Chapter 35
. How to Overcome Depression (8)
“Right. Andre, you serve the Lady Priest closely, don’t you?”
“Yes, Elder.”
Andre, who had been secretly poking at Otter’s side, quickly lowered his head in reply.
“What do you think of the relationship between the two?”
“Yes. No matter how urgent the matter, pushing things forward without their consent is unseemly.”
“You’ve always been quick to notice things, Andre.”
“Whereas Otter is a bit… ahem.”
The elders all nodded together as one.
Not realizing they were talking badly about him, Otter only gazed at Andre with sparkling eyes.
“Well… from what I see,” Andre began cautiously,
“They’re not quite a couple yet. How should I put it…?”
He furrowed his brow and launched into a detailed explanation:
They’re somewhere farther than love but closer than friendship.
They clearly have feelings for each other, but they haven’t gained full certainty about the other person yet. Perhaps… something even more ticklish than dating.
“Ah-ha.”
One elder, listening quietly, spoke up.
“So, it’s ‘some’.”
“What? S-some? What’s that?”
“You don’t know? My grandson says that’s what young people call that fluttery stage before dating.”
“Haha! My wife and I were like that once—oh, about… 80 years ago! I’ve been through both romance and marriage, but I think that was the most exciting time!”
True to their family-man image, the elders chuckled warmly as they reminisced about their own “some” days.
“However!”
One elder suddenly cut off his laughter, turning deadly serious.
“That stage mustn’t last too long.”
“That’s right. Otherwise, it’ll just fizzle out into one of those ‘friend-like relationships’!”
As the elders showed their disapproval, Andre quickly stepped in.
“That’s why we’ve prepared the next operation. We call it—”
Otter picked up right where Andre left off.
“‘You’re the first woman to ever hit me. Huh, this is getting interesting? Grand Operation!’”
Both of them struck a ta-da! pose, gazing at the elders with ambitious expressions.
“Tsk tsk…”
The elders all clicked their tongues in unison, and the two looked flustered.
“And at that rate, when will you produce an heir—no, ahem, when will you bring them together?”
“Romantic relationships aren’t that complicated, young men.”
“Yes, you have to make it happen in a flash! Otherwise, will we get to see a baby before we die?”
So that’s what they’re after.
Andre finally understood why the elders were so desperate. He tried to stop them.
“Uh, isn’t it… a bit too soon to be talking about babies?”
Otter, however, was fired up by their enthusiasm.
“Then what kind of plan do you have, Elders?”
“Well, of course…”
The elders, who had acted so meek in front of Iago and Ilena, now exchanged sly glances with each other.
At that very moment, while the elders were scheming—
Ilena set down her pastel and said,
“I’m done.”
“Huh? Already? I still have a lot left…”
They were in Iago’s office, leisurely drawing pictures together.
Today’s “Happiness Grand Operation!” that Iago had prepared was “drawing.”
Iago had been carefully filling his page with bright, My-Island-like colors, while Ilena had chosen calm shades she liked and finished her picture quickly and efficiently.
Then she quietly watched him as he focused on coloring.
The soft scritch-scritch of pastels filled the office with a gentle atmosphere.
After some time—
“All done.”
“Wow, that’s really good.”
“Yours is great too, Ilena!”
They smiled at each other and tucked their drawings carefully into a purple-covered sketchbook, remembering their promise: Someday, let’s fill this whole book with our pictures.
“I’ll tell you in advance what the next ‘Happiness Grand Operation!’ will be!” Iago said gently.
Normally, he would say, ‘Unexpected surprises are what make you happiest!’ and refuse to tell her beforehand.
“That’s unusual. What is it?”
“I’m worried you might be startled if I suddenly took you there. The next ‘Happiness Grand Operation!’ is… a trip!”
“A trip?”
Ilena’s lemon-colored eyes widened slightly.
“Yup! There’s a beautiful royal seaside villa. I haven’t gone in a while because I was buried in work, but thanks to you, I think I can go this year.”
“Thanks to me?”
“At that last meeting, I was able to clear all the backlogged paperwork because of you.”
Iago beamed.
“Have you ever been traveling before? Or maybe you don’t remember?”
