But then she hesitated.
The hand that made contact with Aden’s was now swathed in a crimson cloth.
“Ah…” Ilyin’s understanding of Aden’s hypersensitivity swiftly surfaced. She closed her eyes briefly, savoring the sensation of the red fabric encasing her arm, before reopening them.
“Aden, did you see the dream?” she inquired.
“Yes,” Aden whispered in response.
Ilyin grasped that she hadn’t been alone in the room; Aden had been present in her dream. His words lingered softly as he added, “I was outside the room.”
Silence hung in the air, pregnant with unspoken thoughts.
Ilyin tightly grasped the end of the red cloth. “There’s no reason for you to like me!”
It wasn’t a dream she particularly wanted to share. What did I say in the dream? If she could have heard it, she wouldn’t have blushed like this. It’s as if I came here without saying anything.
“I heard it, all of it.” Ilyin spoke quietly.
“Aren’t you curious about my answer?”
She herself was curious. But perhaps the answer lay within her. If it were a future not too far away, she could have firmly denied it, not to the maid but to herself. Because I trust Delos. And as long as Delos is there, other people’s opinions don’t matter. It didn’t matter if the people in high society didn’t like her, just as the maid had said. As long as Aden and Delos were there.
“I’m curious.” Aden lightly kissed her forehead.
“But if recalling that story makes you even slightly uncomfortable, you don’t have to tell me.” He tried to unwrap the red cloth. Ilyin lowered her head and tightly held the cloth with her other hand. “It’s fine like this.”
The first thing she felt upon waking up was his warmth. Before she even heard the sound of the cloth falling with a thud, she felt his warmth. And this warmth made her realize that she wasn’t alone, even before her own thoughts. Ilyin closed her eyes.
“Ilyin, I…” Aden reached out and cupped her face. With one hand wrapped in the crimson cloth, it was only one hand, but it brushed her cooled forehead, caressed her cheek gently, and brought warmth to her ear.
“I am your last.”
Soft lips touched the bridge of her nose. It felt as if they had returned to the midnight hour. For a brief moment, her eyes, accustomed to the light that seeped into the room from the corridor, couldn’t adjust to the darkness.
So, to Ilyin, only his touch and voice came through, but she couldn’t see his face. But it was different from that day. Unlike the day when she was loved but had a hint of fear, now Ilyin could picture Aden’s face in her mind. Undoubtedly a sweet and tender face, as if it would melt away.
“Step back as much as you want. Wait as long as you want and walk slowly.”
He would have a gentle expression, just like he said. Ilyin smiled softly. Aden’s hand covered her ear and slid down beneath her neck and shoulders, enveloping her deeply.
“There is no one in Delrose who has grown tired of waiting for you, and I will always be by your side.”
Perhaps he was worried that she might be anxious. His other hand slid down and lightly tapped her chest. Her pounding heart raced a little faster. Not because of anxiety, but because of the fluttering.
“Your pace is Delrose’s; if you move slowly or rest in that spot, Delrose will expand and brighten your surroundings so that you do not wander into a more unfamiliar world.”
The inside of the blanket, which had been heated by body temperature, was filled with another heat. Aden, who was coveting her upper lip, gently pressed her lower lip as if knocking.
Moreover, her two knight escorts, who may have faltered in their slumbering minds, were spared by not accompanying them on the return journey at all.
“No longer do I harbor anxiety,” Ilyin proclaimed, even before Aden had voiced the sentiment. The answer had already blossomed within her. She placed her trust in Aden and Delrose, individuals who bestowed solace before apprehension could take hold. Should the predicted time of reckoning arrive, when the confrontation with the maid is nigh, Ilyin will now have the courage to speak her truth without faltering.
“I possess the patience to endure,” she declared. Nay, it was Biflten who possessed the patience. Ilyin understood that Delrose was not the cause of her breathlessness. Thus, there was no need to fret and succumb to needless anxiety.
There existed one who was more anxious than she, a person who absorbed all her worries and plunged into the depths of trepidation, unknowingly clutching at her tightening heart. And yet, that person remained resolute till the very end, unyielding to uncertainty.
“May my anxiety be but a mere grain to you,” Ilyin murmured, burying her face against Aden’s chest. She welcomed Aden’s love on the gently swaying bed with profound acceptance.
“The unrest that plagues me, the unease that unsettles my very core, may it be of little consequence to you, so I beseech you to bear it without complaint,” she whispered, likening him to a tranquil lake that mirrored both night and day. Aden chuckled softly, extending his hand to extinguish the bedside lamp, drawing Ilyin closer amidst the deepening darkness, his desire for her intensifying.
