#14. To Her Hometown (8)

“That won’t do, Eli.”

At the weighty sound of his voice, Eleonore’s sky-blue eyes began to tremble. She seemed not to have expected him to refuse; she looked utterly taken aback.

After all, in Seo Juha’s world, there wasn’t a man who could resist when the woman he loved tried to charm him like this.

Seeing Eleonore’s bewildered eyes tremble like a quaking aspen, Dmitri held that lovely name on his lips and spoke in the solemn voice he had used beneath the glittering stars that night—one he had shared with her only a few times.

“Eli.”

“Y-yes, yes. Dmitri.”

At Dmitri’s voice, the tremors in her eyes gradually began to subside.

“Do you remember when I confessed my feelings to you, Eli?‘

Eleonore gave a small nod without answering.

“As I told you that night, the North still lacks a great many things. It isn’t a place fit for someone as precious as you, Eli.”...