After the expected kiss between the couple, it was a time to eat and chat freely.
It was also the time for Judas and Eliya to greet their guests up close.
The first person they sought out was, of course, Maria.
She was seated safely near the Royal Guards.
Having cried so sadly, the Royal Guards were watching her closely.
“Mom.”
Eliya called her softly.
It felt strange.
Once, when she cried, Maria would comfort her; now it seemed that role had reversed.
But she didn’t mind.
She felt she understood why Maria was crying and that she could take care of her.
“Yeah, yeah… Eli. I’m sorry, tears keep coming out without thinking… I shouldn’t cry on a good day.”
“No, no. What do you mean, sorry? You haven’t done anything wrong. If you want to cry, then cry.”
Maria nodded at her proud daughter’s response.
“Thank you for saying that… Eli. Make sure to be happy. I just want you to be happy. That’s all I wish for.”
“Yeah. I’ll definitely be happy.”
Eliya said it like a promise.
She felt confident.
With Judas by her side, she had all the confidence she could ask for.
“Mom, you should also be happy with me from now on.”
Maria had recently noticed how much Eliya had grown.
It wasn’t just her appearance.
The words about being happy together could only come from someone who was genuinely caring and considerate.
“…Yes, I will. I must.”
Maria spoke to the pillar that had allowed Eliya to grow this much.
“Judas.”
“Yes… Mother-in-law?”
At the awkward title, Maria couldn’t help but laugh.
“Feel free to call me whatever you like. Thank you for being by Eli’s side until now. And I hope you’ll take good care of her from now on.”
“I have received much more than I’ve given, but I will do my best so you won’t have to worry.”
A reassuring answer.
Eliya, leaning with a smile, appeared incredibly happy.
Judas looked the same.
Maria smiled and said, “Congratulations on your marriage, both of you.”
After chatting with Maria, Eliya firmly instructed the servants assisting with the meal.
They were to make sure to fulfill all of Maria’s requests and serve her with the utmost sincerity.
The servants, along with the surrounding Royal Guards, took her words to heart.
Since Maria was Eliya’s only guest, it was now time for Judas’s guests.
There was no need to go far.
It was the turn of the Royal Guards at the nearby table.
Gawain and Shylock were seated there with the guards.
“Oh, Your Majesty. Thank you for allowing us to be present at this precious gathering.”
They greeted Eliya first.
Then they glanced at Judas.
“…What’s up, everyone? Why’s it so awkward? Why are you all acting like this?”
“Well, you see… now that you’re the husband of Her Majesty…”
“We’re not really sure how to treat you… ”
“Ahem…”
Gawain was struggling with the same dilemma.
Judas waved his hands as if in disbelief.
“Just treat me comfortably, just like before.”
Eliya added, “You don’t have to worry about my opinions. His opinion is my opinion.”
At last, everyone treated Judas as they did in the past.
“It’s really hard to recognize you in those clothes.”
“I thought you were someone else.”
“It reminds me of the first time you wore the robes and crown.”
“Congratulations, Judas.”
Receiving compliments and greetings, Judas raised his wine glass with them.
“Thank you.”
“I knew you’d end up like this, I could see it from way back.”
Richard’s words intrigued Eliya.
“Oh? You knew from a long time ago? How long back? How did you know?”
“Y-yeah? Um…”
“You can speak casually.”
With permission granted, Richard grinned mischievously at Judas.
Judas felt a strange sense of unease.
“So, when it comes to that, it goes back to about five years ago…”
“Oh, much longer than I expected.”
“…Richard, my senior?”
“Just hold on a second. This guy, ever since that time when a lady came to the training camp, he started seeing things differently.”
Richard broke the ice, and other Royal Guards joined with a few stories.
“There was that time when we had to camp outside, and Judas mumbled Eliya’s name while half asleep.”
“……”
“So I asked him about it, and he was so dazed that he said he hadn’t seen her for a long time and felt empty…”
“Oh, really…”
As the stories continued, Judas turned red, and Eliya nodded along with interest.
“There’s plenty more, but I can’t take up too much of your time.”
“Yeah, that would be a shame.”
“……”
Judas was already too flustered to say anything.
“I’ll make sure to listen to the rest next time.”
“Sure!”
Lastly, all the Royal Guards congratulated Eliya as well.
Gawain, who had been laughing so hard, hurriedly composed himself.
“Ahem! So, Judas. You have grown into a proper adult and have taken a great person as your bride. Truly commendable.”
“…It’s a bit late for the serious act.”
“Indeed, I’m really proud of you.”
Gawain deliberately pretended not to hear Judas’s words.
“He is an upright and diligent young man. He will be a perfect match for Her Majesty.”
“Yeah. I think so too.”
Still, Judas appreciated Gawain’s praise.
“Thank you, Gawain… Oh, no. Sir Gallahaid.”
“Once again, congratulations. May you live happily.”
Unlike usual, he refrained from advising him not to hesitate.
It was unnecessary; he had grown much enough, and there likely wouldn’t be such a situation for Judas to need that advice in the future.
The next table was where Hermis was seated.
Judas subtly checked Eliya’s expression, but Eliya spoke first.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m serious.”
“Alright. I’ll just be greeting them anyway.”
The trio bowed to Eliya first.
Then Yurideke spoke to Judas.
