ITIF SS 6

The Person Who Says It’s Okay to Be Weak

In the spacious bedroom prepared for guests, he seemed to feel no need to restrain his impulses.

The heat that began like a sudden downpour reached a lull only after the sky had turned pitch black.

In between, Giselle Grante and Kavelaseth, the two of them, had communicated more than sufficiently.

After whispering sweet nothings in Giselle Grante’s ear for a long while, Kavelaseth reluctantly rose from the bed, as if still unsatisfied.

Then he fetched a soft towel soaked in warm water for her.

Next, he brought a glass of clean water to her lips.

“Drink.”

It was for her, who had cried and screamed until her throat was parched dry.

“Thank you.”

Gulp, gulp.

The sound of cool water moistening her dried-out throat was quite refreshing.

Water she couldn’t swallow in time trickled down the corner of her mouth.

After carefully wiping away even the water at her lips with a lick, Kavelaseth kissed her lips several times before speaking.

“We should have dinner. Though it’s gotten quite late.”

Unlike her, who had exhausted her stamina from Kavelaseth’s persistent torment and was sprawled out limply, he was already in perfect formal attire.

Moreover, he looked even more vibrant than before their happy time together.

That was rather amazing.

‘How does he have such stamina……?’

His daily routine went roughly like this.

He would wake up at dawn to train in swordsmanship, then enter meetings with stubborn nobles.

After that, he would respond to audience requests or review reports pouring in from all over the Empire and solve problems.

Usually, his work didn’t end until late at night.

He didn’t seem to set any particular days off either. Yet in front of her, he was always brimming with energy like this.

And watching him like that made her doubtful. Whether he was really the same person…….

Until now, Giselle Grante had thoroughly avoided outdoor activities.

So with her feeble body that had hit rock bottom in stamina, she simply couldn’t handle Kavelaseth’s exceptional prowess.

That’s why she had recently been gradually increasing her exercise routine.

Of course, it would be difficult to reach the stamina level of Trinity, who had been consistently training since childhood, but still, it seemed necessary to match Kavelaseth’s overflowing desires to some extent.

“That… would be good.”

Giselle Grante, who had been glancing sideways at Kavelaseth’s appearance—so neat he could enter a meeting right away—whispered in a hoarse voice and reached for the dress that had been tossed aside carelessly.

“For now, let’s just eat comfortably. I’ll help you put the dress back on after dinner.”

Kavelaseth snatched the dress away. Then he neatly laid it on the sofa and left the bedroom.

‘I wonder if that’s actually true……?’

Although Kavelaseth’s words about helping her put on the dress after the meal were quite suspicious, she didn’t dislike being held snugly in his arms.

No, rather it was a problem because she liked it too much.

She felt the same way—wanting to stay close to him, setting aside all the things she should be doing.

“Yaaawn…….“

Giselle Grante, slowly blinking her drowsy eyelids a few times, gradually sat up.

If they were going to eat, it seemed better to air out the stuffy and humid air inside the bedroom.

She draped the thin blanket from the sofa over her shoulders like a cloak and opened the door to the balcony.

The refreshing and cool night breeze gently tousled her disheveled hair.

“It’s cool.”

Enjoying that sensation while looking down below the balcony, she raised her head to look up at the sky.

It was a full moon. She had thought the moonlight filtering into the bedroom was especially bright today.

“It’s beautiful…….”

Trying to get a closer look at the bright moon, Giselle Grante walked to the edge of the balcony railing.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the beautiful sight that nature provided without cost for quite some time.

Then she suddenly recalled it. Though it seemed like a long time ago because of all the events that had occurred, it was actually a day from the not-so-distant past.

‘Was it while heading to the Imperial Capital?’

The day commemorating her death.

To attend the memorial service for Princess Trinity, she had hurriedly left the Duchy of Amaterasu.

At the County of Fortress, which she stopped by along the way, many people had already gathered, and all the inns were fully booked.

At that time, she obtained one of the guest rooms that Kavelaseth had reserved. By selling out Count Frederick…….

She had judged that Kavelaseth would investigate Princess Trinity’s death, and thought that information related to it was worth trading for a room to stay the night.

It was a bold gamble on her part, but fortunately, Kavelaseth gave the room to her and her companions.

