Moonlight Ball - Chapter 133

After meeting Iris, Sidrain continued to believe in her idealistic and fair nature. She helped others without any ulterior motives, and her strengths seemed boundless. While Iris had many admirable qualities, it was her idealism that made her stand out. But Sidrain knew that no one was perfect, and that every person had both light and darkness within them. Yet he couldn’t find any flaw in Iris. Everything about her was simply lovely.

Sidrain’s voice was soft as he said, “Do what you want to do. I’ll take care of reality.”

Iris hesitated. “But—”

“You’re my queen,” Sidrain reminded her with a smile. It was a conversation they had shared during a night spent together. He had urged her to become his queen, promising to handle everything else. “You can save the world or destroy it. Just promise me you won’t abandon me, no matter what I do. That alone will make me happy.”

His sweet whisper made Iris bite her lip. She couldn’t be sure if she could trust him with his words sounding like a devil’s whisper, but she nodded anyway. She realized she’d trust Sidrain even if he was the devil himself.

“But… that’s such a big loss for you, Sid.”

“I don’t see it that way,” Sidrain said. “My lady thinks I’m always kind and always suffers losses. But I am never someone who suffers losses.”

What a fool…

Iris thought Sidrain was foolish, and she still thought so. But she couldn’t resist his bright smile and tight embrace. She felt sorry for him, knowing he was suffering. Sidrain had promised to take care of the real-world problems, leaving her free to do as she pleased.

***

After a night of intense emotions, Iris fell asleep in Sidrain’s arms. In the morning, they had a picnic breakfast on a grassy field covered in flowers. Despite the refreshing summer breeze, Iris still felt exhausted.

“Why do you want to ruin the Surah family?” she asked Sidrain.

“Because they caused you suffering. Sometimes, Ris, we have to put an end to the past,” Sidrain replied, handing her a steak sandwich. Iris was taken aback by his words. I did say something like that, she thought.

“Remember, you do what you want to do, and I’ll take care of the rest,” Sidrain reminded her.

“Y-yes,” Iris nodded timidly, though she was uncertain of what he meant specifically. But before she could say anything, Sidrain interrupted her with a piece of fruit.

“Is this matter related to the Surah family something you want to do?” he asked. Iris shook her head. It was not something she wanted to do. What could she want to do with that family?

“Then it’s the ‘rest’ of what you want to do, right? I’ll take care of that. Right?” Sidrain asked again,

“Well…” Iris hesitated, “yes.”

“So, it’s up to me, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And I said, some things need to come to an end. This is just my opinion, but that’s what I think, right?”

“Yes…”

“So, what I mean is that I don’t want to see the Surah family anymore. Do you understand?”

She understood, but…

“So, we’ve agreed to bring down the Surah family,” Sidrian concluded. Iris blinked her eyes in confusion. She didn’t understand how things came to be, but Sidrain began whistling a tune as if he was getting excited about the thought of bringing down the Surah family.  But as he continued, she found herself humming along without realizing it.

“We’ve already lived this life, so just live it well. Live it well,” they sang in unison.

The melody was infectious and the mindset behind it struck a chord with Iris. She looked at Sidrain, who nodded his head with a seriousness that contrasted with the lightness of the song. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Here she was, a commoner turned queen, laughing with the king of a country about bringing down a powerful family.

But in a way, it made sense. Sidrain had promised her the freedom to live as she pleased and take care of everything else for her. If that was the case, what was there for her to worry about?

“I’ll really just live as I please,” Iris said with a smile.

Sidrain took her hand and gently kissed the back of it. “According to my queen’s wishes,” he replied.

It seemed that the dark clouds over the Surah family would now begin to truly form.