Episode 5.
Yurián seemed surprised, keeping his eyes wide open, seemingly forgetting to close his mouth as he continued to breathe.
Feeling uncomfortable as he kept staring without blinking, I instinctively pushed his face away with the palm of my hand.
“You seem better than expected?”
“Uh… yes.”
He frowned, shifting his gaze elsewhere. Then the light in the restraint collar flickered again, and he looked at me once more.
Considering my reserved nature, I rarely ventured outside. Unless it was an essential event, the Emperor did not permit me to reveal my face. The flawed princess who didn’t know when she should change.
So, being too conspicuous could be troublesome.
“Lord Leonhardt?”
He chewed on his lips and strangely lowered his gaze. It seemed he was definitely enduring magical pain since he hadn’t taken the stabilizer again.
“Uh…”
Suddenly, small wounds on his thin clothing became visible. When the Emperor brought him here, it was impossible for him to have come willingly. Even when he was brought before me, he was not in perfect condition.
Moreover, the Emperor had no intention of keeping him alive, so there would have been no effort to treat him.
“Hey, snap out of it.”
“…Yes.”
He barely managed to look at me with a grim expression. The light of his restraint collar had turned off, but there was still a lingering illusion of seeing his eyes reddened.
“Don’t exert yourself.”
“Yes…”
After confirming that the light in his restraint collar had completely gone out, I turned away. Then, I lifted my skirt to retrieve the first aid supplies tied to my thigh, thanks to the well-tied garters.
Everything was there, intact, without losing a single item.
Holding it in my arms, I turned around, and he had turned away.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“…Yes.”
After placing the things on the floor, I picked up the towel soaked in water again. He turned back towards me at the sound of water.
“You need to clean it a bit for treatment, but do it yourself.”
I handed him the towel, and he accepted it with a peculiar expression. Then, he lightly smiled and said, “I can’t see ahead.”
“Use your strength.”
“If I use strength, it might hurt again.”
“Do it yourself. You can manage this much, right?”
It didn’t seem painful at all no matter how much I thought about it. However, speaking with that charming appearance made it feel like I might be bewitched.
Think about it, how the original Princess Yvonne died. She was infatuated, treated like a lover, and died without knowing the restraint collar had been severed. How can I trust the one who killed me in the original work without shedding a drop of blood or tears?
“Aren’t I pitiful in your eyes, Your Highness?”
“….”
“You brought me here, kidnapped me. I’ve been waiting for you every moment. The only one who brings me food here is Your Highness. I only get one meal a day, and my injuries aren’t properly treated…”
It seemed unwise to talk too much with him. So, I quickly surrendered.
“I’ll clean it for you. Since treatment is necessary.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
With no other choice, I wet the towel in my hand again and squeezed it. Along with a soft sound, clean water fell from the bucket again, giving me a strange feeling.
“I’ll need you to take off your clothes.”
He was smiling. What was so amusing?
After hanging the towel on the bucket handle for a moment, I placed my hand on his shirt buttons. I’ve never experienced romance in my past life, but here I am, about to undress the clothes of someone who wants to seduce and kill me.
Lost in thought, my trembling hands stopped. It wasn’t just because of the tension, but it completely disappeared. After wetting all the buttons, I wetly unbuttoned them, revealing an exceptionally fine chest inside.
Keeping my gaze elsewhere, I wiped it down like washing a washboard, starting from the neck to the stomach. As I wiped, I noticed a reddish mark on his neck. So, I placed the towel on his right neck, and the light came back. Perhaps he wanted to kill me, I wondered.
He no longer smiled, just stared at me without a smile, and the pupils were darker than the crimson light, giving me chills.
“Your Highness, please clean it more thoroughly.”
“Can you tell if it’s cleaned or not?”
“I can feel it.”
It sounded like nonsense, but it was frightening, so I followed. Strangely, even though he was tied up, I couldn’t figure out why he was so frightening. Perhaps it was because of his pupils. Besides, I’m the doomed princess to him.
I made the towel long and wiped his neck and collarbone. My fingertips kept brushing, making him twitch or shiver. His skin seemed to contract with each touch.
“Your Highness, it smells good.”
“I sprayed perfume.”
These days, I used the lilac scent that Hildebrandt used. Just to pretend to frequently hug the rabbit doll he left behind.
“What perfume do you use?”
“I have some. It’s the same as my dad’s.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. Turn your neck a bit. It seems like I need to clean the other side as well.”
“…Okay.”
He looked at me contemplatively before turning his neck. Under the restraint collar, there were vivid red marks. Even though I cleaned thoroughly underneath, he didn’t react much to bruised areas but showed a strange response when my hand touched lightly.
He must be used to pain and sensitive to something ticklish.
“Your Highness.”
“Why again?”
“Does His Majesty use this fragrance too? It’s my first time smelling such a scent.”
Yurián momentarily pressed his nose to my neck.
“Eek!”
“Ugh!”
