Episode 27
“What’s this…”
Yurian looked puzzled as he stared at the two Princess Yvonne. He met the gaze of the cold Yvonne who had treated him like a beast. Then she reached out for the shackle around his neck.
Yurian reflexively blocked her hand and stepped back.
“Come to think of it, I couldn’t find you earlier.”
As Yvonne spoke, another Yvonne, or rather, Francis in the form of Yvonne, was debating whether to speak or not.
What the Emperor Hildebrandt wanted was beyond Francis’s comprehension. Francis couldn’t understand why the emperor had transformed him into the appearance of Princess Yvonne and showed him to Yurian. Moreover, the emperor didn’t say not to reveal his identity. He just told him to transform and follow along.
Yet Francis couldn’t easily open his mouth. The emperor is someone who swore loyalty until death. But if he speaks out of turn and acts on his own, it will put his lord in a difficult position.
With those thoughts in mind, Francis remained silent. Seeing this, Yvonne released what she was holding and grabbed Francis’s wrist. It felt strange because he had the same body as hers.
She didn’t want Francis to copy her, but the situation was too confusing, so she decided to take him out for a moment to have a conversation.
“Don’t go, Yvonne.”
“Who are you talking to?”
Yvonne said playfully, but Yurian looked at the real Yvonne and spoke again.
“Yvonne.”
“Maybe I’m not real.”
“You are real, and there’s no way I don’t recognize the scent you emit.”
Yurian finally realized who the real Yvonne was. The calm demeanor now was a stark contrast to the bewildering scene earlier.
“Come here, Yvonne.”
Yurian spoke as if making a gentle request. Yvonne hesitated as she looked at the earnestly calling Yurian, but she thought Francis should take precedence and said:
“Just wait a moment.”
“But…”
“You can do that much, right?”
“…Yes.”
Yurian felt uneasy as he watched the other Princess Yvonne holding Francis’s wrist while leaving with her. He stared blankly as Yvonne turned her body and left with Francis. As the sound of their footsteps faded away and they opened the front door, Yurian was left waiting for her.
Meanwhile, the Yvonne who came out with Francis looked a bit bewildered as she said:
“Why did Father bring Francis here?”
“I don’t know either. But His Majesty ordered it.”
The voice still belonged to Francis. He looked at her for a moment before saying:
“Lord Leonhardt seemed to be trying to seduce Her Highness.”
“I see.”
“His Majesty won’t like it.”
“Really? But it was Father who wished for him to grovel at my feet.”
“Not that kind of groveling, but submission.”
“Indeed?”
Yvonne seemed to feel better when she received confirmation through Francis’s words. She had been wavering, wondering if Yurian’s argument was really valid.
“Stay here for now, Francis. I need to go downstairs for a moment.”
“Your Highness.”
Francis looked at Yvonne with a subtle expression, suggesting that if she needed him, she should call out, and he would come running.
It seemed like Francis thought it would be better to enter together for the safety of the princess whom the emperor favored, but he seemed considerate towards her and intended to wait here.
“Yes, thank you.”
She said that and headed towards Yurian.
* * *
When Yvonne returned to Yurian, he was still sitting on the floor, looking up at her. For a moment, Yvonne thought he resembled the puppies she used to raise.
“Yvonne.”
When she didn’t respond, perhaps due to the previous situation, he called her again with a worried expression.
“Yvonne.”
Approaching her, Yurian stood up, and Yvonne didn’t step back but instead came closer. He looked just like the black puppies she used to raise.
“Yvonne.”
With Yurian calling out to her with compassion, Yvonne sighed and said.
“Stop calling me.”
“Yes.”
Hearing her voice, he hesitated but approached her more confidently. Then, he grasped Yvonne’s hand. She tried to push Yurian’s hand away but was startled when she saw the red mark on his cheek.
“What happened to your face?”
“My body is the same.”
Yurian responded as if it were a matter of course. Yvonne looked at him with a bit of perplexity, and only then did he provide an appropriate answer to her question.
“His Majesty came and left.”
