[TIDK] 115 – Love and Nostalgia

(BONUS UPDATE)

After falling asleep again, she woke up alone in the bedroom. Viktor had already emerged into the living room, mixing a martini on the liquor shelf. Suddenly, Scarlett burst out of the bedroom, her expression filled with confusion.

Upon spotting Viktor, she let out a sigh of relief and mustered the courage to speak, her voice trembling, "V-Viktor. Over here..."

Intrigued by her bewildered gaze, Viktor inquired, "Do you truly love me?"

"Huh? Of course. Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

One could readily discern her mental state with this simple question. Viktor gently placed the cocktail glass down and approached her, enfolding her in his arms as he reassured her, "Go back to sleep."

Viktor vaguely knew Scarlett tended to forget things when she was excessively tired or anxious, but her memory would resurface once she had a chance to unwind. At this moment, the stress of their journey together seemed to have taken a toll on her. The mere thought that she regarded him as the source of her distress elicited a wry chuckle from Viktor.

He settled on the couch while embracing her, using one arm to encircle her shoulder and kissing her tenderly on her hair. "There's no need to be surprised. It's just a brief excursion."

"An excursion? Really?"

"Yes."

Whether her condition would worsen or alleviate over time, Viktor couldn't be sure, but for now, he found solace in her presence. Fortunately, Scarlett swiftly regained her composure under Viktor's comforting reassurances.

Blushing, she rested her head against Viktor's chest and said, "I thought you had returned to the sea again."

"I'm done."

"Liar. You always say it's the last time, but it never is."

Scarlett murmured with her eyes closed, then opened her mouth to say something else.

"Viktor."

"Yes."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

As Viktor spoke, he continued to caress Scarlett's head affectionately.

Scarlett's cheeks flushed at Viktor's unusual display of tenderness. Soon, she stood up and remarked, "It's getting cold. Shall I fetch some hot water?"

"You don't need to pretend to be sophisticated."

"I'm just boiling water. Why make a fuss?"

"Are you a servant? Order them."

Viktor's words gave Scarlett pause. She tightly clutched the kettle she had taken out and spoke, determination evident in her voice, "I... I want to be alone with you. It may be natural for you to have people constantly around you, and you may be able to live as if they don't exist, but it's not the same for me. I feel anxious when there are others around. It just doesn't feel like it's just the two of us."

Silence hung in the air as Viktor remained motionless, causing Scarlett's expression to shift to one of surprise. It was the first time since their marriage that she felt they could honestly communicate.

Cupping a warm drink in one hand for Viktor and another for herself, Scarlett approached him, brimming with excitement as she spoke, "Whenever it gets cold, I'm reminded of my childhood when I used to go ice skating."

She paused momentarily, then her voice became flustered, "I'm sorry, I'm rambling again."

"Please, continue."

"It's quite a nostalgic story."

Viktor responded in a subdued tone.

"Nevertheless, I'd like to hear it."

"Well, when I was young, I loved skating. My father used to have the frozen water in front of our house, made into a skating rink."

"With your siblings?"

"Yes. Isaac too."

Scarlett nodded her head. Then she spoke as if it was strange.

"Why are you listening to my story for once?"

"It's nice to have sentimental moments during a trip."

"Is that so?"

Scarlett smiled and said, "Let's go on trips more often, just the two of us."

"Sure."

Viktor replied and told her, "Keep telling the story about skating."

"Oh."

Viktor had no idea what she was talking about, and Scarlett looked at him sceptically. She settled on the sofa, tapping her knees anxiously, and said, "Lie down here."

Viktor's expression twisted slightly. He began to wonder if Scarlett was perhaps not in her right mind. However, he soon noticed her disappointed look and reluctantly obeyed, allowing her to rest his head on her thigh as she desired.

As Scarlett stroked Viktor's hair, which made him extremely uncomfortable, she began to speak. "Endery builds and lives in a house inside the snow. Endery is a tiny and shy fairy. Whenever it snows, Endery appears. So, if you build a house with snow, sometimes she ends up living inside it. The snow house doesn't melt for a while. Once, there was a good child who built a snow house. Even after a week of sunny weather, it didn't melt. And when the house finally melted after a week, they found that candy had been left behind... But you've never heard this story before?"

"It's the first time I'm hearing it," Viktor replied.

"You've never built a snow house? Or had your parents left candy for you in one? Or caught your parents putting candy in it and then saw Isaac and me..." Scarlett's expression displayed surprise.

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