Chapter 152: HE: A Dream to Never Wake From

Light.

Hillflan.

After a busy day, Veronica returned to her residence. Just as she was about to take a hot bath, grab a bite to eat, and pour herself a drink for a good rest, her maid Sophie knocked on the door.

"Come in," Veronica said.

"Your Highness." Sophie lowered her eyes as she entered, offering a letter sealed with wax. "A letter from Ovis."

Veronica fell silent. Here it comes again. This was the umpteenth letter she had received lately.

Ever since Lilia became the Crown Prince at the beginning of the year, she hadn’t stayed in Hillflan for long before heading to Ovis.

Veronica originally thought she was just going to handle some official business and would return quickly. Unexpectedly, she had stayed there for nearly half a year.

Of course, the length of her stay wasn’t really the issue. After the war, the Light Kingdom was in a period of development, so there was no need for the iron-fisted Lilia to hold the fort. She and Adrian could handle things perfectly well.

But... wasn’t it a bit too much to write letters every so often just to find new ways to provoke her?!

Veronica waved for her maid Sophie to leave and took a letter opener out of her drawer. She opened the envelope, sat back in her office chair, and began to read.

Sure enough, Lilia had arrived at a new place this time, a village town called Strunsta. There were many mountains there, planted with numerous fruit trees. The fun she and Lucian had found this time was playing fruit farmers.

Yes, exactly. This letter also featured Lucian, like a fixed NPC that constantly respawned.

Veronica was particularly dissatisfied with this point. She read the letters to know how Lilia was doing; who cared what that Prince of Ovis was up to every day?

Veronica quickly finished reading the letter. She browsed through it from beginning to end once more, and when she saw the line at the very end—"I sent you some fruits I picked with my own hands"—a smile unconsciously crept onto her face.

She took a piece of writing paper from the drawer, spread it out, pondered for a moment, and began to write.

As always, she first wrote about the recent development of the Light Kingdom and some major events that had occurred in various regions. She and Adrian could handle some of the matters, but there were others where Lilia, as the Crown Prince, had to make the final decision.

After writing about the official business, Veronica hesitated for a while. Strunsta was already close to the border of Ovis. Given Lilia’s speed, it would take her at most another month to return to Light’s territory. Judging from the route, her next destination should be Salden.

After considering it for a few seconds, Veronica wrote:

"Stay safe on the road. Autumn is approaching, and the weather is getting cooler. Make sure to take good care of yourself and don’t catch a cold.

"There hasn’t been anything urgent in Hillflan lately. If you need me to send someone to pick you up, just let me know. As it happens, I also have a few matters I’d like to discuss with you in person.

"Looking forward to your reply."

Veronica sealed the letter and had it sent out overnight.

Very soon, Lilia’s reply arrived in Veronica’s hands.

After reading the letter, she immediately grabbed her suitcase, boarded a carriage, and dumped all the political affairs onto Adrian. She didn’t even offer a single word of explanation.

Adrian’s head was full of question marks, but he habitually took over the burden. It wasn’t until another casual chat with his brother Chris, when this matter was brought up, that he learned the truth of the situation from his younger brother’s teeth-gritting remarks.

He held back his younger brother, who was preparing to immediately ready a carriage and rush to Salden, feeling somewhat caught between laughter and tears. Forget it. The Crown Prince’s return was good news, after all. Perhaps he should calculate the time and organize a welcome banquet. He just hoped... Chris wouldn’t end up getting into a fight with that guy named Lucian.

...

Traveling at full speed, it took Veronica less than three days to arrive at Salden.

Following the address Lilia had provided, she arrived at a rustic countryside town. Looking out, boundless farmlands stretched as far as the eye could see.

Ever since the improved crops had been spread across the Light Kingdom, countless joyous smiles could be seen in the fields every harvest season. These were all the changes Lilia had brought to Light.

Veronica walked forward along the farmlands and arrived at a modestly sized manor. It was probably the property of some farmer in Salden, which Lilia had rented.

The butler guided Veronica inside.

As soon as she entered, she saw Lilia squatting in the garden, watering a rose bush. And that blonde, blue-eyed bastard was standing right beside her, watching her quietly and occasionally wiping her sweat.

The autumn sunlight was just right. A gentle breeze blew past, bringing with it the fresh fragrance of flowers and fruits. It made the scene before her look as beautiful and blissful as a painting.

