Episode 24
“I came here for the first time today.”
“Lies.”
Yurian pushed Yvonne’s shoulder, causing her to fall onto the bed. Her silvery-white hair scattered as she tumbled along with the bed, and Yurian thought the chandelier light reflected in her hair was quite lovely.
“I gain nothing from lying.”
As Yvonne spoke as if she were completely unaware of him, Yurian felt somewhat annoyed. Without her, he couldn’t even sleep properly due to magical pain.
She hated being touched and would avert her gaze if looked at.
“His Majesty came to check on me with Yvonne earlier.”
“Is that so?”
“Yvonne. What did His Majesty say when he saw this?”
Yurian traced his fingertip on her neck, leaving his mark. Yvonne, as if ticklish, tried to push his shoulder away. But he didn’t budge. He grabbed her arm like a lattice and coolly looked down at her.
“He didn’t say anything. He wants me to bow to you.”
“Oh, is that so? Understood.”
Yvonne seemed to be contemplating how to escape from this situation. Perhaps staying by the sleeping him and treating him was out of guilt. She seemed to think Yurian’s attempt to escape was twisted because of her.
“I don’t think my biting is going to work, Yvonne, if you ask me.”
“Why?”
“Yvonne needs to be awakened so we can get out of here, right?”
“That’s right.”
Yvonne played along to avoid provoking him.
It wasn’t easy for Yurian to be as usual. It bothered him that she looked at him so coldly earlier, and the fact that he said those things where she could hear them unknowingly. He felt somewhat relieved that she might not remember what happened earlier, but he didn’t feel good about the thought of her looking at him with the same eyes as before.
“You don’t look well.”
Yvonne let out a heavy sigh as she gently stroked Yurian’s cheek. Yurian felt the lingering discomfort from the side effects, which had been bothering him due to the magic transmitted through her hand, disappear completely.
“Bite me to make you feel better too, Yvonne.”
T/N: Ahem! From Tl Bree: It’s you and me in this world Naegero dasi wa, tie me ‘by ENHYPEN”
“Do you think that will work?”
She smiled obediently and lightly tapped Yurian’s cheek. He closed his eyes tightly and obediently withdrew. Yvonne brushed his hair behind his ear and looked into his eyes.
“Please bite, Yvonne.”
He said to her with a bright smile.
Yvonne affectionately stroked his cheek again. Then, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, she sat on the bed, and Yurian followed suit.
As Yurian swallowed dry saliva, she smiled compassionately at his state. Yurian slowly closed his eyes at her sight.
He liked the warm temperature he felt on his neck.
Suddenly feeling the warmth vanish, he expected the sharp pain that would soon follow.
And he waited, suppressing the pounding in his chest.
But instead of pain, there was a sound of tearing. Frantically opening his eyes, what he saw was…
“Yvonne!”
“Sorry, but that seems a bit difficult! I’ll come back later!”
“Yvonne! Where are you going! Yvonne!”
Watching Yvonne’s retreating figure, even removing his shoes for fear of being heard, he shook with dismay.
“Ha… hahaha.”
He still found it hard to accept this absurd situation.
* * *
Yvonne didn’t want to get too close to Yurian, who seemed ready to use force to bite her. Wanting to bite someone’s neck meant wanting to kill them. Moreover, the request to be bitten clearly indicated an intention to torment her after letting her guard down.
In any case, he must have been angry from his perspective. If he had come back and forth to Hildebrandt, even though he couldn’t express his anger when he woke up without memory, there was a possibility he could now feel a gradient of rage.
Yvonne shivered at the coolness running down her spine.
“Isn’t this the main palace?”
“I believe anyone can start a conversation first, Francis.”
“There wasn’t an order not to, as far as I know.”
Due to Francis being attached as a guard, Yvonne had to leave Yurian at the underground entrance when coming to meet him. He had been waiting in that spot until she came out.
Yvonne was well aware that Francis was affiliated with Hildebrandt. That’s why she didn’t like Francis. It didn’t matter to her if he left the palace. However, there was no one who could replace her neatly if she left. Furthermore, if Francis became faster at copying Yurian, who knows how quickly things would escalate?
With these thoughts in mind, Yvonne kept a distance when he approached and asked.
“We agreed to meet in front of the main palace.”
“Did you bring what I instructed earlier?”
