My First Companion

"H-husband... dear..."

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lethal title.

Before I knew it, my cheeks were soaring toward the heavens as a stupid grin stretched across my face.

"Hehehe, that's right. I'm that very husband..."

I was about to eagerly play along with a dazed expression when—

'...Wait a second. Something feels off.'

The moment I snapped back to my senses, a chilling sense of unease swept through my mind.

I hurriedly pulled up the original setting for Bloody Empress Erzsébet Erna in my head.

'I skipped most of the story so I'm not entirely sure, but...'

A tyrant with zero mercy, a ruler without blood or tears.

The very embodiment of arrogance who would lop off your head the instant you so much as annoyed her.

'Wasn't she supposed to be some cold-blooded killing machine?'

But the figure currently filling my vision was...

A face flushed so red it looked like it might burst from her neck up.

A woman sitting with her head bowed low, hands neatly clasped together on her lap.

The infamous Bloody Empress, sitting there as prim and proper as a bride on her wedding night, breathing hot, shaky little gasps.

"This... I mean, I... it's my first time. I never thought I'd ever have a companion for life..."

Her voice trembled with overwhelming emotion.

Awkward honorifics she'd probably never used in her entire life kept tumbling clumsily from between her quivering red lips.

"I've always been alone... No one ever wanted to stay by my side, yet you reached out first and asked to be together forever... Hic."

Unable to contain her feelings any longer, she cupped her own cheeks with both hands.

That sight—her face burning crimson, stealing shy glances at me while babbling nonsense.

'Ugh, she's so damn cute...'

I barely managed to choke back the goofy laugh threatening to spill out.

Pinch—!

"Ow!"

I pinched my thigh hard, forcing my rebellious mouth back into line.

'Hoo... Kang Hyun-woo, get a grip. Let's figure out what's actually going on first.'

I pulled myself together and cautiously called her name.

"Um, Erzsébet."

"Yes, husband!"

Her answer was so blindly devoted it was like little hearts were literally floating in her eyes.

The sheer destructive power of it made me choke on my own spit.

"Cough, cough!"

As I hurriedly patted my chest—

Damn it.

My mouth betrayed my brain again and started running wild.

"I actually prefer it when you talk to me like you used to. That confident side of you is way more attractive."

'No, what the hell is wrong with this stupid mouth?!'

Inside I wanted to bite my own tongue off, but the voice that came out was sickeningly sweet and tender.

At those cringeworthy words, her eyes sparkled even brighter.

She tried to suppress the uncontrollable twitch at the corners of her mouth and let out a deliberate cough.

Ahem!

"I-I see. If that's what you want, then this one shall..."

She tried to sound dignified, but her voice was clearly bursting with excitement.

She fidgeted with her flushed cheeks and averted her gaze.

"S-so why did you call me? H-husband..."

Her lips squirmed, too embarrassed to finish the sentence.

I quickly waved my hands and cut in.

"Ah, just call me Hyun-woo."

Her eyes widened into perfect circles.

She tilted her head, thinking hard for a moment, then asked again with absolute certainty.

"Husband Hyun-woo?"

'Whoa, was she always this insanely gap-moe?! She's cute enough to kill me!'

I screamed silently in delight inside my head.

'Hell yeah. Starting today, my title is Husband, and my official name is Erzsébet-exclusive Hyun-woo.'

Completely ridiculous thoughts flooded my brain in an instant.

But I forced my twitching lips under control and calmly corrected her.

"My name is Kang Hyun-woo. You can just call me Hyun-woo comfortably."

The empress gave a small nod.

She scratched her reddened cheek shyly and spoke again.

"R-right. Hyun-woo... Why did you call this one?"

I had wanted to ask what she usually did to pass the time.

But once again, my body completely ignored my brain's commands.

"Because you're my lovely wife now. I'm curious about everything—especially what you usually do every day."

With that smooth line, my arm naturally draped itself over her slender shoulders.

'...Yeah, fuck it. Do whatever you want.'

I'd already given up trying to control my body. My mind had half-ascended, too exhausted to even resist anymore.

The empress, now snug in my embrace, squirmed a little before speaking in a tiny, muffled voice with flushed cheeks.

"U-usually... I drink tea or read books."

"What about other than that?"

At my casual follow-up, her face suddenly grew serious.

"Drink tea or... read books? Hmm..."

She furrowed her brows slightly, falling into deep, genuine contemplation.

"I... don't really know."

After groaning for a while, she finally looked away and muttered awkwardly.

She seemed self-conscious about her rather pathetic list of hobbies. Erna kept stealing glances at me, fidgeting restlessly in my arms.

"Ahaha..."

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly and forced a laugh.

'Now that I think about it, according to the setting, Erna is supposed to be one of the older characters in this world.'

Wanting to clear the slightly awkward air, I casually asked the next question.

"Then how old are you, Erna?"

Her brows instantly furrowed deeply.

The hearts that had been floating in her eyes vanished without a trace. She glared at me with clear irritation.

"...This one is twelve hundred years old."

The shocking number came out in an extremely quiet, almost whispered voice.

'Twelve hundred? Is she immortal or some kind of long-lived race? So that was part of the setting. Still, she's way older than I expected.'

I was about to nod in genuine fascination when—

A sudden flash of our earlier conversation struck me like lightning.

[I've always been alone. No one ever wanted to stay by my side...]

[It's my first time. I never thought I'd have a companion for life.]

'Hold on.'

She'd lived for twelve hundred years and I was her first companion?

That meant she'd been single for a full 1,200 years?!

'...Wait, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what? Then maybe...'

Her earlier words about no one ever coming near her echoed in my head again.

Did that mean she hadn't just failed at romance—she'd been completely isolated from people altogether?

"Um..."

My voice grew solemn without meaning to as I asked carefully.

