Liam flew our entire family through the middle of the night sky.
As always, despite flying quickly, it felt comfortable and stable, like walking on the ground.
Even the wind, which should have been fierce, gently brushed past us, like a soft stroll.
So comfortable that Rohan, nestled in my arms, had fallen asleep soundly even while soaring through the sky.
Erina and Ibailla weren’t scared of flying at all either.
“Wow! Look over there!”
“Beautiful…”
The girls giggled, leaning tightly against my sides, looking down at the ground with excited expressions.
Among five-year-olds, only our twins could roam freely at such heights.
All thanks to Dad’s unparalleled magical talent.
“Not without reason as a hero, huh?”
Aside from the sage Erin, no one in that world could use and apply magic as well as Liam.
Just the flying magic he was using now was considered high-level magic, akin to the ‘Wailing Wall’ among wizards.
According to Erin, it was because there were so many details to manage.
Managing continuously consuming mana, adjusting direction and speed in the air, and tracking and adjusting the wind flow.
It was a tricky magic that required handling all three at once.
But.
Liam was barely struggling at all, instead improving the existing flying magic to minimize mana consumption.
Then he even donated the blueprints of the magic circuits and magic formations he created to the Mage Tower, earning praise from the people.
It was a feat that made even me, who was proud, want to puff my chest out and say, “Yes, that’s my hero!”
“…I shouldn’t think like this.”
I shook my head to clear my mind.
It wasn’t the time to think he was cool. I should not suddenly feel he was handsome, want to hug him, or let my heart race.
Right now, it was time to show that I still held some lingering feelings of hurt.
While I’d nearly gotten over it, I planned to keep my true feelings under wraps.
Only if Liam confesses to his mistake and reveals what happened would I finally consider opening my heart.
“And the expressions of affection I’ve been holding back for days…?”
Was it a bit inappropriate to do that in the sky?
Well, with the kids around, it would be tough to boldly share that love.
Then I could just hold it in until we got back and exchanged affection there. By that time, I wouldn’t hold back any longer.
Lost in those drifting thoughts, a sudden wave of unease crept into my heart.
Just the thought of it made me melancholic, bringing back something I’d been desperately trying to forget.
“…As long as it assumes he didn’t cheat with another woman.”
What if.
If Kelaout’s report of Liam’s divinity faltering meant his heart strayed to another woman.
Then I wouldn’t even know how to react.
He said he wouldn’t disappoint me, but I couldn’t let my guard down. The fool had bizarre thoughts swirling in his head.
I briefly recalled “Husband’s Despair Confession.”
Suddenly, Liam appeared in front of me with another woman. The well-groomed demigod then warmly smiled and said to me,
“Hey, I found another girl. But don’t worry; I’ll match you with a handsome guy just like me. How about that Dark Elf from before? Isn’t that satisfying enough?”
…If that happens, I would genuinely kill him.
Having taken away my life as a man, should I castrate him? Or would it be better to expose his foolish past to everyone?
“Mom, are you mad?”
As I was needlessly angry over those thoughts, Erina asked with a worried face.
Ibailla was also sending me anxious glances.
Had I lost my composure again?
It seemed to become more frequent lately. It used to be just once a season.
It appeared I was emotionally shaken up because of the Liam issue.
Though I thought I shouldn’t be this way, it seemed I had unconsciously sensed a deep-seated anxiety.
“If Kelaout knew, he would have started a five-hour sermon.”
No matter how complicated my mind became, I couldn’t lose the dignified facade of a pope.
I quickly smiled warmly at Erina and Ibailla.
Diverting the kids’ attention was something I could do with my eyes closed.
“I’m not angry; I just want to see the stars quickly.”
“Really? Me too!”
“Me too…!”
In response to my words, the girls quickly began chattering about why they wanted to see the stars.
At five years old, logic was out the window. But that’s what made them adorable.
Listening to my rambunctious twins’ chatter, I continued to gaze at Liam flying ahead.
Our demigod was flying without looking back, focused solely on what lay ahead.
“…He wouldn’t really show me a despair scenario, would he?”
As my anxiety grew, I felt increasingly uneasy.
*
Guided by Liam, we finally arrived at the airspace overlooking the East Sea.
I came out to see the stars, so why bother coming all the way here?
Only I held such crooked negative thoughts.
“The stars are beautiful! And the sea too!”
Erina shouted with glee, alternating her gaze between the star-filled sky and the night sea reflecting the stars.
“…….”
On the other hand, Ibailla was lost in thought, only gazing at the stars submerged in the sea.
“Isn’t it beautiful here?”
“Yeah!”
Even Rohan, with his bright eyes resembling his dad, beamed a smile, expressing his delight in star gazing.
Everyone except me thoroughly enjoyed the splendid night view and the brilliance of the starry sea.
Of course, I didn’t hate it.
I was quite sensitive, so in the presence of a beautiful scene, I would get excited like Erina or gawke in wonder like Ibailla.
Yet, somehow, considering the current situation, I couldn’t freely look up at the stars.
“When will you finally move me?”
As I felt like grabbing him by the collar for such a line of thought, I pressed down my impulse.
Not wanting to disrupt our joyful moment of stargazing, I simply patted the kids’ heads.
“Mom, Mom! Look over there! That star is the brightest!”
“Erina, make a wish on the star because it grants dreams.”
