The Unwanted Princess Becomes Loved in the Werewolf Kingdom and Becomes Queen! – Chapter 84
Chapter 84: Happiness at the end is in your shape
The autumn air was clear, and countless stars were twinkling in the sky. The sounds of insects and the whispers of owls echoing from the mountains signaled the arrival of night, and the world illuminated only by the waning moon was filled with soft colors.
It has been a whole day since Ernesta returned to the royal castle. During that time, Ivan seemed to be busy with something, and they hardly had a chance to meet each other, welcoming the second night without having the opportunity to show off her outfit of Arkrig made from the young grass-colored fabric that Ivan had chosen for her at the weaving workshop. She had no time to express her gratitude either. She had to take a bath soon, but she didn’t feel like it, so she went to her room’s balcony.
Under the starry sky, a silver wolf was resting there. Mikolash seemed to be staying close to Ernesta since her return.
“Hey, Mikola, why are you so good to me?”
[Well, that’s because I like Ellie.]
A yawn mixed with his response. She didn’t understand what he said, but she felt like he conveyed something happy.
Ernesta squatted on the balcony, letting the silver fur brush through her fingers.
“You’re such a gentle boy. I don’t know how much you’ve saved me.”
[I’m glad Ellie came back too. The way “she” stroked me was terrible.]
“I wonder if Mikola noticed the substitution? He has a good nose, so he might have realized.”
[I knew right away. I was really surprised at that time.]
Their one-way conversation continued, but neither felt uncomfortable, and peaceful time passed.
“Hey Mikola, am I right? What do you think?”
Ernesta looked up at the stars twinkling in the distance. The night sky was universal and unchanged, always there.
“Everyone was kind enough not to be angry at me for deceiving them. But I’m still not a real princess. I have no education, no dignity, no status. Can I repay everyone’s kindness with such a flawed me? I wonder if I can ever repay them…”
It was an endless train of thought.
Whenever she was alone, she continued to think about it. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that it was not about whether she could repay them or not, but that she would definitely repay them, it never worked out.
“Ivan seems really busy. Do you know what’s going on during the day?”
Asking in a deliberately cheerful tone, Mikolash’s ear twitched slightly.
Come to think of it, Ernesta had once confided in this silver wolf about something she couldn’t tell anyone else. Even though she knew he couldn’t understand human language, it was such a relief.
“I went to the office because I thought I could help with something, but I was turned down. Ivan has been working all the time, and I feel like he hasn’t rested at all.”
Is Ivan okay? Was a human queen like her really unreliable after all?
She knew that she was not very useful to the king. She should have known that.
[…Is Ellie worried?]
She still couldn’t understand the meaning of the wolf’s howl, but Ernesta smiled faintly and answered the question by chance.
“Just a little bit, I am worried. That’s pathetic, isn’t it?”
Mikolash’s warm coat comforted Ernesta’s restless mind. She shifted her gaze from the starry sky to his amber eyes and spent some time lost in thought, until her eyelids started feeling heavy.
Come to think of it, she had stayed up late waiting for Ivan yesterday but eventually couldn’t meet him. Even during her journey, she slept poorly since sharing a room with him made her nervous. Maybe she was sleep-deprived.
Just as Ernesta was about to succumb to drowsiness and fall into Mikolash’s silver coat, a knock echoed in the darkness. The wolf gracefully stood up and ran to the man who entered the room as she answered the knock.
It was Ivan. He was wearing his usual black chokha and stood tall with no sign of fatigue.
He seemed to want to say something, but his partner kept hitting him with his tail, making him raise an eyebrow in puzzlement.
“Mikola, what are you doing?”
[Shut up! I’m leaving now, so comfort her properly! Got it!]
Growling with some irritation, Mikolash swept out of the queen’s room in a swashbuckling manner.
As expected, wolves are capricious creatures. They live their lives freely, sometimes snuggling up to people and sometimes not.
“.. Ivan, what’s wrong? It’s so late.”
Ernesta suddenly woke up from her drowsiness and stood up. Facing each other like this felt like a reunion after a long time.
“I came to see you.”
“Is there anything wrong?”
“No. I just wanted to see you, for a while now.”
The words spoken from the darkness brought both surprise and joy to Ernesta, and she broke into a smile with blushed cheeks.
“…I’m happy. I, too, wanted to see you.”
Ivan, who stood on the boundary between the balcony and the room, with half of his face covered in darkness, was hard to see. But it was clear that he covered his mouth and turned his face away.
She wondered if she had said something strange, but Ivan collected himself and turned back to her.
“That Arkrig….”
“Y-Yes! I don’t know if you remember, but I had it tailored from a fabric that you picked out for me. Thank you so much.”