"During all that long time... did you not have even one friend?"

"...That's correct."

Her small nod carried a faint trace of melancholy.

The profound loneliness of enduring twelve hundred years completely alone.

I dropped the playful act and looked at her with serious eyes.

After a brief moment of thought, I glanced around the room to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere and asked.

"So is this place your home, Erzsébet?"

She gave a light nod at my question.

"It is... This is the castle our family was granted for my achievements..."

She was about to launch into a solemn tale of past glory when—

Suddenly, she stopped mid-sentence and jerked her head up.

The loneliness from moments ago was gone. Her face lit up with excitement as she leaned in close and asked.

"Shall this one give you a personal tour?!"

Her sudden burst of enthusiasm caught me off guard, but I quickly pulled up the corners of my mouth into a warm smile.

"Of course I'd love that. Will you show me around yourself, Erna?"

The empress, thoroughly encouraged by my smile.

"This one's... this one's dwelling... to my h-husband..."

She mumbled to herself, lips moving rapidly, then—

Pop—!

She suddenly sprang up from the bed.

The shyness from before was completely forgotten as her voice rang out cheerfully.

"Haha! Then prepare yourself properly!"

She was about to dash out of the room in high spirits when—

"Erzsébet."

I called her name in a low, gentle voice and slowly extended my hand into the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠air.

She stopped in her tracks and turned around. Her gaze landed on my outstretched hand.

Her blue eyes trembled as if she'd received a massive shock.

With her white earlobes now burning bright red, she cautiously approached and tightly grasped my hand.

A small, soft warmth intertwined with my palm.

Creak—.

The moment we stepped out into the hallway after opening the heavy door.

I caught a brief glimpse of the grand, imposing architecture—

"Let's go!"

A cheerful shout suddenly burst out.

At the same time, an absurdly powerful UR-rank physical force yanked me forward through our joined hands.

"W-whoa?!"

Whether I wanted to admire the scenery or not didn't matter to her in the slightest.

The excited empress gripped my hand tightly and charged down the long corridor without hesitation.

I was practically being dragged along, scrambling to keep up. Any chance to look around vanished in an instant.

In the scenery whipping past, the only thing that stayed in my sight was the empress leading the way.

She kept glancing back at me, meeting my eyes.

"Hehe..."

An irrepressibly goofy smile spread across her lips.

* * *

So that's how I ended up being dragged around the castle by the hand, looking at everything.

It was certainly enormous and majestic enough to leave one's mouth hanging open.

But every time we took a step, only cold echoes rang through the empty banquet hall, and the bookshelves reaching all the way to the ceiling were covered in thick layers of pale dust.

The only ones walking across the faded red carpet were the two of us.

The excessively wide corridors felt bone-chillingly cold.

'How long has she been living alone in this huge castle?'

"This is this one's pride and joy!"

The place the empress finally led me to with majestic strides was the very top of the castle, an dizzyingly high vantage point.

An open, unobstructed view.

But below the castle walls stretched only an endless, deep green forest—an overwhelming sea of trees with no end in sight.

Shaaaa—.

The only sound was the cool rustle of leaves brushing against each other. There wasn't even a trace of human warmth. Just a heavy, suffocating silence.

"Ahem...! What do you think? It's quite impressive, isn't it?"

She puffed out her chest and spoke in an exaggeratedly proud voice.

But her eyes, which kept sneaking glances at me, were filled with anxiety.

Her expression was so transparent it was obvious she was nervous I might not like the view.

"...What do you think?"

Her gaze trembled with unease.

"It's... it's nice."

At my lukewarm reply, the empress visibly shrank.

She slowly lowered her head and leaned weakly against the terrace railing.

Standing there against the backdrop of the endless deep-green forest, her narrow shoulders looked impossibly fragile.

'...?'

I stood there dumbfounded by the sudden alert when the text suddenly turned blood-red and began shaking violently.

Beep—! Beep beep—!!

'Wait, is this crazy system suddenly swearing at me?'

The warning window was flashing like it was about to jump out and grab me by the collar.

'Ugh, screw it!'

Throwing caution to the wind, I strode forward and wrapped my arms around Erna's slender waist from behind as she leaned against the railing.

"Kya, kyaa?!"

Her delicate body jumped in surprise.

"H-Hyun-woo?! S-suddenly...!"

Her panicked voice was accompanied by adorable little struggles as she flailed in my arms.

But I said nothing. I simply tightened my arms around her, holding her firmly.

Perhaps she felt my unfamiliar yet burning body heat through our tightly pressed chests.

The small shoulders that had been squirming in my embrace gradually lost their strength and leaned against me.

As if she'd been desperately craving this warmth for a long time, she began gently rubbing her cheek against my arm wrapped around her waist.

Her hot, sweet breaths tickled my ear, as if she were drunk on the pleasant warmth.

Thump. Thump.

Through her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thin back, the frantic pounding of my heart was transmitted completely.

Just as that overwhelming heartbeat seemed about to fill the space between us—

Whoooosh—.

A desolate wind swept across the empty cliffside.

Perhaps the bone-chilling gust woke her from the sweet illusion.

The empress's waist, which had been completely relaxed in my arms, suddenly stiffened.

An empty castle with nothing left inside.

To her, who had been left alone in twelve hundred years of endless silence, my sudden, blind affection that fell from the sky must have felt far too foreign and frightening.

Swish.

Her small hands gently unwound my arms.

She slowly turned around, her eyes meeting mine.

Her cheeks were still flushed red.

But in the blue eyes looking up at me, there was a deep sadness that looked like it could spill over into tears at any moment.

After all, this entire situation had been so sudden and unreal.

It was only natural for her to have this question.

"This one is not a fool."

The question slipped precariously through her trembling lips.

"Who... exactly are you?"