Lusian arrived at the royal castle accompanied by Sofia. They had barely taken three steps when a maid—Princess Elizabeth's trusted confidante—approached with a hurried curtsy.
"Her Highness wishes to speak with you in private, my lord."
Sofia winked at him, carrying that elegant boldness few duchesses could afford.
"Go," she said, amused and complicit. "These meetings are unbearable, and I know your proposals better than you do by now. I'll represent you with dignity."
Lusian sighed in resignation and followed the maid.
The room to which he was led was neither an office nor an audience chamber.It was an old private chamber—spacious, silent, insulated from the chaos outside by heavy curtains. Dim light left motes of dust drifting in the air like dead mana.
And there, in the heart of that silence, stood her.
Elizabeth.
Her back to him. Still. Breathing as though each inhale weighed too much.
When she turned, the impact struck Lusian square in the chest.
Elizabeth was no longer the cheerful young woman he had left behind eight months ago.
"Lusian…" she whispered.
Her voice… fractured.Her gaze… exhausted.Her body… drawn tight like a bow on the verge of snapping.
And yet the moment she saw him, every wall she had built simply collapsed.
The princess took one step.Then another.Then she ran.
She crashed into him in a desperate embrace, burying her face against his neck.She trembled.Not from fear… but from relief.
"I thought…" her voice broke. "I thought perhaps we would never see each other again."
Lusian held her tightly, as if shielding her from the entire world.
"I'm here, Elizabeth."
She pulled back just enough to look at him. Her eyes were damp, burning, ruled by a longing suppressed for far too long.
"Eight months…" she said. "Eight months without being able to touch you… without even knowing if you would return…"
Her fingers traced the contours of Lusian's face.
The silence thickened.Heavy.Inevitable.
Elizabeth rose onto her toes and kissed him.
A kiss that did not seek permission.Nor calm.Nor restraint.
A kiss of reunion.Of need.Of survival.
Lusian answered with equal intensity. The weight of months—of battles, of empty nights—fell upon them all at once.
Elizabeth's hands trembled as she held him tighter and tighter.
"You have no idea… how much I missed you."
And she kissed him again.And again.Each deeper than the last.
Their breaths mingled.Their bodies drew closer by instinct.The tension of months broke like a storm finally unleashed.
After the embrace and the kisses, the closeness between them rendered every barrier meaningless—even clothing. After several minutes of silent surrender, they lay exhausted beside one another, sharing the same breath. As they rested, they began to speak.
"I never thought we'd end up like this," Lusian murmured, a weary smile on his lips.
Elizabeth laughed softly.
"I did. Well… perhaps not this soon. But I always knew… you were the only man I could ever show myself to like this."
Lusian wrapped his arms around her, earning an amused little shiver.
"The only one? Is that what you think?"
"I know it," she replied, nudging him lightly with her shoulder. "Even if you are insufferable."
"And yet you tolerate me…"
"Tch. Don't remind me of my poor decisions."
They both laughed. The air, warm and gentle, seemed to have forgotten the world outside.
Then she looked at him with a sincerity that disarmed him completely.
"Do you know when I fell in love with you?"
Lusian blinked.
She continued before he could speak.
"From the very first time you refused to lower your head before me. Everyone else did… everyone…" her voice softened into a vibrant whisper. "Except you."
—
"My mother always said the Douglas are the equals of the Erkhan. That they are the only ones a princess cannot look down upon.And when I grew up… I wanted to be seen that way by you."
She opened her fingers and intertwined them with his.
"Lusian… do you know how many times I thought of running away to the duchy with you?"
"Elizabeth…"
She rested her forehead against his.
And for a moment, the world ceased to exist.There was no kingdom.No pressure.No destiny.
Only the two of them, breathing within the same heartbeat.
Hours later, when the echo of their reunion still pulsed in his chest…