Jillian looked back and found the big bear preparing to pounce on her. Her eyes widened, she wondered if the end of her life was to be pounced on by a bear?
'I'm still a virgin, I've never experienced having a child and raising it...' she thought at that moment.
However, just as the bear was about to attack her. An arrow pierced the bear's chest which distracted him.
"Dion?" The woman turned to her husband and saw that it was Dion who had just shot the bear.
"While he's in pain, we run!" Dion returned and pulled Jillian's hand.
They continued to run away from there. Normally when a bear is attacked, it would run away. But this one was chasing them even more. Thinking he must be angry because Dion had shot him earlier.
Until, they arrived near a lake. Jillian pulled Dion into the lake. Dion was hesitant at first, but Jillian convinced him.
"Swim to the center and hold your breath as long as possible until he leaves!" Jillian said. "He's coming!"
Jillian pressed Dion's head into the water, and so did she, hiding themselves from the ferocious bear.
The bear approached the lake and brought its nose close, sniffing the lake before it. So long that both Jillian and Dion struggled to hold their breath any longer.
'Uhhh... I can't take it anymore, if it continues like this, I...' Dion had no choice but to swim up.
But before he could, Jillian pulled Dion up and kissed him on the lips. As if giving her breath to him. Of course Dion was quite surprised by what Jillian did, but he was lost in the kiss.
Soon, the bear moved away from the lake, leaving the two of them alone. Dion and Jillian got out of the water and caught their breath.
"Haa... Haa... That was close..." Jillian said with a gasp, as if nothing had happened between the two of them earlier.
Dion, meanwhile, was still frozen with a slightly reddened face as he remembered Jillian kissing him for several minutes until the bear left.
"My clothes are all wet, it's lucky this is a simple dress, not a fancy palace gown..."
"Yeah, you're right..." Dion responded in a rather stiff tone.
"Hmn, what's wrong?" asked Jillian as she wrung out her wet dress.
"No, nothing. We'd better get back now, the sky is getting late. It could be dangerous if we're still lost in the forest at night," said Dion as he walked ahead of Jillian.
"What's wrong with him? Hey wait for me!" Jillian chased after Dion and they went back to where they tied their horses.
Luckily, after following a nearby river, they were able to find their horses and return to the tent. Empty-handed, and with wet clothes, they returned, leaving Theodore wondering what had happened to the two of them.
"It's a long story, but we ended up in the lake... Huftt, I'm going to change my clothes first..." Dion replied and entered the tent.
"Huftt, I have to wait until he's done changing so I can go in and change too," Jillian complained.
"Why don't you change with Dion? You're already married," Theodore said.
Hearing Theodore's words, Jillian's face immediately turned red. She said there was no way she could change clothes with Dion even though they were married.
"You know that we..."
"Yes, I know. But if you're like this, he'll get suspicious of you. I'm sure you don't want to see him angry."
"I know... But I still can't. I feel like I... Can't let him see me without clothes... I..."
Theodore watched his sister-in-law who seemed unable to reconcile with her own husband. As far as changing clothes, she could not change them together even though they had been married for almost half a year. But there was still no change between the two of them.
After Dion finished changing, Jillian went inside and changed into her dress. Dion stood at the front of the tent, watching his wife change. Although he didn't need to because there was no way anyone would dare to enter their tent. But Dion felt he had to do it anyway.
"Crown Prince, it's time for dinner," a palace maid said.
"Oh yes, I'll catch up later," Dion replied.
The man peeked into the tent, wanting to tell Jillian that it was time for dinner.
"Li--"
But when he looked inside, he saw Jillian in her dress. Her hair was moved forward and her smooth white back was revealed.
For a moment, Dion's face turned red at the sight of his wife's back. Jillian pulled up the back zipper of her dress and smoothed her hair back again. When she turned around, she thought Dion had come inside.
"Did I hear his voice, or was it just me?"
Finished changing her dress, Jillian walked out of the tent. She saw Dion standing at the door waiting for her.
"Have you been waiting for me?" asked Jillian.
"Y-yes, it's time for dinner. Let's hurry, I'm hungry already." Dion replied as he turned his face away and walked first.
During dinner, there was tension between them as Ferid looked disappointed to see Dion returning without a single game animal. Dion was silent as he listened to his father's ramblings which sounded condescending to Jillian.
"Sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty. But while hunting, Dion and I were attacked by a grizzly bear that was so ferocious that it kept chasing us. The animal we caught was gone by the time we returned to retrieve it. This wasn't because Dion couldn't hunt, but because of the bear attack. We were more concerned about our lives than the dead animal," Jillian explained.
"Lian..." Dion held Jillian's hand, as if giving her the code to remain silent.
But Jillian didn't want to, she didn't like every word that came out of Ferid's mouth about his own son, because Dion who was just silent, Jillian would open her mouth.
Hearing Jillian's explanation, Ferid immediately shut up and continued eating. Jillian was quite annoyed with the behavior of a father who could say bad things about his own son.
After dinner, they returned to their respective tents to sleep. Dion finally relented and slept on the carpet while Jillian slept on the mattress.
Jillian glanced at Dion who had his back to her. Somehow she felt bad for Dion sleeping on the hard carpet. His body could be in pain when he woke up later.
"Dion... Dion..." she called touching her husband's shoulder.
"What's again?"
"Huft... Get into bed. It's only for two nights, I think it's okay for you to sleep with me," Jillian said.
At first Dion refused, but since Jillian hit him with a pillow, Dion finally got annoyed and nailed into bed with her.
They slept with their backs to each other. This was the first time they slept in the same bed together, and their bed was not as big as the bed in the palace. Both of them were unable to sleep.
"Dion... Why... Did you keep quiet when your father said that? Why didn't you explain what happened to him?" Jillian asked.
Dion's eyes dropped for a moment. "There's no point in explaining what he won't hear. It's a waste of time," Dion replied.
Jillian looked back, seeing her husband's back. She had learned a lot about him today. For a moment she felt sorry for Dion, but sometimes she was still annoyed by Dion's annoying nature.
Exhausted, the two finally fell asleep. In the middle of the night, Dion unconsciously turned his sleeping position to hug Jillian from behind and buried his face into her neck.
But at the same time, Jillian also moved in her sleep to face Dion.
They fell asleep together, in a warm embrace amidst the cold night.