“It’s fine, Reynard. It’s no big deal. Just leave it.”

“I didn’t know it would be this fragile.”

“It breaks easily. It’s not wrapped in wood like a pencil.”

While comforting his husband who was flustered holding a piece the size of a fingernail with his large build, he pulled his hand again.

“Look. Since it’s softer and more fragile than you think, you should scrape off just the surface as if you’re doing it gently.”

He demonstrated how much force to apply by overlapping his husband’s hand on his own. Fine powder was ground and sprinkled on the paper from their overlapped hands. When he thought it was ground enough, Valentin took his large hand and rubbed it gently together.

“If you apply too much force, it will create stains. When laying the background with powder, do it softly like this.”

He kindly explained in a gentle tone as if teaching a child to someone twice his size and 10 years older. Reynard thoroughly took on the role of the submissive one while watching Valentin like that. Joy seeped from both of their faces.

The two hands rubbing the pastel powder naturally entwined. Their fingers invaded the gaps between each other’s fingers. Valentin lifted his eyes from the paper and looked at Reynard.

‘Since when was he watching…?’

The eyes containing a strange heat and passion were staring directly at him.

Valentin suddenly raised his head and kissed his face. Even though he might have thought it was unseemly to show a clumsy side in an unfamiliar field in front of the omega… The expression of constantly apologizing while holding a small piece with his large body. The heart to help with something with his dull but large hands and the face looking straight ahead, everything was overwhelming and lovely beyond endurance.

The meeting of lips was too natural.

As if a magnet finds its opposite pole, as if a butterfly finds the nectar of a flower, the hot lips naturally touched.

“Ah…”

The small mouth letting out a faint moan was swallowed. The smooth mucous membranes collided ticklishly like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings. And when there was a small gap, Reynard spoke very quietly.

“Valentin.”

“Yes.”

“I truly love you.”

His confession was always too straightforward and concise. As if there was no time to think of any other beautiful modifiers. As if no other rhetoric was needed. That’s how he crashes into with his whole body.

Reynard put those words in his mouth and urgently collided his lips again as if to say no answer was needed. Along with the moist and hot lips, passion rushed in. Ah. It was joyful and heartbreaking. Valentin swallowed that heat and let out a gentle laugh.

“You know what?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m a bit happy right now.”

As soon as he heard those words, Reynard caressed Valentin’s face with his large hand, looking happier than anything in the world.

“I’ve never been unhappy since meeting you.”

“Hehe…”

When Valentin looked at him with wonder, he added conviction by conveying his sincerity in concise language.

“You are my love itself and my happiness.”

At that moment, a realization came to Valentin that was both new and very natural at the same time.

‘I love this person…’

The deep, deep red. The jealousy he realized in a red color that made his eyeballs ache. And this everyday loveliness where even small things felt dear. This was the proof that he loved him.

That realization, which might be simple, was not shockingly surprising. He had only been dull and not keenly aware due to the unfamiliar emotion, but it was already a part of Valentin. The little Valentin in his heart preciously gathered the fragments of deep and red love. And he raised his arms to embrace them.

“I love you too…”

In the end, he loaded everything he held onto him with all his might.

The small voice slightly vibrated and voiced the confession. Valentin’s confession was also evidence and conviction, and a heartfelt desire to return it to the one who spoke of love first.

Reynard’s face was fully captured in the eyes that raised the shy head. Valentin, who discovered joy and delight in it, burst into laughter and faced those lips again. He should have given it long ago. My heartbreaking person.

“You didn’t have to do this.”

The face full of emotion foolishly denied it as if in disbelief.

“What?”

“I don’t know how to handle something this overwhelming. I’ve always wanted it, but in fact, I would have been satisfied with you just receiving my love.”

“But I want to give it.”

“You want to make me cry?”

“You’re lying that you won’t cry…”

Valentin constantly caressed Reynard’s face and hair while mumbling. The nitpicking complaint and scolding were also fragments of it.

“I want to touch more. Hurry and kiss me…”

“Okay.”

Like that, the two kissed for a long time on the cliff on the hill.

Because they kissed while touching each other’s faces with pastel still on their hands, when they came to their senses, both of their faces were colorful. They laughed at each other’s ridiculous appearance for a while, and Valentin completed the painting in Reynard’s warm and large embrace. And they came down the hill on good terms.

The sunset that was unbelievably moving, as the philosopher Rontega had said to his wife, was setting behind them.

Yellow paint spread on the red background of the sky. And a sunset mixed with a handful of purple was reflected behind.

From the hill to below. And further below. The sight of the two holding hands tightly as if whispering to each other that they were dear, lovely, and lovable, with the heart-pounding scenery behind them.

