With Mrs. Flambard's help, Rienne was able to return to her usual appearance. Her eyes were still a little swollen, but it was nothing anyone would notice unless they were looking closely.
[Rienne] "Do I look alright now?"
[Mrs. Flambard] "I've told you this many times, but you look lovely, Princess."
[Rienne] "Okay."
Rienne whispered quietly, barely being able to take her eyes off of the mirror. It was probably the first time she'd spent such a long time looking into a mirror.
Seeing Rienne innocently fussing over her appearance in the mirror like this, she looked like any other noble lady her age. It was enough to make Mrs. Flambard quietly smile to herself.
[Mrs. Flambard] "If you're ready, you should head off now. Lord Tiwakan has likely been waiting for a while now, though I'm sure he doesn't mind the trouble, so it's probably fine."
Today, they decided to have the meal together that they couldn't back then.
After that, the both of them would be too busy to spend too much time together. Rienne had to meet with the jeweler and the clothier, and then after that, she would need to begin work on a new set of wedding attire. Mrs. Flambard was prepared to set all other work aside for that sake.
When it came to the actual sewing, they were ready to rely on others to save time, but everything else needed to pass through the shrewd woman's judgement first—everything down to the overall silhouette, the decorations, every little thing.
And Rienne needed to write a new letter of appointment, as well.
If that man were to become her husband and the consort of Nauk, he would need a new title. She couldn't give him the name of Gainers back, but she still wanted to give him a wonderful title in its stead. A name that would become part of the royal family of Nauk in the future.
If it meant giving him a new title, land, and mansion, Rienne was willing to pour out all the fortune she had to get it for him.
[Rienne] "Oh, yes. He must be waiting already. I should get going."[Mrs. Flambard] "I will escort you to the dining hall."
–
Luckily, the dining hall wasn't far off.
*
* * *
*
[Rienne] "You're already here."
But she still arrived too late.
As soon as Rienne entered the dining hall, she saw Black, who immediately stood up from his seat. Before she could tell him he could sit back down, he pushed past the table and walked towards her.
[Rienne] "I'm sorry for being late."
[Black] "It's fine."
Seeing her face, which looked far different from how it did this morning, he smiled brightly.
[Black] "Are you hungry?"
[Rienne] "Well…..Just a little."
[Black] "That's good."
Rienne had arrived so late that the table had already been completely set.
But what surprised her the most was the sight of bright and vibrant flowers adorning the table, with golden candelabras decorating the room.
[Rienne] "Where did all this come from? This can't have come from the castle."
[Black] "The flowers were a bit hard to track down."
In Nauk, fresh flowers were a rare sight. They were considered far more valuable than gold, and were even harder to obtain.
But to be perfectly frank, Black was not the one who had suffered greatly trying to get them, but rather a few unfortunate mercenaries under his command.
And yet, without even blinking, Black shamelessly and calmly took the credit for his men's work. After all, they were not here to argue.
[Rienne] "Oh, wow."
Rienne could feel a warmth rise up from the bottom of her chest. She reached out to Black, patting his arm in gratitude.
[Rienne] "I think I know what kinds of hardships you must've gone through to get them. It's been so long since I've seen flowers like these. It makes me very happy."
[Black] "Then my hard work was well worth it."
With that, Black held out his hand to her. Though it was a short distance between the door and the table, he did not allow her to walk that time alone.
And the entire time, the scent of fresh flowers was exceedingly strong. They all smelled very sweet.
[Black] "Sit."
Guiding Rienne, Black pulled out a chair with his free hand. According to customs, the royal table was set according to status, and Black seemed to be aware of that.
[Rienne] "I'm not very fond of this seat."
Now she knew why she was so hyper focused on the smell of flowers.
She was realizing this was supposed to be his seat. And yet, despite that, for whatever reason, he was giving it to her as if it were only natural he did that…..
It would be impossible for her to sit in this chair in front of him. Rienne quickly stood up from her seat at the head of the table, backing away from it.
[Rienne] "I'd much rather sit next to you. That would be better."
[Black] "That's strange."
