As soon as our relationship ended, Riorem laid me down on the bed.
While I was quietly resting, he came back with warm water and a towel.
Lying on the bed, I quietly watched Riorem clean my body, especially between my legs.
Just as my messy appearance was somewhat taken care of and Riorem seemed about to run away, I asked the question that had been on my mind all along.
“Why did you happen to run into Teumesa?”
He froze.
Riorem’s shoulders stiffened unnaturally as he tried to get up.
Of course, I didn’t care about that.
“Why did you go to Lenadin in the first place? It didn’t seem like such a close distance that you’d go just for a single bottle of perfume.”
“…Did you really go just for one bottle of perfume?”
“I also bought some fruit…”
“Right. Fruit is hard to get in this village, so it makes sense to buy some. Although I never said I wanted it that badly.”
After a silence, Riorem sighed. He gave in to my questioning.
“I originally went to look for work. In spring and summer, Lenadin gets crowded and there are many types of jobs.”
“Why was Teumesa there?”
“…Lavros’ villa is in Lenadin.”
“So you really met by pure chance.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I reached out and stroked my husband’s cheek.
Despite having no idea what to do about the mistake he made to me, and feeling unpleasant that I was paying attention to someone else, his frown was quite endearing.
As I continued stroking Riorem’s cheek, he seemed to feel better and confessed what happened in Lenadin without resistance.
“…She yelled as soon as we ran into each other, so I couldn’t pretend not to notice.”
“Teumesa yelled in front of everyone?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my, hehe. What did she yell?”
“‘Riorem.’”
“…I knew this would happen,” she said.
I burst out laughing.
‘So that’s why he didn’t want to talk about how he ran into Teumesa.’
He must have hated the idea of me talking to others, and especially hated that I might laugh about his situation.
“So, you two already said what you needed to say, and didn’t even say goodbye?”
“…Yes.”
“Haha.”
I laughed and tapped the spot next to me on the bed.
Riorem lay down beside me, pulling me close by the waist as if it was second nature.
“Tell me what you talked about. I want to hear it from your own mouth.”
“Please, darling.”
For a moment, Riorem’s arms around my waist tightened.
“…Haah.”
In the end, Riorem fell right into the trap I set.
“That morning, the moment she realized I didn’t come out for breakfast, she immediately noticed our escape plan.”
I laughed softly and stroked Riorem’s hair.
That’s right. While Riorem might skip meetings to spend time with me, he would never skip a meal I prepared.
If it were Teumesa, she would have immediately understood what it meant that Riorem’s prepared meal was untouched.
I said with a teasing tone,
“Teumesa must have thought the same as me. That there’s no way you would give up everything you’ve achieved so far and leave.”
“…We talked about that too.”
“Hm. That must have been very enjoyable.”
“Not at all…”
I kissed the exposed forehead of Riorem.
How delightful it was to coax and comfort someone just to hear the story I wanted to hear. This was something I could never have imagined before.
“Anything else? How did you end up talking about me? Or… Why did you think to bring Teumesa all the way here?”
This time, the answer came quickly.
“…I thought you might be bored.”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing again.
How could he still call me ‘young lady’ whenever he’s flustered, even though we’re married?
Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to understand the situation.
Riorem and Teumesa’s meeting was purely coincidental.
Teumesa, having already given up on expectations from Riorem, must have poured out all her long-held resentment.
Riorem, remembering my command to ‘treat Teumesa as well as possible,’ probably just quietly listened.
Then naturally, the topic shifted to my well-being.
Knowing very well that I like new experiences, Riorem must have concluded to bring Teumesa here.
Of course, this was calculated on the assumption that Teumesa and I were not particularly on friendly terms.
“After all, it must have been right after being thoroughly scolded by Teumesa. Considering her and my personalities, it would’ve been hard to imagine us having a friendly chat.”
I found this man, who must have been scheming for a brief moment, so adorable that I kissed his face several times.
During that time, Riorem held his head high, almost stiffly.
Since he had just committed the crime of pushing me against the wall and roughly taking me, he wouldn’t dare touch me until I gave permission.
I pulled my lips away and met Riorem’s eyes again.
Although I was curious about the awkward standoff between Teumesa and Riorem… I knew if I focused on him any longer, this man would surely sulk off in some strange way.
So I naturally changed the topic as much as I could.
“How was Lenadin?”
“It was ordinary. Maybe because it was just getting hot, there weren’t any good flowers or fruits.”
“Is that so? But I’m still curious. It’s supposed to be the busiest port in summer, right?”
That was sincere.
While fleeing across the border of the Arete Kingdom, Riorem and I mostly moved only at night.
I, with my striking red hair and golden eyes, had to hide in the darkness, unlike Riorem.
Riorem even hated the idea of me sleeping outside.
If he rented an inn in one village, he would leave me there and go alone to the next village to check the situation, secure a room, and only bring me there at night.
That’s how we ended up arriving at this village at night, taking the house Riorem had secured, and boarding the boat he had prepared.
So… I had no idea about the bustling port filled with so many ships.
Knowing that, Riorem’s expression darkened.
‘At this rate, he’ll tell me everything about what happened in Lenadin.’
Since it seemed one of the places he sought mercenary work while hiding his identity was there, I would hear about the work he did and what he experienced.
But Riorem brought up something totally unexpected.
“Shall we go to the sea?”
“The sea?”
I asked back, puzzled.
“There’s a sea here too, isn’t there?”
“I’m not talking about a small fishing village like this where tourists hardly come.”
After a moment’s thought, Riorem continued,
“Not all seas are the same. Tourist spots usually have wide sandy beaches.”
I tilted my head slightly. I knew that much; I’d seen countless paintings of beautiful beaches.
Riorem lowered his eyelashes shyly at my doubtful look but kept talking.
“They’re usually made of soft, pure white sand… If you see it yourself, I think you’ll like it quite a bit.”
Hmm.
I rested my chin on his shoulder and blew a breath out while thinking.
Would a scenery whose shape and colors I already knew really give me a new kind of joy?
“But… I’ve never actually seen it myself.”
Now that I think about it, the day after arriving in this village, I was a little surprised by the endless greenery I saw outside the window.
Even a small fishing village not famous for tourism gave me such an impression, so the famous tourist spots might really be different, as Riorem said.
But still…
“Are you going to be okay?”
There are many things to be cautious about in crowded places.
Just as Riorem met Teumesa in Lenadin, people looking for me might meet us there.
Besides, recently Riorem hadn’t wanted to show me off in front of others.
He’d rather hide me tightly.
But to take me to a tourist-packed seaside?
That required a big decision from him.
At my words, Riorem lowered his eyes.
“I wanted to show you more, so I took you there.”
He muttered in a barely audible voice.
“Not to trap you like this, but to show you more and take you to new places.”
“Hmm.”
Come to think of it, when he first brought me to the Arete Kingdom, it was the same.
He bragged to me, showing off his territory as if to say, “Haven’t you seen something like this before?”
‘Though at some point, I was hardly allowed to leave the bedroom.’
This time, since he was the one who suggested going out first, it wasn’t a problem.
Still, I felt a mischievous urge.
“But Riorem.”
“What now?”
“Earlier, you said we should find a new house where no one is around, just the two of us. But now you want to go somewhere crowded… Have you developed a new preference, hmm?”
Thinking that as his wife, I wouldn’t truly scold him, Riorem silenced me in the most certain and thorough way.