The Healer Of Light And The Prince Of Darkness

35. Genuine Feelings And Mordant Guilt

"But I like you a lot!"

Silas turned his head immediately at her direction and stared at her in nothing but pure confusion. His mind went blank.

'...like...'

'...you...'

'...a lot...'

Him?!

"Do you want some?"

Iria came to his sight having two glasses of something red in her hands.

'It must be a wine,' he thought.

Iria loved wine. It was around the time when there were at least two months before them after returning to Hares from the mission in Syris for two years when they spent their first dinner together. She confessed that she had always loved drinking wine, red mostly.

"It suits you," he had said at that time, making her laugh.

"I've heard that before."

Even though her life as a temporary bodyguard of the Crown prince Noah was quite busy, she had found time for her wine too.

"It was hard, but still..." she had smiled, showing her pearly teeth, "...there is always time for a drink, isn't it?"

Silas loved the way her eyes brightened when she talked about the rare occasions she had the chance to indulge herself. After she became the Head of the Magic Tower shortly after she returned from Syris, Iria had more responsibilities than ever. So there were too little time to spent just as doing what you want to do, not you should do.

"But don't get me wrong," she hurried to add then.

"I love my job. Being a mage and the most powerful one at that is quite remarkable. When I get out of the wrong side of the bed, I tend to repeat this to myself. I'm a magician, a quite famous at that," she laughed.

"A princess too."

"Yeah... A princess too..."

Iria didn't like being the princess. Sometimes Silas was wondering how Rhys managed to persuade her to accept it. Being a princess of Syris, spending some peaceful years not being a royalty without knowing it and then again becoming one...

It must have been hard even for such a strong and open-minded person as her.

Iria poked him on the cheek and laughed, "What are you thinking, dear?"

Her eyes had some kind of odd sparkle. The one that made him thirsty to hug her, to taste her lips, to possess her whole... Silas smiled unconsciously.

Before her confused eyes he took the two glasses of wine and put them on the near table.

"Sy-Sylas wait!"

And then at last he was able to hug her without any restrain. He knew that she would have something to say if he let himself to just throw the glasses on the floor so he out them on the table. He endured too many seconds not being able to have her in his arms and...

She had to be proud of him for that.

"Shhh..." He mumbled in her hair.

Sylas knew that she was probably red like her own hair. In Syris, where she grew up until a little while before turning thirteen, it wasn't accepted any public display of affection. Just like the comparison between the women's role in society differentiated in the countries or the clothes in the two. But Sylas had been seeing quite a difference in the recent years since they got married, which could only bring him more joy. He loved teasing her in public or hugging her just because of a pure desire of possessing her.