Black tilted his head with a smile.
[Rienne] "What is?"
Rienne moved to the side, trying to pull out the seat next to Black.
[Black] "When you say it like that, it doesn't sound like you really want to sit next to me."
But Black was much faster than she was. Before Rienne could do that, he naturally moved the chair for her, overlapping his hand with hers.
[Black] "There must be another reason."
….This man was definitely not the type to accept a simple white lie.
[Rienne] "What makes you think that?"
But sitting at the head of the table felt too shameless, especially when she was with him. So if she had to pick between the two, sitting next to him was a far preferable choice for Rienne.
That much was certainly true.
[Black] "I don't know...Maybe because it sounds too good to be true?"
[Rienne] "Sorry?"
[Black] "I must still be thirsty."
Black urged Rienne to sit down, pushing her chair back in before sitting down next to her. Waiting for him to be completely seated, Rienne unfolded one of the napkins with her hands.
[Rienne] "Please lower your head towards me. And by 'thirsty', I'm assuming you don't mean you need water, yes?"
Without thinking, Black tilted his head towards Rienne, and once he noticed her gently tucking the napkin into his collar, he quietly smiled.
[Black] "I don't."
[Rienne] "So what do you mean, exactly? I think I know, but I would still like to hear you say it."
[Black] "I mean things like this."
As Rienne tucked the napkin around the collar of his shirt, adjusting it in accordance to royal etiquette, Black grabbed her hand.
[Black] "I still can't believe it."
[Rienne] "Something like this…. is very normal and simple."
[Black] "It's because it's normal and simple."
Black pulled up Rienne's hand, turning his lips towards them. She felt the tip of his tongue brush past her fingers, causing her to inadvertently part her lips—letting out a soft sigh.
This....is too much.
This man always did things that were unnecessarily suggestive, at any given moment. There was nothing on the table in front of them that should be causing him to act like this.
[Black] "It's still a little unbelievable that I'm being allowed something like this."
He took her hand, slowly kissing the places where his tongue had touched, and she could feel his whispers against her skin.
But Rienne couldn't believe it either. It was very strange to her to think this man still wanted to hold her at this time of day, when they were supposed to be partaking in a meal.
[Rienne] "I think you must be forgetting something."
As Black continued to kiss her hand, Rienne murmured gently towards him, her eyelashes softly fluttering as she watched him.
[Rienne] "We have a lot we need to do today."
[Black] "I'm aware."
[Rienne] "But if you do something like this…..our meal will only take up more time."
[Black] "Why would it?"
[Rienne] "Pardon?"
But his response was a little unexpected.
[Rienne] "Wouldn't it only naturally get longer?"
[Black] "What do you mean?"
Well, that's because–
[Rienne] "We ended up oversleeping because of things like this. And if that's how it turned out last time, then…"
[Black] "That was because I couldn't stop kissing you."
[Rienne] "I know that."
[Black] ". . ."
Though he stayed silent, the corners of Black's lips tugged into a telling smile.
[Black] "Did you mean to say you wanted to kiss here?"
[Rienne] "That's...…I'm sorry?"
[Black] "That's way too good to be true. Of course I can't believe that."
With a swift motion, Black pulled on the chair Rienne was sitting on.
She was already sitting so close to him, but even after he pulled her closer, it wasn't close enough. Deciding she was still too far away, he effortlessly lifted Rienne from her spot, settling her down on his lap.
[Rienne] "Ah. That surprised me."
Panicked by the unexpected action, Rienne quickly wrapped her arms around Black's neck.
[Black] "It's fine. I won't drop you, Princess."
Black cupped the back of Rienne's head, running his hand through her soft hair.
And without warning, he pulled her in and pressed his lips against hers, but Rienne didn't feel anxious or scared. Even before he assured her he wouldn't drop her, she already felt safe.
By now, she knew there was no safer place for her to be than in Black's arms.
[Black] "I think you were right, Princess."
Letting go of their kiss for just a moment, giving himself a chance to breathe, Black muttered almost to himself—a thick haze setting deep in his eyes.
[Black] "I think we're going to be here for a while."
