The fire light flickered softly across her face while she stared at him in disbelief.
"You trust me with that much?" She asked honestly pleased.
"I trust you with far more than that." Luo He added calmly. For once, Su Kim had no playful response ready.
Luo He slowly sat upright afterward, resting one arm across his knee while speaking toward the darkness beyond the tent walls.
"I'll crush the remaining resistance before leaving," he said confidently. "Afterward, I want you to build this place."
Luo He added with passion.
"Build?" She asked with a look of confusion. "Castles. Ports. Bridges. Roads." A faint smile appeared on his face. "Turn these islands into something beautiful." He said softly.
He finally looked back toward her.
"A paradise." He added. The word lingered quietly between them. "You think I can do that?" she asked softly.
"No." Luo He replied immediately. Su Kim blinked in surprise. "I think," he continued. "You are the best woman I could possibly leave this responsibility to." He added proudly.
That answer struck far deeper than flattery ever could. For a while Su Kim simply stared at him quietly.
The proud rebel commander who once raised sixty thousand peasants against an empire suddenly looked uncertain again.
Not weak. Just human. Luo He leaned back slightly afterward. "So," he said lightly.
"So will you become another pampered noblewoman hidden in some palace garden along side me?" He said with immense confidence.
Her eyes narrowed. "Or," he continued teasingly. "Are you bold enough to endure hardship beside me and create something truly great from nothing?"
He added with passion blooming in his voice. Su Kim immediately shoved his shoulder lightly. "You really know how to provoke people." She added teasingly.
"It works remarkably often." He said jokingly. She fell silent afterward though.
Long enough for the teasing to disappear completely. Then finally, "I'll do it." She agreed with a whisper.
Luo He smiled faintly afterward. "I knew you would." He added proudly stroking her head. Silence returned once more.
Their son slept safely nearby. The soldiers celebrated outside.
And somewhere beyond the ocean, war still waited for them. Su Kim eventually rested her head lightly against his shoulder.
"I still haven't given up on us," he admitted quietly. "I think we could become a real family someday." He added confidently.
Luo He lowered his gaze slightly toward her. "Me, You, and Lang..." he continued softness all over his voice. "Though I think he should have a younger brother first." He added calmly.
She laughed quietly under her breath.
"You're already planning future children while we are preparing for war." She added affectionately.
"I'm planning for after the war." Luo He added calmly. That answer made her unusually quiet. "If I still live of course," he said calmly.
"I will come back for you." He added promisingly. Su Kim immediately frowned. "Don't say it like that." She said solemnly. "It is the truth." He added coldly.
"You will return," she corrected firmly. Luo He looked at her for several long seconds afterward before nodding faintly.
"If I can breathe," he added softly.
"I will return." He reassured her. She stared at him quietly after hearing that. Then finally reached out and touched his face gently.
"Please don't die before coming back to me." She said with tears immerged from her eyes.
Luo He blinked once. "So you are fine with me dying afterward?" he asked dryly. Su Kim laughed at that despite her tears. "You cruel woman." Luo He said jokingly.
Luo He slowly got up afterward and sat at the edge of the bed with his back facing her. For a long moment he remained silent.
The lantern light inside the tent flickered softly across his shoulders while the distant sounds of drunken soldiers and crashing waves echoed faintly outside.
The warmth between them still lingered heavily in the air, yet the approaching separation somehow made the silence feel colder than before.
Then finally he spoke quietly. "Please don't find comfort in the arms of another man in case I get late." He said softly.
His voice carried none of its usual teasing now.
"I won't force you not to have feelings," he continued calmly. "But… I would admire it if I still held a special place in your heart." His voice grew distant.
Behind him, Su Kim watched his back quietly beneath the blanket. Only part of her body remained covered now.
The dim light tracing softly across bare skin and dark hair scattered loosely over the bedding after the long night they had shared together.
Then slowly she lifted one smooth leg and gently pressed her foot against his cheek. The gesture was strangely intimate. Highly seductive. Yet also playful and soft.
Her toes slowly brushed along his jaw while her heel rested lightly near his neck, almost like she was trying to memorize his face through touch alone.
Luo He froze slightly at the unexpected affection. Su Kim rarely acted openly gentle. But lately she had changed greatly.
In truth nearly every woman beside Luo He had changed over time. There was simply something strangely dangerous about him.
Not because he forced people beneath him. But because he made people feel protected even while standing inside chaos.
Even Jin Mulan had softened in ways nobody from the would ever believe. Even her parents were suspicious on her drastical change.
The same Jin Mulan who once treated Luo He like an endlessly troublesome existence had somehow become affectionate enough to worry over whether he slept properly at night.
It still felt absurd to him sometimes. Luo He occasionally looked at her quietly and genuinely wondered if this was truly the same woman.
if Luo He acted improperly, Jin Mulan's first instinct had always been violence.
A punch. A kick. A threat. Sometimes all three together.
And now? Now she brushed leaves from his hair herself. Now she secretly kissed his cheek when nobody was looking.
Now she waited awake for him to return from dangerous journeys while pretending not to care. The change was so dramatic that even Luo He occasionally found it unbelievable.
Especially because Jin Mulan herself probably had not fully realized how much she had changed because of him.
She still acted fierce. Still glared constantly. Still threatened him at least several times a day. But beneath all that
her actions had become unbearably gentle toward him.
She no longer stood beside him like a proud warrior merely fulfilling her duty. She stood beside him like a woman terrified of losing her husband, the person who matters most to her.
And perhaps the strangest part of all is Luo He had not change much at all. He still joked shamelessly and acted carefree whenever possible.
Luo He treated his closest people more like a real family he wanted to protect. He had that before, as he valued his family deeply. But now that feeling had been truly amplified.
That was probably the most likely reason why they all changed. Because Luo He never simply gave people power or shelter. He gave them belonging.
"If you ever lose your place," Su Kim whispered quietly. "Remember, I will always have a special place for you besides me."
Her foot continued stroking his cheek slowly while she looked at him with tired but affectionate eyes.
"Despite how long it takes," she said softly. "I'll be waiting for you indefinitely." She added quietly. There was no arrogance in her voice anymore.
No rebellion. No seduction. Just sincerity. Then finally a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"If you ever lose your campaigns," she added quietly. "Come become my consort. I'll treat you like a king."
Luo He laughed softly under his breath at that. "As much as I would love to become a useless man living off his woman's wealth," he admitted calmly.
Then he glanced back toward her. "That's probably the worst thing you could say to your man leaving for war, isn't it?" He added softly.
Su Kim smiled faintly afterward. A sad smile. The kind people only made when they already missed someone before they had even left.
Luo He suddenly leaned over her again afterward. This time slower. Gentler. He kissed her deeply while one hand brushed softly through her dark hair.
The kiss carried none of the earlier heat between them. Only longing. Only attachment.
Only the quiet desperation of two people who both understood war could take everything away without warning. When he finally pulled back slightly, their foreheads remained touching.
"Don't you have faith in your man?" he asked softly. His dark eyes burned with frightening determination now.
"Don't you believe that I'll rip the old system apart, and create a new one?" He added pasionately. His hand slowly tightened around hers.
Su Kim stared at him quietly for several long seconds afterward. Then finally she reached up and touched his face gently with both hands.
"I do," she whispered. "That is exactly why I am afraid to let you go." She added with quite concerne.