Without realizing, I forcefully pushed Yurián’s body away. Then he pressed a sore spot, causing him to wince, and I felt unnecessary guilt.
“I-It’s because of your weird behavior!”
“I’m sorry. The scent was too good. You can hit me harder if you want.”
He had a pitiful expression, yet there was a somewhat smiling face. Usually, if you hit someone, they should feel bad, right?
“It’s okay if you slap me. If possible, it would be better if you hit me very hard.”
“Are you insane?”
“I think I might be. It feels better when Your Highness hits me; the magic pain becomes faint.”
“You’re insane.”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t lower the hand covering my neck due to surprise. Surely, the fire of the restraint collar was off. However, he was staring at me with precision.
“To be honest, can you see anything through the restraint collar?”
“…It’s very blurry, but yes.”
There was definitely something wrong. Otherwise, it couldn’t block the vision. No, maybe only the part blocking vision due to Yurián’s ability was damaged.
“Can you really be His Majesty’s biological daughter?”
I couldn’t answer in my moment of confusion. Why is he asking such a thing?
“That’s impolite.”
“I apologize. But I don’t see any resemblance between you and His Majesty.”
“We look alike. Our hands and hair, at least.”
“Except for the hair, you don’t resemble her.”
I didn’t respond to Yurián’s words. Since it seemed unnecessary to clean him further, I opened the first aid kit. Inside were disinfectants and ointments.
“Aren’t you going to clean my back?”
I tried to ignore it, but he grabbed onto the topic sharply. A sigh escaped me involuntarily, but I had no choice. Not showering for a day would be uncomfortable.
I couldn’t understand why I was placed in this room.
The predecessors, the Imperial Princess and the Imperial Princes, had quite unpleasant hobbies. It was not uncommon for them to keep people trapped like this. Unfortunately, the room Yurián was in didn’t have a shower.
“Let’s change the room if possible.”
“To the Imperial Princess’s room?”
“….”
“I’m kidding. Your expression was too serious.”
“Yes.”
Moving to the adjacent room would allow him to wash himself. After soaking the towel in water again and making a gesture, he turned around. The problem was that he couldn’t undress because the restraint collar was attached to the front. That’s why I couldn’t clean the front properly.
The key to the restraint collar given by Emperor Hildebrandt was hanging around my neck.
With a clink, the restraint around his wrist was loosened. He stared at it blankly for a moment and then looked back at me. This person seemed a bit strange. Well, someone out of their mind would probably be able to educate and love Hildebrandt properly.
After releasing his hand and handing him the towel, he made an effort to clean his back.
“Uh… It hurts.”
“Okay.”
When he took off his top, wounds on his arms were revealed. Cleaning his back in this state would probably spread blood all over his body. I had no choice but to take the towel back and wipe his back myself.
His back muscles were perfect. Even his shoulder blades looked as if they were sculpted by a famous sculptor. His abs and chest were also flawless, but his back looked even more impressive. When I wiped the areas where blood had stuck, a strong metallic smell emanated. Once I finished cleaning, the scent of the perfume he used became faint. It was indeed the scent of white lilac, as mentioned in the original work.
“I’ll bring the perfume. Since you seem sensitive to smells.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Whether it’s what I think or not doesn’t matter. Keep quiet and endure it. You keep twitching, so I can’t do anything.”
“Yes.”
Even though he hadn’t washed, the scent was pleasant. I didn’t realize I was sniffing it, and I wondered if Yurián’s comment was related to this. He was trying to endure my touch, which seemed ticklish.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it inappropriate to call me by my name?”
“Yes, it is.”
“….Yes.”
If I knew how to easily bypass it like the original Ivonne, it would be a mistake. After finishing cleaning Yurián’s back, I spoke.
“If you can see now, choose your meals for yourself. Be careful with the pills because it would be a big problem if you take them.”
“Yes.”
“Then… Your Highness, may I ask what kind of medicine it is?”
“Excitement and awakening pills, I suppose. If you take them, you’ll have a hard time all night, so choose what to take yourself.”
“Yes.”
I said it as casually as possible, but he seemed surprised.
Okay. I have to treat this person shamelessly.
“See you at the next meal.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Leaving Yurián like that, I headed to the garden.
* * *
The reason I headed to the garden was to pick lilacs. Hildebrandt liked lilacs because they were splendid and had a sweet and deep fragrance. As if being gorgeous on the outside and having a cold, indifferent, and unpredictable meaning in the language of flowers suited Hildebrandt well.
I picked them and headed to the support building where Hildebrandt was supposed to be.
Even though I was the emperor’s daughter, there was little he didn’t allow me. Only those approved could enter the main palace support building. If an unauthorized person sneaked into the support building, it would result in immediate execution.
I have to watch carefully. If I run away from here, I won’t be able to see many precious things again.
“Where are you going?”
When I turned around, I saw Marquis Rohan.
“Are you going to His Majesty?”
