Bina opened her eyes slowly and the man she loved filled her view. Shiny golden hair and beautiful green eyes…
He looked concerned.
Lucretius was too handsome. He was also so sweet and gentle.
Only to her. Only for her.
Lucretius was the perfect husband.
After taking Regia’s medication and with the hot compress on her, Bina started to feel much better. Now that her pain was lessening, her mood was back to almost normal.
Lucretius had pushed back his work and meetings till noon so he could spend the morning with Bina. He even fed her the soup the maids had brought. Bina felt embarrassed.
“I’m not really sick or anything, so this isn’t necessary.”
Lucretius wouldn’t stop. “No, you ARE sick. Stay put and let your husband take care of you, your highness. All you have to do is rest. It is my pleasure to see you comfortable.”
Bina couldn’t refuse anymore. She opened her mouth as Lucretius fed her another spoonful of the warm soup.
As the food and Lucretius’ devotion warmed her heart, Bina felt even more determined.
‘I… I want to have this man’s baby.’
***
A month later.
Bina had learned her lesson from her first failed attempt. For the next try, she was going to be better prepared.
‘This time, I will make it happen for sure…!’
After dinner, she played with her daughter for a while before she returned to her room after she complained of feeling dizzy.
When Lucretius heard this, he came to her in a hurry. “Bina!”
He looked very worried. Samantha and Agnes greeted him politely.
The emperor asked, “I heard the empress is unwell?”
When he asked accusingly, the maids bowed apologetically.
“She suddenly felt dizzy, so her highness is resting in her bedroom.”
“Did you get the doctor?”
“The empress said she didn’t need her, but we called for her and Lady Regia will be here very soon.”
“Good.”
Lucretius quickly walked to the bed and opened the curtain quietly. When he saw her face, he felt a bit relieved because she didn’t look pale.
He sat down beside her and whispered, “Bina.”
Suddenly, her eyes opened. Then she smiled.
Lucretius’ eyes widened. Smiling widely, Bina didn’t look sick at all. She looked like a picture of health as her eyes sparkled.
“Bina?”
She sat up and grabbed Lucretius. By the way she acted, Bina was definitely not sick.
Suddenly, Lucretius realized the truth. When he looked around, all the maids were gone! They said Regia was arriving soon, but there was no sign of her.
When the empress was ill, the maids and the servants stayed close around her to take care of her every need. The entire wing became tense if the empress wasn’t feeling well, but currently, there was no one in the room other than the emperor and the empress.
Lucretius turned back to Bina, who looked perfectly healthy. She stuck her tongue out.
Lucretius murmured, “You…!”
He was surprised. It seemed that her maids were in this plot as well. He was glad she wasn’t sick, but he couldn’t understand why she planned this.
Before he could protest, Bina kissed his forehead lightly, making Lucretius forget what he was about to say.
“…”
She then kissed his right and left cheeks. Lucretius stayed still, but nothing else happened.
He asked, “What about my lips?”
Bina smiled and whispered, “You have to close your eyes first.”
Lucretius laughed and followed her order.
When he closed his eyes, Bina kissed his lips ever so lightly. She teased him for a few seconds before Lucretius couldn’t take it anymore.
He took her lips roughly. The kiss went on for a long time until Bina gasped for air.
She sighed quietly as she panted. Lucretius laid her down on the bed and asked, “By the way, why did you lie about being sick? The entire castle is buzzing with the news that you fainted with dizziness.”
Bina smiled confidently. “I was only doing it for my husband because I’m a considerate wife.”
“Considerate?”
How could one deem lying as considerate?
When Lucretius looked confused, Bina smiled widely. She knew how effective her smile was, especially against her husband. Lucretius could never refuse to give her anything she wanted when she smiled like his.
Bina continued, “You have been working too hard lately and have been going to bed so late. There were nights when you came in the morning to see my face, then go right back to work.”
“I… guess.” Lucretius was starting to become convinced by what his wife was telling him.
Bina continued, “You may be healthy, but if you continued to work like this, you will collapse.”
“So?”
Bina could feel Lucretius becoming persuaded. Just a little bit more, and he was all hers.
“Why don’t we go for a short vacation? There is already a rumor stating that I am not feeling well, so we can go to Lonez for a few days. You will be going to ‘take care of me.’”
“…”
Lucretius didn’t answer, but he seemed very interested. Bina continued to persuade him logically.
“Lonez isn’t that far, so if there is an emergency job, they can bring it to you.”
“I suppose… But…”
Almost. She almost had him.
“Besides, we haven’t had time together just the two of us since we visited Maram. I miss you… Don’t you… miss me too?”
There was only one right answer. All Lucretius had to do was give it to her.
***
Bina’s plan worked. The entire royal family decided to spend four days at Lonez with the excuse of the empress’ poor health.
It was a busy time of the year with the upcoming harvest celebration, so when the treasury and the foreign affairs departments heard this news, they were very unhappy. However, it was true that the emperor had been overworked lately and since the empress was ill, they couldn’t stop the emperor.
The first morning he woke up at Lonez, Lucretius slept late for once. He had been getting out of the bed carefully without waking his wife every morning to work, so this was a nice change.
He felt wonderful sleeping in. He hadn’t realized how tired he had been. Lucretius hugged Bina tightly and closed his eyes.
By the time he woke up again, it was around lunchtime.
“Hmm…”
He reached out for his wife, as was his habit.
“…”
However, she wasn’t there. He was alone in the bed. Where she slept also felt cold, making Lucretius’ eyes widen.
“Bina…?”
He sat up quickly. He had a ridiculous bedhead. Bina often complained that Lucretius always had perfect hair, so if she saw him right now, she would laugh.
However, she wasn’t here, and Lucretius suddenly felt a pang of fear.
It had gotten better for him since they had been together for many years, but Lucretius still went to bed later than Bina and woke up earlier than her. This was partly because of the traumatic event that happened many years ago at Bilenae. That night when he woke up and found Bina missing… She left a letter and went to the forest. When he finally found her, she was standing in front of the black gate.
He had never been so afraid in his life.
Nowadays, he felt a bit more relaxed and that was why he slept through the morning. However, when he woke up, Bina wasn’t beside him.
Lucretius pushed the curtain aside and yelled.
“Bina!”
