She was the most beautiful woman Jet had ever laid eyes on. It was to the point where he felt like his gaze was dirtying her. He looked away, but not before the woman on the lounge chair noticed him.
"Do you fear me, after all, Husband?" The woman asked.
'Husband.' Jet still couldn't believe it. The past week had been a blur, but it had still happened. Calling it a whirlwind marriage seemed like an understatement.
The otherworldly beauty before him with hair like starlight, eyes like two copies of the moon, and lips like rose petals was his wife. By choice. Her choice.
He suddenly heard her moving. To be exact, he heard the faint rustle of her dress as it brushed against the chair when she stood up. He sensed her approach until he could see her sandal-clad feet stop right in front of him.
Even those were so graceful and pretty that he wasn't sure if he was allowed to look at them.
Before he could do anything to save them from his gaze, though, the woman knelt, showing him her fair and exquisite legs up to her knees before her blue dress hid the rest.
Jet gulped audibly like a nervous schoolboy.
Then, he froze when her jade-like finger brushed against his cheek before stopping at his chin and gently raising his head to look at her.
"Husband, did you know? Men look at me in one of two ways."
Jet wasn't sure how to answer, so he didn't.
"With lust…or fear." The woman's hand rose, her fingers gently brushing against his nose and cheek before slipping into his black hair, caressing his head.
"You look at me with neither, Husband. That's why I chose you. That's why it's fine for you to look at me as much as you please. You do not need to worry, Husband. I am your wife."
'Right. I'm a man, after all. Come on, Jet!'
Jet encouraged himself and nodded slowly, finally meeting the woman's eyes for the second time since their first meeting. He wasn't even sure if he should count the first since it was by accident.
The woman's hands slid down to his shoulders before grabbing his arms and helping him to his feet.
"Why are you even kneeling, Husband?" She asked curiously, changing the subject since Jet wasn't talking.
"I…felt like it was the right thing to do when I came in and saw you on the chair."
One of the woman's eyebrows rose slightly. Jet worried her skin would crease and wrinkle, but her skin had none of those worries and soon returned to its perfectly pristine and smooth state while the woman led Jet to a set of chairs and a table.
"I suppose I am a little more dolled-up than when we met the other day."
"Oh, I couldn't even tell. Both now and back then, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Light makeup doesn't change that."
The woman covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chuckled. The sound filled Jet's heart with glowing hot butterflies. It felt like he was dreaming. No, it would have felt like he was dreaming if not for the fact that he knew it was impossible to dream of someone as beautiful as the woman before him. His Wife.
"Sit," She said, gesturing at the chair behind Jet. He needed the reminder since he had ended up losing himself in her sparkling eyes.
She had said he could look as much as he wanted. He was going to take her up on that offer.
"I know it's late, but I feel like I should introduce myself, and I would be glad to hear you introduce yourself as well."
Jet nodded. He knew what she looked like and that she was an important noble. That was all he needed to know to say yes. Not that he had much of a choice with Auntie and Uncle behind him.
The sudden reminder that he didn't even know her name also made him realize that he had no idea why she wanted to marry him. But he wasn't going to question it. Not yet. He was going to enjoy this dream while it lasted.
"Nu Taira Yirena is my full name. Nu is my surname. My close aides call me Miss or Lady Yirena. I would be satisfied if you called me Taira."
"Taira…" Jet whispered her name. It was as beautiful as she was.
"Taira," He repeated it shamelessly.
"Taira." He couldn't help himself. The honor and privilege of calling such a beautiful woman by a name no one else called her was too great.
"That's enough for now. I would like to hear your name, Husband." Taira cleared her throat and swept the hair she had tucked behind her ears over them again to hide the rosy color dawning on them.
Jet hesitated for a moment before answering. There was no use hiding it. In fact, he would be surprised if Taira didn't already know.
"Jet," He said honestly.
Taira's eyes widened slightly.
"That name…? Do you know where it's from?" She asked gently.
Jet nodded and smiled wryly as he looked at the floor to the side of the table between them.
"It's the name of the Demon King who terrorized the western continent half a decade ago."
"How…I mean, why…?" Taira wasn't quite sure how to phrase her question. She probably shouldn't ask, but she couldn't help her curiosity.
"Why do I have the same name as a terrifying Demon King?"
Taira nodded.
"It's simple, really. My mother died in childbirth, and my father blamed me for it."
Landmine. Great mother of landmines. Taira's face froze in a wince. She shouldn't have asked. She really shouldn't have asked.
"I'm sorry," She said in a weak voice.
Jet hurriedly shook his head. Taira should never apologize.
"Don't be! You did nothing wrong. In fact, I'm greatly honored that you feel sorry for me."
"That's…So, is it fine if I ask why you kept it?"
Jet knew what his name meant and that his life would only become more difficult the more people who knew it. But he was a commoner living in the middle of almost nowhere. As long as he wanted to, he could just choose another name and call himself by that one instead.
"By the time I realized why I was being treated the way I was by almost everyone except Auntie and Uncle, I also realized that it didn't matter why. My name is my name. If the fate I bear is the result of the name, then so be it. If a single name can change the course of my life, who's to say that I can't do the same?
"In short, if my name makes my life harder, I just have to make my life easier again. Or simply bear with it."
Taira blinked. Jet was suddenly as tall and broad-shouldered as the first time she saw him when he was working the fields.
She smiled. This was her man.
With that kind of resolve, she didn't have to worry too much about the troublesome life she had dragged him into.