Inside the Library
Aaron sat on the cold floor, staring into the darkness.
His fingers trembled as he clutched the history book against his chest.
Aaron: "There is no place for me… I'm all alone in this darkness. Looks like… no one can save me." 💔
His voice cracked.
For the first time in his life, the King of Oseose felt completely powerless.
He had a palace, a kingdom, countless servants, and people who bowed whenever he walked past them.
Yet, at that moment, he had nowhere to go.
The door creaked open.
A thin ray of light cut through the pitch-black room.
And into that darkness stepped Noel, looking like an angel sent from heaven.
Unfortunately, her mouth had other plans.
Noel: "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHEN DID I BECOME YOUR WIFE, MR. KING?!" 😤
Aaron slowly lifted his head.
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
His brain appeared to have stopped functioning.
Aaron: "Processing… processing…" 😶
He stared at her with red, swollen eyes.
Aaron: "What…? When did I say that?" 🥲
His voice broke halfway through the sentence.
Noel opened her mouth, ready to continue scolding him.
Noel: "Then why the heck—"
She stopped.
Something about his expression made her pause.
Only then did she properly notice him.
His red nose.
His tear-stained cheeks.
His trembling fingers wrapped around an old history book.
And the way he sat on the floor, looking like a child abandoned by everyone he loved.
Noel's anger slowly disappeared.
Noel: "…Mr. King? What's that?" 🙁
Aaron didn't answer.
Instead, he silently held out the book.
Noel took it and glanced at the cover.
Her eyes widened.
KING AARON'S DOWNFALL.
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Before she could ask anything, the librarian barged into the room and switched on all the lights.
Librarian: "IF YOUR ROMANCE DRAMA IS OVER, CAN YOU TWO PLEASE LEAVE?! I WANT TO GO HOME!" 😐
Noel: "Huh?! NO! WE'RE NOT— Ugh, sorry, Uncle!" 😅
She grabbed Aaron's hand.
Noel: "Come on. Let's go."
Aaron obediently followed her without saying a word.
For some reason, Noel held his hand more gently than before.
As though she was afraid he might break.
---
At Noel's House
Noel placed the history book on the small table before turning toward Aaron.
He stood silently in the dimly lit room, his shoulders drooping and his eyes empty.
He looked like someone who had lost everything.
Noel: "…Mr. King." 🙁
Aaron slowly looked up.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
Aaron: "I… I don't want to go back." 💔
Noel froze.
The words were quiet, almost inaudible.
Yet the pain behind them was impossible to ignore.
Noel: "What do you mean?"
Aaron lowered his head.
Aaron: "I don't want to return to that place."
His fingers curled tightly around the edge of his clothes.
Aaron: "I'm scared."
The last word came out as a whisper.
Noel stared at him.
This was the same man who had once stood before her with the pride of a king.
The same man whose very presence commanded respect.
But now, he couldn't even bring himself to look her in the eyes.
Aaron: "If I go back… I'll have to face everything again."
His breathing became uneven.
Aaron: "The betrayal… the lies… everything I saw…"
He swallowed painfully.
Aaron: "I don't think I can bear it anymore."
Silence settled over the room.
Noel glanced at the book on the table, then back at the trembling man before her.
She didn't know what he had witnessed.
She didn't know what kind of future had shattered his heart.
But she understood one thing.
He wasn't afraid of losing his throne.
He was afraid of returning to the place where his heart had been destroyed.
And for the first time, Noel didn't know what to say.
So she simply stood beside him.
Not as his wife.
Not as his servant.
But as the only person who had bothered to bring him home.
To be continued...