Chapter 329 - He liked his wife

Chapter 329: Chapter 329 - He liked his wife

Ryan kept his eyes ahead, but his attention had long since drifted away from the hunt.

The forest stretched endlessly around them, sunlight slipping through the thick canopy and falling across the narrow trail while their horses moved at a steady pace.

Somewhere farther ahead, another hunting party shouted after spotting something in the undergrowth, and the sound of galloping hooves soon followed, but Ryan barely paid attention.

His thoughts had somehow wandered back to the camp and, more specifically, to the person he had left sitting beneath the canopy.

He had known for some time that something about his feelings toward Eric had changed.

At first, he had simply assumed it was because they were married and living beneath the same roof. It was natural to become accustomed to someone’s presence after seeing them every day.

After the poisoning, his concern had grown stronger, but that had also seemed reasonable. Eric had nearly died in his residence, and Ryan had been the one responsible for his safety.

Yet none of those explanations seemed convincing anymore.

Even now, while riding through the hunting grounds, he was wondering whether Eric was still sitting where he had left him.

He had specifically told the servants to keep him beneath the canopy because the sun would grow stronger toward noon, but knowing his wife, there was a very real possibility that he had already become bored and wandered off somewhere.

His wife was troublesome.

One moment he would be shamelessly demanding to be fed because his hands were supposedly tired, and the next he would smile so brightly over something as simple as fruit that Ryan found himself wanting to bring him more.

And Ryan liked that about him.

Then there were the quieter moments.

Ryan had seen Eric asleep many times since the poisoning. Without the endless teasing and complaints, his wife looked strangely harmless. He would curl slightly beneath the blankets, his face relaxed against the pillow and his breathing so soft that Ryan had occasionally found himself standing beside the bed simply watching him.

At the time, he had convinced himself that he was only checking whether Eric was recovering properly.

That excuse seemed rather foolish now.

After Eric had nearly died, Ryan had become painfully aware of every little sign that he was alive. The rise and fall of his chest, the warmth slowly returning to his skin, the annoyed expression he made whenever the medicine was brought in. Even Eric complaining that the medicine tasted horrible had brought Ryan relief because at least he had been awake enough to complain.

But his feelings had not disappeared once Eric recovered.

If anything, they had become worse.

Ryan wanted to see him when he returned home. He noticed when Eric wasn’t in the room. He remembered which foods made his eyes brighten and which ones he pushed away after only one bite. He had begun bringing him things without even thinking about why he was doing it.

And earlier, when Eric had looked across the field and smiled at him, Ryan had felt strangely pleased.

There had been dozens of people beneath the canopy, yet Ryan’s eyes had found Eric almost immediately. His wife had been sitting there with that ridiculous peacock-feather fan in his hand and a bowl of grapes beside him, looking entirely too comfortable while everyone else prepared for the hunt.

Ryan had smiled back without thinking.

The memory made something finally settle into place.

He liked his wife.

Not merely because Eric was his responsibility. Not because the Emperor had placed them in a marriage and Ryan had gradually become accustomed to him.

He genuinely liked him.

He liked him when he smiled. He liked him when he made those shameless jokes just to see whether Ryan would react. He liked him when he was angry and muttering insults beneath his breath, apparently believing Ryan couldn’t hear them. He liked seeing him asleep peacefully like a child, and he liked the way the entire residence somehow felt livelier whenever Eric was awake and causing trouble somewhere inside it.

Ryan’s eyes widened slightly.

"Cousin?"

The Crown Prince’s voice pulled him abruptly from his thoughts.

Ryan turned and found the man riding closer beside him. They had apparently been discussing something before Ryan became lost in his own mind, though Ryan could no longer remember what it was.

The Crown Prince gave him a curious look. "Is something wrong?"

"N-Nothing."

The slight stumble immediately annoyed Ryan.

He had faced armies without losing his composure. He had stood surrounded by enemies and calmly issued orders while arrows flew overhead, yet thinking about his own wife had somehow reduced him to this.

He rubbed one hand across his cheek and realized his face felt unusually warm.

So this is love...

The thought came quietly this time.

Ryan had spent most of his adult life on battlefields. His youth had disappeared into training grounds, military camps, border forts and long campaigns that sometimes kept him away from the capital for months at a time.

He had watched soldiers miss their wives and children, had listened to men talk endlessly about returning home, and had seen letters from loved ones passed around camps like precious treasures.

He had never understood that feeling.

There had been women interested in him before.

Noble families had tried more than once to arrange marriages, and there had certainly never been a shortage of opportunities if he had wanted companionship.

He simply hadn’t cared enough to pursue any of them.

Eventually, he had assumed he wasn’t someone who particularly needed romance or affection.

Then the Emperor had married him to an enemy prince.

Ryan almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity.

Out of all the people he could have developed feelings for, it had somehow been Eric.

The same man who had spent half a day trying to climb his wall because he wanted candied fruit.

The same man who had bitten Ryan’s finger while being fed tangerines and then looked delighted when Ryan reacted.

The same man who had nearly driven him mad with worry after being poisoned and then woke up complaining that the medicine tasted worse than the poison.

Ryan’s expression softened as he thought about him.

He had truly fallen in love with his wife.

Strangely, once he admitted it to himself, the realization did not feel frightening. It simply felt new. He had gone so many years without wanting anyone that he had never expected to become attached to someone so quickly, much less someone he had initially regarded as an unwanted political burden.

Yet he could no longer imagine returning to the quiet residence he had lived in before Eric arrived.

Perhaps he had become a tamed man after all.

The thought would have been humiliating if it didn’t make him strangely happy.

The Crown Prince was still watching him.

Ryan noticed and frowned. "What?"

"Nothing."

His cousin’s expression said otherwise.

Ryan looked away.

A moment later, the Crown Prince asked casually, "Were you thinking about your wife?"

Ryan’s fingers tightened around the reins.

"No."

The answer had come far too quickly.

The Crown Prince laughed.

Ryan shot him a warning look, but that only seemed to make the man more amused.

"I didn’t say anything else."

"Then don’t."

The Crown Prince wisely stopped speaking, though the smile remained on his face.

Ryan urged his horse forward, allowing the cool forest air to hit his heated cheeks. His embarrassment slowly faded, but his thoughts remained on Eric.

Now that he understood what he felt, another thought began bothering him.

He wanted to do something for his wife.

Eric was ridiculously easy to please when food was involved, but Ryan had already brought him enough fruit and sweets that presenting another bowl of peeled tangerines hardly seemed appropriate.

He wanted something different this time.

Something Eric would genuinely enjoy.

Something that would make him smile at Ryan the way he had earlier across the field.