But, he did not return to the way he was in the original novel.
It was as if someone had spilled a bunch of magical sugar powder on him. The funny thing is, he was only kind to me.
On the day that the delegation of the Temple of Tunia left, he scratched the archbishop’s spirit again. The archbishop, unable to get angry at the insults and could barely step on the rising anger, looked pitiful. He sent the delegation away like ‘Raniero Actilus’ and immediately treated me with a 180-degree change of attitude.
I tore my hair out.
‘This is a character breakdown!’
How could Raniero Actilus act like the protagonist of a true romance novel? If it had been described like this in the original story, I would not have given half a star to 「 Flowers Bloom in the Deep 」.
‘And why… To me?’
It was really strange.
Truthfully, I didn’t even really think about it that deeply. It was because there was nothing bad about this character breakdown. If you think about it objectively, it was rather close to a good thing. However, as he became more affectionate, I became more and more anxious. That was probably because I knew him too well.
‘I can’t accept it straight away.’
Tormented by Raniero all day, I lay on the bed.
As I placed both hands on my navel, I blinked and gazed up at the ceiling. He smiles when I touch his hair or cheeks. Even though when we first got married in the spring, he hated being touched… In addition, he keeps asking what I like — anything I would like to have or a request I would want him to hear.
In fact, every time he asked me something like that, I hesitated.
It was not because I am not a materialistic person… It was because this was Actilus.
If I wanted to stay rooted in this country, I would receive all kinds of luxuries when he offered them, but I was going to run away. I did not want to waste those things when I left. I know my civic personality very well. If I were attached to things and had lingering feelings, gaps would follow.
And, for some reason, I didn’t even want to leave more traces of myself than necessary.
‘Just imagining if my favorite items were in the room when he brought Seraphina…’
…That was kind of strange.
“Oh, I don’t know.”
I deliberately spoke out loud before closing my eyes. I should not think too complicatedly and be thankful that I do not have to worry about my life right away. After all, peace should be fully enjoyed when given.
‘…And, never let go of your tension.’
Because you never know when he will change.
If he had been a predictable person, I would not have been able to live like this while sweating.
Let’s remember
He was always the person whose fun was the most important thing. Even though I do not know why he was doing this, but… perhaps because it is fun. The moment he loses interest, his attitude will change like the palm of his hand.
…Where did that damn cruelty go?
After thinking of Raniero for a while, I sighed and changed clothes.
I am just going to sleep.
ﾟ･ : * ✧ * :･ ﾟ
Crossing his legs, Raniero Actilus shook his head.
He had a complaint recently.
His wife did not give a clear answer on what she likes.
…Jewelry? Clothes?
It was not that he did not think about it. However, Raniero quickly eliminated those from the nomination. The problem was that it was not anything special. After all, she was already overflowing with jewelry and clothes from the people who were trying to look good to her.
He did not want to be a latecomer.
In that context, he felt good when she asked him to take her to the subjugation.
It was because there was only one person, the Emperor, who had the power to decide whether to take her or leave her in the Palace. She asked him for a favor that only he could grant. Raniero gladly accepted and rejoiced.
At the same time, an exhilarating warmth flowed from his fingertips and toes. It was something in a different direction from the joy he usually felt…
A sense of willingness to be addicted.
So, Raniero persistently asked Angelica — what she wanted, he could do it for her. However, Angelica does not tell him at all.
Raniero scratched the left armrest with his fingernail. Truthfully, there was one more reason to be apprehensive. While he certainly liked the thrill of accepting Angelica’s cautious request, if he was asked if Angelica’s response was entirely satisfactory, it was not.
Because she did not laugh.
Come to think of it, Angelica always looked embarrassed or a little scared in front of him.
He could count the amount of times she smiled with his hands, and the amount of eye contact they shared was even less. Contrary, he could vividly picture Angelica’s nervous face, her troubled face, her fearful face, and even her crying face in his mind.
…Still, it was not her smiling face.
Raniero wanted to have it.
Had she known what was going on in the head in Raniero, Angelica would have been blown away by her husband’s incomprehensible behavior.
‘Why is he doing this?’
She may have these questions. However, Raniero’s thought circuit was as straight and lucid as ever.
He wants Angelica to love Actilus.
It was a desire that arose after he overheard what she was talking about with her maid a few days ago. Since the Emperor of Actilus was Ranirero himself, his desire could have been replaced by Angelica with a wish to love himself.
He rose to his feet.
