The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 188

When I wake up in the morning, even before opening my eyes, there’s something I feel first.

A small warmth resting in my arms, using my arm as a pillow.

The sound of someone else’s breathing. Things like that.

Opening my eyes comes after all that.

Sunlight seeps in through the slightly parted curtains.

A gentle glow fills the whole room.

Then, I lower my head just a little.

And I see Eliza’s face, peacefully asleep, clinging to me once again this morning.

“So cute…”

Every morning starts with this round, adorable face, so how could the whole day not feel good?

The slanted rays of sunlight shine from behind Eliza.

She looks just like a cat curled up and sleeping under the sunlight.

Just looking at her fills me with a quiet kind of joy.

She always smells good.

Like freshly washed blankets that have just dried in the sun—something like that.

Breathing in that scent makes the whole world feel at peace.

I press a kiss to Eliza’s forehead and hold her close.

Even in her sleep, Eliza nuzzles deeper into my arms when I do that.

It feels like I’m holding the entire world in my arms.

“You’re just too cute…”

Just a few weeks ago, having this kind of leisurely morning was impossible.

But as Eliza slowly appointed capable people—ministers, advisors, and so on—the overwhelming workload she once had to bear alone began to lighten.

And ever since then, she’s had more time, and we’ve been able to enjoy slow mornings like this.

I close my eyes again, listening to Eliza’s soft, steady breathing.

I focus on my other senses.

The ticklish warmth of her breath.

The feel of skin against mine, from our bodies so closely pressed.

The fabric of her thin summer pajamas brushing against me.

The softness of her hair grazing my face.

The contours of her body, felt through my hand when I gently touch her in her sleep.

Eliza, even asleep, is surprisingly warm—just holding her like this is incredibly comforting.

Drifting between sleep and wakefulness.

As my consciousness floats in a hazy state, I feel Eliza as if in a dream.

I sometimes playfully squeeze the soft, squishy parts—her belly, her hips, things like that.

Even the soft texture of the blankets feels nice.

Then suddenly, Eliza murmurs in a sleepy voice.

“Kiss…”

That’s the first thing she says when she wakes up.

She always does this, and I still can’t help but chuckle every time.

I slowly bring my lips to hers.

Even half-asleep, when she senses me approaching, she lifts her head ever so slightly with her eyes still closed.

That determination to match the position of our lips no matter what—it’s just so endearing.

Smooch.

Since it’s morning, I give her a light kiss.

A fresh, gentle touch.

Her lips are always so warm and plump, soft enough to make me smile whenever they meet mine.

Eliza giggles sleepily and rubs her face against my chest.

Around that time, a bird chirps outside.

There’s a tree branch outside Eliza’s bedroom window, and at some point, a bird began to visit it every morning.

And at precise times, it chirps and cries.

Eliza and I use that sound as our alarm and wake up.

“Mmmgh…”

Groaning, Eliza sluggishly crawled up to me, and this time, she kissed me first.

I responded to her touch by wrapping my arms around her waist.

The kiss lasted a bit longer than before.

Still with her eyes closed, Eliza nestled into my arms and asked,

Just awakened, her voice low and slightly drowsy.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Thanks to you, yes. And you?”

“Hehe. Me too. I even had a nice dream.”

Eliza always tells me about the dreams she had.

Right after waking up.

Whether it’s a bad one or a good one.

Most of the time, it’s not bad at all—never anything serious.

The most recent bad dream was about the bed suddenly expanding so much that she couldn’t hug me while sleeping.

It’s usually silly things like that.

I held her close and listened with full attention.

Just like always.

“What kind of dream?”

“Just, you know, us when we were little… Oh, and in the dream we rode Yuel together, looking like kids.”

“Hm. If we’d ridden Yuel as kids, that would’ve been a fun experience… Now that you mention it, it’s been a while since we took a walk with Yuel.”

“Should we go out together today, since it’s been a while?”

“Are you not busy today?”

“I’ll be busy reviewing reports until lunch… but I should be free after that.”

“Then a walk sounds nice.”

“Yeah. I’d like that too.”

Smooch.

Eliza kissed me and gave a sleepy little laugh.

Kissing at random times, without any warning or signal, had become our everyday routine.

Though we were both awake, we didn’t immediately get out of bed.

We always try to drag out our time here as long as we can before leaving.

So we just lay there, cuddling, kissing, chatting about whatever, rolling around together for a while.

Knock knock.

Someone softly tapped on the door.

It was probably Maria.

Every morning, when it’s time for us to get moving, she lets us know like this.

Honestly, I’d love to just stay in bed all day, but she’s the emperor.

The emperor who united all of humanity.

Even though she’s reduced her responsibilities, there’s still a lot to do.

Her goal is to keep trimming down her work, bit by bit, until she can spend as much time as possible with just me.

I genuinely support that.

Ultimately, she wants to step away from everything and be with me 24/7, but realistically, that’s impossible.

“It’s time to get up now.”

“Mmm… don’t wanna…”

Somehow, while rolling around, she had ended up on top of me.

Eliza whined as she buried her face into my chest.

“Look here.”

I gently held her chin with one hand and wiped the sleep from her eyes with the other.

