Confirmation.

When early in the morning came, Chen felt pressure on his body and blurrily opened his eyes.

"..."

He turned his head down and saw a figure laying on his chest with arms tightly grasping onto his clothes.

In an intoxicated state, he shifted his body and pulled the figure close to him before closing his eyes again.

Feeling the warmth close to her, she unconsciously burrowed further into it, sleeping.

An hour later, hearing strangely steady heartbeats by her ears, she lazily opened her eyes slowly.

In front of her just a few millimeters away, she saw a well developed, firm chest slightly revealed through his nightclothes.

Then she lifted her head upwards only to see his face in full view: well-sculptured look, sharp jawline, and defined features.

Indeed a handsome man with a great body that can seduce any woman he wants.

Seeing such a bizarre scene that early, she had no idea what to do and laid stiffly in his embrace, red as a tomato.

Slightly feeling movement, Chen grasps whatever was in his arms tighter.

"..."

A couple of minutes later, he felt a little more awake in his head.

Something is off...

Chen opened his eyes to see another pair of eyes staring at him. Big and round, they stared deeply into him.

"G-good morning Chen..." Lily laughed awkwardly.

"Good Morning." He said woodenly and closed his eyes.

It is a dream, yes, a very good dream.

"..."

Lily poked her finger on his face and asked. "Chen?"

"..."

He opened his eyes quickly again.

It wasn't a dream.

He had forgotten that he was sharing a bed with Lily.

Chen quickly released her and sat up straightly, lifting his hand to rub his head.

Lily hid under the blanket wrapped in the furthest corner of the bed.

"..."

The awkward silence lasted only a minute, but it felt like an eternity for these two.

Lily suddenly jumped out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, shouting, "I-I'll go wash up!"

"...Ah...En..." He stiffly replied. His ears turned extremely red thinking about what happened.

Chen heard her tripped on herself as she ran and almost fell.

"Be careful!" he shouted and sighed helplessly at the disappearing figure.

_______

Back at the villa, Anne laid on her side of the bed, staring off at the pillow next to her. The mood in the room was as gloomy as it can get.

*Knock knock

"Your highness? Dinner has been set. Everyone is waiting for your arrival." A maid called for her.

"I'm coming."

When Anne arrived in the dining hall, she greeted the others briefly and sat next to her husband.

"Dear, are you feeling better?" He asked her lovingly.

"Yes." she gave him a constricted smile.

"My! Maybe her highness is pregnant?" A voice sounded happily on the side.

Anne stiffly responded, "We are still waiting for the good news your grace."

"I see...you must try harder for the sake of the country!" The queen of the Northern country encouraged her. "It can be hard, having children. When I was pregnant with my third child, it wasn't any better than the first. The symptoms were quite awful."

Anne smiled at her in reply and continued eating.

"Goodness, not even a child yet?" One person whispered.

"She's not even that pretty. People were hesitant about their marriage too."

"The king was already of marriageable age. He had rejected all other marriage proposals since young. There was no choice."

"Wasn't there a beautiful lady at their engagement banquet? The one with sir Chen. If they are not together, it'd be perfect for the king to marry her." Another person said.

The one next to them agreed, "Indeed, even if she becomes a concubine, it would be a blessing to have her in royalty. She was so beautiful!"

"Yes! If she gave our king an heir, it would have such amazing looks!"

The nobles around her started to whisper.

Anne looked at her food solemnly.

Seeing the mood was turning south, the king of the North interrupted. "Now now let's quiet down, the dessert would be served next." He laughed happily. "My queen personally made them for everyone in celebration for this fantastic event. I can guarantee its deliciousness."

"Dear! You are not eligible to be included in the ratings!" The queen protested.

He looked exasperatedly at her. "How am I not? as your husband?"

Everyone gave out a small laugh.

The mood lightened with their harmless bickering and managed to grasp everyone's attention that the main gossip was forgotten.

Anne gripped her silverware in silence.

The king didn't know what to say or how to comfort her. It was her battle, after all. He gloomily looked at her.

