Chapter 64
“Is this too much of a selfish desire?”
Is it only natural that His Majesty the Noble King and Her Majesty the Queen dislike the lowly orphan commoner that their son brought home claiming to be his lover?
No proper family background, no parents as ordinary people usually have, no remarkable achievements throughout her life, not even breathtakingly beautiful—what reason would they have to like someone like her?
But still. Thanks to a lovely boy named Elenon Hermeon, who accepted even such an insignificant person like herself and held her close in his heart.
“…Prince.”
Noxia softly called her lover after finishing her thoughts.
Elenon had been sitting sulkily like a defeated child since earlier, when he had mentioned family to her and saw the shocked expression on her face.
“If it’s truly what you want, I’m okay with it. I want to meet your family too. I can’t say it’s not a bit overwhelming though.”
When Noxia kindly revealed this, Elenon’s eyes widened. Then, with a sorrowful expression, he shook his head repeatedly.
“No, Noxia, you don’t have to force yourself because of me. I was foolish to bring it up. It’s natural for you to feel uncomfortable…”
“It’s okay, Prince. I’m not doing this against my will. Do I look like someone who’d reluctantly endure something she really, really doesn’t want to because of you? If you thought that, I’d be a little hurt. You don’t seem to know me well enough for your own lover.”
“Well, I do know you have an honest character… but still, Noxia, this has nothing to do with your personality. Thinking about it again, it seems a bit early. I spoke too hastily.”
“Prince, are you worried about me meeting your parents? Afraid I might make a mistake in front of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen?”
“Oh, no! That’s absolutely not it. It’s definitely not because I don’t trust you.”
“I understand, Prince. I’m not accusing you of not trusting me. I just want you to be honest about what you want. I’ve already been honest about my feelings. As long as you, His Majesty and Her Majesty are okay with it, I’m ready to meet them anytime.”
Actually, there was a slight bluff mixed in. Eighteen-year-old commoner orphan girl Noxia’s heart was pounding intensely at the thought of facing the King and Queen up close.
Still, her trust and affection for her lover gave her courage.
Since the day she kissed and started dating a prince of a kingdom, it was clear that she had already thrown caution to the wind.
Having acted recklessly beyond bravery, it was a burden she had to bear alone.
“This was bound to happen someday anyway.”
Noxia was not taking her relationship with Elenon lightly. He felt the same.
If either of them weren’t serious, they wouldn’t have started this crazy relationship in the first place. A romance between royalty and a commoner was nothing less than walking on a bed of thorns for both.
If they wanted to keep this relationship going, eventually they would have to face the prince’s family. Noxia steeled her heart.
“I’m okay, Elenon.”
Noxia said firmly. Elenon carefully examined her face to confirm her sincerity. She looked at him with clear eyes, and he breathed a relieved, quiet sigh.
“Then I’ll talk to my father and mother.”
“Alright.”
Recalling that the people he naturally called “father and mother” were the King and Queen of the country, a slight burden returned, but Noxia skillfully suppressed it.
“But, Prince.”
“Yes, Noxia?”
“If we tell His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen, does that mean we’ll reveal our relationship to others too?”
“That depends on you. What do you want to do? If you come and go from the palace, no one except the palace staff has to know. The palace security is definitely thorough.”
“…Well, if it’s going to come out someday anyway, wouldn’t it be better to say it ourselves? Rather than having strange rumors spread through others later.”
Noxia spoke cautiously. She felt that maybe those who needed to know already knew. She added bitterly:
“And do you think your friends haven’t noticed anything? Maybe they already figured it out but keep quiet for your sake. Leaving things ambiguous like that might be worse than just clarifying them cleanly.”
Elenon reluctantly agreed on this point. He had made countless excuses to sneak away from his classmates to meet Noxia alone. It was a shallow deception that had to end eventually.
“If there’s no perfect secret in this world anyway, I think it’s not bad to reveal it ourselves soon. After revealing we’re dating, many troublesome things will happen, but even now, they’re not completely absent.”
