She woke up to a snowy morning.

The snow, which had been falling steadily, was piled up in the garden. The ornamental trees which were visible beyond the window were gone.

The wreath on the door leading to the Queen’s garden also disappeared. Yesterday’s footprints had already been buried by snow.

Evemeria was over.

Looking back on the dream-like moment for a short time, she shook off the glitter of that happy time.

She awoke to the scent of fluttering roses and sweet sugar candy—she wondered if it was her morning tea. Dia quickly inserted her hand under her pillow.

…It’s here.

There was a blue bag. Inside the bag was the ornament of a rose stem Noin bought in the town of Evemeria the previous night.

When looked at in the morning, the crystalline stone with a slight mint green tint didn’t shine like the previous night, but the beauty was still unprecedented—it couldn’t be expressed through words.

After taking it out of the bag, she stared at it with admiration. She had to do something about it—Dia’s expression tightened.

Tonight, Dia’s life would finally move forward from that stormy night.

It would be a night where her wish was fulfilled.

Even until the end, the calmness that she felt from being in that place—her temporary residence, hadn’t left. She looked around the room that had became part of her daily life, then back at the ornament within her hand.

…What’s next?

The surface of her heart, which was akin to a wavy, disturbing, lake, should had calmed down.

Dia blinked quietly, gently caressing the glittering ornament in her hand.

Even if she closed her eyes, the glitter kept falling like diamond dust into the abyss of her heart.

It’s about time for Dilvier to come wake me up…

With that thought, Dia exhaled, looked next to her, and was a little bit nervous again.

…For some reason, she saw light blue hair in the compartment of the bed beside her.

When she noticed it, her heart was about to stop, she wished he would stop sleeping in her bed.

“…Again, an illegal trespasser…”

“Good morning, Lady Dia. If you feel uncomfortable, just kick him off the bed. It’s no problem.”

“Good morning, Dilvier. It seems that that would be a difficult feat to execute, and since I’ve woken up already, I shall leave this spirit here.”

“That’s also a good idea. It seems that you’ve received the blessing of Lord Noin, too. I shall prepare a good tea this morning.”

“…Blessing.”

Dia recalled that she had been kissed last night, and jumped up about as tall as half of her height on the bed.

Pofun—she turned red.

To such a human who showed a silent vertical butt jump, the sea fairy of the kingdom of the night showed a slight smile.

“T, that’s just a blessing! A mere blessing!”

“Oh? I am not so sure about that. When you are a high-ranking spirit like Noin, the blessing given also diminish. It is rare for someone like him to give a blessing without heart. This time, there should be no difference in conception due to being of different races. Please be aware of that fact.”

“It’s just a bless… sing…”

Due to the destructive power of such a spiritual memory, Dia murmured for a fleeting moment. However, after looking at Dilvier, whom was staring at her quietly, Dia finally gave a slight nod of thoughtfulness.

What humans should do when they received a blessing was to be grateful about it.

“…You are right. When I think about it, towards my selfish self, Noin has been very kind.”

“Lady Dia, please refrain from having such a perception. There’s no justification behind the obsession of spirits. Unlike humans, we want what we want—it’s as simple as that. It can’t even be compared to the rubble someone would give out of sympathy or charity.”

After some thought, she had responded such—but Dia didn’t expect that kind of responce from Dilvier.

Rather than humbling herself, she answered like that because she was trying to grasp her current position. However, Dilvier had a slightly unpleasant look.

…I see, perhaps my perception is considered rude.

Once again, after learning about the non-humans, Dia wondered what was wrong.

Considering the exchanges she had with Noin, she thought to ask for everything for free was rude. As she thought, she just couldn’t let that kind of question remained unknown.

I feel like Dilvier is secretly clarifying something, here…

“…Dilvier, I guess I am not familiar with you yet. In the stories, non-humans are often depicted as being scary. Even if they love a person, they are still unable to allow that person’s mistake pass. They would absolutely destroy those who have broken their promises.”

“…Lady Dia.”

“Well, since last night, I have gradually begun to think that he is taking care of me rather than anything—but at the end of the day, I am still a human being. There are many things I don’t understand…”

“—…Good grief, look at you.”

“Gya!! The foul person himself is awake!!”

Noin stood up, and for some reason, he looked amazed. Dia hurriedly evacuated to the edge of the bed.

She didn’t want to be found out that she had been trying to gather information in a not-so-just way. At the very least, if the person himself was still asleep, she could keep being nonchalant about it. But she couldn’t bear the mysterious development which was them sitting side by side on the same bed.

Because Dia was a lady.

“You can’t do this! This is the bed of a lady! You can’t just sleep here as you please!”

“…As you can see, My Lord, it seems that the humans of the royal palace have done something inconvenient in regards to the fostering this person’s emotions. Up ahead, I can see a long journey awaiting you, in which you will have to somehow compromise the discrepancies in perception.”

“It’s exactly as you say. From a while ago, I’ve been preparing myself for that.”

“…The both of you, are you having a rude conversation right in front of my face?”

