* * *
Ateol stepped under a large tree and glanced around.
Naturally, my gaze followed his—and there it was: a small basin city nestled among blue-green meadows and rocky hills.
Jagged cliffs rose high, their tops shrouded in cloud-like mist.
Down below, people hurried along winding, narrow streets under colorful umbrellas.
The scent of fresh earth rose from the ground.
Dark, heavy clouds hovered low, releasing thicker and thicker drops of rain.
Cold rain poured onto weathered rooftops, down stone walls that divided neighborhoods, across uneven cobblestone paths.
In spots across the city, soft lemon-colored lanterns flickered to life—lights that only shone on rainy days.
Around each lantern, rainbows formed in the mist and damp, shimmering faintly like halos.
A group of children, soaked and umbrella-less, ran by laughing.
I stared at the scene in silence for a long time.
It was beautiful.
And strangely familiar.
Had I ever seen a place like this on Earth?
Something stirred in my chest, an aching nostalgia for something I couldn’t name.
“Do you like it?”
Ateol asked. I nodded silently.
I hadn’t expected much when I came out, but I hadn’t known it would be this beautiful.
A hand reached over and pushed back my hood.
Though we were under a large tree, the rain had grown heavy enough that droplets pattered down, soaking my hair.
Ateol had already taken off his own hood at some point.
The hand that had removed my hood lingered, cupping my cheek.
My reflection flickered in his crimson eyes.
I looked a little dazed.
Embarrassed, I took a step back—only to find myself under a sparse part of the branches, just as the rain began pouring harder.
The downpour drenched me instantly, but I wasn’t upset.
Just startled.
Strangely, even in this chilly weather, the cold rain didn’t feel unpleasant—it was refreshing.
My face must have been burning.
Ateol followed me.
His golden hair darkened quickly under the rain, water streaming down his handsome face.
He placed a hand on my soaked head, tilting his own slightly.
Wait—no way.
I raised my hand and covered his lips.
“……Why are you stopping me?”
He pulled his lips away slightly from my palm as he spoke.
“It’s bad luck.”
“Ah. Me?”
“…….”
For a moment, I was speechless.
The way Ateol casually asked, “Me?” threw me off.
It was true he usually had a streak of misfortune, but that wasn’t what I meant right now.
“No, I meant that story about the lovers. They both ended up drowning in a well, didn’t they?”
“Ah……. Pfft, so you’re saying you don’t want to kiss here because we might fall into a well and die?”
“Th-That’s not what I meant.”
Or was it?
Maybe a little?
Either way, drowning in a well wasn’t on my to-do list.
As I rolled my eyes, Ateol licked my palm—the damp warmth tickling my skin made me yank my hand back in shock.
He laughed.
“The point of that story isn’t that they died tragically, but that they were such passionate lovers. The ending can always be changed.”
“How do you change something that’s already written?”
“We aren’t the protagonists of that book. The dead lovers are just the author’s imaginary creations—we’re ordinary people living our lives here. The future is ours to make.”
“…….”
He had a point.
While I stood there, dazed by his smooth words, Ateol kissed me anyway.
……Honestly, kissing in the pouring rain was warm and sweet.
As Ateol’s heat seeped into my mouth, I fumbled to grip his soaked robe.
The kiss grew fiercer, more reckless.
The rain pounded harder, until I couldn’t even open my eyes—yet neither of us pulled away.
When our lips finally parted, my legs gave out, and Ateol caught me with an arm, holding me against him.
My body leaned into his completely, his warmth seeping through my rain-soaked clothes.
“I’ve had… a dream like this……”
A dream of kissing Ateol in the rain.
I’d had it just recently.
Was that déjà vu I felt when looking over the city because of that dream?
Ateol answered softly.
“I dream of you often, too.”
Even through the loud rain, his voice reached my ears clearly, as if spoken directly into them.
“They’re dreams that don’t feel like dreams.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Hmm…… The kind where, after waking up, you wonder if it was really a dream. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell them apart from reality.”
“That’s… strange.”
After catching my breath, I stood on my toes and kissed him first—though my lips landed slightly below his.
He bent down effortlessly and kissed me properly.
The kiss lasted a long time.
Even as it stole my senses, fragments of Ateol’s words drifted through my mind.
We aren’t the protagonists of that book.
[Event Success!
Don’t forget today’s conversation.]
When we returned, soaked like drowned rats, Serta and Lessa stared at us in shock.
“Your Majesty, did you go bathe in a puddle or something? You’re completely…”
Lessa trailed off, glancing at Serta and then at me before shutting her mouth.
Those two still seemed to have a friendship-like master-servant dynamic.
“Yes. The cold water nearly killed me. Prepare a bath.”
Of course, the bath was already being drawn before I even said anything.
“Yuri. No need to fill the tub twice, right?”
“…….”
I shot Ateol a narrow-eyed glare.
Since when did an emperor care about saving water?
A frugal emperor—sure, that sounded nice, but his intentions were anything but virtuous.
His ulterior motives were obvious.
Still, instead of coldly kicking him out, I just started undressing and headed to the bathroom in my room.
“I don’t need help bathing.”
After saying such a thing to Serta… Serta looked slightly flustered, while Ateol seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
Feeling unnecessarily awkward, I quickened my pace and entered the bathroom ahead of him, washing my rain-soaked body and sinking into the hot water.
As soon as the still-chilled body was submerged, it felt like I’d arrived in paradise.
Ateol didn’t come in for a while.
He only entered after I had dunked my head under the water and come back up about twice.
His body was clean and slightly damp.
Seeing me with almost my entire face submerged up to the nose, he asked nonchalantly:
“Shall I attend to you?”
“No thanks. I’m not doing anything for you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I already did, everything!”
“Actually, I’m all done too.”
Was he trying to joke around? I shook my head and moved a little farther away from him.
But “farther away” didn’t mean much — the bathtub in the official residence wasn’t large.
If I stretched out my legs, I’d probably reach him.
I curled myself up as small as possible, and Ateol let out a quiet chuckle seeing me like that.
No matter how dire things were — with grim rumors circulating in the early days of my reign — it was still rare for the Emperor and the Tower Lord to come together to such a small city.
Almost unheard of, really.
Which meant this government residence wasn’t equipped to receive a guest of the Emperor’s stature.
Ateol, sitting in a bath that looked shabby even compared to the imperial palace, felt oddly out of place.
Maybe it was my fault.
Because I’m fake.
* * *
For God’s sake, when will the free chapters be released?