Gaizel’s work took more time than expected—it wasn’t too long after the sun had fallen that he returned to the villa.
After a late dinner, the two returned to their room and went straight to the balcony. Unlike during the daytime, the humid, chilly wind patted her cheeks—Tistye squinted comfortably.
The skies were hazy as the clouds drifted vaguely around the waning moon.
“Thank you for your hard work, today.”
Tistye placed a glass in front of Gaizel, who sat silently on the sofa.
“What’s that?”
“‘Yashka’—or so this local liquor is known as. Please, drink it as you like.”
Finally, she poured the amber liquid into the glass.
Seeing small bubbles emerging, Gaizel picked up the glass. The moment he touched it, Tistye was already smiling grandly.
“Taste like water.”
“B, but I heard that it’s quite strong…”
After he had drank it, he passed the glass to her. Tistye also drank some.
However, the moment the beverage touched her tongue, a strong taste of carbon dioxide, and also a high concentration of alcohol assaulted her—as such, her mouth immediately went agape.
“I, it seems that I can’t drink too much…”
“Weak.”
Gaizel smirked, and took both the glass and the bottle from Tistye’s hands. Soon enough, he had already gulped down a second glass. But, once his glass was empty, his hand stopped, for some reason.
When Tistye grew worried, she heard the voice of his heart—although a bit fainter than usual.
[“Darn it… isn’t this basically an indirect kiss?! W-well, Tistye doesn’t realize it, so it should be okay, right? It’s not like I intended for that to happen, but what if she thinks I was!? What if she feels uncomfortable!?”]
For him to worry about such a thing! Tistye felt embarrassed.
Gaizel, who wasn’t aware she had heard his dilemma, continued to down more and more glasses as if to hide his frustration. Because of how fast he downed those drinks, Tistye became concerned for him. Softly, she stood up and headed for the jug of water in the room…
You’re already tired due to your work, so please don’t overdo it…
However, back at the mansion, they rarely had any time to spent together—only the two of them—like that. Therefore, she wondered if she should’ve stayed with him a little longer.
Returning to the balcony, Tistye shook off her worries and focused on the scenery, faintly expressing her admiration.
A slightly strong breeze blew, and the clouds covering the skies slowly diminished.
Then, the surface of the water turned into a mirror—two silver moons had appeared—in the sky, and also on top of the lake.
Looking up, the starry sky was right above her head, as if it could engulf her at any moment. The moon, which assumed the shape of a perfect circle, shone brightly.
Below, she could see the clear reflection of the moon on the rippling surface of the lake. Tistye was captivated by the beautiful scenery.
“—wonderful, isn’t it?”
Suddenly, Gaizel spoke to her. Tistye regained her sense.
“I, indeed, really, it’s truly a wonderful sight!”
“It’s autumn now, but during the spring, the scenery of Isiris is even more spectacular. Countless flowers are blooming everywhere.”
Tistye suddenly imagined the land of Isiris covered entirely with colorful blossoms.
The carpet of snow that was currently covering the land transformed into a carpet of vivid colors. Envisioning the beauty of it, a smile instinctively appeared on her face.
“I’m sure that would be a beautiful sight to behold! I do wish I can return to this place and see it for myself—even if only once.”
“Indeed. My father was also mesmerized by the beauty… it would’ve been nice if that was all that was there to it.”
“…by that, you mean, there’s more?”
“It’s exactly because the land is such a sight to behold that my father wanted to make it his own—then, he seized Isiris.”
Upon hearing Gaizel’s tone become stronger, Tistye immediately stopped talking.
The history of Isiris, which was unraveled by her tutor, was still fresh in Tistye’s mind.
The former emperor, whom was also the father of Gaizel—the late Dilph Verscia.
His reign was filled with long history of invasion and colonization. With the massive investments he made to his army and armed forces, he took over the kingdoms neighboring Verscia.
He was the Emperor with the highest record of colonization—which was the reason Tistye’s homeland, Lacie, was put into submission by him.
She knew Isiris was one of the kingdoms he seized—but who would’ve thought that was the reason?
“…It’s also an undeniable fact that I share blood with that man.”
“Lord Gaizel, too… wants to seize control of other kingdoms?”
Immediately after saying that, Tistye regretted and was ashamed of her mistake.
However, Gaizel didn’t seem the least bit angry, and instead muttered in a faint voice—
“—who knows?”
The reply was as unreliable as that which a lost child would spout when trying to look for his parents.
Gaizel closed his mouth as it was, but the voice of his heart quietly flowed into Tisyte’s chest.
[“I… don’t want to end up being the same person as that man.”]
He didn’t want to steal someone else’s hometown, nor ruin the scenic landscape.
[“But, even I fail to convince myself when I say that. Now that the factions in the royal palace are undergoing major changes, to speak of such a notion in public would only be deemed as outrageous… then, what am I supposed to do?”]
***T/N:
[“Darn it… isn’t this basically an indirect kiss?! W-well, Tistye doesn’t realize it, so it should be okay, right? It’s not like I intended for that to happen, but what if she thinks I was!? What if she feels uncomfortable!?”]
FROM NOW ON, THEE SHALL OFFICIALLY BE REFERRED BY I AS ‘CHERIZEL’–y’know, cuz i CHERIsh this man a lot and he is also a CHERI.
W, what’s this?! They did actual healthy communication, and he actually opens up with her!?!?!?! Usually, in a generic and usually bad shoujo, this kind of thing will need about 80++ chapters minimal before occuring, and something actually bad needs to happen to the heroine before the ML realizes how wrong he has been by withholding his past from the FEMML!
YOU ARE READING
Your Highness, The Voice of Your Heart is Leaking!
عاطفية***THIS STORY IS NOT MINE*** ***FOR READING PURPOSES ONLY*** DESCRIPTION Marriage with the villainous 'Ice Emperor'-despite his harsh words, the voice of his heart is super sweet!? The Princess of the Southern Kingdom, Tistye, who can read people's...