Right after one of them had invaded the delicate maiden’s bedding, too. Dia lifted her eyebrows to the small details of their conversation. She might be wrong, but perhaps, spirits were living creatures that were dictated by a rule of having to sleep beside someone—or humans, in particular.

Sleep was a sanctuary.

It would be nice if it was only Noin, but how would Dia deal with stray spirits that would sneak up on her in the future?

In that case, it may be better for her to learn how to ward them off.

That, if I truly have a future with Noin…

“What? You’re hungry already?”

“Gururu…!”

“Dilvier, look, it’s growling already. Get the food ready.”

“…I see. It seems that someone like My Lord also has problems…”

“Ha?”

For some reason, Dilvier was clutching his forehead. Before anything, he helped Dia prepare herself.

She was an independent woman, hence she washed her face and combed her hair with a brush all by herself. But, Dilvier, who had a harsh face, brought her back to the mirror stand as he tilted his neck.

“…Good grievance—what a tricky person you are.”

“But, haven’t I done all my duties correctly? I applied lotion and finished it with cream.”

“Lotion isn’t only applied to the cheeks, neither is cream. When combing your hair, brushing only one side wouldn’t suffice.”

“…Nanu.”

After being taken care firmly by Dilvier, the person who faced problems during the morning preparation was then moved to the next room. There was Noin, whom was drinking tea leisurely as if he was the master of the room.

The person sitting on the chaise longue was graceful and heart-throbbing, but the human who couldn’t enjoy such a good-smelling tea immediately was having it harsh.

“…Do you apply lotion to Noin, too?”

“I don’t need to. Some spirits like to treat it as a luxury item.”

“B, but, just to get my morning tea, I had to go through all THAT? Isn’t it unfair?”

“Does it need to be fair? Don’t humans like that kind of care?” Noin replied.

“…You’re misunderstanding.”

Muttering in a bitter voice, Dia wandered around the chaise lounge a little. Invited by Noin’s line of sight, she sat next to him. After sitting down, she wondered if she did as per the spirit’s customs.

“Noin, are you angry if I sit next to you?”

“Why would I?”

“In the first place, frequently putting forest creatures in the room …am I doing the right thing? Am I not keeping them from the wild, instead?”

“Okay, ditch that mukmugris standard right now.”

“Then, Noin, since you frequently visit the humans castle like this, won’t you get bullied by your friends?”

“As if I would—oi, stop patting me!”

Dia wondered if Noin had perhaps forgotten how many times he patted her head last night.

She was afraid that the gentle spirit, whom was currently sitting beside her, was forcing himself. Yesterday, she had inadvertently cried, after all.

However, when Dia tried to care for that creature as much as possible, she was rejected harshly. Dia truly was concerned about him.

Human beings were very selfish and greedy. Once they were aware they couldn’t attain something in the future, their hope stopped there. However, since Dia had gotten something in her hands, she would like to take good care of it so that it wouldn’t be chipped or broken.

There was no doubt that the difference in species caused some obscurity, which could be considered as a problem. Dia told the reason behind her patting the night king as she was—

—so why were Noin and Dilvier refraining themselves from looking at her!?

“In short, Lady Dia… is concerned about whether or not Lord Noin has adapted to the vicinity?”

“Yes. Since I value myself, I can’t afford to pay attention to what has turned out to be a disdain for me. Fairies and spirits seem to have that kind of disposition when you look at them, so it’s better for me to state my true intentions, right?”

“…Just in case, what do you think would happen if Lord Noin doesn’t favor you?”

“I’ll simply erase him from my heart.”

“…my, that’s just…”

“In the original plan, the conclusion is supposed to arrive after death, but if Noin’s mood were to somehow be spoiled, thus resulting in him misleading me, I would go sightseeing in a hurry to heal my wounded heart. I’m already wasting some time doing this confession, so I have to act as quickly as I can.”

“Oi, putting the weird and wrong state of premise aside, what’s the second half of that going to be?”

“Well… the dead can only return to the land during the Day of the Dead, right? Moreover, in general, it seems that you can only return about five times. For those few occasions, I will have to consider so many places—of course I will get desperate.”

“Fumu. Because they can easily change their mind, it might be correct to say that humans are brutal creatures.”

Suddenly, Dia was lifted onto Noin’s lap. He was sighing.

She felt embarrassed—she wanted to return to her original seat, but maybe that too, was part of the spirits’ customs.

“That plan is useless.”

“I’ve given my everything for this plan, but something unexpected is bound to happen, right?”

---

***T/N:

“Good morning, Lady Dia. If you feel uncomfortable, just kick him off the bed. It’s no problem.”

DILVIER!!! ON WHOSE’ SIDE ARE YOU!??!!?

“What? You’re hungry already?”

“Gururu…!”

“Dilvier, look, it’s growling already. Get the food ready.”

LMAO, IF THIS KIND OF DIALOGUE HAPPENED BETWEEN SOMEONE OTHER THAN NOIN AND DIA, I WOULD TAKE THAT AS A SIGN THAT THE MARRIAGE’S OVER.

“Lotion isn’t only applied to the cheeks, neither is cream. When combing your hair, brushing only one side wouldn’t suffice.”

Dia, why. Just why.

<Previous Chapter

Next Chapter>