I smile silently to myself as my conscience breaks through all the noise to reveal the truth. I’m aware that deep down, I’m falling in love with this man, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to face those feelings yet. I’ve never dared to learn how to feel for another person before now. There are still a great many things I have to unravel and learn about myself before I can learn to love another person.
Or…do I? Is it not ideal to learn to love yourself with the help of someone that adores your very existence? Seeing Aurelio look at me the way he does has my self-confidence soaring, every time without fail. The way he calls me out on my bullshit and keeps me honest when I’m getting full of myself has already curbed a lot of my bad habits and negative views about myself.
Maybe I’m ready, or maybe I’m not, but the bottom line is, we’re already married. Why should I wait to learn how to love my own husband?
“Hey, Aurelio?”
He turns to look at me, his eyes shining so brightly, they have my heart doing a happy dance all over again. He brushes his fingers through my hair as he searches my face.
“Yeah?”
“I’m starting to think you’re pretty awesome,” I chuckle. “And I’m not just saying that because your performance in the bedroom is phenomenal.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, because I started falling in love with you a while ago, Alessia.”
He brushes his lips against mine again, and I kiss him back, feeling my soul stir deep within me, like my very reason for existing on this planet is to feel Aurelio’s lips on mine.
Chapter eighteen
Aurelio
Iwon’t forget that morning. Not even after I die. It was the best moment of my life to date.
I may not have gotten an “I love you” out of Alessia, but I got a compliment that means just as much, so I’ll take it.
The rest of the trip home is relatively uneventful, with no monster attacks to speak of. Daelia holds up well healing on her own through the last leg of the journey. She doesn’t complain about the pain, not even once. I make a mental note to buy her a drink (okay, a few drinks) for saving my ass and paying for it tenfold.
When we finally arrive within the borders of Celestia, I breathe a sigh of relief. I see the palace in the distance, glittering in all its glory on this cloudless day. In addition, I catch sight of the spires of the Holy Church, but the rest of the city remains hidden from view due to the lower elevation on the edge of the Wendigo forest. Plus, the city walls obstruct a lot of the smaller buildings from view.
We approach the western wall, the knights guarding the gate shouting to each other upon spotting us. The western gates open wide to admit our small party, and we find a whole slew of knights awaiting us inside. They ask us about our journey, and after Alessia reports the basic details, they send messengers to the palace and the Holy Church to alert the staff of our arrival.
Before we can go anywhere, however, we have to drop off the spoils of our wendigo battles at the Adventurer’s Guild. Carrying monster items on yourself is a good way to get robbed, even if I’m nobility. Not everyone recognizes my face as the Prince of Celestia yet, as the celebration of our marriage will not occur until the king passes away or steps down.
The knights who can be spared from guard duty are escorting us through the city. It’s a bit strange, being treated so highly by the same people I sparred with all my life. I recognize several of their faces and even recall some of their names. It feels simultaneously weird as hells and absolutely incredible to be put on such a pedestal.
We gain an entire entourage of civilians as we walk along the main streets. I can’t blame them; it’s not every day that you see the Prince, the Queen, and the Hero of Celestia walking together in public. A crowd of at least one hundred people follows us through the city, shouting praises and congratulations to Alessi and I. Alessia’s face turns bright pink, and as much as I hate to admit it, mine does, too, as I wave back, secretly enjoying the attention.
I’ll make sure I’m worthy of your praise. Just wait and see.
We turn on the next main street, and the Guilds finally appear in the distance, their many large, glass-paned windows sparkling brightly in the afternoon sunlight, but not as bright as the shimmering marble-and-limestone walls of the Adventurer’s Guild. The building is five stories tall, and as wide as ten commoner’s houses put together. The entrance is marked by the towering oak doors, similar to the doors of the church, but only half the size. They’re thrown wide open, adventurers coming and going from the building in throngs. I spot at least five full parties passing through the doors in the space of a minute.
To be honest, I’m kind of excited to have an excuse to visit the Guild. I’ve always wanted to come here, but never got the chance until now. As the knights hold off the crowd from entering the Guild, I lead the way inside, excitably taking in the stunning appearance of the place.
The ceiling of the reception area stretches up three full floors in a vaulted design. The polished wooden staircases that lead to each floor are full of guild employees bustling about, trying to finish up their tasks before the end of the workday. On the main floor before me, tables and chairs are arranged in three orderly rows, and groups of adventurers gather at them to drink together, take a break for lunch, or discuss their latest quests. Off to my right is the receptionist’s desk, made of the same polished oak as the door. A team of Guild receptionists hastily try to take care of the long line of adventurers waiting to deliver quest confirmations and receive payouts. Just to the left of them, the quest board is still half-full of parchments containing the details of specific jobs, several of them marked “URGENT” in bright red lettering.
“Why has no one taken those quests?” I ask.
Daelia glances at the job board, then frowns, saying, “There’s no shortage of work. There’s a shortage of adventurers willing to risk their lives to fend off wendigos week after week, though.”
“Understandable,” I grumble, looking down at our bag of wendigo spoils. “These were not worth the effort.”
“It’s worth the effort for me. But I don’t count,” Daelia says, grinning wryly. “I have ancient magic on my side. And I don’t get to choose my quests, anyway. I have to ask permission like a child.”
“Most children don’t ask to run off and fight wendigos, though,” I say, my brows pinching together. “You realize how odd that sounds, right?”
“Cheer up, Daelia,” Alessia says, nudging her shoulder. “I’ll put a word in with the Holy Mother when we chat with her this afternoon. Now that I’ve seen how dangerous the Wendigo Forest has become, we need more capable adventurers than ever to protect our merchants. It’s only natural that I’d send you in; you won’t be killed by beasts so far below your paygrade, and you’ll successfully deliver the merchant’s goods, naturally. It’s a matter of economic interest, see?”
Daelia’s face flickers with understanding. She folds her arms over her chest, regarding her twin with a wicked grin.