Ernesta twirled under the starry sky. The light green fabric fluttered, and her hair, styled in a half-updo, danced in the night sky.
“How could I forget? It suits you well, and it’s beautiful. I thought the spirit of summer had lingered.”
Ernesta was beyond blushing.
What had happened to him tonight? She thought he was someone who never praised women like this.
“What were you doing?”
“Uh, well… I was looking at the stars while petting Mikola.”
“You’re not having a bad day, are you?”
Not understanding the meaning of his low inquiry, Ernesta looked dazed.
But soon she remembered something and murmured in a faint voice. Yes, that was eight years ago. When she helped the golden wolf, didn’t she teach him to count the stars in difficult times?
“No, that’s not it! I said that at that time, but it’s okay to look at the stars anytime.”
To be honest, she was feeling a little lonely as she gazed out, but decided to keep it to herself. Ernesta took Ivan’s hand and lightly pulled him toward the balcony.
In the moonlight, his figure was revealed. Looking up at the sky together, Ernesta naturally smiled.
“Look, it’s really beautiful. When you’re sad, you can forget about it, and when you’re happy, it can multiply. When your heart is restless, you can calm down, and when you’re sinking, you can rise up. I like stars because they can share all sorts of emotions with the night sky. It makes you happy, doesn’t it?”
For the past few months, it felt like she had only been looking at the stars when she was suffering, but that was a shame to do so.
Because no matter what, the starry sky on a clear day is always so gentle and embracing.
Glancing to the side, she saw a profile gazing at the night sky just like her. The blue eyes that reflected the starry sky were beautiful, and Ernesta narrowed her eyes to gaze at their radiance.
“Ellie is amazing.”
Ivan eventually spoke softly.
Ernesta tilted her head, unsure of the sudden praise.
“You always teach me about my foolishness, about how much I’ve narrowed my vision and turned away from what should have been helping me, about what needs to be cherished, and about how to face what we want to protect.”
Ivan’s eyes seemed to reflect something far away, but his heart was closer to Ernesta than ever before.
Despite thinking that she was not someone who could teach him such things, Ernesta didn’t want to deny the sincerity of what he had told her.
——Ivan. You’ve taught me a lot too. About the importance of having people to help you, the beauty of living strong with nature, the happiness I feel when you smile at me, and so much more.
Their eyes met as she tried to convey her feelings, but her words wouldn’t come out because her chest felt tight.
Because the stars were too beautiful. Because the smile illuminated by moonlight was so endearing.
“…Um, Ellie. The moon is really beautiful tonight.”
“Yes, it is. It looks bigger than usual.”
Ernesta exerted all her energy to keep her voice from trembling.
The crescent moon rising just above the shadow of the mountain was like a ship hovering randomly on a sea of stars. It shone in a golden light, much like Ivan’s hair color, clearly cutting through the night sky.
“The moon is where the goddess resides. The one god who announced the founding of Shenka will come to pick up the people when they die and lead them to the paradise on the moon.”
“She is always watching over us, isn’t she?”
“Ah, yes.”
For some reason, Ivan’s voice began to stiffen. Why did deciphering Shenka’s god bring him tension?
“In other words…in other words, the witness is still up in the moon.”
Before she could ask for the meaning of the words, the air began to tremble. That was because the most esteemed person in this country had taken Ernesta’s left hand and knelt down.
It was so overwhelming that her vision blurred. Memories from the back of her mind resurfaced, and she widened her emerald eyes.
It was at her wedding, where she was so nervous that she barely remembered anything. Ivan maintained his cold gaze and formal attitude throughout the ceremony. Ernesta was surprised to see even the werewolf king kneel when vowing his love.
“In the name of the goddess who gave a mission to my ancestors, I vow to love, support and protect you, Ernesta Urbashek, for the rest of my life.”
When he called out her name, which was unlikely to appear on any written page, Ernesta forgot even how to breathe. Without blinking, she gazed back at his brilliant blue eyes.
“I love you with all my heart. Please accept this.”
From the pocket of his chokha, Ivan took out a small wooden box. Ernesta could hardly believe what was inside.
It was her own left ring finger, which was scarred and not at all attractive due to the years of hard labor. And yet, the symbol of their vow was slowly being slid onto it.
It was a gold ring, delicate in construction, and contained a brilliant white jewel in the center of intricate design.
“This is…”
“A wedding ring. I had it commissioned by a skilled craftsman in Bajant territory, and it finally arrived today. This is mine——.”
Ivan seemed to be at a loss for words.
Her expression was completely obscured by overflowing tears.
What could be happier?
If happiness could be turned into stars, the night sky would have shone as bright as day.
