They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I remember the day I departed.
[I will do what I do best.]
Though years have passed, that moment of parting remains vivid in my mind.
[So you stay here and do what only you can do, Mikhail.]
When I spoke those words, your face looked as though it might crumble.
[I’ll return soon, so prepare a grand victory celebration for me.]
Seeing you vulnerable for the first time—you who had always been so steadfast—I had no choice but to turn away hastily.
Had I not, my resolve would have wavered.
In the early days of our nation’s founding, when we were barely establishing our footing.
I could not help but feel uneasy about leaving your side.
I always wanted to be your strength.
A reliable friend who would share both joy and sorrow with you, always.
Yet before us yawned a gaping chasm of darkness—Hell itself—and someone was needed to seal shut the entrance to that black abyss.
[…I will wait for you, Iserna.]
Your final voice in my memory carried both melancholy and desperate longing.
Trusting that I would return, you must still be waiting for me even now.
That certainty alone sustained me.
It guided our steps to this very moment.
“At last.”
The victors looked utterly exhausted.
It was inevitable—we had endured for so long without a single resupply until we severed the final demon’s lifeline.
Yet everyone’s faces overflowed with jubilation and joy.
As if forgetting all the grueling fatigue in an instant, they shone more brilliantly than ever before.
“We return home.”
Some to their parents’ embrace,
Some to their beloved’s arms,
Some to houses where children they have yet to meet await them.
“You have all worked tirelessly.”
I cleared my throat once and spoke to everyone.
“Take sufficient time to reunite with loved ones. Let us meet again before the Imperial Palace in one month.”
Nearly everyone except me had families waiting.
It was only right that they meet them first and share in their joy.
“I will go ahead to prepare the victory ceremony.”
“Yes, Commander!”
Everyone looked at me and answered with vigor.
…I cannot remember when these soldiers last showed such unity.
True to their eccentric nature, they had caused all manner of outlandish incidents.
Mikhail, now I will return to you.
It took far too long to keep that promise.
“Expedition, dismissed!”
“Ha ha…!”
“I can go home… I can finally go home!”
Those overcome with joy wept and laughed in equal measure.
Tears threatened to spill from my own eyes, so I turned away.
We cleansed ourselves using magic’s power and changed into fresh clothes we’d saved for this very day.
Presentable once more, just as we’d been when we departed, we caught each other’s eyes and snickered.
“Commander, when you get back, you absolutely must fall in love!”
“We’ll be cheering you on…!”
These fools?
The moment I clenched my fist, they shrieked and scattered. Their instincts were sharp, at least.
‘Fine, whatever. I should experience everything I’ve never tried.’
Romance and marriage would be among those things.
Though retirement came first, naturally.
I withdrew the return scroll from my spatial pouch.
The journey here had been long, but the return would take but a moment.
Since the coordinates were fixed on Mikhail, tearing this scroll would transport me directly to his side.
[Come to me first. I won’t compromise on this.]
[…If an awkward situation arises, I know nothing about it?]
I’d given fair warning, so it should be fine.
I just hoped I wouldn’t materialize in a bathhouse or somewhere equally mortifying.
“Let’s go.”
I drew a deep breath and tore the scroll.
The mana contained within erupted in a violent torrent of light.
My body lifted skyward as my vision flooded with brilliant white.
All that remained was the thunderous pounding of my heart.
Jedo.
The Imperial Palace.
Mikhail.
The moment I recalled the coordinates I needed to reach,
“…What?”
A strange discord swept through me.
As if the place I’d departed from no longer existed in this world.
When I sensed something profoundly wrong—as though the coordinates themselves had shifted—the force pulling me suddenly vanished.
Followed immediately by a brief fall.
Thud!
Collision came before I could regain my balance.
“Ugh…!”
The low groan and the sensation of impact told me everything.
I had fallen not onto the ground, but onto someone’s body.
I wanted to push myself up immediately, but the aftereffects of spatial displacement were far worse than I’d anticipated.
My body had settled into place, but my senses were returning far too slowly—I couldn’t move even a fingertip.
Just as I managed to shift my eyes to confirm who lay beneath me, my vision suddenly spun.
In the blink of an eye, our positions reversed, and I found myself pinned beneath his body instead.
“How many times must I say it? I don’t need a chambermaid. You’d better leave at once—”
The moment our eyes met, he abruptly fell silent.
“….”
His widened eyes seemed caught between surprise and bewilderment.
I too remained speechless, simply staring up at him.
‘Who is this man?’
For one thing, he was not Mikhail.
Manarang matched what I remembered, but everything else was different.
He was a man with sharp, perfectly sculpted features—devastatingly handsome in a way that was almost frightening.
His raven-black hair seemed to absorb all light, and his golden eyes gleamed with an icy brilliance that radiated both nobility and fierce strength.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?”
And his voice—what a voice it was.
Deep and resonant enough to make one’s heart tremble, the kind of sound that, once heard, could never be forgotten.
‘Did I lose consciousness?’
Had I somehow blacked out and fallen into a dream without realizing it?
I wonder how he interpreted my vacant, upturned gaze.
“Just because you find someone appealing doesn’t mean you can recklessly throw yourself into a man’s bed. Especially not a woman as beautiful as you—you should be far more careful.”
The fierce edge of his gaze softened slightly.
“Normally I’d have thrown you out immediately, but… the circumstances are rather fortuitous.”
He muttered under his breath, “Perhaps I can avoid becoming the imperial princess’s plaything after all.”
“Here’s what we’ll do. If you promise to become mine, I’ll give you whatever you desire.”
Huh?
‘What did he just say? Whatever I desire?’
Only belatedly, after being momentarily entranced by his appearance and voice, did I grasp the meaning of his words.
“Even in my current circumstances, I’m not so irresponsible as to ignore someone I’ve spent the night with.”
Wait, what? Spent the night?
Did this man think I’d snuck in here to assault him?
‘…Well, I did end up straddling his abdomen rather suddenly.’
The situation had certainly gone very wrong.
‘It’s strange that he’s being so lenient about this.’
If it were me, I’d have thrown an assailant out the window without hesitation.
So he shares not only Mikhail and Manarang’s features but also their foolishly kind nature.
“Looking at me like that… I can take it as your consent, yes?”
‘No, wait! That’s not—!’
I strained my abdomen, desperately trying to force out some sound.
But my lips merely trembled soundlessly.
I hadn’t expected the aftereffects of the return spell to linger this long.
No one had ever told me something like this before.
Or perhaps… was there something wrong with the magic scroll?
“…Are you asking me to match your lips? I can’t tell if you’re shy or bold.”
The misunderstanding was…
The misunderstanding was growing deeper and deeper…!
“I find you oddly appealing as well, so I suppose I should be grateful.”
My face and neck seemed to have flushed red—apparently my appearance was to his taste.
Well, I did find this man’s looks quite charming too, but not like this….
“Since this is my first time, I might be clumsy. If you dislike it or it hurts, tap my shoulder. Then I’ll stop.”
He whispered softly as he carefully brushed my hair aside.
Soon his breath grazed the tip of my chin.
‘Wait, hold on!’
It took only a moment to realize that I was too close to escape.
‘What? Really? For real?’
Like a dream, a soft sensation touched my lips.
“…!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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