The Reason for Marriage

“As we grow old safely, we will be able to play line ball together in peace.
Even if the law weakens us, it will also protect us in the end.”

Kayden’s eyes stayed on the pen Daniel was using to sign off the orders.
‘From E.J.’ was clearly visible on the top, just above where the King’s hand gripped it.
It was difficult to guess what His Majesty was thinking, or just how much he knew about everything, and how he felt as he was talking about living one hundred years with Iveca.
But he already made a ‘silence zone’ that inevitably had to exist between two of them.

The law is not yet in effect.
Therefore, for Kayden, the Bureau’s code and organizational judgement came first of all values.

***

That night, when Daniel came to the Queen’s palace, Iveca was laid asleep on her desk.
When he came in, the two Bureau of Investigation members who were guarding her quickly escaped.
Daniel swept Iveca’s black hair away without paying much attention to them.

“Iveca?” he said, trying to rouse her from her impromptu slumber, “sleep on the bed.
If you sleep like this, you will hurt your back.”

At Daniel’s words, Iveca woke up, her eyes wide open and her appearance a startled deer.
She blinked, hurriedly brushed her hair and cleared her voice.
Daniel could not resist the smirk on his mouth as he waited for her to scurry herself to what he presumed was an attempt at looking presentable.

“You came?” she said, the surprise still in her voice.
“I’m not sleepy.”

It was close to midnight.
Daniel smiled and eventually picked her up into a tight embrace.
He felt her body tighten a little under him, then relax again.

“But I’m sleepy.
Can you stop reading the constitution?”

At his admission, Iveca hurriedly closed the constitution.
Somehow his smiling blue eyes seemed to know everything inside her mind.
Even if Reina and Sid told her to stop and go to sleep, she rubbed her heavy eyes and shook her head.
Because if she were asleep, Daniel would go away without waking her up.
She could not even say that she waited, as she did not want him to be burdened.

At least on weekdays, she was able to see him every day because he came out to greet her, while on the weekends, there was nothing she could do except walk the halls of the palace and wait endlessly.
Without Reina and Sid, the wait would have been more tedious, because Daniel was busy.
She couldn’t blame him for the duties of a king.
He previously asked her to come through the secret passage whenever she wanted to see him, but she knew it was extremely rare for him to be in his bedroom anyway, given where and when his work needed him, especially now.

As she ruminated, he kissed her forehead, and she found herself looking into his eyes like a puppy meeting its owner.
Iveca suddenly resisted the feeling of wanting to hug him.
Instead, she began to speak cautiously.

“As for the contents of Article One, I would like to make a report on its necessity.
I think we have found a suitable case to look into.”

“Do whatever you want to do, Iveca.
Because I believe you can do well.
However,” he looked into her eyes and spoke slowly, “aren’t you afraid of the attack and poisoning? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

She was afraid that Daniel would say, ‘Don’t do it, it is dangerous,’ so she shouted too quickly.
Although it was a pathetic thing to say, she was afraid that he would not find her every day as he was now if she did not work hard or meet his standards.

At one point or another it was way too easy for a person to come and squeeze her already-shattered heart into the right shape.
It made life more uncomfortable and complicated.
However, her waiting was always rewarded, and he created moments that she would like to revisit over and over again.
The laughter that spread through his eyes when he came to meet her right in front of the Judicial Affair Bureau, the fingers that gently entangled, and the voice that calmly listened to her thoughts and supported them.

There were so many good moments that eventually could bury doubts inside her mind.
After all, all she could do was to keep her mouth shut and eyes closed.
Didn’t Daniel also bury what happened to her with Anriq in the middle of the night? If what they needed was being a lovely couple in disguise, Iveca was willing to accept the role.

That alone was good enough, if it meant she got to be with this person like they were now.

The warm tongue that came gently between the lips and the kiss that wrapped her whole mouth, no matter how carefully it started, was also and always good.
As she gasped between his effort to push his tongue deeper, her body locked up, partially under his weight.

Every time she saw his hungry expression, the one that was only shown when they were making love, tears welled up in Iveca’s eyes.
Whenever she felt the touch that hugged her, her body became tighter.
She sighed heavily.