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As I finished my meal and stepped outside, the sun was just about to dip below the horizon.

I suppose having a late lunch and spending so much time in the shop contributed to this.

Afterward, while I was seated on a nearby bench, contemplating if I should visit somewhere special, Ariel quietly approached me.

“Ed, can we walk for a bit?”

“Walk? I don’t really have anywhere specific to go.”

“It’s okay. I just feel like walking right now.”

Caught off guard by her unexpected request, Edgar paused for a moment but decided to go along with it.

Ariel had always seemed to grow bored of life inside the castle, so she enjoyed wandering aimlessly outside.

The thought of strolling leisurely without a particular destination felt fitting.

“Let’s go to the park over there. It’s a nice place for a walk.”

“Park?”

“It’s like a beautifully decorated walking path. Since we’re here, we might as well check it out.”

If you go a little further up from here, you’ll find Dosan Park.

There’s a designated space for busking there, so if we go at this time, we might enjoy the gentle sounds of music filling the air.

That said, it’s not a busy place, and there are usually hardly any buskers around — it’s more like you might stumble upon someone casually strumming a guitar nearby.

As Edgar waited for the traffic light to change to head toward the park, he casually took Ariel’s empty hand and asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

“Nope, it’s fine.”

Even though it was springtime, a bit of late frost still lingered in the air.

Concerned for her, who was dressed somewhat lightly, he asked, but Ariel shrugged it off nonchalantly.

Though she was supposedly the ruler of the North, she was somewhat sensitive to the cold, yet she felt confident she wouldn’t blink at this degree of chill.

Eventually, they arrived at Dosan Park, stepping inside.

Thriving greenery welcomed them, and they spotted couples and families sitting on nearby benches.

As Ariel gazed at the well-organized view of the park, she let out a low gasp.

While there are walking paths in her world too, seeing a place so meticulously maintained was nothing short of amazing.

It felt like she was looking at a garden centered around trees rather than flowers.

“It’s not that big, so walking around won’t take long. Afterward, even if it’s a bit later, we can head somewhere else.”

With the short time they had, Edgar wanted to show her as much as he could.

Thinking to conclude their stroll quickly and compile a list of places to go, Ariel reached out and held his hand, stopping him.

“It’s okay. Today, I just feel like talking with you rather than wandering around.”

Of course, it would be great to enjoy more special things unique to this world.

But more than that, Ariel was simply satisfied with the fact that she could stroll through this world with him.

Just the different scenery from usual, the other people passing by, and the chance to act like a regular couple without minding the title of Grand Duke made her happy.

“Ed, what’s that place over there? The path looks unique…”

While walking along the promenade, Ariel pointed out a small path made of stones meant for foot massage.

From a distance, it seemed like a rough road, leading her to wonder if it was still under construction.

“That? That’s a foot massage path; you walk barefoot on it.”

“B-barefoot? Why would anyone do something so silly?”

Ariel shuddered at the thought of walking barefoot on that surface, imagining how it would feel.

In response, Edgar chuckled and elaborated.

Explaining the principle behind foot massage felt a bit cumbersome, so he decided to keep it brief.

“It’s like a kind of traditional therapy? You know, there’s something similar in the Helbenior Empire too?”

“True, but…”

Unable to voice her honest impression that it sounded like a foolish method due to the cultural difference, she scrunched her face instead.

Of course, he was right about that.

In the Helbenior Empire, for instance, if you got a cut, there’s a common folk remedy of squeezing the juice from a common herb called Episha to heal it.

But even considering that, it was hard to understand how walking on a rocky path could be therapeutic.

It felt like a culture even more outlandish than the tteokbokki she had tasted earlier.

Yet, on the flip side, her curiosity piqued.

Could walking on that path genuinely help heal ailments or improve one’s health?

Noticing the glint of curiosity in her eyes, Edgar leaned in and probed playfully.

“If you’re really curious, should I show you how it’s done?”

“Y-you’ll get hurt! You idiot!”

In a moment of panic, Ariel quickly shook her head and tried to stop him.

Though she was curious, worrying about Edgar getting hurt took precedence.

So when she grabbed his hand to pull him back from heading toward the foot massage path, Edgar chuckled helplessly and turned back.

As they made their way along the promenade, a green vending machine appeared before them.

Since Edgar was feeling a bit thirsty, he stepped up and casually suggested to Ariel.

“Want to grab a drink?”

Ariel didn’t even bother questioning whether anything was actually drinkable from such a machine anymore.

There were too many things in this world that defied her common sense, so whenever Edgar said something like this, she just figured, ‘Oh, drinks come from here,’ and accepted it.

