Max quickened his pace down the corridor the moment he saw Elanor walking away with her head slightly lowered.

"Elanor."

He called out once.

The princess stopped.

She turned slowly, and the instant she saw him, a small smile appeared on her face.

But her eyes looked tired.

Max reached her and studied her carefully.

"Are you okay?" he asked, frowning slightly.

Elanor tilted her head just a little.

"Yes," she replied calmly.

Then she let out a soft sigh.

"It was just a rather exhausting lesson."

Max crossed his arms.

"Yeah, well..." he muttered.

He looked away slightly.

"I heard some things."

Elanor raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Max cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a bit cornered.

"Let’s just say... I was nearby."

"Were you spying on me?"

She said it with a small, amused smile.

Max raised both hands.

"In my defence, I was originally there because of completely justified paranoia."

Elanor let out a quiet laugh.

"That doesn’t answer my question."

"Okay, yes. Technically, I was spying a little."

She shook her head, amused.

Max sighed.

"I heard when Thara was saying things about how it wasn’t in your best interest to be engaged to me."

His expression grew more serious.

"That people wouldn’t view it well."

He looked at Elanor.

"That you’re a princess engaged to your own pet."

Elanor watched him for a few seconds.

Then she smiled softly.

"I’m not worried."

Max blinked.

She took a small step closer to him.

"I don’t care what other people think."

Her voice was calm.

"I’m happy when I’m with you."

It was a simple sentence.

And yet Max felt as though something had punched him directly in the chest from the inside.

"Ah."

Elanor smiled a little wider.

"You blush very easily."

"It’s not my fault you say things like that so casually."

"What things?"

"Dangerously effective things."

That made Elanor laugh again.

For a moment, everything felt absurdly simple.

Just the two of them standing in the middle of the corridor.

Just peace.

Then Elanor lowered her gaze slightly, as if hesitating over something.

"Now that we’re talking about that..."

Max looked at her.

"Hmm?"

She lightly fidgeted with a piece of her dress.

A small, nervous gesture.

"I know I told you before that I didn’t want to get too involved with the idea of having a wedding."

Max nodded slowly.

He remembered it perfectly.

At first, Elanor had seemed almost uncomfortable with the whole engagement.

More like it was a political obligation than anything else.

But now...

She lifted her gaze to meet his.

"I changed my mind."

Max blinked.

"What?"

Elanor smiled, her cheeks just slightly pink.

"I want to get married now."

Max’s brain stopped functioning for approximately three seconds.

"Ah."

Again.

An impressive range of vocabulary.

"I mean..." Elanor continued, looking a bit more embarrassed now.

"Before, I wasn’t sure."

She lowered her voice slightly.

"I didn’t know what to expect."

She looked at him directly.

"But now I do."

Her smile softened.

"I feel certain with you."

Max felt a strange pressure in his chest.

Intense.

And inevitably, his mind painted the image.

A wedding.

Him and Elanor.

The castle decorated.

Music.

Guests.

Moonlight probably causing chaos at some point during the ceremony.

Neros looking awkwardly elegant.

Seraphine criticising the decorations.

And Elanor, wearing a wedding dress.

Waiting for him.

The image was so vivid it almost hurt.

And then—

Like a mental stab.

Atlas.

The reset.

The mission.

The possibility that this entire world could disappear.

Or worse.

That he might have to leave it.

Max felt something tighten inside him.

His smile faltered.

’I should tell her.’

About the possible reset.

The possibility that he might not be able to stay.

But the moment he imagined Elanor’s face hearing that...

His chest tightened painfully.

He didn’t want to see her sad.

Not when she had only just started smiling at him like this.

Maybe it was selfish.

But in that moment, he could only reach one conclusion.

Enjoy every moment.

As much time as possible.

If Elanor wanted a wedding...

Then he wanted to give her one.

Max inhaled deeply.

Then he smiled.

"I’d love that too."

Elanor’s eyes widened slightly.

"Really?"

Max nodded.

"Yes."

He laughed softly.

"I’m not going to lie, the idea of marrying an elven princess still sounds absurdly surreal."

Elanor smiled.

"I’ll take that as a yes."

"It is definitely a yes."

Before he could say anything else, Elanor hugged him.

Softly, but firmly.

She rested her face against his chest.

"Thank you," she murmured. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Max lowered his gaze slightly.

"For what?"

She smiled against him.

"For always indulging me."

Max felt a quick, quiet stab of guilt.

It wasn’t just about indulging her.

He genuinely wanted this too.

He hugged her back.

"I’m not doing this just for you."

Elanor lifted her head slightly.

Max smiled.

"I want to marry you too."

Elanor froze for a second.

Then a light blush spread across her cheeks.

"Oh."

Max smiled in amusement.

"Yeah. Now you understand my suffering."

She let out a small laugh.

Eventually, they pulled apart slightly.

Elanor tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I should go take a bath before dinner."

She glanced toward one of the corridor windows.

The sun was slowly beginning to set.

"I don’t want to be late."

Then she looked back at him.

"And tonight..."

Her smile returned.

"I’m going to speak with my father."

Max raised an eyebrow.

"About?"

"The wedding."

She said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I want to officially propose that we begin the arrangements as soon as possible."

Max felt his heart do something strange again.

This was escalating absurdly fast.

And yet...

"That sounds good to me."

Elanor smiled, satisfied.

"Perfect."

She stepped a little closer to him.

And before saying goodbye...

She kissed him.

When they pulled apart, Elanor looked at him tenderly.

"I’ll see you at dinner."

Max nodded.

"See you then."

She finally walked away down the corridor.

This time with a little more energy than before.

As though their conversation had improved her mood.

Max stood still for a few seconds, watching her disappear from view.

Then he slowly exhaled.

"I can’t believe I’m going to marry Princess Elanor."

He said it quietly.

As if testing how real it sounded.

His smile lasted for a few seconds longer.

Until the uncomfortable thought returned.

The truth.

Everything he still hadn’t told her.

Max lowered his gaze.

"Am I being selfish?"

There was no answer.

Only the weight of uncertainty.

He gave himself two light slaps on the cheeks.

Not too hard.

Just enough to reset his brain.

"No."

He muttered.

"I’m not going to do anything that makes her sad."

He took a deep breath.

His expression softened.

"Her happiness comes first."

Even if that meant carrying everything else alone.

He turned on his heel and started walking toward his room.

He needed to clear his head.

A bath.

Hot water.

Five minutes without existential crises.

Maybe ten if he got lucky.

He finally reached his room.

Opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him.

The silence was almost comforting.

He walked into the bathroom and started preparing the water.

As steam slowly began filling the space, Max placed both hands on the edge of the sink and looked at himself in the mirror.

He was still smiling a little.

Despite everything.

Despite the uncertain future.

Despite the possible end of the world.

His smile widened.

"Well."

He murmured to himself.

"I guess I’m officially emotionally engaged up to my neck now."