CHAPTER 229: ONE THOUSAND STEPS OF SUFFERING (I)

Almost instantly, the light returned to Edmund’s face. His eyes lit up again, and a soft smile curved on his lips.

"Do you want to try climbing the stairs with me, wife?" he asked, glancing down at her feet, then quickly shook his head. "But ... maybe it’ll be too much for you. I don’t want you to hurt your feet even more."

Oh no. How could she possibly say no to this adorable puppy?

"I’m not that old, husband," Primrose said with a light laugh. My knees won’t give out just from walking up some stairs."

Though, honestly, deep down, she was pretty sure her knees would absolutely give out after climbing that many stairs.

"Are you really sure?" Edmund still looked a little unsure, but he was clearly excited, like a boy about to share something special. "We’ll have to go barefoot ... so your feet might get scratched."

Primrose only smiled and nodded. "I’ll be fine," she said calmly. Then, almost like a whisper, she added under her breath, "... Maybe."

Edmund tucked their belongings safely under a tree near the steps, then knelt down to help his wife take off her shoes. He stared at her feet for a long moment before asking with a straight face, "Are you sure you don’t want me to kiss your feet to make them feel better?"

Primrose immediately took a few steps back, shaking her head firmly. "No, I’m sure!"

Edmund didn’t push further. He simply reached for her hand and held it gently. "But, wife ... if you feel too tired or can’t make it all the way to the top, we can stop and head back anytime," he said softly. "I don’t want to wear you out."

His words were kind and considerate, but Primrose could hear the thoughts he didn’t say out loud.

Deep down, he really wanted to reach the top. In fact, she could sense that if they failed halfway ... he might even start believing their marriage was doomed to fail too.

Oh, now Primrose realized Edmund wasn’t acting like a teenage girl in love.

He was worse than a lovesick teenage girl!

Alright then. If her husband believed in this superstition this much, there was no way she could treat it like a joke.

She had never done anything truly difficult for him before, so maybe climbing these thousand steps was the least she could do.

"I’ll keep that in mind," Primrose said, giving his hand a squeeze and smiling at him. "But I actually want to make it to the top. So I’ll try my hardest."

[I didn’t expect my wife to believe in this legend,] Edmund thought. [I thought she would dismiss it as something silly.]

She did think the legend was silly. However, as long as her husband wanted it, she would do her best to make it happen.

[Still, I’m glad she believes in it. Maybe ... maybe it’s a sign from the Moon Goddess that my wife will stay with me longer.]

Oh.

The corners of Primrose’s lips dropped slightly as she realized the reason Edmund believed in that legend.

It wasn’t that he believed it blindly, but he hoped it was true. He was desperate for something or anything that could help her live longer.

Human lifespans varied, but Primrose was certain she wouldn’t live beyond seventy. It sounded like a long time, but if Edmund’s lifespan was over three hundred or maybe even five hundred, then seventy years would pass like the blink of an eye.

He would end up alone, and even though he had never talked about it openly, that fear still lingered in his heart.

He didn’t want to climb the thousand steps of the Moon Goddess Temple because he wanted to. He climbed them because he needed to.

He needed hope for something to hold on to, something that would let him believe he could be with his wife for a very long time.

However ... it was impossible after all. There was no way Primrose could share the same lifespan as him.

But still, there was nothing wrong with hoping for something, even if it sounded impossible.

"Are the stairs hurting your feet?" Edmund asked worriedly. They had only climbed about twenty steps, yet he already seemed more anxious than Primrose.

"Edmund," she said, a little breathless but still managing a smile. "I’m fine. Really, I am."

She paused for a second, turning to look at him. "I’m not that old, you know. You don’t have to worry like I’m going to collapse at any moment."

[But what if her life gets shorter because she moves too much or pushes herself too hard?]

Honestly, from what Primrose had heard, doctors actually said the opposite. People who never moved their bodies were the ones whose lives got shorter.

"I’m just worried about you," Edmund murmured. "The legend says we have to climb the stairs together, so ... I can’t carry you, even if I want to."

Primrose sighed deeply. "I’m really fine. Don’t worry too much."

If she was being honest ... these stairs were killing her.

Unlike the smooth, even steps in the palace, the ones here were steeper, uneven, and wildly inconsistent in height, like each one had been built by a different person with no sense of logic.

If she wasn’t careful, she could trip at any moment. Some of the steps were so ridiculously tall, her knees nearly touched her chest when she tried to climb them.

Who in their right mind designed these damn stairs?!

If Primrose ever found out who it was, she swore she’d smack them so hard they’d forget their own mother’s name!

"Wait ... wait." She reached out and grabbed Edmund’s arm, asking him to stop. She bent over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Her chest felt tight, and her legs were starting to feel like jelly.

"How many more steps do we have to climb?" she asked between breaths.

Edmund looked up at the long path ahead, then gave her a rough guess. "About ... six hundred more."