Ever Ever After

Come Here, Wife

“I did everything you asked of me. I’m free now, right?” Clint asked.

“The position of Excalibur is too much for you to handle, huh?” Lawrence asked.

“I told you so,” Clint grumbled.

He could’ve been out now looking for Ailea but was forced to do nothing but sit and drink.

Once he broke free of Lawrence’s grip, he set out to look for Ailea, but she was nowhere to be seen. She was the only one wearing a sky-blue dress so it was easy to spot her.

Clint immediately stiffened, wondering where she’d gone off to.

“What is it?” Lawrence asked.

“Ailea’s gone.”

“…She’s doing better than I thought.”

“It’s because she’s a good person.”

Clint did not have the patience to understand Lawrence’s words. Ailea had completely occupied his thoughts and she was nowhere to be seen.

Rita approached him with a smile while he rushed down in a hurry to find his wife.

“Captain Clint, my friend Lady Norton wishes to ask for a dance with you. She’s too embarrassed to ask herself and requested me to ask you on her behalf,” Rita asked coquettishly.

“I’d love to, but I’m looking for my wife right now. Please hold on,” Clint answered.

“Ah, your wife has agreed for Captain Clint to dance with Lady Norton.”

“I need to see my wife first and confirm it with her. Talk to me later,” Clint said sternly with a soft voice.

There was only one thought in his head: Ailea. He didn’t catch Rita’s words and he didn’t care. Nothing in this world required his attention but that woman wearing a sky-blue dress.

That was all that mattered.

Clint searched for Ailea frantically. It was a stupid decision of his to leave her alone. He should’ve brought someone to keep her company.

While looking for her, the wind blew and the smell of flower petals Ailea wore wafted in his nose. He turned around and saw the petals blowing from the curtain.

‘Don’t tell me.’ Clint’s face hardened. ‘My wife isn’t hiding in that place, right?’

While he walked over to where she hid, he heard murmurs about Ailea over and over again. It irritated him so.

Clint grabbed the curtains and he felt someone pull them back. He pulled the curtain, this time with more force, and saw his wife hiding behind the curtains.

Clint was upset, but he hid it with a laugh. “Why are you here?”

“I’m… not… good with bright places. The dark feels more familiar…”

“Who told you that?” Clint asked, the tone of his voice extremely sweet which contrasted against the chilling ferociousness in his eyes.

He was angry. Did he hear them speaking about him so pitifully? That he had no choice but to be with a hideous woman? Was that why he was upset? She thought that it might be the case.

“I—it’s just because I like it…” Ailea fumbled an excuse.

Clint wrapped his arm around her waist and the other cupped her slender face. “Speak to me honestly, okay?”

He caressed her chin and lips a little too much that it hurt, somewhat. He had trouble controlling his strength. Was it because of the alcohol or his upsetting mood?

“I’m sorry…” Ailea said cautiously.

“…Sorry? What for?” Clint brought his face close to Ailea. Her back touched the wall at a loss for what to do. “If I look at you this close…”

“…”

“You’re really pretty. What should I do? I don’t want to let you go.”

Ailea’s cheeks turned red.

“Don’t mind them. They don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re not that close to you like I am.”

Ailea blushed a rosy red, pushing him away lightly.

“You only say that because you’re drunk…”

“Yeah, what about it? I’m drunk for you,” he said, smiling. “Let’s go out. No more hiding.”

“What?”

“Out. I won’t allow them to talk shit again.”

“…”

Clint planted a quick kiss on her forehead and grabbed Ailea’s arm. He dragged her out to a sofa and sat her down.

“Come here, my dearest wife.”

He tapped the seat next to him, and when Ailea sat down, he sat on top of her legs.

“A—are you… crazy…?!”

“No.”

“Wh—what are you doing?”

“I drank too much alcohol.”

“You are crazy…”

“What am I to do, my wife? I just don’t want to be apart from you. What can I do but stick close to you when they’re speaking disgusting words?”

Then, Clint’s ears went wide as he heard the voices saying “infectious disease”. He stood up and walked to the long table with a calm face.

Picking up a bottle, he examined it with scrutiny before throwing it towards the direction of the sound.

The window broke.