Yurian, looking down with a mournful expression, then looked back at her face and said, “It hurts too much, Yvonne.”
As if showing compassion, Yurian ran his fingers through Yvonne’s hair on her shoulder. Realizing that his condition was more serious than she thought, her expression darkened.
The clothes she had sent him were torn in various places, and there were stains of blood. To make matters worse, Yurian’s cheek was so swollen that it looked like he had been punched, though in reality, it was Francis who had struck him while pretending to be Yvonne.
Of course, compared to the fact that Francis, who had risen to the position of Captain of the Imperial Guard despite not being particularly strong or having any esper abilities, had hit him, it was a relatively light blow.
“Did Father hit you?”
“Yes.”
“Father hit your face?”
Yurian lied without changing his expression. Yvonne began to doubt his words slightly. Hildebrandt was a bad guy, but he was never someone who would hit someone’s face. That was something Yvonne knew even if she had only roughly read the original. It had been mentioned many times throughout the book.
“Yurian.”
Yurian, who liked the sound of her calling him, unintentionally raised his eyebrows and met her eyes.
“Don’t you think there should be trust between us?”
However, his discomfort grew as if he were deceiving her, as if she believed their relationship with Hildebrandt was closer than she thought.
“What does that mean? I’m being beaten and tortured like this, and Yvonne is talking about trust to me?”
Listening to Yurian’s appeal, feeling unjust, Yvonne thought there was no reason for him to lie, and the desire to confront him disappeared. Above all, looking at his bruised face, she felt responsible. After all, he was kidnapped here because of her.
A useless princess.
A princess who couldn’t even awaken her powers, let alone be useful.
“I’m sorry, Yurian.”
“If you’re sorry, stroke me.”
She lifted her hand and stroked Yurian’s cheek. Then he leaned his face into Yvonne’s hand. With tears in his eyes, Yurian, looking at her pitifully, felt both pathetic and cold-hearted at the same time.
If she surrendered to Yurian like the original Yvonne did, everything would be over.
What was the point of her efforts to please the Emperor? Soon she would be able to escape from this suffocating palace, so what use was affection?
She resolved to treat Yurian as a public matter and chastised herself for it.
“It’s because His Majesty didn’t leave any marks on me.”
“Isn’t that so?”
“Yes, it is. My situation is like this because His Majesty brutally kidnapped me.”
Seeing him grumble as soon as he received her touch, Yvonne smiled, thinking he had been stubborn since the last time. If he really thought that way, it wouldn’t hurt to experience it firsthand.
“What if you get hit more?”
“Then it’s my fault.”
“You’re not going to regret it?”
“No.”
“Okay, then.”
As she gave her permission, Yurian smiled happily. She didn’t think it was necessary to oppose his feelings. After all, once they left this place, they would never see each other again. With that in mind, Yvonne smiled along with him.
“Yvonne.”
As Yurian was about to touch her face, Yvonne grabbed his hand and said as she lowered it, “First, go wash up.”
“Oh, okay…”
Looking at Yurian’s blood-stained hand, Yvonne suddenly became curious.
“Yurian.”
“Yes?”
“Do you want me dead right now?”
Yurian stared at her without even blinking. Yvonne felt like he was looking at her like a beast, and she could hear her own breathing as if it echoed in her ears. His gaze seemed to be waiting for her touch, yet it also felt like he was aiming at her, making her body tremble.
“No.”
“I’ll believe you, Yurian.”
“Yes.”
Although he was smiling luxuriously, the glint of the restraint’s light was dangerously flickering.
Yvonne could hear him washing up. The sound of water flowing was vivid, and the basement was filled with the strong smell of blood. Upon entering the basement, she immediately realized how much Heldebrandt had tortured him.
Was it because of the strong smell of blood that she thought he might go berserk? Somehow, she realized that she was tense.
After a brief moment of consciousness, Yurian approached her without properly drying himself, dressed, and then approached her.
“I’m thirsty, Yvonne.”
“Yes.”
Yvonne obediently responded to his request, and he approached her as if he were possessed, then pushed her onto the bed.
