When I wake up in the morning, there’s something I feel before I even open my eyes.
The small warmth that comes from my arm being used as a pillow.
The breath of someone other than me. Things like that.
Opening my eyes comes next.
Sunlight filtering through the slightly drawn curtains.
A gentle glow fills the entire room.
Then I glance down slightly.
Today, I see Eliya’s face, peacefully sleeping while hugging me tight.
‘So cute….’
Every morning, I can’t help but feel good starting my day with such a round and adorable face, which makes it impossible not to be in a good mood all day.
The sunlight coming in at an angle shines from behind Eliya.
It looks just like a cat lounging in the sun.
Just looking at it fills my heart with warmth.
She always has this pleasant smell.
Like freshly washed blankets that have just been dried in the sunlight, that kind of aroma.
When I breathe it in, the whole world feels peaceful.
I pressed my lips against Eliya’s forehead and hugged her.
As if still in a sleepy haze, Eliya leans deeper into my embrace, rubbing her face against me.
It feels like I’m holding the world.
‘So adorable….’
Just a few weeks ago, I couldn’t even consider such laziness.
But thanks to Eliya gradually assigning duties to capable talents, she’s finally managed to reduce the workload she had to carry alone.
Since then, Eliya has had more free time, allowing us to be lazy like this every morning.
Listening to Eliya’s rhythmic breathing, I close my eyes again.
I focus on my other senses.
The ticklish breaths scattered in my arms.
The touch of her skin pressed against my body.
The feeling of her thin summer pajamas sliding against me.
The softness of her hair brushing across my face.
As I gently caress her in her slumber, I can feel the curves of her body.
Sleeping Eliya is surprisingly warm, making it feel incredibly comforting just to hold her like this.
On the brink of sleeping.
With my consciousness hovering, I feel Eliya as if dreaming.
I find myself playfully squeezing her soft spots, like her bum or belly.
The sensation of the soft blanket feels delightful too.
Then suddenly, Eliya murmurs in a hushed voice.
“Kiss….”
This is what she says the moment she wakes up in the morning.
She always says this, and I can’t help but chuckle each time.
I slowly kissed her.
Even while still asleep, when she feels me getting close, she slightly lifts her head with her eyes closed.
Her determination to align her lips is so endearing.
Smooch.
Because it’s morning, I lightly kissed her lips.
A refreshing contact.
Her warm and plump lips are always soft enough to make me smile whenever they touch.
Eliya beamed a big smile and rubbed her face against my chest.
Around that time, a bird chirped outside.
Outside Eliya’s bedroom window, the branches were draped, and birds started visiting there every morning some time ago.
They chirp and sing at exactly the same time each day.
Eliya and I use this sound as our alarm clock to wake up.
“Uuuung….”
Eliya, who had been a sleepyhead, crawled up to my face and this time kissed me first.
I embraced her waist and reciprocated.
We kissed for a bit longer this time.
With her still keeping her eyes closed, she snuggled into me and asked in a slightly drowsy voice.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I slept well thanks to you, Eli. How about you?”
“Hmm. Me too. I had good dreams.”
Eliya always tells me about the dreams she had the moment she wakes up.
Regardless of whether the dreams are bad or good.
It’s almost never been a bad dream, and if there were, they weren’t severe.
The last bad dream she had was one where the bed suddenly expanded, preventing Eliya from hugging me while sleeping.
Most of her dreams are silly cases like that.
I listened to her seriously, just as I always do.
“What did you dream about?”
“Just our childhood… Ah, in the dream, we were riding Yuel together when we were young.”
“Hmm. Riding Yuel back in the day must have been a fun experience… Come to think of it, it’s been a while since we took Yuel for a walk.”
“Should we take her out after a long time?”
“Aren’t you busy today?”
“I’ll be busy checking reports until lunchtime… but after that, I’ll have free time.”
“Then it’d be nice to take a walk for the first time in a while.”
“Yeah. I’d like that too.”
Smooch.
Eliya kissed me and smiled sleepily.
Without any announcement or signal, kissing at random times has become a part of our daily life.
Even though Eliya and I are awake now, we haven’t jumped out of bed yet.
Until we actually get out, we tend to be as lazy as possible on this bed.
So we rolled around, hugging, kissing, and chatting for a while.
Knock, knock.
Someone gently knocked on the door.
It must be Maria.
Every morning, she lets us know when it’s time to get moving.
As much as I want to laze around all day, she is an emperor.
An emperor who unites all of humanity, no less.
Even though we’ve reduced her tasks, there are still many to handle.
Little by little, she aims to decrease the workload until we can spend time alone together for as long as possible.
And I genuinely support her.
Ultimately, her goal is to completely cut off all work and spend 24/7 with me, but realistically that’s an impossible goal.
“It’s time to get up.”
“Uuung… I don’t wanna…”
Having rolled around, Eliya was now perched on top of me.
Burrowing her face in my chest, Eliya whined.
“Look here.”
I held her chin with one hand and used the other hand to clean the sleep from her eyes.
We had already seen everything there was to see about each other after 30 days right after our wedding.
Cleaning her eyes was hardly a big deal.
“Uuung….”
Eliya made a pleased sound and smiled sleepily.
