"Don't let me see you when I come this way again," said Marlowe firmly as he walked back toward the black dragon he had ridden before and climbed onto the animal's back.

With one touch of the staff in his right hand, the dragon became obedient. It spread its wings and then shot up into the air. As soon as the black dragon flew away, the blue scaly dragon following it also shot up into the sky.

The sight of the two impressive flying dragons against the backdrop of the purplish orange twilight sky looked so enchanting. For a moment, Emma stared at the sky in awe.

Meanwhile, Therius was reminded of the time back when they were in school. Marlowe was very famous for his crazy pets. He had not changed at all, still preferring animals to humans, Therius thought. He remembered Marlow was a free spirit who did not like to be tied down.

Therius didn't think that years later, Marlowe would be interested in becoming the Beast Teacher at the Academy.

When he turned to the left and realized that Emma looked fascinated by the sight of the dragons flying in the sky, he touched the girl's hair and stroked it lightly.

"Do you like dragons?" asked Therius softly.

Emma turned and smiled. "I love all animals and plants. They are beautiful."

Therius nodded, "I can put some dragons in the palace garden if you wish."

Emma immediately hit the man on the shoulder and shook her head. "You are too much. Dragons should be allowed to live freely in the open. They should not be confined in a palace. I won't like it if you do that."

"Very well," Therius said. "I'll take you to Aguilar Wilderness sometime. There are all kinds of animals that I'm sure you've never seen before."

"Really? Where is that?" asked Emma, ??who was very interested to hear it.

"The Aguilera Wilderness is a vast area. It is purposely left empty to be inhabited by wild animals. It is on the border between Akkadia and Thaesi," Therius explained.

That was where he met Princess Arreya months ago, when he came to pick her up.

"It sounds like a very nice place," said Emma. "Do you go there often?"

Therius shrugged. "In the past, sometimes. As mages, we had to go there often to train because the place is safe for training. There aren't many other humans, and there weren't any settlements either, so we wouldn't disturb people. Xion and I were there often to train our powers. I think, when you go to the Academy, the teachers will also take you there to train your powers."

"Oh, if it's on the border between Akkadia and Thaesi, it means it's very far from here," said Emma. She still remembered the geographic location of each kingdom on this planet.

Therius nodded. "That's true, but of course, if I took you there, it wouldn't feel very far."

Emma smiled at Therius's words. Ah, it's true, her husband had access to high-speed ships. They could go anywhere quickly.

"All right, we'll go there someday," said Emma excitedly. She sat back down on the grass and took Therius' hand to sit with her.

They resumed watching the sunset. It was so peaceful and beautiful. At that time, Therius felt that his soul was at peace. He felt really happy, and for the first time in his life, he didn't want anything.

Just sitting together with Emma in a place like this, watching the beauty of nature, was enough for him.

They watched the sun set between the two snow-capped mountains with awe and peaceful hearts.

After one of the Akkadian moons appeared in the sky and it started getting dark, they packed up their picnic equipment and prepared to head home. To save time, like earlier when they left, Therius and Emma decided to fly to Stop No. 51.

When they landed there, as before, there was no one. There, they waited for the tram to bring them back to the Merridell's entrance.

***

"I'm so happy today," whispered Emma as they went to bed that night. She felt tired from all the sightseeing and also making love by the lake.

Therius, seeing that his wife was tired, made no attempt to seduce her to have sex again, even though it was their last night together before Emma entered the Academy.

He just hugged her and kissed her forehead before telling Emma to close her eyes. That night, they slept in each other's embrace.

Emma's mind was very calm and happy. She couldn't wait to go to the Academy and explore all the places her mother had told her about when she was a child. She remembered that it was there that Kaoshin and Arreya met for the first time, and then fell in love.

Emma was eager to see the tall tower her mother had told her about. That's where Kaoshin confessed his love for Arreya. Ahh ... it must be so romantic. It felt like, with Emma tracing her parents' lives at the Academy, she would be able to feel their presence.

That night, for the first time, Emma slept with a sweet dream.

While Emma was sleeping comfortably, on the other hand, Therius couldn't close his eyes until past midnight. Usually, he couldn't sleep very long. As he said, Therius was only used to sleeping a maximum of five hours.

However, that night, he found it extremely difficult to close his eyes, more than usual. Finally, he just sat on the edge of his bed and contemplated, staring at his wife's face and enjoyed her beauty.

Therius trusted his wife's loyalty. That's why he let Emma go to school for three years and meet other people. He wanted Emma to have friends and not be lonely.

However, in his heart, he also realized that Emma Stardust was a really stunning girl. She certainly attracted the attention of many of the men she met out there. Therius knew he couldn't get rid of them all.

This afternoon, he was able to show his ownership of Emma in front of Marlowe. However, he wouldn't be able to do that for all the other men or boys Emma met at the Academy, or in the outside world.

Because of that, he could only rely on his trust in that girl and also the supervision of the few trusted people he had placed in the Academy. He only hoped that the next three years would strengthen his relationship with his wife.

It will be a test of love for himself and for Emma. After they went through that, he was sure their relationship would get better.

Later, when Emma returned, they would be able to start a family.

Ahh .. he couldn't wait to have children with his wife.

***

The next morning, they wake up feeling refreshed. Emma wore simple clothes that had been prepared by her servants from the palace. Since she took the identity of a commoner, of course, she could not bring and wear her expensive clothes from the palace.

That's why, to complete her disguise, her personal servants had prepared several sets of clothes that were usually worn by commoners. This time, Emma was wearing a yellow outfit that accentuated the light blue color of her eyes.

Even though her clothes looked simple, Emma still looked wonderful. Therius also wore ordinary clothes. He chose all-black attire that made his appearance look aloof and mysterious. His cold demeanor seemed a perfect match for his appearance that day.

After breakfast, the two of them then left with a bag containing Emma's belongings, heading towards the Mage Academy.

They took the travs provided by the hotel to the station. From there, they boarded the train for 10 minutes then alighted at a small station that read Akkadian Mage Academy. From there, they took a special train to the Academy, which was gray in color.

The journey from the small station to the Academy took about 20 minutes. Looking through the train window, Emma realized that this train circled the Merridell Botanical Gardens.

She could see Merridell's forest on the right as their train rode toward the Academy, and on the left, she saw farm fields.

This area was truly beautiful. She clicked her tongue so many times in awe.

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From the author:

Therius and Emma's marriage life seems like bliss. I really dread the day Emma found out that her husband had been lying to her.