But then she hesitated.
The hand that made contact with Aden’s was now swathed in a crimson cloth.
“Ah…” Ilyin’s understanding of Aden’s hypersensitivity swiftly surfaced. She closed her eyes briefly, savoring the sensation of the red fabric encasing her arm, before reopening them.
“Aden, did you see the dream?” she inquired.
“Yes,” Aden whispered in response.
Ilyin grasped that she hadn’t been alone in the room; Aden had been present in her dream. His words lingered softly as he added, “I was outside the room.”
Silence hung in the air, pregnant with unspoken thoughts.
Ilyin tightly grasped the end of the red cloth. “There’s no reason for you to like me!”
It wasn’t a dream she particularly wanted to share. What did I say in the dream? If she could have heard it, she wouldn’t have blushed like this. It’s as if I came here without saying anything.
“I heard it, all of it.” Ilyin spoke quietly.
“Aren’t you curious about my answer?”
She herself was curious. But perhaps the answer lay within her. If it were a future not too far away, she could have firmly denied it, not to the maid but to herself. Because I trust Delos. And as long as Delos is there, other people’s opinions don’t matter. It didn’t matter if the people in high society didn’t like her, just as the maid had said. As long as Aden and Delos were there.
“I’m curious.” Aden lightly kissed her forehead.
“But if recalling that story makes you even slightly uncomfortable, you don’t have to tell me.” He tried to unwrap the red cloth. Ilyin lowered her head and tightly held the cloth with her other hand. “It’s fine like this.”
The first thing she felt upon waking up was his warmth. Before she even heard the sound of the cloth falling with a thud, she felt his warmth. And this warmth made her realize that she wasn’t alone, even before her own thoughts. Ilyin closed her eyes.
“Ilyin, I…” Aden reached out and cupped her face. With one hand wrapped in the crimson cloth, it was only one hand, but it brushed her cooled forehead, caressed her cheek gently, and brought warmth to her ear.
“I am your last.”
Soft lips touched the bridge of her nose. It felt as if they had returned to the midnight hour. For a brief moment, her eyes, accustomed to the light that seeped into the room from the corridor, couldn’t adjust to the darkness.
So, to Ilyin, only his touch and voice came through, but she couldn’t see his face. But it was different from that day. Unlike the day when she was loved but had a hint of fear, now Ilyin could picture Aden’s face in her mind. Undoubtedly a sweet and tender face, as if it would melt away.
“Step back as much as you want. Wait as long as you want and walk slowly.”
He would have a gentle expression, just like he said. Ilyin smiled softly. Aden’s hand covered her ear and slid down beneath her neck and shoulders, enveloping her deeply.
“There is no one in Delrose who has grown tired of waiting for you, and I will always be by your side.”
Perhaps he was worried that she might be anxious. His other hand slid down and lightly tapped her chest. Her pounding heart raced a little faster. Not because of anxiety, but because of the fluttering.
“Your pace is Delrose’s; if you move slowly or rest in that spot, Delrose will expand and brighten your surroundings so that you do not wander into a more unfamiliar world.”
The inside of the blanket, which had been heated by body temperature, was filled with another heat. Aden, who was coveting her upper lip, gently pressed her lower lip as if knocking.
Moreover, her two knight escorts, who may have faltered in their slumbering minds, were spared by not accompanying them on the return journey at all.
“No longer do I harbor anxiety,” Ilyin proclaimed, even before Aden had voiced the sentiment. The answer had already blossomed within her. She placed her trust in Aden and Delrose, individuals who bestowed solace before apprehension could take hold. Should the predicted time of reckoning arrive, when the confrontation with the maid is nigh, Ilyin will now have the courage to speak her truth without faltering.
“I possess the patience to endure,” she declared. Nay, it was Biflten who possessed the patience. Ilyin understood that Delrose was not the cause of her breathlessness. Thus, there was no need to fret and succumb to needless anxiety.
There existed one who was more anxious than she, a person who absorbed all her worries and plunged into the depths of trepidation, unknowingly clutching at her tightening heart. And yet, that person remained resolute till the very end, unyielding to uncertainty.
“May my anxiety be but a mere grain to you,” Ilyin murmured, burying her face against Aden’s chest. She welcomed Aden’s love on the gently swaying bed with profound acceptance.
“The unrest that plagues me, the unease that unsettles my very core, may it be of little consequence to you, so I beseech you to bear it without complaint,” she whispered, likening him to a tranquil lake that mirrored both night and day. Aden chuckled softly, extending his hand to extinguish the bedside lamp, drawing Ilyin closer amidst the deepening darkness, his desire for her intensifying.