Even the anxiety that had undoubtedly been lurking moments ago disappeared like a lie.
I’m so happy I could stop breathing. I’m so heartbroken I could scream.
As I tried to convey my feelings, my tears got in the way and stuck in my throat.
“Ellie?!”
She was called by a raised voice. Even though she knew it had shaken Ivan, she couldn’t say anything with her broken tear ducts.
“I’m sorry…! Is it that you don’t like the ring, or did I do something wrong? I referenced some literature… Ellie, please don’t cry.”
A warm, large hand reached out with weak words and began wiping the tears off her wet cheeks. The touch was so gentle that it stimulated her tear ducts, and Ernesta started to cry softly.
“I-I’m…happy. Really happy.”
His blue eyes reflected surprise followed by joy. Ivan breathed a sigh of relief and gently traced her rosy cheeks with his thumb.
“That’s good. Then, smile for me. I want to see Ellie’s smile.”
And he said something that was similar to what she was thinking.
“Yes…thank you, Ivan.”
For the first time, Ernesta smiled from the bottom of her heart in front of Ivan. She felt self-conscious at first, but her anxiety disappeared before she knew it. It was strange, but she was happy and smiling from the bottom of her heart.
Her smiled looked like a star. Ivan couldn’t help but feel dazzled and fond when he saw her smile.
“Do you have one, Ivan?”
“Yeah…sort of.”
“If so, I’d like to put it on for you. Is that okay?”
Ivan smiled, feeling both respectful and mischievous at his wife’s words.
He stood up and took out a ring that looked two sizes larger than the small box from Ernesta.
It was so gentle that it made his sword calluses and small wounds on his left hand stand out, making it all the more beautiful—the hand that had worked so hard to pick up so many things, a hand that was fragile but belonged to a strong king.
“I also vow to the goddess. To love, support, and protect you for the rest of my life.
The vow dissolved into the transparent night sky. As the ring slipped through his ring finger, Ernesta’s hand was slowly pulled back and her lips locked with the one she loved.
She closed her eyes softly, and it was just a gentle kiss to exchange their feelings.
They parted and touched each other again. Although the sound of their heartbeat was loud, the heat they felt in their lips filled their chests.
Time passed at a speed that seemed fast, yet slow, and the two of them unconsciously parted ways. When she lowered her head so that he wouldn’t see her apple-like face, she was soon embraced by his sturdy arms.
“I can finally touch you. I can’t count how many times I almost forgot my promise.”
“Promise?”
“This is about us… Hey, Ellie, will you protect me?”
As if to say that it’s impossible to compare with a werewolf, she chuckled and tickled the back of his head.
Knowing that she had firmly heard his vow earlier, Ernesta gently wrapped her arms around his broad back.
“That’s right. I’ll protect your path.”
No matter how much hardship may lie ahead.
She would tear through the thorns, kick away the pebbles, and throw away the withered branches.
Ernesta loved everything about this Werewolf King. If he were to move forward, she would follow him even to hell.
Ivan’s breath caught in his throat. It was such a faint tremble in the air that it could have been imagined.
“…I give up. I can’t win against you.”
The embrace grew stronger. The crisp air of the mountain felt distant, but not enough to feel the cold.
Even as autumn ends and winter arrives, and countless seasons pass, she will remain by his side.
They will support and laugh with each other, sometimes clashing, but always coming back to this place.
If they hold hands, there is nothing to be afraid of.
Amidst the serene starry sky watching them.
With a firm grip on his back, Ernesta whispered her feelings that she couldn’t return before.
The stars flickered.
❂❂❂
Ivan gently peered into the small face in his arms. As expected, Ernesta was peacefully sleeping with her deep green eyes closed.
This had happened before. She was indeed quite capable, to be able to sleep in this situation. Ivan spent some time with a twitch on his lips, holding back tears of admiration for his own incredible patience and this outcome.
How terrible. She doesn’t understand the nature of men, a life or death situation.
“You sleep so well…”
Still, the overflowing bitter resentment had melted away.
She must be quite tired after travelling back and forth between the two countries within a short period of time and being busy during the daytime.
Her sleeping face looked lovely no matter how many times he looked at it. He could gaze at it for hours without getting bored. This
Ivan covered the unmoving body on the bed with a blanket and brushed the brunette hair off the forehead before leaving a kiss.
Lips illuminated by the light of the oil lamp seemed to deepen in a smile, causing Ivan to give a quiet bitter smile.
The moon shone brightly in gold from the slightly open balcony.
Although it continued to rise higher and higher in the starry sky, the figure sitting on the bed did not move at all.
~The end~
2 more chapters left ^_^
