”

Then Yezar stopped abruptly and put me down.

“I’m sorry, my lady…… I was being presumptuous and misunderstood according to my own wishes.”

Did that mean he wanted to wash together? My face naturally grew hot. Even though we always shared the same bedroom, perhaps it felt awkward because the location was different.

“It’s my fault for speaking in a way that caused the misunderstanding! Please wash first. Um, I can wash a little later…….”

I wasn’t as wet as Yezar was. It was right to yield to him. He nodded his head awkwardly.

***

‘Ah. How refreshing.’

Coming out of the bathroom in a fluffy clean state, I confirmed that Yezar hadn’t come yet. Yezar, who had washed first, had gone out briefly saying he would get food from the inn owner.

It had already been more than enough time. It was strange that he wasn’t coming.

‘Maybe the food came out wrong and he’s getting it redone?’

Thinking so, I sat down on the bed. Wondering when the rain would stop, I turned my gaze toward the window. I could see light flashing between the curtains.

Soon thunder sharply pierced my ears. Startled, I pulled the blanket over myself. The sound of the window rattling from the fierce wind and rain was clearly audible. I curled up my body tightly and squeezed my eyes shut.

‘Yezar. When are you coming…….’

I was trembling like that for several minutes. Without me noticing he had entered, he had come close and was calling me.

“My lady?”

As soon as I confirmed it was Yezar, I let go of the blanket I had been hiding under and hugged him. I caught my breath for a moment like that.

“Thank goodness. I kept waiting for you to come.”

At my words mixed with relief, Yezar worried about me.

“The inn owner was also worried, saying the weather would be terrible tonight. Are you alright?”

“Yes. Because Yezar is by my side.”

I looked at him with a bright smile. Whenever I was trembling with fear, he would always be there by my side. So I was fine.

Even now he was holding my hand like this and worrying about me. It felt good because it seemed like he was letting me know I wasn’t alone. He gazed at my smile for a moment, then kissed me.

His movements were more urgent than usual. The touching sensation was soft like pudding. Previously, it seemed like I was making Yezar do terrible things because of my greed.

I had been careful because I was afraid that the desire I had been suppressing might burst like a balloon someday……

Looking into his eyes after removing all my prejudices, I seemed to understand.

‘No, it’s not. He has been wanting me all along too.’

I didn’t know since when he had been looking at me with such loving eyes. But I wanted to ask him what he liked so much about me.

I wanted to know what seductions he had used because he didn’t want to let go of me, his contract wife. Childishly, I wanted to ask him to express his love by saying he loved me.

After the long kiss, the distance between our separated lips was narrow. The contact after the guilt that had been heavily settled inside my chest disappeared was so sweet.

This time I was about to kiss him. But he moved away from me for a moment.

“I’m, I’m sorry…….”

“What are you sorry for?”

“If I do more, I think I’ll do something terrible…… Since confessing my feelings, I can’t control my impulses.”

He averted his gaze from me. I was going to wait. I was going to speak after giving more certainty. At this rate, this timid man seemed like he would keep going in circles.

So I reached out with both hands and cupped his cheeks. Then I kissed his lips. If he pushed me away saying this shouldn’t happen, I would be pushed away too. But contrary to his words, he quietly accepted me.

Then only after our lips separated did he stammer and speak.

“If, if you do this, I will…….”

Ah. What should I do with this clueless man?

“Are you really this clueless?”

He seemed to take my words differently and said something unrelated.

“My lady has been afraid of thunder sounds before…… But now I might accidentally do the same thing to my lady as that night. Would that still be alright?”

He warned me not to come closer like that. So I just disrupted his balance and laid him down on the bed.

“What do you mean by the same thing as that night?”

When I spoke looking down at Yezar, his face turned red.

“I mean the consummation that married couples do.”

“I see. I understand well.”

I answered calmly and pressed my lips firmly against his neck. Then he stopped me. This time his strength was quite strong.

“My lady, are you doing this because you’re very scared……? But this isn’t good. I don’t want to take advantage of my lady’s fear…….”

“What if it’s not because I’m scared, but because I want to do this with Yezar?”

