𝚁𝚘𝚕𝚕 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚒𝚌𝚎: 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚔

🅝🅘🅖🅗🅣 🅣🅘🅜🅔 🅣🅐🅛🅚🅢

23. Night Time Talks

『 Yuna's POV 』

Bae and I were rooming together for the night, and she was exhausted-but at the same time, she refused to sleep.

"Girl, you should sleep. Your eyes are literally half-closed right now," I pointed out.

"But you'll be lonely," she argued.

"You're tired and need the rest, too. I already took a nap today, you know," I reminded her.

"Yeah, okay, fine," she finally gave in, yawning. "But what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to flip through the book again," I replied. "New pages keep appearing every time I open it."

"Oh, okay," she murmured sleepily before settling into bed.

I sat by the window, flipping through the pages. If you think about it, it seemed like something out of a storybook-me, reading under the moonlight with an ancient, mysterious book in my hands.

Soon, I heard soft snores coming from the tall girl beside me. She was sleeping in the most awkward position I'd ever seen, but at least she was resting.

I glanced outside, and once again, the stars were shining brilliantly against the night sky. God, the view in Entwurf was breathtaking.

Maybe that's why I couldn't resist stepping outside. And that's exactly where all my problems started.

At first, I only meant to check out the patio I saw earlier-kudos to Drayce's craftsmanship-but I ended up overhearing a conversation no one in their right mind would want to listen to.

It was Sunghoon and Edlynne. Again.

First, I had to deal with their dramatic confessions in the middle of an unknown land, and now this?

Stupid, lovey-dovey couples making me feel more single than I already am.

"So, when we succeed, you'll go back to being queen. Are you excited?" Sunghoon asked.

"I suppose so," Edlynne answered, "but you'll have to leave, and I'd hate that."

"Well, my life back home isn't exactly great, but I have a duty too," he admitted.

"Really? Why?"

"My parents are never around, but I'm the heir to the entire business. I have to take over soon."

"A responsibility you never asked for but were handed the moment you were born?" she mused. "I understand."

"I thought you were a great queen," Sunghoon said.

"I never said I was a great queen," she replied. "I said I enjoyed being queen."

"But I know you were," he assured her.

I didn't see Edlynne's face, but I'd bet everything she was blushing.

"Just because I enjoyed ruling doesn't mean there weren't days I wanted to give away the crown and run away," she admitted.

"But you didn't. You stayed with your people as long as you could, and that's what made you a great queen," Sunghoon said firmly.

"You always say the right things," she murmured.

"I just say all the things that have never been said to me," he replied.

"Why do you keep saying such sad things?" Edlynne asked softly.

"It just happens," Sunghoon shrugged. "But I've been much happier lately."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Because of my new friends and... you. Especially you."