[Rienne] "That's…"
[Black] "It's a shame we can't do this every day….."
And then he dug back into their kiss.
The moment Black's mouth slipped over the space between her parted lips, she felt like everything was emptying out. Like it was marking not only the start of their kiss, but also a spell meant to purge all her thoughts.
This…can't happen right now....we have so much to do. I need to start work on the new clothing. And then the letter of appointment...Ah.
But all of those thoughts disappeared to a place she didn't care to know about.
Rienne held Black's face in her hand, hastily returning his kiss. Every time her fingers brushed against his earlobe or danced against the skin of his neck, he let out a heavy and rough breath.
Without fail, their kiss went on until all of the prepared food turned completely cold.
And it probably would've gone on longer, had Mrs. Flambard not arrived, telling them that their meal had gone on too long.
*
* * *
*
[Rienne] "Ah…..I still have to go to the northern tower."
And just like that, half of their busy day passed in a blink of an eye.
The jeweler that purchased her mother's necklace from her did so at an unexpectedly absorbent price. Though her heart felt a little saddened that she had to sell it, that fact brought her a tiny bit of comfort.
Then, she went on to choose one of the sample fabrics brought by the clothier and discussed the overall clothing shape with Mrs. Flambard.
It was a good conversation, with Rienne being filled with ideas of making an outfit far greater than her father's old coronation attire.
Once that was done, she sent Arland off with his orders to draft the letter of appointment and by the time everything was finished, the sun was well past the middle of the sky.
Rienne looked down at the documents in front of her, examining the legal routes necessary to grant a new title before glancing up at the clock.
It was a perfect time to visit Mrs. Henton.
If she arrived too early in the morning or too late at night, she would only end up making the woman uncomfortable.
With a basket of snacks Mrs. Flambard had prepared in advance in hand, Rienne headed off towards the northern tower.
It would be fine if these sweets got a little smashed. Unlike fruits, they wouldn't stain.
Rienne had a beaming smile on her face as she climbed up the stairs to the tower. Making her way there, the mercenaries guarding the tower nodded and bowed towards her whenever they made eye contact.
At this point, Rienne was entirely used to seeing them in Castle Nauk. With them here, didn't that mean this place was more similar to how it would be as that man's home?
Thinking like that warmed her heart.
Though, come to think of it...He's finally getting his home back now, isn't he?
After climbing up all those steep steps, Rienne finally stood in front of the door where Mrs. Henton was staying.
Knock.
[Rienne] "Can I come in, ma'am?"
She heard the sound of something hastily shuffling around, but before long, the door quickly slammed open.
[Rienne] "Ah….?"
Rienne looked up with surprise in her eyes, and the person returned her gaze with an equal amount of shock—Klimah.
[Rienne] "Sir….you were here, too?"
[Klimah] "Y, yes, P, Princess….Pa, pardon the…intrusion...I, I apologize….."
[Rienne] "You don't have to panic so much. I just….didn't expect to see you here. In any case, is Mrs. Henton anywhere around here?"
[Klimah] "Y, yes."
Klimah quickly stepped aside, giving Rienne space to enter the room. Still, he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with Rienne. He still hadn't forgotten what he'd tried to do to her.
[Rienne] "Ma'am."
Mrs. Henton was sitting in a small chair in front of the burning fireplace. Though she didn't turn around, her body shook slightly at the sound of Rienne's voice.
[Rienne] "It's alright if you'd like to pretend I'm not here. I'm in no position to expect politeness."
Rienne set the basket on top of a nearby table.
[Rienne] "I've brought some sweets for you today. It'll be easier to eat and clean up as well. Oh, but that doesn't mean they're tasteless. The royal chief is a credit to his name and he worked very hard on them, so I'm certain they taste wonderful. What about you, sir? Do you like sweets?"
When she called out to him, Klimah, who was carefully standing in the corner, lifted up his head.
[Klimah] "I'm sorry? No, I…..I mean, yes! I'll eat them! If you've given it to me then….."
He looked so determined, he probably would've gladly consumed poison if she had told him to. It broke her heart to see how gentle yet blind of a man he was.