Back then, too, she had looked up at the night sky from the balcony with a shawl draped over her shoulders.

She had almost shed a few tears, lamenting her situation.

Because she thought she was alone there.

But Kavelaseth had been on the balcony right next to hers, and she ended up showing him her entire pitiful, lonely self in the moonlight.

She was so embarrassed then that she wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

To Trinity, showing weakness was a vulnerability. So she had lived without revealing her weak self anywhere.

But of all people, she had completely shown her weak and vulnerable side to that Kavelaseth Cardia, the Duke…….

To add one more thing, she had also misunderstood that he had called her “beautiful.”

Although it was right when she had just begun living in Giselle Grante’s body, still, what woman wouldn’t be moved by being called beautiful?

She was an ordinary woman too.

How could she not be happy about praise from such a tremendous handsome man who seemed to have been born monopolizing the gods’ love?

“……It’s embarrassing even thinking about it again.”

Covering her slightly flushed cheeks that had warmed up, Giselle Grante lowered her gaze slightly.

After being wrapped in shame for a while, pouting her lips, she soon changed her mind.

‘Well, so what……. That can happen! People can make mistakes and such…….’

A monarch is human too. Though born with the enormous destiny given by the gods to rule and control the Empire.

So as Trinity, she had always tried to act perfectly in front of the Empire’s citizens, who believed that monarchs were sent by heaven.

Because of that, she gradually withered inside. Her mind was always impoverished.

But now it was different.

She had learned to occasionally show her weak interior and accept comfort. It was thanks to Kavelaseth that she was able to change.

Kavelaseth really disliked her suffering alone in her heart.

[If you’re sad, say you’re sad. If something unpleasant happens, say that it makes you uncomfortable. Tell me everything. Express it. Giselle, I need to know everything about you.]

That’s what he said. That’s what being married means. While holding her tightly in his broad chest.

He told her not to shove uncomfortable feelings deep in her heart and suffer while pretending to smile calmly.

Though it was still a bit difficult to break old habits, she was changing little by little.

‘No matter how many times I think about it, the conclusion is the same. I really found a good life partner to spend forever with.’

That thought never changed.

She felt grateful to the gods for gifting him to her.

Perhaps all the pain until now was for the sake of today.

That thought made her smile a little.

“You seem to be in a good mood. Can you tell me what it’s about?”

While she was chuckling, she heard Kavelaseth’s voice from behind her.

At the same time, his masculine scent wafted over strongly.

A heavy woody fragrance with a slightly refreshing feel—Kavelaseth’s body scent, now so familiar to her.

“I was recalling old times. Thinking about back then made me laugh a little.”

The moment Giselle Grante tried to turn toward him, large hands suddenly slipped around her waist.

Soon his arms embraced her waist, pulling her close.

“I think I know which time you were recalling and laughing about, even without you saying.”

His muscular arms were firm and warm.

Immersed in the familiar sense of security, Giselle Grante remained quietly nestled in his embrace.

The sound of his heart pounding strongly and irregularly also comforted her.

“Aren’t you cold?”

He asked, rubbing his cheek against her temple.

Giselle Grante’s heart began to beat rapidly.

Kavelaseth was the very embodiment of a cold and strong emperor in front of everyone, but only in front of her, he sometimes let his guard down.

Just like now.

And that gap made her heart flutter.

“No. Right now is perfect.”

Giselle Grante shook her head with a satisfied smile.

The breeze was pleasant.

****

‘Come to think of it, just how did he manage to win over those two stubborn people?’

During the meal, this question suddenly occurred to her.

Even after declaring her marriage to Kavelaseth, Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail’s disapproving reactions continued for some time.

But from a certain day, they changed dramatically.

They no longer strongly opposed the marriage to Kavelaseth.

It made her curious about Kavelaseth’s methods—just how he had won over Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail, who had such stubborn personalities.

Until now, she hadn’t had the leisure to ask about it.

Not only had he not received a proper handover due to the previous emperor’s sudden death, but Kavelaseth had also dismissed half of the palace’s key personnel.

So it was difficult to have leisurely time with him like this.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Giselle Grante swallowed the food in her mouth and asked.

“Just how did you persuade my family?”