“Yes.”
She gave a vague answer and glanced at the rabbit grasses blooming in the imperial palace gardens.
“May I ask what you’re planning?”
“Are you going to help?”
“Of course, I should.”
Yvonne smiled, meeting his gaze. Then, Francis looked at her strangely and said, “You really resemble His Majesty.”
“Of course. We’re father and daughter.”
As she said that, she felt a chill running down her spine due to the rebellion brewing inside her. Hildebrandt was 25 years old, and Princess Yvonne was 22. Moreover, they weren’t even biologically related.
As Yvonne pondered this, she suddenly noticed her hair cascading over her shoulder. As the wind gently blew, she paused, watching her hair sway in the breeze.
Was Princess Yvonne really of royal blood? This hair color was said to be unique to the nobility.
She squeezed her head, trying to recall the early parts of the original novel she had skimmed through. But she couldn’t find an answer.
In the first place, the part she properly read was the later part of the book. And even then, she skipped the content by reading it vertically towards the end. Being impatient, she only closed the book after seeing Hildebrandt and Yurian killing each other and heading towards disaster.
All she focused on were the 19+ scenes between Hildebrandt and Yurian. The book was filled with various and fascinating things.
“Ahem!”
“Why so flustered, Your Highness?”
“I, I remembered an embarrassing memory.”
Yvonne avoided Francis’s gaze by lowering her eyes to her toes. Blushing fiercely as if her ears were on fire, Yvonne couldn’t bring herself to look up. Francis was also one of the male leads who deeply loved Hildebrandt, just like her.
Come to think of it, Francis seemed to have committed suicide knowing that Hildebrandt died by Yurian’s hand.
With embarrassment tingling throughout her body as she watched him curiously, Yvonne asked, “What do you like about Dad, Francis?”
“Pardon?”
“I like everything about Dad, especially his handsome face. Of course, it’s not just about his face, but his face is the best. What about Francis?”
“Um…”
He seemed to be contemplating what to say. Not knowing the intention behind her question and not wanting to lie to someone who spoke honestly first, he replied, “Honestly, I don’t really like His Majesty. I feel like I have to be sincere, but…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s more of admiration or reverence than liking. His Majesty is like fire at night.”
“Isn’t it stars, not fire?”
“Stars are too distant. His Majesty seems to be someone who, though looking splendid and beautiful on the outside, burns you entirely if you approach him carelessly.”
While Francis seemed to have answered honestly, Yvonne didn’t believe him at all. She was recalling the intense Francis from the latter part of the original novel.
No matter how pathetic she might have been, even as she read, she felt sorry for herself.
“I’m planning to make a crown for Dad.”
“Why suddenly a crown?”
“Because Dad can’t celebrate his birthday when he goes on diplomatic missions. So, I want to give it to him in advance.”
“Is the maid going to get it for you a gift too?”
Answering his question somewhat positively, Yvonne sat down to pick flowers. Francis was taken aback when he saw Yvonne, a noble, sitting on the ground. Nobles never sat on the ground. Of course, he knew that Yvonne often went against the norms of nobility while she was under his protection. Although she didn’t directly criticize the emperor, she seemed uncomfortable with her straightforward manner.
“There are more flowers over there.”
“I need to find a four-leaf clover.”
“Why do you need that? A crown should have flowers.”
“Because Dad likes four-leaf clovers.”
Yvonne knew that he often consulted fortune-tellers and liked four-leaf clovers. Even if he wasn’t just a lunatic who held her leash and shook her, she would have liked him quite a bit. Until she read the original work, she was on Hildebrandt’s side, even if he was crazy.
Now, all she wished for was for Hildebrandt and Yurian to kill each other without going through the intermediary process and set her free.
“…Did His Majesty mention that?”
“No. I just know.”
After saying so, she began searching for the four-leaf clover. Francis also squatted down to help, and as soon as he did, two four-leaf clovers appeared in his eyes as soon as he sat down.
So he casually picked one and handed it to her.
“Did you find it already?”
“It seems Your Majesty isn’t good at finding them.”
“Is that so.”
She looked at Francis, who gently placed it on her palm, with a strange expression.
“Why are they holding hands?”
At that moment, Hildebrandt approached silently and enveloped Yvonne’s shoulders, pressing them down.