To make a person like that do such awful things…. The Kleinfelders continued to prove themselves to be vicious and disgusting people.
[Rienne] "Try one and see if it's to your liking. If it isn't, you don't need to force yourself."
[Klimah] "Yes. Yes, I….will do that."
With a strangely solemn looking face, Klimah approached her with both his hands politely held out.
[Rienne] "You don't have to force yourself to do anything. You can do whatever you like."
And as Rienne said that, she placed the most delicious looking baked good of the bunch in the palm of Klimah's hand.
[Klimah] "Whatever I like..."
Muttering to himself, Klimah stared at the baked good in his hand before carefully taking a bite. The only thing that could be heard in that tiny room was the quiet sound of his chews.
[Rienne] "I brought plenty, so there's some here for you to enjoy as well, ma'am."
Rienne smiled and turned back towards Mrs. Henton.
[Rienne] "It's much more comfortable now that your bed sheets have been changed, isn't it?"
[Mrs. Henton] ". . ."
[Rienne] "And I'm sure it's nice having your son here with you. But I'm afraid this room might be too uncomfortable for the two of you. Why don't we move you somewhere nicer?"
[Mrs. Henton] ". . ."
Mrs. Henton looked as though she were about to respond, but then she quickly clenched her mouth shut.
[Rienne] "I want you to be able to do whatever you like. You can speak to whomever you wish, as well. Anyone within the castle."
[Mrs. Henton] "Are you going to bring that up again?"
Finally, after hesitating, the woman finally responded.
[Rienne] "I just wish to speak with you. We have something we need to discuss."
[Mrs. Henton] "What could you possibly have to say to a woman like me?"
[Rienne] "This concerns your name."
[Mrs. Henton] "...….Name? You mean that of myself and my son?"
[Rienne] "Yes."
Rienne carefully breathed in. This wasn't an easy subject to talk about, but she had no choice.
[Rienne] "The Kleinfelder family will be dealt with at the upcoming council meeting. But I cannot guarantee the remaining five families will stay their hands. It would be nice if you could keep the name Henton, but if not, why not have a new beginning with a different one?"
[Mrs. Henton] "What difference would a new name make?"
[Rienne] "If you'd like to leave Nauk, I can arrange that. I can provide you with traveling expenses as well as money to help you settle somewhere."
[Mrs. Henton] ". . ."
Seeing Mrs. Henton's face stiffen, Rienne quickly added another sentiment.
[Rienne] "But don't take that to mean I'm trying to force you out. I just don't think it would be right to force you and your son to remain in hiding."
[Mrs. Henton] "If we change our name, will we even be safe in Nauk?"
[Rienne] "If you remain in the castle. This place is guarded by the Tiwakan, so there is no place safer than here. And I think the time has come for more people to live here."
The royal family now was different from before when she existed quietly in this castle alone.
Like their meal this morning. In the times of the previous kings, their meals would've been taken quickly and quietly. Not like her, who had gotten distracted with other things, causing the food to become cold before she got around to it.
...But that's not to say I don't like it.
They just couldn't do that every day.
But more importantly, Castle Nauk would become crowded over time. Eventually, as the Tiwakan mercenaries started settling down, they too would meet people and have families of their own.
And it was only a matter of time before Rienne gave birth to a child of Gainers blood.
Obviously the child's nanny would be Mrs. Flambard, but it wouldn't hurt to have the additional helping hand.
[Mrs. Henton] "You....would trust my son and I?"
Mrs. Henton was so shocked, the wrinkles on her forehead deepened.
[Mrs. Henton] "Have you forgotten how I lost my second son? Are you not afraid of the possibility I may lose my mind and put a knife in your back?"
* * *
T/N: (1) The chapter title is just "갈증" which is lit. "thirst (for water)". However, it can also be contextually understood as a strong desire or need for something. While 'thirst/thirsty' can have a sexual meaning in English, it doesn't have that same connotation in Korean. When Black says that he's 'thirsty', in this context, it can be taken as his desire for more domestic interactions.