The mansion glowed with a soft warmth, golden light spilling across the polished floors. He had just stepped out from his study when her voice called, gentle but clear. “Eryndor?”

He turned, loosening the cufflinks from his sleeves, the smallest hint of weariness in his eyes fading as soon as they met hers. “Yes, love?”

She hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers, then said, “Can we… go out tonight? Just for a little while. The park, maybe even just the streets.”

Eryndor tilted his head, considering. Then he crossed to the wardrobe, pulling open the tall carved doors. Already, his hand reached for a black suit, instinct and habit ruling his movements. “If that’s what you want, I’ll change and have the guards—”

“No,” she interrupted quickly, stepping closer. He glanced back at her in surprise. She bit her lip, then said with a nervous little laugh, “Not like that. I don’t need all of it. No cars, no guards, no suit.” Her eyes darted to the neatly folded tracksuits at the back of the wardrobe. “Just… shorts, or your sweat track, a hoodie maybe. That’s more than enough.”

For a moment, silence filled the room. Eryndor’s brow lifted slightly, then a deep chuckle slipped from him, low and rare. He pulled a dark hoodie from the shelf, the fabric looking almost out of place on his broad frame. “You’d have me step out into the world like this?” he teased, holding it up.

She smiled, eyes bright. “Exactly like that.”

Minutes later, they slipped out of the mansion unnoticed, no convoy trailing behind them. Just the sound of their shoes hitting the pavement as they strolled side by side beneath the city lights.

The street was alive—laughter spilling from open shop doors, vendors calling, music drifting from somewhere far off. To everyone else, they were just another couple wandering late at night. No one cared that he was Eryndor, a man whose influence stretched across continents. No one looked twice. And that was exactly what she wanted.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” she asked suddenly, her tone playful, testing.

Eryndor glanced down at her, lips curving faintly. “You mean when you thought I was a driver?”

Her cheeks flushed as she groaned. “Don’t remind me. I’d never even seen a car that expensive before—I thought you were waiting for your boss.”

He laughed softly, the sound warm in the cool night air. “And you scolded me. Said I was parked in the wrong spot.”

She covered her face with her hands, peeking through her fingers at his grin. “Stop! I still can’t believe I did that.”

Eryndor shook his head, sliding one hand into his pocket, the other brushing hers as they walked. “I liked it. No one ever spoke to me like that. You didn’t know who I was. You weren’t afraid.”

Her laughter faded into a smile, softer this time. “I was just… me.”

“That’s all I ever wanted,” he murmured.

They fell into an easy rhythm after that—talking about small things, laughing at jokes only they understood, her teasing his serious expressions until he gave in and smiled. For her, it was perfect: no grand gestures, no glittering chandeliers or heavy crowns of wealth. Just the two of them, ordinary beneath the city’s glow, as if the empire he carried on his shoulders didn’t exist for a little while.

And in those moments, she felt rich in the only way that mattered.