Noxia smiled somewhat sadly.
Dating a prince, especially a secret relationship that they couldn’t openly share with others, was very tiring and troublesome.
But the time they spent together was so joyful, and the emotional fulfillment they gave each other was so great that these minor downsides were usually overshadowed.
If they publicly revealed it, they wouldn’t have to constantly worry about being found out anywhere or anytime, which would be a relief.
However, the burdens to bear in other forms would increase. Mostly, the burden would fall on Noxia, not Elenon.
Her private life would be exposed in newspapers, and as a commoner who became a royal’s lover, she might unjustly receive backlash.
Elenon worried about this from the start and proposed a secret relationship to Noxia. She understood his fears well and accepted his proposal.
Still, Elenon was sometimes overwhelmed by anxiety stained with self-loathing. He worried if he had been too selfish, regretted confessing his feelings to Noxia, and blamed himself.
If he had endured it, suppressing the fresh excitement of first love and left Noxia alone, she might be happily dating someone else in peace now.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he was hopeless. Imagining Noxia happily with another ignited a black flame inside him.
Though he felt pathetic for his jealous, childish possessiveness over something that hadn’t even happened, when he saw Noxia embracing even that side of him, joy and affection welled up.
Yes, Noxia said she liked him too. It wasn’t Elenon’s miserable one-sided crush. Their hearts were connected, which is why they faced each other here now.
No matter how doubts and self-loathing suddenly rose, the fact that they were lovers did not change. And both planned to do their best so this fact would never change.
“Noxia, I promise. If we reveal our relationship, the royal family will use all means to protect you so you won’t be harmed. They’ll protect your privacy, safety, relationships—all of it. So you won’t regret meeting me.”
Elenon held Noxia’s cheek, looked into her eyes, and promised sincerely. This wasn’t childish bravado to save face in front of his lover.
In reality, the royal family had the obligation to thoroughly protect a royal’s lover. The lover’s well-being was directly linked to the royal’s own well-being.
Moreover, Elenon Hermeon was not some distant minor royal but the beloved youngest son of the King and Queen, cherished by his family.
The King and Queen wouldn’t neglect his lover. Even if they disliked her because she was their son’s partner, they would never just watch her fall into trouble.
“Thank you, Prince. That’s reassuring.”
Noxia smiled gently. Seeing the strong resolve in her lover’s clear eyes, she felt at ease and hugged him tightly.
“I will never regret meeting you. I’m this happy now. No matter what happens to us in the future, this moment’s happiness will never become a regret.”
In the lonely wilderness there is laughter, and even in the darkest night there is hope—this is the essence of human life.
Even if she were to suffer hardships later for being the prince’s lover, Noxia firmly believed this memory of the moment would never be tainted.
To prove her belief, she took Elenon’s hand and kissed him. Her warm tongue touched his soft membranes and slipped inside, drawing his breath.
Soon, moans filled the room—wet and gentle sounds of love.
There was no need to delay action for long. That very evening, Elenon went to his parents and expressed his wish to invite his lover to the palace, and getting permission was easy.
“Well, you finally say it yourself. I was looking forward to when you’d tell us.”
The middle-aged King laughed heartily upon hearing his youngest son’s confession that he had a girlfriend. The Queen sitting beside him smiled kindly. Their eyes sparkled with parental affection.
“Don’t tell me you’re mad because we already knew, son? We didn’t investigate you deliberately. It’s just that some things naturally reach our ears.”
“Yes, I know, Father. I also guessed that you two already knew.”
Even though the constitutional monarchy shifted some powers from the royal family to the parliament, the King and Queen were no fools unaware of or inactive in matters.
As the King said just now, there were enough natural sources of information flowing to them, surrounding the King and Queen with a wide and dense network.
The fact that the second prince had been going out frequently lately, that guests visited the villa almost every weekend, and that those guests were always the same person, all inevitably led to one hypothesis.