“Mm… I’ve been on domestic and overseas business trips.”
“Business trips?”
“Ah—because of my priestess duties, I went a few times.”
Ilena searched her old memories.
She’d traveled abroad a lot. Preparing for a global launch had kept her out of Korea more than she was in it. She had also lived in the U.S. for three years and in France for two years to study English and French.
But the only memories she had were of being lonely, with no acquaintances in those foreign places.
“Travel… come to think of it, I’ve never really been.”
“Then, Ilena’s first real trip will be with me?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
She nodded indifferently, but Iago could clearly feel the quiet joy beneath her expressionless face.
“I want to share all of your ‘firsts,’ Ilena!” he said with a pure, sunny smile, not a hint of ulterior motive in his tone.
Never having dated and naturally holding warm feelings toward everyone, Iago had no idea what name to give to this emotion.
“Mm. I’m glad to share a lot with you too, Iago.”
And for Ilena, whose depression had numbed her romantic instincts, it was the same.
“Hehe.”
They smiled at each other.
“Ah. Should we draw another picture?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. And Ilena, for the petals, it’s easier if you hold the brush like this.”
His large hand rested over her small one.
…Her hands are so small.
Feeling a strange tickling in his chest, he gently guided her hand with the brush, his broad chest lightly brushing against her.
“Mm. You’re right. The flower looks pretty now.”
She looked calmly at the blossom on the paper, and they exchanged another beautiful smile.
They already looked more like a couple than “some,” but once again, neither of them realized it.
“Then! What plan do you elders have?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Hahaha!”
In the council chamber, Otter’s eager question earned him a look that said, Don’t you know, you rookie?
“Of course, the sea!”
“A man and a woman alone in a beautiful place! Looking at the sea! And spending the night!”
“Sea. You. Romantic. Guaranteed success.”
The elders, giddy with excitement at the thought of youthful romance, all chimed in.
“Leave the rest to them. After all, they’re both adults now.”
“Our lord isn’t the type to miss an opportunity!”
He seems to miss them… a lot, Andre thought, swallowing the words before they escaped. He couldn’t badmouth the king in front of the elders.
From what I’ve seen, the problem isn’t the circumstances.
The two obviously liked each other, had been meeting almost daily, and had even been trapped alone in the desert… and still, no progress.
That meant it wasn’t external factors—it was something internal between them.
Andre poked his mission partner again as if to say, Talk some sense into them.
“…Everyone, please calm down.”
Otter spoke with a solemn expression.
Finally, was this oblivious man going to say something sensible? Andre looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Adjusting his monocle with great seriousness, Otter declared,
“We haven’t decided on an operation name yet.”
For the first time in his life, Andre felt the urge to lightly smack someone.
Completely unaware of his partner’s frustration, Otter cheerfully exclaimed,
“How about ‘Suddenly finding ourselves alone at the seaside villa, watching the ocean together’ Operation?”
“It’s an operation!”
The elders all shouted in unison,
“The travel operation!”
“The lord’s baby!”
“It’s going to be adorable!”
On every face, different dreams began to bloom:
The elders pictured a chubby baby with sky-blue hair and violet eyes.
Otter imagined rain falling all across the desert in a beautiful scene.
Andre imagined giving Otter a light smack on the back after the meeting.
Thus, the travel date was set for the very next day.
Everything moved at lightning speed.
The council stamped their approval on Iago’s vacation request as if they had been expecting it, and Otter had already ordered the villa caretaker to clean up.
When Ilena returned to her room, Andre was busy picking out vacation clothes.
Although it was just an overnight trip and the villa had everything they needed, Ilena asked Andre for a small backpack.
“A backpack? Wouldn’t that just be cumbersome, Lady Ilena?” he asked, puzzled.
With an embarrassed look, she said,
“It’s just… I’ve always wanted to try traveling with a backpack…”
Of course, this was something she had seen in a drama.
Without another word, Andre swung open the wardrobe and pulled out a cute silk bag. He even packed a glass bottle of carrot juice and some light snacks inside.
Ilena set the little silk bag beside her bed and kept sneaking glances at it until she finally drifted off to sleep.
