Barbaric Spouse, Descry the Night's Lure-Chapter 66: Scene LXVI — Unbearable wait.

A short pause in a hush, seemingly halting the drop of the waters passed during the wait. And at the lengthy whistle returned that roof of unnaturally rectangular shape commenced to lower, provoking its size to enhance the more it went down.

Small sounds of chains could be heard along its paced fall and as she watched the platform go down, a person’s head peeked from the edge of the crag the platform was supposedly part of.

A head of a man who once noticed the couple looking from below jumped to lay on the ground of said crag and commenced to speak loudly so the Archdukes could listen.

"Ai~ Myrkzver Lord! You are coming back up early today! How was Kleifar!?"

"... As troublesome as ever." — Aslak mumbled.

Ewelina glanced at him, aware that his voice wouldn’t reach the man above, nonetheless...

"Aie~~ You say the same every time! But I give it to you today. The Ma’am is that one beside you, ain’t she?"

"Tyz, just lower the darn thing."

"Hmph... We’re on it!"

Her eyes were wide open at their unique exchange. Her husband’s voice had spoken normally in volume, yet that one high above could hear the man clearly and respond accordingly to the words said.

"... Husband... How come he can hear you from so far?" — Whispering cautiously while glancing at the empty edge, Ewelina asked her spouse, truly intrigued by the reasons behind it.

"... That man is Tyzlirr. He has bad eyesight."

"Bad eyesight?"

"Yes."

To his answer, she stayed puzzled while looking at the edge where Tyz had previously appeared. However, it was shortly after that his head appeared again, much faster to join the Archduke’s conversation.

"I only see shadows, Ma’am!"

"!!? He heard us?!"

"Aie~ I did! Hehe!" — Entertained the man replied. — "It’s because I’m blind!! My ears can hear even the sand moving to the impact of the stream!!"

"O–oh... I–is that how it is?"

"Yes, Ma’am! I hear everything~!"

Ewelina was invested in listening to the man. Hence, as the platform was about to arrive, Aslak moved her feet by pulling their interlaced hands. Making her head return to its natural stance to look at a large wooden floor with a fence raised in its perimeter that was tied to those chains she heard move as it was lowered.

"Ignore him." — Aslak then ordered. Moving to open the fence and enter the wood. — "Bring us up!"

"... It just arrived! Why the rush!?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Tyz."

"On it!"

Disappearing again, the blind man replied to the menacing Lord. And once he did, Aslak’s sigh left his nose to now speak to his wife.

"Let’s sit down. It takes longer when it goes up." — Bending to seat on the wood, crossed-legged, Aslak made the woman follow his motion as he did not lose the hold of her hand.

Seating on her knees, right beside him, their hands came to rest on her lap by the man’s decision. Quietly watching it and the surroundings that soon would start to move, Ewelina felt awkward with her composed husband. Ultimately developing new stutters when trying to talk with him.

"Umh... W–what is t–this place called?"

"Passim Wattersturl."

"... I–I see..." — Feeling how the platform rose from the ground, more anxiety came to invade her. — "I–I–It’s a pretty... Umh... Place."

"..... Are you scared? We’re not falling this time."

"... I... I am s–slightly nervous."

Glancing at his frightful woman, Aslak’s expression continued to appear indifferent. However, his hand could feel the woman’s squirm as it squeezed his, with sweaty warmth.

Therefore, rolling his eyes to peek at those above, he then moved while still seated, to place himself in front of the woman who kept her head down, fixated on her lap.

"!? W- ah! Don’t move!" — Horrified she told the man who ignored her.

"Hah... It’s fine. Stop worrying."

"Mnngh... It’s unsettling to be on the air." — She then confessed.

"When we fell, you liked it later."

"... right... Gasp! Husband!"

"So you have recalled?" — Grining to her jump of realisation, Aslak mocked her with a light whiff of a laughter.

"Husband... I cannot believe you have done this..."

"I didn’t know you were afraid of heights." — Aslak answered sincerely to observe the downward woman. — "I thought you liked it in the end...... Are you upset again, woman?"

Tightening her lips to his question Ewelina bit her inner side to consider for a moment. Her lids then opened to meet his amber gaze that waited to listen to her reply. And, although doubtful, she stopped biting the inside of her lip to speak softly to the man who had moved so all she could see was his frame instead of the height. Just as he had done when taking her down the cliff.

"You knew I would be..." — She commenced while looking at him. Immediately becoming more shy, lowering her gaze again to finish. — "Yet I am not... upset anymore."

"... Alright." — He then answered. Finishing the conversation with his straightforwardness.

Silence settled between them as more height was gained. And looking at their hands that had come to simply contain the other, she swallowed before speaking her sudden idea.

"I–If husband desires so... You can release my hand..."

"Do you want to?"

Their eyes met, and seeing the severity of the man, Ewelina became truthful. Shaking her head to deny his question.

"Then, I won’t."

Her heartbeat was already racing from long ago and his words now only made it more difficult for her to breathe at the unintended sweetness his decision granted to the woman.

His lids had closed to rest during their lift. And Ewelina peeked multiple times at his composed countenance after those words were told. Her chest kept puffing to the thrill her overcame fright instilled... Feeling how it lifted almost in synchrony to her raced heartbeat, as now she watched him directly without any precaution.

It was as if her heart was moving. Pushing her to lean with every quiet gasp that left her mouth.

"....."

Eventually, his lids lightly opened to then grant their amber upon her. And to it’s impact, Ewelina finally allowed the push of her chest to move her body. Finally kissing her husband on the lips, gently, with the conflicted expression the wait had caused.

"... Thank you." — Weakly, the woman heartfully expressed to the man.