He must go to Angelica and bring up a topic that would appeal to her.
ﾟ･ : * ✧ * :･ ﾟ
Angelica was in the library.
There was so much she wanted to read that she seemed to spend most of her free time with books. She seemed to have an interest in ancient witchcraft after she had acquired documents about the Temple of Tunia and studied with a formidable momentum until a few days ago.
Sitting at an angle next to Angelica, who was reading her books, Raniero stared at the side of her face. Of course, Angelica could not have resisted that stinging gaze, so she peered at him.
Raniero was calmly glad that his wife’s attention returned this way.
As he leaned towards her, she reflexively moved her body slightly backwards. It was cute that she was fidgeting, though now that he was here to see her smile, Raniero decided not to bother her more. So, he sat at an appropriate distance from her before opening his mouth as he skimmed through the books Angelica was reading.
“It seems your interests have changed.”
Angelica replied timidly.
“It’s just one thing and another… I tend to read a lot. I’m not trying to find anything in particular, I just read anything.”
Had Raniero’s senses been sharpened, he might have caught her unnecessary excuses. However, compared to usual, he was ridiculously soft. Besides, he was concentrating on the topic to bring up in front of Angelica, so he just let it go.
He suddenly asked.
“Is there anything you would like to see at the subjugation expedition?”
Light green eyes, as always when contemplating an answer, rolled and flickered. Was it such a difficult question to answer?
That could not be true.
He wanted to hear her say with her own mouth that she was interested in the Saint of Tunia. Raniero, a little frustrated, threw his words out.
“For example, the Saint who doesn’t come out from the Temple of Tunia.”
The answer was already set.
Raniero thought that Angelica would be delighted if she told the story of the Saint. Timid people like Angelica were bound to chatter with delight when someone cared about their interests. However, her reaction was different from what he had expected.
She had an astonished face.
“Th-the, the Saint of the Tunia temple? Why is Your Majesty bringing her up all of a sudden? Do you want to see her?”
“Yes.”
It was a simple answer without the phrase, ‘I want to see her because I want to see her.’
Angelica’s face turned white.
“Why… why is Your Majesty so interested in that all of a sudden, yes? Oh, no. You can’t!”
It was a fierce reaction.
As words poured out reflexively with no time to reconsider, Angelica waved her hand with a pale face. At the same time, a fundamental question arose in Raniero’s mind.
“Even if I’m interested in the Saint of Tunia, why would you dissuade me?”
He was a little offended because his wife was not willing to share her interests with her husband.
Angelica’s spine was chilled.
Since she could not tell the real reason straight away, she had to come up with something plausible that would convince Raniero. It was an arduous task. In the end, she decided to take the key reason as it was, though she chose to distort the case by removing all the details.
“That Saint… they said she’s very pretty enough to raise sighs.”
“…So what?”
“So, so… if Your Majesty looks at her by any chance, I will be in a lot of trouble… That’s why that shouldn’t happen.”
Restless, Angelica then bowed her head.
“So… you can’t…”
“So, you…”
Raniero tapped her desk with his finger.
Thud.
The next moment, the corners of his lips rose slightly as he finished his words.
“You dare to restrain me?”
“I wouldn’t dare!”
Angelica sprang up in a hurry. Her voice echoed in the quiet library. At the same time, the chair, which had fallen over from her hastily standing up, also made a loud noise.
She waved her hand with a flushed face.
“Th-that’s not what I meant. Of course, Your Majesty could see her if you wanted to… Yes, but—”
Angelica wanted to stop speaking.
Even though she did not want the two ever to meet, it was because she was the person who had just said, ‘It’s okay to meet’ with her own mouth. As she could not speak a word, she involuntarily pursed her lips as she tried to keep her tears from falling on their own.
His words surprised her so much that she had forgotten that she was looking down on the Emperor.
Raniero chuckled softly.
“I never told you not to restrain me.”
“How dare I… But, still…”
“Try it more.”
“….”
“Huh? Try to restrain me more.”
[ T/N: Oh, my… (ノ▽〃) ]
Raniero’s dimples deepened little by little.
It was a pretty bloody sign for Angelica, but what Raniero is feeling now is pure pleasure.
‘Restrain him? How dare I…?’
“…At least until the subjugation, can we not pay attention to the Saint?”
Putting her hands together, she gazed at him eagerly. It was a request that only he could grant.
Raniero laughed merrily.
“Yes.”
He was happy to be able to answer like this.