The herd of deer also sensed the presence, and, with their happiness behind them, they raised their horns.
The sound of several footsteps rushed by in a flash.
It was a while after that.
A familiar face appeared right in front of Tamon.
âCaptain!â
The first person he saw was Jorge, who seemed to have run from the front of the pack.
Jorge had his mouth and nose covered, but not so much that Tamon couldnât recognize him.
âJorge?â
When Jorge saw Tamon, he gave a big sigh of relief.
The rest of the group soon appeared behind him.
It was Aranrosia, with her hair tied up in a high knot, with 12 knights of the Order.
ââŠâŠ why is Asha?â
Tamon  was surprised, but as soon as he saw Asha, his face hardened.
Of course, the expression on his face was cold, and so was Ashaâs.
âI told you it wasnât safe here, Asha.â
However Asha just walked toward him coldly.
âI told you the same thing.â
She didnât run, but the momentum of her approach was fiercer than ever.
Asha crossed the creek, and the deer siblings, whose eyes widened in surprise, but she did not even see them, because she was only looking at Tamon.
âI donât seem to remember.â
ââŠâŠ.â
Tamon almost flinched and took a step backward at Ashaâs terrifying momentum.
He was a demon of war, a beast, a monarch of bloodâŠâŠ.
A man who carried all sorts of terrible rumors was almost bitten by a womanâs momentum.
Tamon stood motionless, facing a terribly angry Asha.
âJorge.â
Asha glared at Tamon and called Jorge. Jorge who had been staring blankly, answered in astonishment.
âYes, yes?â
âCan you close your eyes for a moment? And the other knights, too, please.â
âWhat? Oh, yesâŠyesâŠ..â
Jorge instructed the knights to close their eyes as he looked at Tamon.
Tamon looked at her with eyes that wondered what in the world Asha was up to.
When all the eyes were closed, Ashaâs hand raised up and struck Tamonâs face.
Slap!
A startle, slapping sound rang out with everyone around.
Tamon, who was taken aback, gently grabbed his crooked cheek and blinked his eyes, as if he had no idea what just had happened to him.
ââYou lunatic!â
It was the first terrible swear word to come out of Ashaâs mouth.
Perhaps it would also be the only bad word she spoke in her life.
Adding surprise to surprise, Tamon looked at Asha with a bewildered face.
But Tamonâs surprise did not stop there.
For Ashaâs eyes, which had always shone brightly and intelligently, were wet with moisture.
As soon as Tamon saw Ashaâs eyes, which contained round drops, he froze.
He really froze.
The beating heart, the even breathing, and the taut head, all stopped.
âI told you to wait for me just one day.â
A harsh voice leaked from between Ashaâs clenched teeth.
It was a voice that couldnât stand the surge of emotions.
Her eyes reached Tamonâs bright red blood-stained right shoulder, arms, legs, and armored crooked chest.
Her frowning eyes were shaking as if they were about to burst into tears.
It was truly strange.
He was the one who had been beaten, but she seemed to be in more pain, more agony.
âWhy âŠâŠâ
He wanted to ask why her eyes looked so distressed, why did she look even more painful than he did?
But he couldnât continue to speak any further because Asha reached out and hugged his neck.
Then she smashed her lips against his torn lips as hard as she could.
ââŠâŠ!â
She was always gentle, always making him thirsty and greedy.
Her little tongue, always hiding in shame, came inside his mouth without hesitation, wrapped around his tongue and led him.
In Tamonâs life, there was never a moment more surprising than this moment.
He could guarantee that this would be the first and only time in his life.
The fact that she had just slapped him on the cheek was erased from his memory.
In bewilderment, his hands covered her waist.
The broken ribs were slightly tingling, but none bothered him.
He only worried that Asha would move away from him while he pretended to be freaked out.
The overlapping lips became stronger and each otherâs saliva became thicker.
Everyone around them panicked because of Asha, whose emotions became extreme, and Tamon, who forgot about the situation and just lost himself in her.
âLook away. Eyes!â
Jorge, who first came to his senses, suddenly screamed at the knights whose eyes wide open.
The knights, who were watching their captainâs strange sight with their eyes wide open in rapture, turned around in a hurry.
But there were also two young deer watching the scene in a daze, unable to back away.
âOh, brotherâŠ.â
âShhhh.â
She didnât know exactly what that act was, but Lucentia, whose ears turned red, secretly grabbed Mirahâs collar.
Mirahâs equally reddened face quickly turned around and covered Lucentiaâs eyes.
The silver antlered deer, who had been on alert, somehow relaxed and looked at their companions, shaking their heads.
The kissing continued for a long time.