She wasn’t always okay with this at the start.
I remember one day during those 30 days when we were at the foot of the mountain, I woke up to the sound of water.
I found Eliya washing her face secretly.
When I asked why, she shyly told me it was because she didn’t want to show me her face with sleep in her eyes.
She was just so cute.
I told her that she didn’t need to worry about it and even offered to do it for her.
At first, she refused, but after a few tries, she got used to it and now she welcomes that time.
Whatever the reason, it’s still adorable.
Looking at Eliya, who comfortably leaves her face in my hand, makes my heart feel great.
“It’s all done.”
As a final touch, I held her cheeks and planted a kiss on her lips.
When I see something this cute, I can’t possibly hold back a kiss.
Then Eliya wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me back.
“Uuung, thank you. I love you.”
I know the feelings behind those casually thrown words are anything but light, which is why we can express our love without hesitation.
“I love you too.”
“…But you know.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve been feeling something hard poking me down there since a while ago…”
“That’s an unavoidable natural phenomenon that occurs in the morning due to human will…”
“Hmm.”
Eliya looked at me with a peculiar gaze and slowly ground her hips against me.
“Unfortunately, there’s no choice. I can’t delay this any further.”
“Hmm… I’m truly disappointed.”
Eliya gently laughed as she took my hand and stood up.
“Next time will be tonight.”
“Well, that doesn’t really need to be said…”
As I playfully responded, Eliya laughed like I was hopeless.
Since our marriage, I’ve often seen the smile on Eliya’s face.
It’s a pure, innocent smile that radiates a sense of ease.
I would do anything to protect that smile.
*
Holding Eliya’s hand, we washed ourselves in a similar order and rhythm.
After that, we had breakfast with Maria, and until lunchtime, Eliya busily checked reports and gave various directions.
Mostly, her tasks involved granting permissions or denying requests.
I just munched on the cookies and snacks that Maria brought over or fed Eliya while she worked.
I definitely didn’t feel bored.
Beauty in and of itself is an exquisite joy and pleasure.
Eliya is just that.
I could lose track of time just watching her by my side.
Her forehead is straight yet gently rounded.
Her nose gracefully curves downward.
Her small, plump lips are deliciously rosy, tempting for a kiss.
Overall, she has a round face.
Her big eyes are pure but sometimes hold an incomprehensible depth.
The mix of youthful charm and maturity—this is a heavenly balance….
‘Though below the face, she’s exceedingly mature… No, let’s not have any disrespectful thoughts here.’
Anyway, simply looking at her makes me want to believe in the existence of gods, given her beauty.
Could anyone, other than a god, create such a perfect appearance?
‘…But thinking of that god back then is a bit unsettling. She did say she was a manager, after all.’
As I gaze at Eliya with those thoughts, time flies by swiftly.
When our eyes meet from time to time, Eliya will smile brightly.
Or sometimes when there’s no one around, she’ll pout her lips as if to tease me for a kiss or playfully lick her lips, sending signals that are difficult to respond to in this situation.
Watching her like that brings me endless joy.
She laughs easily, has learned to consider others a little bit, and plays tricks on me.
Always holding my hand, her genuine and transparent affection fills me with delight and gratitude, sometimes making me feel amazed.
‘When I think back to when we first met… honestly, it feels quite amazing.’
The first meeting with the young Eliya.
Back then, she was frightening in many ways.
She must be far stronger now than she was then.
But the aura she exuded back then was so cold, it was chilling.
The way she approached me wrapped in thorns, cautioning against the person with it.
The casual words dropped with a smile were always sharpened with hidden intents.
That vengeful spirit, filled with a relentless thirst for retribution, was far too intense for a child to bear.
I can’t find any trace of it now.
‘She grew up so well.’
As I beam at her, Eliya started to write letters in my palm with her thumb.
‘Huh? What’s this?’
Her fingers moved slowly and gently.
I quietly took in the sensation.
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1WXQ3dmY3UHpGd29SZXJNc21uQ3V3UktHZ2pXTms4TkUwVVQwdDEwcDAxcQ
“I, l, o, v, e.”
A smile slipped out of me without thinking.
At that moment, the chairman of the commoners, whom Eliya was reporting to, looked at me, bewildered.
“Your Excellency? Is something wrong?”
“Oh, um, ahem. It’s nothing.”
“Please feel free to speak comfortably.”
“Still, you’re working day and night for the stability of the Empire; how could I disrespect you?”
I still find it difficult to speak informally to a stranger relied on by power, especially someone older than me.
That’s why this kind of excuse has become something I’ve gotten strangely good at.
“There’s a widespread rumor that your Excellency treats everyone equally and looks after them.”
Because of that, I’ve gained a reputation as a very kind person.
They say the noble doesn’t think lightly of even the commoners.
Whether this is good news for me… I’m not quite sure.
“Well, that’s because you are my husband.”
Eliya proudly proclaimed from beside me.
Eliya and the commoners’ chairman resumed their discussion.
While they were at it, I wrote the same thing on her palm with my thumb.
“I, l, o, v, e.”
Unlike me, Eliya didn’t grin awkwardly.
But the tips of her ears turned slightly red, so it seems she’s happy about it.
‘So cute.’
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.
