"Lidi."
"Freed."

We entered the bedroom, and I was gently lowered on the bed. I immediately reached out my hands and hugged Freed.
When I pulled him to me with a little strength, Freed didn"t resist and flopped on the bed together with me.

"Fufu…"

We pressed our foreheads together and chuckled. While hugging each other, we rolled on the bed. What a bliss.
Finding Freed"s mantle a nuisance, I reached out for its clasps to remove it. Freed was looking at me doing it in good humor.

"Nn… It"s not coming off."

It seemed simple at first glance, but it was unexpectedly complex and time-consuming. While I was grappling with the clasps, Freed reached out his hand and simply undid them.

"Ah…"

When I pouted sulkily, Freed smiled troubledly.

"It"s fun to be stripped by Lidi, but I didn"t know how long I"d be waiting."
"I-I was almost finished."
"Yup. Then, how about you give it a shot next time and give up for today? Honestly, it"s hard to be kept waiting any longer."
"… Yup. The next time should work."
"Fufu… I"m looking forward to it."

When I nodded to the word next, Freed smiled with satisfaction.
Then while watching me with pa.s.sionate eyes, he asked.

"And? Has my cute princess decided which one she wants? Can I take off this formal wear?"
"Yup."

I nodded to Freed"s question.
The Military Uniform Festival is certainly a fun event that I want to have regularly by all means.
However, today I dislike not touching Freed"s bare skin.

"Freed, I want to feel your skin today. So take it off."
"Nn? You want to feel me?"

As Freed tilted his head, I reached out my hands to his neck and undid the hook.
Yup. This time I did well.
When I smiled from the feeling of accomplishment, Freed tightly hugged me.

"Lidi, cute!"
"Fuwaa!"

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.
The aiguillette directly pressing against me feels very painful.
Right, the trouble with the Military Uniform Festival is that I can"t cling to Freed with all my heart. Besides, it"s exhausting.
His formal wear is richly decorated with elements signifying his status. It"s wonderful and a sight for sore eyes, but unfortunately, it"s unsuited for embracing each other. It requires us to be careful.
Other than that I have no complaints, but regrettably, it"s a grave problem for me who loves Freed.
Especially today when I"m in the mood to cling to Freed with all my power. It was a bitter decision, but there"ll be other opportunities. I"ll endure the Military Uniform Festival until the next time.

"Aah… Sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Nn…. I"m alright."

Perhaps Freed noticed it hurt me, as he hurriedly released his embrace. Then he undid the gold b.u.t.tons and threw off his coat.
Next he took off the white s.h.i.+rt he wore underneath, and the trained abs appeared. I became captivated by his half-naked appearance.
… Freed wearing the military uniform is wonderful too, but so is Freed exposing his abs.
In other words, Freed is wonderful whether he"s wearing clothes or not…

"Freed… I love you."

Yup, let"s have my fill of abs today.
When I decided that while looking at them ecstatically, Freed said while opening my dress.

"I love you too, Lidi… But really, I thought my heart would stop today. I didn"t imagine you"d be s.n.a.t.c.hed from the Royal Castle, Lidi. I will never again allow that."
"Yup…"

I obediently nodded to Freed"s serious words.
That"s right, I must be more careful.
This time it was my carelessness to eat something that had medicine mixed in.
I ate it without any doubt because I received it from a friend. That might have been okay in the ducal residence, but I mustn"t do it in the future. I"ll be the Crown Princess, and I don"t want to unnecessarily cause trouble for Freed.

"I"ll be more careful. I"m sorry for causing trouble."
"No. Lidi, I want you to feel comfortable inside the Royal Castle. Besides Lidi, you aren"t to blame. It was my responsibility. It"s alright. Lidi, I"ll protect you with all my power so that you can be free."
"Freed…"

I"m happy Freed will protect me.
When I fixed my eyes at Freed, Freed fixed his eyes back at me.

"Lidi, I hope you"ll smile. I don"t want our marriage to impair you. I want my beloved Lidi to always smile."
"Ah!"

This time I couldn"t endure and clung to Freed. The feeling of his hot skin filled me with joy.

"I love you. Freed. I only love you. I don"t want to marry anyone else than you, Freed."
"… Yup."
"I"m glad I wasn"t taken to Sahaja. I"m truly glad I could return to your side, Freed…!"
"Yup… Yup."

With one misstep I might have been taken to Sahaja by Black Apostate.
It didn"t happen because Freed came quickly, but thinking that it was within a hair"s breadth, I became horrified.
Sahaja… If I had been taken there, I would have been made to serve Prince Maximilian, or maybe the King.
I absolutely don"t want that.
Imagining it, I s.h.i.+vered from disgust. Supposing I was violated… I don"t have confidence I could continue living.
Thinking so, I could only realize that I really wouldn"t consent to anybody but Freed.
I don"t want anybody but Freed touching me.
My feelings are so strong, so I really don"t understand why I didn"t notice that I love him for so long.

"Freed… Embrace me."
"Lidi."
"I want it to sink in that I"m back within your grasp, Freed."

I want to ascertain that I"ve returned to the safest place in the world.
When I put that feeling into words, I was strongly hugged back.

"That"s my line. Lidi, I want to feel it with both my mind and body that you"re back. Hey, Lidi. Today… I won"t hold back, but that"s fine, right?"
"Yup, Freed."

I immediately nodded to his question. There was no need to worry about it.
Because I desire that as well.

"Embrace me with all your power… and don"t let me go until morning."
"Lidi, even when the morning comes, I don"t want to let you go… My precious, only mate. I love you."

My whole body s.h.i.+vered with delight from Freed"s pa.s.sionate words.
Before I realized, all of my clothes were taken off.
I met eyes with Freed. Recognizing the gaze burning with pa.s.sion, my mouth slackened, and I closed my eyes. As soon as I did, he dropped a fierce kiss like he was trying to eat me.
His tongue immediately slipped inside my mouth and rubbed mine.
Accepting it, I finally felt from the bottom of my heart that I returned to Freed"s side.