When Tamon tried to let go, Asha held him tightly by the neck, and when Asha tried to pull away, Tamon grabbed her waist and pulled her closer.
Naturally, the longer the kiss went on, the faster the injuries on Tamonâs body healed.
Even his numb ribs didnât hurt at all, as if they had somehow returned to their original position.
âHaaaâŠ..â
The kiss, which had been going on for such a long time, stopped with a gasp of breath.
âListen carefully, Tamon Krasis.â
With clear eyes that were somehow filled with tears, Asha said to Tamon through gritted teeth.
âThe silver deer and their children are very important to me. ButâŠ.â
Their lips tingled as if they were still scratching each otherâs lips.
Tamon listened to her as he stared at her with greedy eyes that wouldnât go away.
ââŠâŠ you are just as important to me as they are.â
ââŠâŠ..â
âA lot âŠâŠ.much, much more than you think.â
She said, her eyes like blazing embers.
âYou are just as important.â
âYou are more important to me than you think.â
If it had been yesterday, this might have been enough for Tamon.
But today, this was not enough.
Asha looked at him with intense anger and concern and shaking eyes.
Is he just âimportantâ to her with eyes like these?
For the first time since he had met her, Tamon could be sure.
There was a difference.
That was definitely not all of it.
For this woman, if his existence was worth only this much, she would not have slapped him as if she was about to break, nor would she have shed those hot tears.
âAm I just important?â
ââŠâŠ.â
âTell me, Asha. Is that all?â
Asha bit her lip again in anger. But Tamon understood.
Now she would not reply with her usual silence.
âVery importantâŠ..â
It was one word, like a pained groan.
Tamon urged her on, holding close to his chest as she became immersed in rapture.
âWhat, what did you say, Asha?â
ââŠ. you.â
Would the desert rain be more delightful than this?
Can it be more fascinating than this?
He had become precious to her.
His heart raced.
Tamon hugged her, unable to hide his smile.
Then he quickly caught Asha, who tried to avoid him with a flustered and reddened face, and finally kissed her.
Smooch, smooch, smoochâŠâŠ..
At the constant shower of kisses, Asha resisted and pushed him away.
If it hadnât been for the reinforcements, they would fall to the ground from the hard kisses.
Kihin!
Tamon looked at the deer cub poking him in the shin with small antlers that grew only one fingerâs length.
âWhat is with this guy?â
Tamon pushed the deer cub away with his foot in the middle of a busy joy, looking annoyed.
Then the bigger deer wrapped around the baby deer and blew its snout.
It looked as if it was telling Tamon that if he touched its own child, it wouldnât leave him alone.
Tamon twisted his head in disbelief.
âHe was the one who interrupted me.â
âHmph!â
As if it didnât matter, the big deer threatened to stick out its horns.
Tamon, too, was determined not to lose, so he picked up his sword again.
In the end, there was only one person who could stop them.
âWhat on earth are you doing now?â
Asha pushed Tamon away with a serious face to take advantage of the opportunity, then backed up a few steps away from him.
Tamon repeatedly clenched his fists in regret that Asha got away from his hands. He repeated the stretching.
As much as it was a shame that he had missed Asha, the murderous energy in his eyes as he aimed at the silver deer could be seen clearly.
âHaâŠâ
Asha looked at such Tamon as if she were speechless, and turned her head to the popularity she felt behind her back.
She finally spotted the familiar faces standing idly by the creek.
Her widened eyes were filled with joy and happiness.
âMir! Tia!â
Without hesitation, Asha jumped into the water and hugged Mirah and Lucentia.
âYou were safe. You were safeâŠâŠ.â
Even then, Mirah and Lucentia had their doubts that this person was really their âempressâ.
Of course, no one would have dared to imitate the young lady with silver hair as beautiful as a silver deer or purple eyes as bright as the dim evening sky.
And yet, and yetâŠ.
They never imagined that the âEmpressâ that that wicked emperor had killed would live to embrace them in this way.
ââŠâŠ Are you really the Empress?â
Lucentia trembled with courage.
Said Asha, eye-to-eye contact, hugging the brother and sister, who were now as big as she was.
âDoes anyone besides me call you Mir and Tia?â
In response to Ashaâs soft question, Mirah shook his head with a face that started to cry.
âNo, no one, no one.â
Mirah and Lucentia, who were in tears, finally hugged Asha.
âWhy are you so late? Why!â
âYou said you would protect me and keep me safe. AHHH! I really think youâre dead, but you donât know how much weâŠâŠâŠ!â
âI missed you. I missed you.â
Even though Mirahâs and Lucentiaâs bodies had grown as large as Ashaâs, they were also children who could still wail like children.
Asha hugged the shoulders of the sobbing siblings and smiled with relief.