The Cursed King

The memories of their first consummation were one of the things that Loriel cherished the most.

Looking back, he realized maybe by that time he was actually already in love with his wife but wasn't aware of his own feelings.

It took him much longer to realize it. Oh, he was so dumb.

When Elise finally left, he lost all sense of direction. Loriel could never forget the hurt expression on her face as she climbed down their bed and picked up her clothes.

She wore them without saying anything before she left their chamber and never returned.

It was at that moment, Loriel realized how stupid he had become for the past year. Somehow, seeing her looking hurt gave Loriel a literal pain in his chest.

He immediately regretted what he just said that apparently hurt Elise's feelings and became the straw that broke the camel's back.

His meek and understanding wife decided she no longer wanted to put up with him and chose herself.

And that's when Loriel realized how deep he had actually fallen in love with her.

Loriel looked at the beautiful woman who was sitting across from him with a longing expression. Elise was clearly enjoying her ramen and she was all smiles when the kind shopkeeper gave her extra miso soup in a small bowl.

"Thank you," she said with her melodious voice that tugged Loriel's heartstrings.

His heart told him it was her. This was the voice that he had been missing for over fifteen centuries. Only Elise's voice had this effect on him.

He was wondering what happened to her that she lost her memories of him and where had she been all this time? Judging from her condition now, she must have come to the modern world for several years already.

She could already speak the language and understood a little bit how to navigate life in this world.

Would she still remember if Loriel talked to her in their native language? Or, would she be shocked and thought he was insane? What if she was not really Elise?

And what about her 'family' in this world? She said she had an ailing father, and she also mentioned a nanny. Who were they?

Maybe he should start with the easy questions first. That meant Loriel had to ask about her nanny.

It was too easy for him to get lost in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice that Elise had already finished eating her bowl of ramen.

Elise looked up at the handsome man lost in his thoughts. She wondered what he was thinking about, but then realized that she needed to get going too. The idea of returning to the hostel when it was already quite dark made her stomach queasy.

"I did not know that you had a nanny. You must have grown up well-loved by your family to have them hire someone to take care of you," Loriel said as offhandedly as he could.

Elise batted her eyes as her face grew hot. The young woman knew that she hadn't been completely honest about her situation. But it wasn't like she could tell a complete stranger about what her entire life was like, could she?

The woman was not that naive to tell a man she had just met about what her troubles were. Not only was it not smart to do so, it was also not good to spill out her woes to someone who had been good to her.

Elise didn't want to whine or complain. Instead, she distractedly brushed her hair back and said, "I can't exactly say that… but I believe I have to get going now. It's getting a bit late."

And yet Elise soon drank her water and quickly finished the dessert. She made sure to finish every bit of the ice cream to not waste the food, but it was obvious that she was in a hurry to finish their dinner.

Loriel realized that she was still wary of him.

This was no good at all. He needed to be certain that this was his wife and not someone who merely looked like her, so it meant that he needed to figure it out. If this was his Elise, then he would never let himself make the wrong choice of letting her go away now.

Loriel needed to set his prior plan into motion.

He cleared his throat and stood up. "Then it is with good intentions that I get you to your hostel. It's too dangerous for you to walk around all by yourself if you're not familiar with the city."

"It's really close by now, though. I already saw it at the end of this street before we entered this ramen shop," Elise answered with a sweet smile. "I can get there by myself."

Drats, she was right.

Loriel had chosen this particular ramen shop to dine with her because he didn't want her to get tired. This had now backfired on him, but he was also quick to answer.

"I wouldn't feel comfortable knowing that I haven't brought you safely to your hostel. Please allow me to do it for my own sake." He placed a hand on his chest and asked politely. "I have been raised to ensure that a woman like yourself is brought to her place free from any sort of danger. It is a big city."

There was a side to Elise that couldn't say no to a person who pleaded with them. Loriel knew his wife was the kindest woman in the world, she had a soft spot in her heart and wouldn't reject someone who had shown good intention.

His beautiful wife chewed on her bottom lip, unsure, but then finally nodded. "Okay."