As if he had never imagined such a thing, his eyes widened for a moment. And the answer that came was very firm.

“That can’t be.”

“But it’s true…….”

“My lady is too scared right now and is trying to persuade me to commit a wrongdoing…….”

I hadn’t intended to say this much. I couldn’t bear it anymore and brought up that day’s events.

“That time, on the day Yezar confessed your feelings, you said you wouldn’t listen to my answer, right?”

“Why are you suddenly talking about that time…….”

“Me too.”

“What?”

“I like you too.”

“Another man?”

Someone is confessing and why would another man come up. I was also getting a bit angry, so I asked him grumpily.

“Would you want me to do to another man what I did to Yezar?”

“No. I don’t like it.”

He answered this immediately. Somehow it made me laugh. So this time I put my lips close to his ear and whispered.

“Me too. If it’s not you, I don’t like it. Whispering love, doing naughty things.”

“…….”

“I like you, Yezar. This was the answer I was going to give that day.”

Thinking he would surely understand now, I lifted my head to look at him. His blue eyes looking straight at me wavered. Tears were flowing from his reddened eyes.

“Is this a dream……?”

“No.”

“I thought there was no way my lady could like me.”

“Why? I really do like you.”

“Well, even though there was quite a bit left in the contract period. After sleeping with me, you so firmly expressed your intention to divorce.”

Seeing him cry like that while speaking. I thought my fault was indeed great. Because I had tried to run away, scared of my growing feelings.

“Do you know why I said I wanted a divorce?”

“I thought it was because the night with me…… wasn’t satisfactory.”

I touched his drooping lips and sincerely confessed my heart to him.

“How could that be. I liked our married life together so much that I was afraid I wouldn’t even be able to package beautifully the precious memories we had carefully built up.”

“You said you were scared……?”

“Yes. I was scared of being rejected by you, so I tried to run away. I was afraid that I might accidentally end up confessing my feelings.”

Yes. If he hadn’t been brave first, I would never have brought my feelings out and would have buried them forever. For me, who had always been ignored and pushed back, he was like sunshine after the rain.

“There’s no way I would reject my lady.”

I smoothed down his hair that was flowing down softly.

“That’s right. Because Yezar is kind. I also thought that after I confessed my feelings, you might try to take responsibility for me out of pity. But I don’t like relationships without affection.”

He, who had been quietly listening to my words, sat up. Then he held me tightly in his arms as if I might disappear.

“Then you won’t run away from my side? You won’t draw a line saying we’ll be strangers when the contract ends?”

Those words were so heartfelt that one corner of my heart ached.

“Yes. I won’t run away. We won’t be strangers either. You’re my husband.”

I also moved my arms to embrace him. I couldn’t hear things like thunder sounds. The sincere feelings that had been crossed and pushed away as misunderstandings finally met.

The softly flowing hem of clothes made it feel real. The sensation of the bed touching my back was soft. He was whispering to me.

“I want you.”

He was wanting me. Not through magic or anything else, but by his own will, he wanted to become one with me.

“Please allow me.”

Tears that I thought had stopped flowed again and wet my cheeks. So I conveyed my heart to Yezar.

“I love you.”

At that answer, he collapsed. His earnest feelings became waves that crashed over my body and rippled. Along with gentle and tender gestures, childlike questions craving affection poured out to me.

“Since when……? Since when has my lady had the same feelings as me?”

He still seemed unable to believe it. I showed him the heart I couldn’t reveal.

“For me, I was used to seeing my family’s backs. I was always pushed to the back. The servants only treated me as a young lady to serve and drew lines. But only you were different.”

He was a kind and tender person. He always looked at me and tried to do his best in our relationship. He became sunshine, warmly shining on me and extending his hand to me when I was trembling. When I was with him, rainy days were no longer lonely and desolate.

“Even when busy, you always made sure to have conversations with me. When things were difficult, you offered me your embrace and listened to my stories. In front of you, I didn’t have to pretend to be okay. So I became excited. Later, I came to love you.”

Before I knew it, the same tears as his were flowing from my eyes too.