Near the camp of South-East Province, there was a place where Ryosuke often went to whenever he wanted to be alone. He found it by chance when he strolled around. To reach the place, he only needed to ride through the small woods above the camp, taking ten minutes most.

Once he stepped out from the woods, he would meet with a small clearing and greeted by the wonderful sight of a meadow just after the clearing. The meadow was quite vast, filling with wild sunflowers while dandelions grew in between their tall green stems. With just a glance he would catch a view of brown, yellow, and green in one frame with numerous white dots within it. There was also a path through the meadow. If he followed the path till the end, he would find a small stream that separated the meadow with the next forest. The water came from a spring in the other side of the forest, so clear and fresh.

That place was where he took Mirai to.

She clamped her hands to in awe once he pulled off at the rear of the woods.

“It’s so beautiful,” she muttered without taking her eyes off from the view.

He smiled while nudging his horse to a spot he used to let his horse roamed around. He dismounted first before helping Mirai down. She still wore the same expression when she spotted the meadow for the first time awhile ago, eyes sparkling with amazement.

“Just go if you want to play over there, but don’t stray too far,” he said with his gentler tone.

She turned to him. Her expression told him she wanted to go but at the same time did not want to leave his side. So, he patted her head twice and said, “I’m having a headache. I’ll be resting here. Just go.”

“Are you alright?” She scurried closer and placed a hand on his forehead then on his neck, checking his temperature. “You’re having a fever.”

He smiled reassuringly, “Just a slight fever because I didn’t have enough sleep.”

She was hesitated, so he added, “I’ll try to catch some sleep while you’re playing. Who knows if I can join you later once the headache recedes, hmm?”

“Okay. I’ll be back soon,” she finally yielded to her curiosity and ran toward the meadow.

He took a spot under a tree, sat down and watched her. Though he said he would catch some sleep, he could not bring himself to do so. He did not lie anyway. He did try, but failed. His anxiety won over his fatigue. It was risky to leave her unwatched.

He saw Mirai ran on the path in the mid of the meadow. The wild sunflowers’ height reached her shoulder. She ran her hands on the stems and looked at the flower crowns once in a while. He could see her smiling while hoping from one flower to the other. He smiled. He wondered how such simple thing could make her smiling like that.

Mirai turned at his direction and waved her hand, still smiling. He lifted his own hand in return and soon she was back to her enjoyment, bouncing in between the sunflowers. He was amused. She could be so childlike at times, but whenever needed, she showed her adult side.

To him, her actions sometimes were sporadic, and he found himself curious about what she would do or how she would react from time to time. In a way, she was so similar with him, unpredictable. The only difference was she never masked her feeling but she could change her emotions and expressions in a matter of second, while he was unpredictable because he purposely put on a façade, a wall around him so people would not be able to read him.

He started recalling his memories while his gaze focused on Mirai’s form at the distance.

He was so cruel and cold toward her for the past year. He wondered then, how could she fall in love with him? Why it did not drove her away, but drew her closer to him instead?

 “Can we be friends?”

He had bluntly rejected her that time, and he had thought it successfully warn her not to approach him. That might be the reason he did not recognize when she started developing feeling for him… until he fell sick after being poisoned when returning from the short campaign.

“Are you alright?” Her eyes glinted with something he never wished to see again.

She was worried about him, always, despite all his harsh words and treatments. Even now, she always put him before herself.

“I just want to help you.” She offered herself to him that time in the castle.

“Am I allowed knowing your problem?”

“Just take your time, Ryosuke. Really. I’m not rushing you.”

She easily shed tears, yet he never thought she was weak. Not even once. She was strong in her own way. He was almost sure that she was even stronger than him emotionally. She did not shun away from her fear like he did. She embraced her sorrow instead, bravely, with her tears and smiles, even generously offered to cushion his pain.

“I know I may get hurt in times ahead, but I promise I won’t break. So, you don’t need to worry.”

“I promise you I will be strong, so this time, just lean on me.”

“Ryosuke, I will always keep my promise. I won’t break. I won’t sacrifice my life for you. I will live. So, you, too, please don’t give up on yourself.”

“You don’t need to worry. I promise you I will be strong… for both of us.”

Mirai laughed out loud which caught his attention. Spreading her arms wide, she twirled round and round. The golden thread on her coat glittered in the sunlight. She looked so happy.

It was the first time she laughed like that since their wedding. Her laughter was so carefree, unrestrained. He could imagine how her eyes lit up and glinted with so much joy. He wanted to see that. He wanted to make sure that what he had done all this time did not extinguish the cheerful side of her.

A strong feeling emerged in him.

He wanted her to laugh more often. He wanted to make her happy. For all she had done for him… for her unconditional love that had slowly mended his wounds… He did not want this battle ruined her life. He did not want her to be hurt in anyway. He wanted to protect her from anything, anyone that would rip the smile from her face. Yet, ironically, he was the one who had hurt her, that had made her cried, most.

Can I make you happy, Mirai?

Guilt, fear, anxiety, hopes… all were mixed in his heart. The harsh words and cold treatments he had given her in the past flashed in his mind one after the other. Remorse grew fast that his chest clenched so tightly. It almost suffocated him when he realized he even had not apologized to her for all his wrongdoings.

“RYOSUKE!” She called him, still smiling. “Can you come here?” She called him to join her.

