Empress Natsume ✓

XXI

Lord Ryuu really has a mood swing. I was munching my meal, the chopsticks was on my lips while staring at him with an odd look.

He told me to have a dinner with him so here we are in his chamber where there is a separated eating space.

We're eating in silence. He's busy eating while getting foods from the bowls with his chopsticks in hands and he would also put foods in my bowl.

Actually, he's putting too much foods in my bowl and I don't think I can eat all of it. His eyes met mine when he raised his head, he raised his brow a little.

"You're not eating enough. Look at you, you're so thin"

Ugh. Huh?

Then, he charmingly smiled at me, showing his dimples. I blink a few times before smiling back at him too even though his actions baffles me.

I wasn't informed that Lord Ryuu is a smiley person, I always see him with a serious look, frowning, annoyed, or angry..

Aren't he mad about me just a few moments ago? It's like the mistake that I've committed to him had never happened. Well... Is he merciful or just bipolar? Should I explain myself to him so I can clear my name to him? I'm not going to ruin his mood, right?

I cleared my throat.

"Ummm... Why did you invited me to dine with you by the way?"

He raised his head from his food to look at me.

"Is it bad to have a dinner with my wife?"

I want to answer that 'it's just new to me, I rarely see you and you never invited me to dine with you because you either don't like me or you're just busy even if you're at home' but I keep silent instead. Who knows when will his old self came back?

After a few moments, I faked a cough.

"About what happened.... I'm really sorry for the misunderstanding"

The atmosphere suddenly change. Na ah, is it a bad idea to tell him? Wrong move, Natsume, wrong move. He keep silent and his mood darken.

But I already opened up the topic, I should continue to clear any more misunderstandings.

"I... I don't have any special feelings to the Lord General, it's just that... he was always there to protect me and he's always concern about my well being. Even if it's just his duty, it feels like... like he's genuinely concern about me and I feel secured for that and you know... I never have a siblings before, I'm an only child of my parents, I want to have a big sister to comfort me or a big brother to protect me and a little siblings to take care of and laugh with... the general is just like a big brother to me"

A minute of silent before he spoke.

"Don't I make you feel secured?"

How can you make me feel secured when you're always away?

I bite my lower lip, thinking carefully of what I'm going to answer to his question.

"I... feel secured when you're around"

That's a lie, I feel more in danger when he's around because he's a danger himself

His mood lightened up a little but not as light as before.

We started to eat again in silence when I suddenly remember the invitation from the South.

"Ummm....did you received an invitation from the Southern province?"

He answered with a 'hmm'

"How did you know about that?"

"I also received an invitation from them"

He stopped eating, letting go of his chopsticks and grabbing the side of the square table with his right hand.

For a moment there, my heart is so nervous of what he was about to do, I thought that he's going to lift the table and throw it away at me or break it into pieces so I back away my cushioned seat a little.

A few moments later, nothing happened. He was just grabbing the side of the table, he's just silently staring at me like he's observing me. Did his old self came back?

"What did it says?"

"It says that they want to celebrate the Sakura festival with us and to celebrate your victory in Keito"

He barely nodded his head again.

"What else?"

"Ummm...they want me to convince you to come"

He was unblinkingly staring at me so I suddenly have an interest to the foods on the table just to avoid his stares. Is he annoyed again or something?

"Do you want to come?"

I raised my head to look at him, surprised at his question

"Of course"

He shrugged and picked up his chopsticks on the table to eat again.

"It's just a Sakura festival, nothing special"

He said in an uninterested voice.

"But I never celebrate it in all my life"

"That's impossible, Sakura festival is so common in every places in Sang nowadays"

"But our village had never celebrated it, we don't have a sakura festival"

He stopped eating again to stare at me and I stare back at him too just to prove that I'm not lying at all.

He lean back on his chair.

"Okay"

"We will go then"

My eyes widen in surprise.

"Really?"

"Do you want me to take it back?"

I shook my head and genuinely smiled at him.

"Thank you"

"So when will we go there?"

There was an excitement in my voice

"They will celebrate it after a week, when spring came and the travel there is long so we will go tomorrow"

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