“It’s an honor to meet you, and I truly appreciate the invitation to such a precious gathering, Your Excellency.”
“Um, I feel a bit awkward, is it alright if you just treat me casually like before?”
“Hmmm… Is it really okay? How could I, to such a prestigious Lord?”
Yurideke teased him purposely.
It was quite amusing to see Judas flustered.
Judas thought that Hermis’s playful nature must be part of the family trait.
“Her Majesty wouldn’t mind either.”
“Well then. Long time no see, Judas. I’m glad to see you’ve been well.”
“Yeah, and you two…”
Judas tilted his head at Orphe, who was looking at him.
His smile felt oddly stiff.
“Is Orphe ill?”
“Oh, no. I just got a bit of a scolding.”
“A scolding?”
“Yeah. It was something like that.”
“Yeeah…”
Not fully understanding, but at any rate, each couple has their own matters to attend to.
“It’s hard to believe that the little one who boldly came in has grown this big.”
“Indeed. When we first met, you were even shorter than me…”
Hermis joined the conversation, rubbing her freckled nose while looking at Judas.
“You’ve grown like bamboo over the years; now you’re even married first.”
“Not really like bamboo…”
Judas gulped, then suddenly flinched.
Eliya had pushed her body closely against his arm.
More specifically, she had pressed down with a certain part of her body.
Subtly so others wouldn’t notice.
“W-well, thank you for coming today!”
“No, thank you! I’m the one who’s grateful for being able to be part of this gathering.”
Squeeze, squeeze.
It was hard for Judas to maintain his sanity with Eliya’s constant pressure.
He glanced at Eliya.
She was wearing a confident and somewhat arrogant smile as she looked at Hermis.
‘Why is she acting like this when the key person probably has no thoughts of it?!’
It was cute but also made him flustered.
After receiving congratulations from the trio, Judas hurriedly left the area.
His mind was racing with thoughts.
Now, there weren’t many people left to greet.
Then came the moment after the wedding where the couple would have their private time together.
‘What should I do? How should I handle this?’
It was his first time experiencing such a thing, and his head spun.
‘Is there… a space like that in the temple? No, is it allowed to do that kind of thing in the temple?! The Sun Church isn’t a puritanical religion, but…!’
All those embarrassing thoughts seemed pointless.
When he closed his eyes and opened them, he found himself in a completely different space.
“…Huh?”
It was a dark place but not so dark that he couldn’t make things out.
Faintly glowing candles scattered around lit up the area.
This was a place that Eliya had brought him to before.
He thought it was Eliya’s unique vacation home.
A hollow shaped like a cage at the foot of a mountain.
Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine.
Before the wedding, Eliya had mentioned she would be staying at a place other than their mansion for a while.
Could it be… this place?
“Judas.”
Eliya approached him.
Judas unconsciously took a step back.
“Where are you going?”
“…No, I’m not going anywhere, really. Yes.”
“Then why are you stepping back?”
With one more step forward, he took a step back again.
“Um, there’s no special reason, really…”
“Anyway, there’s no way out. The only one who can come in or out is me.”
“R-right…”
Eliya had waited a week to find him.
During that time, she prepared a lot of things.
This cage was among those many things.
Another world she saw in Judas’s memories.
It was filled with items that didn’t exist in this world.
Among them, Eliya paid attention to a device called ‘refrigerator’.
A device that keeps food fresh by cooling the inside.
She created a similar device using non-melting ice magic and stored it in this cage.
She had also filled it with enough food.
Thus, she and Judas could stay here for about 30 days without needing to go out.
A bed, lighting, and even water for bathing were all prepared.
Now that they were here, it had become perfect.
“Judas.”
“Y-yes…”
“The ring I gave you isn’t just a ring.”
“W-what?”
“It’s an artifact.”
“W-what does it…?”
Before he could finish his words, he fell backward.
His leg had gotten caught on the bed.
He didn’t have the luxury to wonder how a bed this big had come to be here.
Eliya got on top of him and said, “The effect of my ring is the same. With that ring, you can now teleport to me or summon me to you at any time, anywhere, without needing to ask for my permission.”
“……”
“Do you know what that means?”
Judas swallowed hard.
Eliya usually smiled confidently, but today she looked unusually alluring.
The heated desire from his heart spread through his entire body.
It felt like something primal was close to breaking free, difficult to control with human language or reason.
Every part of their bodies was tightly pressed against each other.
His stomach. Her chest. And their noses.
Their breaths brushed against each other.
His breath carried a faint scent of wine.
A sweet aroma.
They hadn’t drunk so much that they’d be intoxicated.
But both of them were already hot, their senses half-foggy.
Her red eyes gazed down at him.
As if waiting for a response.
Eliya saw the beast-like golden eyes looking up at her and read the intense desire that mirrored her own.
It was satisfying.
They both realized they had reached a point where something that had been dormant was about to burst forth.
Judas didn’t respond with words.
He answered in another language.
The first word was lips.
Roughly pulling Eliya’s face, he kissed her.
Eliya, as if she had been waiting, embraced his neck and dove deeper.
Their rough breaths parted their lips.
They exchanged wet saliva.
The cage began to fill with their heat and breaths.
It didn’t take long for Judas’s senses to become saturated with Eliya, and for Eliya’s senses to be enveloped by Judas, until they completely intertwined.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