“Do they have that coffee from before?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think they have that.”

It was unreasonable to expect barista-made coffee from a vending machine, so Edgar replied with a wry smile.

Though Ariel enjoyed it, she wasn’t particularly inclined to drink it again, so she asked for something decent instead.

Clunk.

Having secured a cola and an orange juice, Edgar walked with her to a nearby empty bench.

“Ed, how do you open this?”

“Oh.”

He then opened the can for Ariel, who was struggling to pop hers open, and took a refreshing sip of cola himself.

Taking in the sensation of carbonation, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Ah!”

“Is it good?”

“It might taste a bit weird at first; it’s fizzy.”

“I want to try it.”

Seeing Edgar enjoy his drink so thoroughly sparked Ariel’s curiosity again, and she quickly grabbed the cola can, taking a sip.

“Ew, this is strange.”

“Pfft! I figured as much.”

Her face scrunched up at the odd, bubbling sensation swirling in her mouth, and she voiced her cold assessment.

The taste seemed overly sugary, like it was just made to be sweet without anything more, definitely not to her liking.

Meanwhile, the sweet and tangy orange juice suited her palate just perfectly and was easy to drink.

Though it tasted somewhat different from the fresh fruit juices she used to have, it had a richer flavor that made it pleasant.

As they naturally drew closer together, memories of the bustling Apgujeong street flickered in Ariel’s mind.

That place, so brightly lit, had a neon sign shining brilliantly among the many buildings.

The names written there were mostly similar, so they still lingered in her memory.

“Oh, right. Ed, there were a lot of shops around where we walked earlier, right?”

“Yeah.”

Nodding nonchalantly while knocking back his cola, Edgar was lost in thought.

They say that being careless is the greatest enemy, huh.

Taking advantage of that moment, Ariel gazed up at him with innocent eyes and asked, “What’s that place with the sign that said mo…tel? It was sparkling a lot.”

“Pffft!”

Suddenly, the cola that Edgar had in his mouth burst forth like a fountain.

Luckily, there were no pedestrians passing by at that moment, or it could have ended in disaster.

“Cough! Cough!”

“What, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Ariel, unaware of what question she had just posed, simply patted Edgar’s back, worried that he might’ve choked.

“Did I ask something weird?”

“N-no, I was just startled because it was so sudden.”

In truth, saying what a motel is shouldn’t be too strange.

After all, there’s nothing to hide between a couple already bound by marriage.

However, compared to the inns or accommodations in her world, Edgar felt a strange embarrassment due to the connotations of the term itself.

“Uh, so, to put it simply, it’s kind of like an inn in your world, just a bit fancier.”

“Oh, so it’s just a place to stay. But why were you so surprised?”

Ariel, not understanding the nuance, could only tilt her head in confusion.

Contemplating whether to explain or leave it out, Edgar decided that hiding it might seem even weirder, so he decided to tell the truth.

“Well, it’s just that unlike in your world, here motels have the impression of being places for couples.”

“For couples? Why?”

In her understanding, accommodations were merely places for travelers to rest.

Why would a couple choose to stay somewhere away from home if there wasn’t any sudden need?

Unless they’re going on a trip and need a place to lean on, why go that route?

“…Ah.”

As her thoughts reached that point, Ariel seemed to finally grasp why Edgar had reacted that way, uttering a soft gasp.

What happens if a couple shares a room in such a place?

And if they went through the trouble of decorating a place meant for just a night stay, there had to be a reason for it.

“You don’t have to explain any more. I think I get it.”

“R-really?”

“Uh-huh…”

Blushing furiously and frantically waving her hands, Ariel finally understood the purpose of a motel and lowered her head.

Of course, it was a culture she couldn’t wrap her head around.

Why would couples choose to spend time together in such a place when they have perfectly good homes?

But that, too, must be a cultural difference, and it wasn’t quite at the level of things like tteokbokki or the foot massage path that she outright couldn’t accept.

“Ahem! Hm…”

With the atmosphere growing awkward, Edgar coughed lightly and averted his gaze, causing Ariel to watch his face with her eyes.

Maybe because she heard those words a moment ago, a warmth gradually began to blossom within her.

Considering how long it had been since they last had an intimate moment as a couple,

Swish.

Ultimately, Ariel cautiously reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

There were still many things she hadn’t seen, and she yearned to experience more of this world’s diversity.

But more than that,

“Hey, Ed…”

“Yeah?”

“…Shall we go there, too?”

Right now, she just wanted to suppress the flames of desire that had ignited within her.

 

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