"It should have helped you as well, did it not?"
Suddenly, Nux questioned with a slight smile on his face.
"…" Suddenly, Evane turned silent.
Nux then pulled her near him, her breasts touching his chest, their forehead and nose touching each other's, Nux's hands touching Evane's lower back while her hands touched his shoulders.
The two of them could feel each other's breath on their lips and in this position, Nux spoke in a low voice,
"You know you can talk to me when you feel troubled, don't you? You don't have to deal with everything alone. I want you to be a strong Evane like you were back in the Royal Hall, however, it is okay to be weak around someone you love. I will not hurt you."
This time, there was no playfulness in Nux's voice, his voice was filled with warmth and gentleness.
He started caressing her hair lovingly and questioned,
"Lovis's death still affected you, didn't it?"
"…"
Evane didn't say anything.
Nux didn't force her either, he continued to caress her hair while synchronizing his breathing with hers. He knew that he had to be patient here and he was ready to give as much time as Evane needed.
"…He didn't just die… I was the one who killed him…"
After a long silence, Evane finally said something.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Nux's answer was firm.
"But I killed my own brother."
"A brother who was trying to stab you with a dagger that was laced with poison when you were fighting with your life on the line for him."
"H-He was wrong… I admit, but he was still my brother."
"Again, that makes it even worse. Trust me, you didn't kill him, in truth, you saved him. I was saving him for the last, I would have taken a good amount of time to deal with him, his end wouldn't have been so quick and painless. You saved him from endless misery."
Nux replied and after pulling Evane even close to him, he spoke,
"No one hurts my Evane and survives."
"…"
Evane turned silent.
Nux sighed, he started caressing her hair again and continued,
"Don't worry, what you did was not wrong, rather, it was a strong move. It proved that you are not the weak woman others think you are. You are someone who can take a hard decision and stick with it.
That is a Quality of a Queen.
You, my Evane, will become an amazing Queen.
A True Queen."
"It's painful to become a queen…"
Evane spoke in a weak voice.
"…"
Nux paused.
A weak smile then appeared on his face, he placed Evane's head on his chest and nodded,
"It is, it is very painful to become a Queen, but don't worry, I will be here with you. You can share this pain with me. That will ease the pain."
Hearing Nux's words and feeling his pats, Evane finally decided to let go, and soon,
Streams of tears fell out of her eyes and she started crying.
Nux closed his eyes and continued to pat her.
Time passed, and under Nux's gentle pats, Evane fell asleep, seeing that, Nux smiled, he gently wiped her tears, placed her cheeks in Evane's head and he closed his eyes as well.
…
The next day, Nux woke up from his sleep.
He then turned around and noticed that Evane was looking at him with a small smile on her face.
"What are you looking at?"
He questioned in a sleepy voice.
"Nothing, I was just looking at you."
Evane replied with a small smile.
"Heh. You pervert."
Nux chuckled and at the same time, he yawned.
"I am a pervert indeed. Staying with you for a long time has its downsides."
Evane commented.
"Oh?"
Nux raised his eyebrow.
"Downsides? What downsides? Sleepless nights? Too much pleasure?"
"Heh."
Evane chuckled.
Nux started laughing as well.
"Nux."
Suddenly, Evane called out.
"Yes?"
"Why do you want to become the King?"
Evane questioned with a curious look on his face.
A smile appeared on Nux's face when he heard that question,
"Teacher Arvina asked me this question earlier, at that time, I didn't have an answer, saying that I was not mature enough, she sent me to a war."
"And did you find a reason there?"
Evane questioned.
Nux nodded, "I met a Deputy General named Lawrence there. He actually wanted to follow Ember when she was coming here, however, following Evane would be considered as a betrayal, and since his family still lived in the Woods Dynasty, he couldn't do what he wanted.
If he was tagged as a 'traitor', his family would suffer.
What man would do something like that?
Therefore, to protect his family, he stayed there."
Nux then glanced at Evane and answered,
"I do not wish to be like that. To be forced to do something I don't want to, my family being held hostage inside the kingdom they live in, I will not accept that. That is the reason I want to become the King. If I rule this country, I would be able to do whatever I want and my family wouldn't be targeted by anyone.
Of course, I know all of this is not that simple, however, becoming the King is still better than not becoming one."
"So you want to become a King because you want to protect your loved ones and want to be free? You don't want your family to become a hostage, is that right?"
"Yes,"
"Becoming a King and wishing to be free, the two are contradicting, don't you think?"
Evane questioned.
Nux scratched his head and smiled awkwardly,
"I admit, it is contradicting, but I do not have any other options. Plus, don't I have you guys? Won't you guys keep an eye on the Kingdom for me?"
"We will help you, of course, but I have a better plan."
"Oh? Enlighten me."
Nux smiled.
"What if I become the Ruler of this Kingdom? That would solve all the problems, won't it?"