Like a picture in a fairy tale that might have existed someday, that beautiful sight disappeared small like that below.

About the shittiness of happily ever after

In childhood, everyone reads a fairy tale book with princes and princesses at least once.

When Valentin was a very small and cute boy, he had a sophisticated and luxurious fairy tale book with a splendid gold border. It was one of Valentin’s favorite books, placed on a bookshelf for the young master in a corner of the Viscount Wiche family’s library. It was because the illustrator’s style was lyrical and the woodcut prints that were filled without gaps were particularly beautiful.

The content of the story was not particularly moving or special.

Children who have not experienced much in life or gone through many years are not interested in being moved. Rather than discovering some deep meaning in the content and being moved or showing understanding or empathy like “Wow, I had something like this too,” they just accept it as it is. Little Valentin was no exception.

A prince riding a white horse with a long sword at his waist, and a princess imprisoned in a tower by an evil dragon.

The prince obtains a map from a wise witch, finds his way through the forest fairy, and eventually reaches the dragon’s tower with the help of little dwarfs by cutting through a thorny path.

And after the prince bravely defeats the dragon and saves the princess, they naturally fall in love as they escape from danger.

The conclusion on a single line on the very last page of the fairy tale book.

‘And they lived happily ever after.’

Sitting on the library carpet with his little bottom, flipping through the thick pages with his wriggling little hands, young Valentin vaguely thought.

[If you fall in love, you can live happily ever after….]

It was a very simple conclusion that an immature and short-minded child would think.

It was even more so because not only one book said that, but many different fairy tale books were saying similar things. Aren’t there multiple verified and common grounds? When everyone unanimously shouts “If you love, you’ll be happy!”, you have no choice but to vaguely believe it.

So that simple conclusion that all those fairy tale books are unanimously saying, that if you love, you’ll be happy. These damn fairy tale books that are too hopeful, making you believe this shitty slogan as it is. In fact, these damn things might be ruining humans.

For the sake of children in this country and the world, it might be more helpful for the future or life to tell stories like the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales from a neighboring country, where selfish parents abandon their siblings in the forest, or the ridiculous yet bizarre story of the one-eyed, two-eyed, three-eyed sisters.

‘Life is real, you little shit!’

The world that the grown-up Valentin actually experienced was different.

He was vividly feeling it after finally becoming a 20-year-old adult like the princess and prince in fairy tales.

Yes, just like this very moment.

“Have you finished writing all the invitations for the tea party hosted by the Grand Duchess next week?”

The land of the Grand Duchy, Dennox.

The dignified grand ducal palace built during the time of the founding grand duke. Inside that huge and tremendous building, there was an office prepared for Valentin, who had become the Grand Duchess. At that desk made of mahogany with a more impressive reddish color than usual, Valentin, who had been dipping the pen nib in the ink bottle, asked back to the one who questioned in a hesitant voice.

“Do I really have to do that…?”

I thought if you love, you’d be all happy, but to put me in such pain… Valentin was plagued by the urge to hit Reynard’s back, who wasn’t even there.

“Yes.”

It was like a ruthless teacher’s last warning that there were 5 minutes left, so hurry up and finish the test. Ugh, damn it. I don’t want to do it so much I could die. Valentin pulled his hair out, making strange groans like “Urghhhh.”

Dawson’s voice conveying what needed to be done and the schedule to the screaming Valentin continued.

“And today, there is a welcome dinner planned for Your Grace’s arrival in the Grand Duchy.”

When Valentin and Reynard left for their honeymoon, Dawson also departed on the same day and headed to the Grand Duchy in advance.

[Everything will be a new environment, but it would be good for you to have at least one comfortable servant by your side.]

It was Reynard’s consideration. Bringing the young butler Dawson, who had been in charge of him for a long time at the main house, to the grand ducal house. It was common for aristocratic families to bring along servants they were familiar with even after marriage. Knowing that, Reynard said it for Valentin’s sake.

Valentin lifted his eyes and carefully examined Dawson from top to bottom. The uniform of the grand ducal house, similar to a military uniform, still looked a bit awkward on him, but somehow it was neatly fitted. Moreover, his cheeks were a bit sunken and he looked thin, so it must have been very hard for him to receive new training at the grand ducal house for 2 weeks.

Along with the sympathy of not suffering alone, Valentin felt a sense of pity rising in his heart.

After all, the rules traditionally adhered to by each family were different, and there were differences in the way of working. Learning all of that anew would not be an ordinary task. Moreover, as a close servant, it was also Dawson’s job to understand the situation here so that he could do his best to assist Valentin, who had become the Grand Duchess.

Looking up at Dawson with sympathetic eyes, Valentin asked.