Veronica was speechless. He had been provoking her all this time!

She interjected herself between them without the slightest psychological burden, and just as she expected, Lilia immediately tossed that guy aside to focus entirely on hosting her. It would have been even better if that guy hadn’t followed them over.

After drinking tea for a while, Veronica finally stopped dwelling on the issue of whether Lucian should be staying here and remembered the purpose of her visit today.

"News has come from Lien, saying they want to meet with you."

"Lien?" Lilia frowned. "Who requested the meeting?"

"Duke Englis," Veronica answered. "I don’t know much about the upper echelons of Lien, but I’ve looked into this guy’s background. It seems he’s an old-school Noble and a staunch supporter of the current King Lien."

"Did he mention the reason for the meeting?" Lilia asked.

"No, only that their King is very interested in you."

"Interested?" Lilia laughed. "Ever since I became the Crown Prince of Light, the vast majority of Nobles in the Kingdom have been interested in me."

"Indeed. So I declined," Veronica nodded in deep agreement.

Just as Lilia had said, there were plenty of people interested in her; was she supposed to meet every single one of them? The Lien Kingdom had just stirred up such a huge incident, and it still wasn’t clear what their actual motives were. Veronica certainly didn’t want to see Lilia risk her own safety.

"Did they say anything after being rejected?" Lilia asked.

Veronica shook her head. "Nothing at all. It seems it really was just out of curiosity that they wanted to meet you."

I see. Lilia also couldn’t quite figure out what Caius’s intentions were. Logically speaking, he hadn’t even met her in this loop. Even with a permanent Emotion Tag, how could someone who had never even laid eyes on her form a profound impression of her?

Lilia thought for a moment. "Keep a close eye on the situation over in Lien."

At this point, that was all they could do. Veronica agreed and stood up to take her leave. Lilia invited her to stay for a while, but she flatly refused.

Before leaving, Veronica shot Lucian a pointed look.

"I’ll pass," she said with a smile. "Lest a certain someone feels that I’m intruding on your two-person world."

...

Veronica left.

Lilia blinked and turned back to look at Lucian.

"Did you provoke her?"

Lucian spread his hands rather innocently. "I haven’t said a single word since she walked through the door."

"That’s true," Lilia agreed.

Lucian stepped closer and took her hand. He had grown increasingly fond of physical contact with her lately. Especially in the bedroom, in bed. Lilia didn’t mind it, either. After all, he was good-looking, had a great body, and although he wasn’t very experienced, he was a fast learner.

"What’s wrong?" Lilia asked.

"Nothing," Lucian said. He toyed with her fingers for a moment before gently threading his fingers through hers and slowly intertwining them. "I just feel like your sister doesn’t really like me."

Lilia was not surprised by this at all. "Is this your first day realizing that?"

Lucian fell silent.

Looking at his somewhat gloomy face, Lilia laughed. "Don’t overthink it. We’re the ones getting married; as long as I like you, isn’t that enough?"

"That may be true..." Lucian wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head. "But she is your family, after all. If I can’t get along with her, won’t that put you in a difficult position?"

"It’s fine." Lilia hugged him back. The girl’s face was buried in his chest, making her voice sound slightly muffled. "She is my family, but so are you."

Lucian froze for a second. "Family?"

"That’s right." Lilia lifted her face with a beautiful smile. "You are my chosen partner, my fiancé, my future husband, and also... the family I will spend the rest of my life with."

The girl blinked. "At this point, you don’t want to back out, do you?

"I’ve heard that some people have a fear of marriage and are more likely to regret it the closer it gets to the wedding... MMPH."

Her face was pinched by Lucian.

Lucian quickly let go, his knuckles brushing affectionately against her cheek. "I won’t."

How could he ever back out? By now, he no longer cared to consider whether the person Lilia liked was truly him. It didn’t matter if she treated him as a substitute. It didn’t matter if she was looking at someone else through him. As long as she was willing to stay by his side, he would never let go.

Lucian lowered his head and captured the girl’s lips. He bit them gently, slowly and tenderly grinding against them bit by bit. Amidst their intertwined lips and teeth, the young man’s hoarse, breathy voice slipped out.

"If..."

"Hmm?"

Lucian didn’t say anything further, only deepening the kiss.

...

If this is a dream.

I only hope to never wake up.