The Solet New Town development plan on the outskirts of the Imperial Palace was a three-year project. I had a grand ambition to introduce stationery store items to underprivileged children and to sell unique and appealing products. Of course, it would take about three years for the new city to be fully developed, so it was a long-term goal.
"I need to make the basic preparations now," I thought to myself. As I looked at the map to check for preschools, foster homes, and orphanages near the planned urban development site, my jaw suddenly clenched.
'Wait, what time is it?'
I checked my watch and stood up, stretching for a long time. It was midnight—the time I usually met Isaac. Lately, I had been so busy with work that we could only meet in the early mornings or late at night. Today was no different.
We met and walked together in a small, secret flower garden where the morning dew was just beginning to fall. It had been a while since we had the chance to walk hand-in-hand like this. As we strolled down the long path in silence, I could feel Isaac's emotions very keenly.
'This man is nervous,' I realized, surprised.
In this peculiar, tense situation, I knew I should be the one to speak first.
"Isaac."
"...Yes," he replied, a half-beat late.
I wondered if he was lost in thought. Puzzled, I asked him directly, "What did you do today?"
Isaac was silent for a moment.
"Is it a secret?" I asked playfully, stopping in my tracks. It was a thoughtless question, but Isaac stopped as well and answered very seriously.
"I went to a boutique for a little while, Mel."
I looked up at him, my eyes wide with surprise. His expression was affectionate and languid, but there was a distinct tension in his posture.
"A boutique? Why?" I asked.
Isaac raised my left hand, gently kissed the back of it, and said in a quiet voice, "I was thinking of a jewel that would suit you well."
I watched as he slowly slid a small ring onto my left ring finger. The simple band tickled my empty finger. I stared at the ring, feeling a bit awkward.
"It's beautiful," I whispered.
In the center of the pure white ring was an elegantly cut gemstone. It looked like a commitment ring or a wedding band. It felt strange and overwhelming to have a ring on a hand that had always been empty.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
"Yes, I do!" I replied like a parrot.
Isaac nodded languidly but with a satisfied expression. Seeing his demeanor, I continued my playful teasing.
"Well, I can't say this is my absolute favorite thing."
"If you don't like it, you can choose something else," he replied immediately, looking genuinely worried. "What is your favorite, Mel?" he asked, his tone curious about every part of me.
Seeing this man give me his complete and undivided attention, I smiled and ran my ringed hand through my hair. "Well, my favorite thing right now is..."
There were so many things I liked: my stationery store building, beer candy, jewelry, cotton candy, even dalgona. But if I had to pick just one, there could only be one answer.
"Isaac."
I hadn't meant to say that out loud! I laughed happily after speaking, but Isaac did not. His eyes stared at me with an intense, unwavering gaze.
"That's so exciting to hear," he said.
No, you don't look excited at all. You look dangerous.
"I want to kiss you right now."
"Uh, what?"
Before I could properly ask for clarification, his face moved closer to mine. I thought we were past the point of feeling embarrassed, but my ears felt hot and my heart fluttered. In a panic, I grabbed his arm.
"Suddenly?" I quickly turned my face to the left to defend my lips.
Fortunately, his face, which had been close to my lips, now stopped near my cheek. At that moment, which was a mix of relief and disappointment, he whispered in a low voice.
"I was just asking for a kiss on the cheek." His lips brushed against my right cheek, then pulled away.
I was flustered, and my cheeks burned red. "That's not what I meant!"
Isaac, who was staring at my burning cheeks, took my hand and said, "I must have been mistaken."
"You don't think you were mistaken at all, do you?"
"If you say so, Mel, then I was mistaken." His hand lightly touched the ring on my finger.
In the sweet silence, a strange thought came to me. Wait... A ring is usually given as a gift when someone proposes, right? I was in a romantic situation, I'd received something like a proposal ring, and he had even kissed me. My imagination started to run wild.
Does this mean he wants to get married? But we had only just started dating, and although we had gone through a lot together, we were still just... new lovers.
"I want our relationship to last a long time..." I blurted out, my thoughts spilling out into words.
Why am I saying this? I worried I had gotten too carried away.
Isaac touched my eyes and whispered in a low voice, "Yes. Our relationship has already lasted a long time." His possessive eyes stared at me. I met his gaze, which was as dark as the night sky.
Tonight, there were no stars, only a few lights illuminating the flower garden. The petals were falling in the gentle breeze, creating a very romantic scene. Isaac leaned close to my face and whispered softly, "Instead, marry me."
At his words, my lips curled into a smile. I knew with absolute certainty that if I ever got married, it would be to Isaac. With that thought, I closed my eyes and murmured softly, "When my current project is finished... I'll think about marriage."
The project was a three-year plan. I had shared the details with Isaac, so he was well aware of the timeline.
Isaac looked at me with a serious expression. "When the project is over," he repeated, his voice strangely powerful. "It's three years, right?"
"You just have to move it forward." With that, his lips slowly folded over mine, as if it were inevitable.
Feeling Isaac's breath as he drew near, I closed my eyes even tighter. I had a feeling that days like this, like an eternal dream, would continue for a long, long time.
Epilogue
Time flew by.
Two years later, everything was still the same. Isaac and I were happily in love, Dominic was still causing mischief in the mansion, and countless children visited my stationery store to find happiness.
But today was going to be a little different. Today was an important day, one that deserved an asterisk on the calendar. As I was working in my office, I glanced at the calendar on my nightstand.
'The butler should be here soon,' I thought.
Just as I put down my quill, there was a knock on the wooden door of my office. "Come in," I called.
The person who entered was not the butler, but Basil. "Basil?" I asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Your Excellency the Marquis. The blood relatives of the Marquis of Kinnoa sent a letter of greetings today."
Ever since the Pope was dealt with, countless relatives had contacted me. Sending a greeting letter every morning had become routine. I had been so excited about today's schedule that I had completely forgotten about it.
"Give it to me," I said, holding out my hand.
Basil quickly handed me a stack of letters. I motioned for him to sit down. "Have a seat. I'll write the replies now."
"Yes, ma'am!" Basil ran a hand through his slicked-back hair and sat on the sofa opposite me.
I opened the seal of the first letter.
To Meldenik, whom I serve as my second mother...
It was a greeting I received every time, but it still felt new.
'Second mother is such a terrible way to put it...' I picked up my quill and wrote my reply. I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, but I think you're overlooking the fact that you're older than me...
You're over fifty, and I'm still in my twenties. The scale of the gifts was also getting strange. I read the last line of the letter.
The gift I wish to give you today is the ancient Western castle.
I sighed deeply as I looked at the small ownership certificate next to the letter. I appreciated the gift, but this was a bit much. They gave me a whole castle without a moment's hesitation.
'Where did they even get all this money?' I wondered, scratching my eyebrows. Weren't these people the ones who had to hide from the Pope? 'What kind of powers do all of you have?'
Over the past two years, the relatives of the Marquis of Kinnoa had displayed a tremendous amount of power. It was probably natural that people with abilities could finally use them freely, but...
'Why are you all so filial to me?'
It's okay, you can use the money to buy yourselves some good meat. The best kind of filial piety is to be healthy yourself. Even though she wasn't my child, she kept referring to me as her "second mother"...
After taking the appropriate amount of time to finish my replies, I made a small gesture. "I'm done, take them."
"Yes, ma'am!" Basil said as he collected the letters.
"Everyone is waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"To give you all the money they've saved..." Basil's eyes sparkled. "Everyone is looking forward to it!"
No, that's incredibly burdensome!