After the wedding, we’d already seen everything there was to see of each other over the course of 30 days.

Taking care of eye gunk was nothing.

“Mmmgh…”

Eliza let out a pleased hum and gave a sleepy smile.

She hadn’t exactly welcomed this sort of thing from the very beginning either.

One day during the 30 days we spent at the foot of the mountain.

I woke up to the sound of water, and there was Eliza secretly washing her face.

When I asked why, she bashfully said it was because she didn’t want to show me her face with eye gunk.

She looked so adorable like that.

I told her she didn’t need to worry about it from now on, and even said I’d clean it off for her.

At first, she refused, but after a few times she got used to it. Now, she actually looks forward to that time.

Whatever the reason, it’s fine—she’s cute, and that’s enough.

Watching Eliza relax and trust her face in my hands makes me feel happy too.

“All done now.”

I cupped Eliza’s cheeks and kissed her as a finishing touch.

When I see something this cute, I just can’t resist a kiss.

Then Eliza wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me back.

“Mmm, thank you. I love you.”

Even though the words sound light, I know the feelings behind them are anything but—so we can say “I love you” easily, without holding back.

“I love you too.”

“…But hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Something hard’s been poking me down there for a while now…”

“That’s… a natural phenomenon in the morning, one that defies human will…”

“Hmmm.”

Eliza looked up at me with a strange glint in her eyes, and slowly rolled her hips against mine.

“It’s unfortunate, but we’ve no choice. We can’t delay any longer.”

“Mmm… I truly wish we could.”

Eliza laughed softly and stood up, taking my hand.

“Let’s save the rest for tonight.”

“Well, you didn’t really need to say it…”

When I said that with a cheeky smile, Eliza just laughed as if she couldn’t help herself.

Ever since we got married, I’ve been seeing Eliza smile more often.

It’s a smile filled with calmness—pure and untainted.

To protect that smile, I’d do anything.

***

Hand in hand, we wash up in a similar order and pace.

Then we eat breakfast with Maria, and until lunch, Eliza goes over reports and gives out various instructions.

Most of her work involves approving or rejecting things.

While she does that, I either nibble on cookies Maria brings out or feed some to Eliza.

I never feel bored.

Beauty, in and of itself, is the greatest amusement and joy.

And that’s exactly what Eliza is.

Just watching her makes time fly by.

Her forehead is smooth and gently rounded.

A gracefully sloping nose.

Small, plump lips with a rosy hue that look utterly delicious.

A round face overall.

Her large eyes are pure, yet sometimes carry a mysterious depth you can’t quite fathom.

There’s this heavenly harmony of youth and maturity in her—both innocent and elegant.

‘Of course, everything below the face is mature through and through… No, let’s not have indecent thoughts in the audience chamber.’

Anyway, just gazing at her makes you want to believe in the existence of God—she’s that beautiful.

Could anything but a god create such a perfect form?

‘…Though I’d rather not think of that god from back then. She did call herself a “manager,” but still.’

Watching Eliza like this, time passes quickly.

Sometimes when our eyes meet, she gives me a soft smile.

And when no one’s looking, she puckers her lips for a pretend kiss, or licks her lips and teases me with signals I really can’t act on in a place like this.

Watching her like that brings me endless joy.

She smiles easily, has learned to show a little consideration for others, and teases me playfully.

The way she never lets go of my hand, and just honestly and transparently loves me—those feelings make me happy, grateful, and sometimes even amazed.

“When I think about when we first met… honestly, it’s kind of amazing.”

My first meeting with young Eliza.

Back then, in many ways, she was a frightening person.

Of course, she’s probably much stronger now.

But at the time, the atmosphere around her was cold—almost chilling.

Her wary attitude, like someone wrapped in thorns, approaching others cautiously.

The sharp intentions hidden beneath her calm, smiling words.

That poisonous desire for revenge, far too intense for a child to carry.

Now, none of that can be seen at all.

“She’s grown up well, really well.”

As I looked at her fondly, Eliza began tracing letters into my palm with her thumb, still holding my hand.

“Hm? What’s this?”

Her finger moved slowly and softly.

I quietly read the sensation.

“I, love, you.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

The president of the commoners’ council, who had been reporting to Eliza, looked at me curiously.

“Lord Gukseo? Is something the matter?”

“Ah, uh, ahem. No, it’s nothing.”

“Please feel free to speak casually.”

“But how could I speak informally to someone who works day and night for the empire’s well-being?”

Even now, I find it hard to speak casually to complete strangers, especially when they’re older than me, even with the power I hold.

So I’ve become pointlessly good at coming up with these kinds of excuses.

“There are many rumors saying Lord Gukseo is a wise man who treats everyone equally and with compassion.”

Because of that, people say I’m incredibly kind.

That I’m a Gukseo who never looks down on even the lowest-ranked person.

Whether that’s actually a good thing for me… I’m not so sure.

“Well, he is my husband,” Eliza added proudly from the side.

Then she and the council president resumed their discussion.

I traced the same letters onto her palm with my thumb.

“I, love, you.”

Eliza didn’t smile awkwardly and obviously like I did.

But seeing the tips of her ears turn slightly red—it was clear she was happy.

“So cute.“