“Wow!”
And so, we spent quite a while between the night sky and night sea.
When I checked the time on my smartphone, it was already 2 AM.
Under normal circumstances, the kids would have long been dreaming.
However, perhaps because it was a family outing after a long while, the girls showed no signs of tiring.
“This place is so nice, right!”
“Yeah….”
Erina and Ibailla were cuddled together, pointing cheerfully at various things.
Maybe they took after me? Both were so sensitive that just looking at the scenery brightened their spirits.
But, they were still just kids, so by late into the night, they started rubbing their eyes.
As dawn approached, Erina, who had been chatting vigorously, was the first to start dozing off.
And Ibailla, who was snuggled up to her sister, soon followed suit, falling asleep.
Finally.
It was time for the couple to have a conversation.
“Yeah, Dad!”
Although Rohan kept his clear eyes open like his dad, he didn’t understand words, so that was fine.
I absentmindedly touched my son’s soft cheek and casually opened my mouth.
“Liam, isn’t it time for you to say something?”
“I have something to say.”
Finally now, after enjoying the star-gazing with the kids, Liam turned to look at me.
His expression remained easy-going and calm. So calm that it almost seemed he had no interest in my feelings.
I had thought he would consider me someone he didn’t need to worry about, even if we hadn’t started the serious talk yet.
Could it be that it was truly unfolding according to the ‘despair scenario’?
While I was trying to calm my heart by holding onto Rohan’s hand, Liam suddenly spoke up.
“Sorry for the wait. I actually wanted to keep you anxious.”
“…….”
He wouldn’t have come all this way just to say something like that, right? I glared at him with a chilly heart as he winked and moved closer.
“Just kidding. You’re already crazy for me, so why would I have to do that?”
“…If you want to continue joking in front of Rohan, feel free.”
He was better than when he had been avoiding talking to me, but it still irritated me. It was even more infuriating since he wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Just say what you need to say before someone else leaves.”
“Okay, okay.”
The former scoundrel casually wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his body close to mine.
He then leaned his face closer and suddenly shifted to a serious mood.
“Listen. You probably guessed it, but something happened when I was trapped in that Han Hee-jun guy’s space.”
This was the very information I’d been so curious about. I held my breath and perked up my ears.
“What happened?”
Liam, staring intently into my eyes, took his time before finally speaking.
“Suddenly, some girl appeared and asked me if I was willing to leave you and go out with a pretty older sister she knew.”
“…….”
No way. Was he about to say he was swayed by those words?
If that were the case, I could no longer see Liam as my husband.
Even if he said he was reflecting, he would never return to how things were.
It was a given. How could I love someone who had their heart stray to another woman, even for a moment?
“…Liam.”
I asked slowly with a trembling voice.
“Did you waver at those words?”
Please say no. Tell me firmly that you rejected it.
As I pleaded silently with my gaze and demeanor, Liam suddenly looked at me with a sad expression.
“Wow… isn’t that a bit much?”
There was more mischief and hurt than regret in his expression and voice.
It certainly didn’t seem like he was about to say he had momentarily cared for another woman.
In fact, it seemed he was displeased that I had misunderstood.
“What do you see me as that you’d have those worries?”
Liam frowned at me, poking my forehead with his index finger.
“I categorically rejected it as soon as I heard it. Why would I leave you?”
His poking turned into gentle caresses that cradled my face.
“I won’t let my eyes wander until you push me away. I swear on my divinity.”
“…….”
“Still, I’m sorry for worrying you. I won’t let it happen again. Can you forgive me?”
To ask for forgiveness.
It was a ridiculous thing only someone who knew nothing about me would say.
“I already forgave you, so how could I forgive you again?”
The moment he revealed what had happened, my feelings of hurt diminished by at least half; just now, that remaining half vanished too.
Even I thought that was a ridiculously fast pace.
As expected, I couldn’t keep my composure as a pope concerning matters related to Liam.
His words about being crazy for me weren’t just hot air.
“Thank you.”
With a grin, Liam brought his face even closer to mine.
I closed my eyes, waiting, when suddenly a question popped into my mind, prompting me to ask.
“By the way, why did your divinity twist?”
“Oh, that?”
Why was that?
A sudden wave of flustered confusion crept into the previously calm atmosphere.
Could it be that he was still hiding something?
Once I opened my eyes and gazed firmly at the former scoundrel, Liam reluctantly spoke up.
“When I turned her down, that girl asked if I could take her sister as a concubine. She said that person looked just like you, so it would be fine.”
“…….”
Liam’s divinity as a demigod is based on his devoted love for me.
But saying it faltered meant that….
“Were you intrigued by that offer?”
“Of course, I rejected that too in one blow!”
He hastily provided an excuse for what he knew deserved a smack on the back of the head.
“But… I might’ve been briefly tempted. So I guess that’s why my divinity twisted for a moment. It was unavoidable. After all, she looked like you. If she looked completely different, I wouldn’t have even thought about it. But you know what? I was only drawn for less than a second. Really. I’m a demigod, you know? Even in a split second, I can think and judge, so without realizing it….”
I quietly stared at the former scoundrel, watching his mouth flap away rapidly before looking down and meeting Rohan’s eyes.
“Rohan. You must never be like that. It’s your mother’s order.”
As expected, Liam was just Liam.
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