Chapter 59 - Frosted Lilies and Jewels

Raymond and Lilith walked to the garden and when they got there, Lilith was too preoccupied studying the beauty of the flowers to even focus on Raymond.

Her nose was red and so were the tips of her ears. She had her hands tucked securely in her coat and she bundled it to herself as much as possible. It was not that cold but Lilith was still sensitive to it. Sometimes she found the cold refreshing, as did everyone, but then when she stayed in it for too long, she started to be affected by it.

But now the cold was not her most pressing concern, now that there were hundreds of flowers in front of her, all of them covered in snow. From what she could see, there were mostly lilies and even some roses.

“It’s amazing how these little flowers have more resistance to the cold than me. It must be miserable for these little guys to be here right now.” Lilith brushed some snow off the petals of a random flower.

“They were made to survive the winter so I don’t think they are suffering,” Raymond said.

“We were made to survive winter as well and yet…” Lilith gave him a look.

Raymond gave her an amused look and then walked closer to her, pulling her into him and rubbing his hands up and down her sides. “We can go back inside if you are that miserable.”

Lilith shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine.”

Lilith wrapped her arms around his torso and turned her head against his chest so that she could still look around them. Although it was winter, it did not mean that work around the castle would stop. She could see the servants outside of the garden doing work. Carrying things, walking here and there. They all were dressed in their usual clothes and Lilith raised her eyebrow at that.

“Raymond don’t you think that better clothes should be provided to the servants if they are working in winter. Outside and inside, since it’s cold everywhere. But especially outside, people’s fingers can freeze and some can even get hyperthermia.” Lilith said.

Back at his manor, the servants there were more than comfortable working in the winter. There would be multiple fires going in the house and they had clothes to keep them comfortable. But that was not something he thought about since he got to the castle. Although he cared way less for the servants in the castle than the ones in the manor, they were still the people who helped maintain the castle on a daily basis. It would be wise to take proper care of them.

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea. I’ll deal with that once we get back inside.”

They had stayed outside for long enough, Raymond had to ask her now, she would soon get too cold and miserable and then want to go back inside. Although it was Raymond’s plan to propose in such a romantic and visually appealing place. He didn’t account for the fact that Lilith would get cold quickly.

“Lilith…”

“Hmm.” she placed her chin on his chest and looked up at him.

“I need to ask you something.” Raymond stepped away from her and kept his hands on her arms, slowly rubbing up and down.

At that statement, her heart jumped into her throat. Was this about her being from the future? Did he still not believe her, what else did she have to do to prove herself. The dress should have been enough proof right?

“Ok,” her voice was weak.

“I know that we have not known each other the longest and although there have been some rocky times between us. I can say with confidence that I care about you. I trust you Lilith. And I want you to be in my life. More than a servant. More than a girlfriend. I already asked you this the night you were taken and I know that you said yes but I wanted to ask again. I wanted a new memory in place of that night. So, Lilith, I was wondering if you still want to marry me. If you still want to be my Queen.”

Lilith’s mouth slowly opened as she absorbed what Raymond said. She was relieved that it had nothing to do with what she thought, but she was also surprised that he asked that.

“You’re asking me to marry you…”

Raymond nodded. “Properly this time.” The King fished around in his pocket for the ring he had just for this moment. Backing up from Lilith a bit, he got down on one knee and opened the ring box.

“Will you marry me Lilith?”

Out of all the times when Raymond asked her, this one was by far her favourite. She had meant what she said that night he asked her. Lilith wanted to marry him. There were moments of doubt after he found out the truth and honestly Lilith had thoughts of him not wanting to marry her. But she never changed her stance on it.

Smiling, she tilted her head a bit. “Of course I want to marry you Raymond. That never changed.”

The King let out a breath of relief, his chest getting its well-deserved release from tension, and then smiled at her. Raymond was smiling a lot more these days because of Lilith. She really made him feel something that he never felt in his life. And he never ever wanted it to go away.

“Really?”

Lilith placed her hands on Raymond’s face and leaned down to kiss him. “One hundred percent. I want to be with you Raymond.”

After that confession Lilith could see that the King’s face was pink. And she knew it was not from the cold. Raymond was probably not affected by the weather because he was definitely a colder person that winter itself. Which is probably why he gets headaches often when it is hot.

The ring in the box caught Lilith’s attention after she kissed Raymond. The band was silver and there were three jewels on it. Once large one and then two smaller ones on either side. And the jewels had a purple hue that glistened in the light.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I spent months looking for the perfect ring for you. Eventually I gave up looking and had it made from scratch. The jewels are from the outside. I sent some people to get it.”

Lilith’s eyes widened. “Raymond that’s too much. I definitely did not need a ring. I must have cost a fortune.”

“Not really,” he slipped the ring on her finger and Lilith wiggled them at the new found weight. “I’m just glad that it turned out to be perfect.”

The King brought her hand to his lips and kissed it before he got off the ground. “Carrying around something like this on my finger is going to make me anxious. It fits perfectly, but what if it slips off, or someone tries to steal it. Or what if I put it somewhere and then forget.”

“Lilith,” he kissed her hand again. “Don’t worry about this too much. I will make you a hundred rings if that will make you feel better.”

“If you make me all those rings, I’ll sell them for money.” Lilith said immediately.

Raymond raised his eyebrow at her. Lilith chuckled at his expression and leaned up to kiss him. “That money could go towards something more useful. Like funding the technological advancement of Creona. I think it’s time cars exist.”

“Cars?”

Lilith smiled. “Another thing that I can’t really explain to you. The conversation would then lead to batteries and electricity and that is not something I can even begin with. I sucked at physics. Now, let’s get inside and celebrate this proposal with warmth and desert.”

“You said you didn’t want to eat anything.”

“Well now I changed my mind. And we need to celebrate somehow, don’t we?”

Raymond placed his hands on her lower back. “I have an idea on how we could celebrate.” The way he was looking at her told Lilith everything he was thinking. Her thoughts went back to the night they almost did it and the thing he said to her. At that sudden memory, her face grew hot.

Coughing, Lilith turned her face away to cool her face down. “It’s the middle of the day, Your Majesty, let’s not go there. You still have work to do.”