Lady to Queen

Chapter 205: Chapter 103 (1) – I Love You, Can I Say That to You?

With her face close to his, Patrizia whispered to him, “Are you crying?”

“No, I am not.”

“Are you feeling sad?”

“Not at all.” He mumbled as he continued with his answer to her question, “How can I feel any sadness in front of happiness as precious as this?”

“…” Patrizia did not say anything and proceeded to kiss him again. The kiss was quiet and calm at first, and gradually became fiercer. Thinking about how the real start of their union was only just beginning, Patrizia gasped for air.

The same was true for Lucio as he also strained himself while trying to breathe.

Patrizia sobbed as she called out to him, “Heugh… Your Majesty…”

“Patrizia…” he called out her name and carefully lifted his lips off of hers so that he could make eye contact with her.

She looked at him with a slightly reddened face.

He carefully unbuttoned the cloak she was wearing, which actually belonged to him.

She continued to watch his hands.

When the cloak was finally taken off, revealing her slender shoulders, he bent towards her shoulder and kissed the area carefully.

It was as soft as the kind of a kiss intended to heal wounds, but it somehow also felt thrilling, like that of a wild beast. She moaned briefly.

“Do you… not like it?” Lucio asked her.

At his cautious question, Patrizia just blatantly stared at him, and then kissed him again. As she joined her lips with his, she loosened and untied the cravat on his neck. There was a sound of fabric falling to the floor, and her hands, which had moved slowly earlier, became more impatient. When she finally managed to undo a few of the buttons on his shirt, Patrizia looked up at him with reddened eyes and cheeks.

He kissed her without providing an answer, giving his consent. The mutual agreement between them kept Lucio’s hands moving in a composed manner, but still betrayed the impatience that he could not hide.

Suddenly, the two were looking at each other while being face to face in their natural states, as bare as when they had first come into the world.

Patrizia gently stroked his cheek as she kissed him once again.

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He was asleep with his face buried on her chest.

Patrizia mumbled silently to herself as she looked down at Lucio’s sleeping face, -How much time has passed?-

“…”

Obviously, her impulses had intervened, but it was difficult to see this as only having occurred due to impulse. She definitely still had at least half of her rationality. It was what she had chosen to do, and it was something he had chosen, as well. What more was there to say about this?

She let out a sigh, “Haaa…” Without a doubt, she both loved and hated him. In the past, the ratio seemed to have been around half and half, but these days it felt like it was leaning more to one side. Her face dazed, she absentmindedly stroked his hair, which resembled the sky right before dawn.

“Mmmmm…” He seemed to wake up at her touch. At the sound of his voice, she stopped moving her hand without realizing it.

However, his voice asked for her to continue. “Keep… doing that for me.”

“…”

-He is so greedy.- Patrizia muttered to herself, but obediently followed through with his request.

“Did you wake up… because of me?” she asked.

“It is fine.” He raised his head so that he could continue with his answer to her. “Since you are in my line of sight, it is better to stay awake.”

“…” Patrizia could not help but stare at Lucio for a while when he said such awkward and cheesy words without even blinking an eye, and then asked him, “Are you alright?”

“No, I am not.”

“…”

“Because I am so happy…” he elaborated with a voice that was shaking. “…it is difficult to breathe.”

“Do not exaggerate.”

“It is not an exaggeration.” He drew her into his embrace as he whispered in her ear, “I really mean it.”

“…”

Patrizia stared intently at Lucio, who was holding onto her like a child, and soon returned his hug as she quietly closed her eyes. She was tired…

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After a while, he called out to her. “Lizzy…”

“…”

Although she did not answer him, he continued to speak,. “I have a request.”

“…Please say it.”

“I love you…” He asked, “…can I say that to you?”

“…”

He had surely claimed it was a request, but he had concluded it with a question. Was the request wanting her to answer, or was it a request to grant him permission so he could tell her he loved her?

She pondered about this for a bit before she responded, “Do as you please…”

“I love you.”

“…”

“I love you, Patrizia.”

Patrizia did not give a reply back to his confession, but it was not her answer that Lucio wanted in the first place. He was just daring to seek her consent, so that he could confess his feelings. It was what it was….

“I am surely…”

“…”

“In love with you, so much.” As he said these words, he felt endlessly happy that she was able to hear his confession like this.

“Haaa…” Patrizia released a long sigh as she pushed against her head. Her body, which had been fine before, was now running a fever.

Next to her, Lucio looked extremely worried as he asked her, “Are you perhaps sick? A lot? I should have called for the Imperial court physician after all…”

“Please do not kick up a fuss,” Petrizia dismissed his concerns with that short statement. “Are you planning on letting the whole palace, along with the surrounding area, know about last night’s events?”

Of course, even if the Imperial court physician was not called upon, what had happened last night would have already spread from the mouths of the maids. But it was better this way, rather than summoning the Imperial court physician and making it all official…

Patrizia slowly rose from her spot, clutching onto her throbbing head.

Lucio asked urgently, “Where are you planning on going?”

“I have to go to my palace.”

When Patrizia responded calmly to his question, Lucio shook his head, as if he was saying he could not agree with her plans.

“Where do you think you can go feeling like that?”

“I can, at the very least, make it back to my palace.”

“What if you faint as a result, what then?” He pleaded with her in an anxious voice, “Can you just stay here for a moment longer, please?”

“…At this rate, Your Majesty might also catch a cold.”

“Do not concern yourself about me, just worry about yourself.”

At his words, Patrizia collapsed back on the bed with a small groan. She knew she should have rested more, but since she had not, it seemed she was finally paying the price. She muttered, “I have a lot to do today…”