He did not wait to leap to his feet and stride toward her. His jaw tightened for in every step he took, the words Mirai said to him rang in his ears.

“I love you, Ryosuke. I truly love you.”

“I don’t want to break up.”

“That is what I feel. Staying by your side is enough.”

“I want to accompany you.”

 “You are a very important person for me, Ryosuke.”

“I want to be your wife till the end.”

He kept asking himself why she was so forgiving… why she always showed him her smiles… even when she cried, her tears was always for him… for his sorrow… as though she wanted to spare him from shedding tears. She knew he did not like crying no matter painful the circumstance, thus she did it for him… She was always the one who give, and he was always the one who take.

He had arrived in front of her. She was smiling, looking up at him, and saying something, but he could not hear even a word. Her voice from the past echoed, overwhelming him. He could not refrain from pulling her into his embrace. He heard her gasped, but he tightened his hold instead, resting his chin on her shoulder.

 “I don’t know why, but I know how deep my love for you. So, please never doubt it.”

 “I hope I can understand you better with the course of time.”

“Ryosuke… thank you for tonight.”

A second later he felt her hand made soothing motions on his back, rubbing gently up and down while the other encircled his waist.

“What’s wrong, Ryosuke?” her soft voice eventually reached him.

Seconds had passed when he finally spoke, “I’m sorry.”

He felt her stiffened but only for a second before she relaxed and asked, “For what?”

“For everything I’ve done to you.”

She put a hand on his nape, pressing him to lean more to her, “I’ve forgiven you even before you ask.”

“But I had hurt you.”

“I know.”

“And I had been so cruel to you.”

“Yes, you were.”

“I always pushed you away.”

“Not anymore, right?”

“Then,” he paused. “Why could you forgive me so easily?”

She inhaled a breath and sighed mildly, “You always ask me difficult questions, Ryosuke. It’s… just like I don’t know why I fell for you. I don’t know why I can forgive you either. Sure, it was hurt when you gave me your cold shoulder, but the moment I realized that I do love you, it wasn’t as painful as before and before I knew, it had vanished. After that, the harder you pushed me away, the stronger my feeling grew.”

He gulped, “Still… I’m sorry.”

“Alright, apology accepted.” Her voice was cheerful.

After that he felt she was about to pull away, but he immediately tightened his hold on her.

“Stay like this for awhile,” he said.

“Alright,” she nestled to him.

For a moment he could only hear the faint sound of breeze flowed passed them and the birds chirped in the trees nearby. Just then he realized, that since he saw her an hour ago, he did not think about anything but her. He smiled to himself, admitting that General Shida was right; her presence was the one he needed to ease his mind.

Maybe just for today… I can be only Ryosuke, not the prince of Hakumei.

He decided to shelve the kingdom affairs in the back of his mind for awhile.

“Erm, Ryosuke?” her voice pulled him out of the daze.

“Hmm?”

“Do you miss me?” there was a hint of hesitation in her tone.

He recalled their previous moment. He felt guilty for being angry when she showed him how much she had missed him. He was not so good conveying feeling with words, but he could show it to her.

He pulled away just enough to look down at her face. His subtle smile was about to widen before he noticed her expression. There were worry and expectation… and uncertainty? That reminded him about the similar situation in the castle before he departed two months ago.

“Ne, Ryosuke, do you love me?”

It seemed that the answer meant so much to her, and he assumed a simple ‘yes’ would not enough. She deserved more. He started to think about what he would say, but then settled with the simplest but hardest words.

He put his hands on the sides of her face, gently tilting her head upward so she would look at him in the eyes. She sent him questioning look, and he smiled as tender as he could before saying.

“I love you, Mirai.”

He saw her eyes widened and tears soon welled up, but he never saw her eyes glinted so brightly like this before. He did not know whether it was because of her smile that bloomed after that or the tears flowed down her cheeks or the clench of his heart from missing her all this time or the bubble grew inside him knowing a simple line from him could affect her so much, but eventually he found himself closed the small gap between them and kissed her gently on her lips.

**********

Mirai was sitting under a tree while her husband hair. Ryosuke lied on the grass patch with his head rested on her lap, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and arms folded on his chest. It was an hour after the surprising confession. She still could not erase the smile from her face whenever Ryosuke’s voice rang in her ears. He finally said it. She had known that he loved her, yet hearing it from him was so… She could not even describe it. It was as though a mix of happiness, relief, assurance, astonishment, and many more. She blushed remembering the scene after that. He kissed her again. That was the third kiss on the lips from him. She blushed deeper realizing that she indeed counted it.

“What are you thinking?”

She snapped out from her daze and looked down only to find Ryosuke staring back at her. He had been asleep since almost an hour ago and she did not realize he had woken up.

“You’re awake?” She asked back.

“Obviously.”

“You’re not comfortable?”

“I just can’t sleep more,” he was about to get up, but she prevented him from doing so.

“Just lie down,” she said while pressing her hand on his chest.

He complied and rested his head back on her lap, folding his arms on his chest. She saw him closed his eyes once more and she resumed his tresses.

“You spoil me so much, you know,” came his remark a second after.

She giggled mildly, “I like dotting on you.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t marry a kid, you know.”

He let out a short chuckle before opening his eyes, “I never thought your father is meddlesome.”