——————

Meanwhile, Chen and Lily have taken a carriage and traveled a short distance to the Northern country. They stayed there for the following days while continuing to share one room. Though it was awkward at first, they slowly grew accustomed to each other's company.

"That's so pretty!"

"Chen, look! Their clothes are so gorgeous!"

"Chen! Chen! I want to eat that!"

"Chen!" 0u0

Lily was in a frenzy, trying to do as much as she could with the time they had. His heart softened at the fact that everything that came out of her lips was accompanied by his name. It was as if everything she did; she thought of him.

He followed her every whim from eating to buying everything she obliviously praised. Even a piece of furniture she had sat on to test its bounciness. He spoiled her rotten to the point where she had to lecture him on the importance of saving money.

They both had enjoyed their time peacefully except the previous incident made him more cautious of their surroundings. Thus, Chen had a couple of guards to tail them just in case. He already sent a letter to the king, but the discussion would be on hold until after the festival.

After their brief vacation, they had to return before the very last day for Chen to resume his duties.

"Do you want to do anything else?" Chen asked her hesitantly. "I have to work all day for the last day of the festival tomorrow."

"Hmmmmm..." Lily thought deeply. They did almost everything they could already. "Let's just lay around the inn."

"...You don't want to do anything else?" He furrowed his brows.

Lily tried to explain herself further. "I've seen a lot already, and you're already tired! I'll be working you to death if we continue!"

After spending so much time together, she had learned to read his mood. Though it does not show much on his face, she could tell from his eyes; Chen was not in a good mood.

"If you don't rest to work, how are you going to accompany me in the future!" Lily grabbed Chen's hand and pulled him towards the entrance of the inn. "Quick, Let's eat, and just rest!"

His face turns 180 degrees and responded softly, "Okay."

————

They lazed around the whole day. Chen sat on the bed reading a book while Lily sorted out the stuff he had bought for her.

"I should give this bracelet as a gift for Anne!" Lily said gleefully in the peaceful room.

Chen lifted his head from his book and glanced in her direction.

"Don't you think it will look good on her?" Lily turned to him.

".. No." He said flatly.

Seeing his lack of enthusiasm, she looked at him exasperatedly. "Why?"

"It looks better on you."

She retorted with a Hmph and protested. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder!" It wasn't a satisfying answer!

Chen looked at her with deep eyes and responded sternly, "But I bought it for you."

She widens her eyes.

"...Yes, I know it's for me." Lily turned her head down to look at the gifts and continued her business.

Chen lightly chuckled at the adorable sight and went back to reading.

After a couple of minutes, he felt something was thrown onto his lap. When he put the book down beside him, he saw a small box.

"For you." Lily averted her eyes. "You always treated me so well."

"..."

He proceeded to open the box. There lied a simple blue bracelet with two small jewels dangling on its end. When taken a closer look, the jewels were in the shapes of sunflowers. It was a very sophisticated and effortless design.

Chen looked at Lily again. "When did you get this?"

"When I toured on my own. I thought it would look nice on you." She smiled at him, feeling proud. "I specifically asked them if they had sunflowers!"

His heart fluttered.

Chen put his book down and got out of bed. He approached her slowly, like every step to her was a pathway filled with flowers. So soothing and fragile.

If he took full strides, he felt everything would shatter instantly.

He felt his heart gradually warming up to an intense flame.

How many times was it again? He thought. Chen grasped her hand.

"..."

She looked at him, confused.

Chen gazed at her intensely and murmured, "Lily." It was the most gentle tone he could ever express.

"Yes?" She answered unknowingly sincere after hearing him calling her so tenderly. She gazed serenely at him. His eyes shining so brightly.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Lily asked him softly.

Chen pulled her closer. Seeing her look at him intently, giving all her attention, it made his heart constrict even more.

Ah, this is probably it.

The answer he was looking for.

After a severe moment of hesitation, he tightened his hands and parted his lips and said something.

The room went silent, with only the sound of the curtains swaying from the opened window.

Her eyes slowly grew wide open.

"What?"