Night.
Unlike the surface, the Underground Kingdom had no clear distinction between day and night.
The giant diamond continued to shine brilliantly, illuminating everything brightly.
Right now, Elias was still in Cogita's courtyard.
He'd originally stayed at Diancie's place, but after several rounds of arguing between Cogita and Diancie, both had finally compromised.
Diancie had moved into Cogita's residence with Elias—just as they'd done on the surface.
At the moment, Diancie and Delphox had already gone upstairs to sleep.
Since he'd be leaving the underground tomorrow, Elias had decided against turning in early tonight.
Not far away—
The sliding door to the courtyard gently opened. Seeing Elias's figure, Cogita unconsciously pressed her lips together.
Today, unusually, she'd found herself counting the years.
From the day she'd found Elias, a century had quietly slipped by without notice.
Other than Enamorus, this was the first time another living being had stayed by her side for so long.
But unlike Enamorus, Elias had silently woven himself into every part of her life.
Back in the Hisui Region, Cogita had gritted her teeth and forced herself to leave Elias behind.
But now, she knew clearly she could never do that again.
Nearby, Elias was busy handling something in his hands.
A familiar, fresh fragrance drifted to him suddenly.
It was faintly like tea leaves mixed with something else—fragrant but not overwhelming.
"Not resting yet?"
Cogita's clear voice followed.
Elias turned slightly.
Cogita had let down her silver hair and was wearing a soft, thin white nightgown.
Unlike her usual formal attire, her leisure wear was always silver or white.
While Elias momentarily paused, Cogita naturally sat down beside him as if nothing were unusual.
Seeing his expression, she curved her lips with satisfaction.
Exactly the reaction she'd wanted…
Even though she'd once lied to Elias, claiming they were husband and wife, he'd never once crossed the line in daily life.
Usually, his arms were occupied by Diancie or that stinky fox.
It had repeatedly crushed Cogita's confidence—she'd even begun doubting if her charm was really inferior to a few Pokémon.
But at least Elias's reaction tonight helped restore her pride a little.
Snapping back to reality, Elias turned his head away awkwardly.
If he didn't restrain himself now, he probably wouldn't leave tomorrow.
"I'll rest after I finish this," he explained, gesturing to what he held.
Cogita glanced where he indicated.
A tea set, alongside several oil paintings.
She remembered that tea set clearly—it was the one Elias had personally crafted for her.
The portraits on the paintings were also of her.
Usually, she carefully preserved these items.
But after so many years, cracks had inevitably appeared in the tea set.
Even the oldest paintings had minor flaws by now.
Currently, Elias was carefully retouching those imperfections with a brush.
"It's been a while. Might as well fix them up," Elias explained softly when Cogita didn't reply.
Cogita clenched her hand into a fist.
She wanted to snatch them away and tell him to wait until after he returned safely.
But…
She had never liked leaving regrets. Even though she'd guessed Elias intended to provoke an extremely dangerous Pokémon using that poacher gear…
She still believed he would return unharmed.
"When I was disciplining you back then, I should've been stricter," she remarked coldly, leaning back.
"Aren't we husband and wife?" Elias paused, then asked teasingly with a smile.
He'd long since suspected she'd lied.
After all, what wife would get flustered and blush simply because her husband took her hand?
Seeing Elias daring to change the subject, Cogita ground her teeth again.
"Fruit is raised to be eaten once it's ripe."
She snorted, surprising even herself by voicing such a line.
Just as Elias was about to respond, a sudden dull thumping sounded from upstairs.
They turned their heads—Diancie and Delphox were stumbling downstairs.
"I knew Elias hadn't gone to sleep yet—so it really was you causing trouble!"
As Diancie drew near, she glared unhappily at Cogita, cheeks puffed in displeasure.
Tomorrow Elias would be returning to the surface temporarily.
Even if only for a few days, Diancie couldn't bear the thought.
So after some plotting, she and Delphox had decided to surprise him.
They hadn't expected Elias to stay downstairs for so long.
When they peeked out, sure enough, there was Cogita.
"Only Pokémon still in their juvenile stage require their Trainer's coaxing to sleep," Cogita retorted mercilessly.
She wanted Diancie to remember what she truly was—a Pokémon.
Usually, this worked perfectly, but tonight, it fell flat.
Diancie smugly huffed twice, unaffected.
Then she deliberately stepped away from Elias, leaned toward Cogita's crystalline ear, and whispered:
"When I become queen, I'll officially name Elias my king consort!"
She'd clearly been planning this for a long time.
A Pokémon daring to utter something so bold—Cogita wasn't at all surprised.
Nevertheless, her expression darkened.
Elias's side… always seemed to attract Pokémon with warped personalities like this.
Other than Elias, she'd never encountered another Pokémon wanting to marry their Trainer.
If Cogita wished, she could easily crush Diancie's enthusiasm right now.
Diancie's mood had been poor lately.
After all, the giant diamond issue was still a heavy burden in her heart.
Not to mention… soon, her elder was preparing to face considerable danger.
Thinking of this, Cogita gave a soft sigh and didn't respond.
Beside her—
Seeing Cogita restrain herself, Elias relaxed.
Allowing Diancie to vent a bit wasn't a bad thing.
While Diancie and Cogita exchanged barbs, Delphox's fluffy tail curled up in its usual manner.
But instead of the gentle brushing he was accustomed to, tonight, that tail moved like an aggressive Serperior.
Without any warning, it wrapped tightly around Elias's arm.
Its grip was so strong it felt as if the tail intended to bind itself to his body permanently.
It was the first time Elias realized the fluffy tail could exert such force.
In Ghost Form, he felt no pain.
Still, he glanced at Delphox in confusion.
Delphox usually wasn't like this. Even after days apart, it would simply nestle against him affectionately.
Not act like this…
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