~Chapter 40~
At those words, I froze.
I never expected Latryne to say something like that.
Was he being sincere?
I couldn’t believe it, so I just stood there, unable to say anything.
“I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression. The reason I acted the way I did around you was because I was worried about you, not because of Erias,” Latryne explained.
“…”
“And I prefer you, Litya, over Erias.”
Latryne smiled slightly and took my hand as he said that.
Now that I think about it, Latryne only smiled like that in front of me.
Could it really be because he likes me…?
But still unsure, I said, “That’s a lie.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Then… you like me?”
“Yes.”
“You love me?”
“Yes.”
“…”
By now, my face must have been so red it looked like a tomato.
I pouted and said, “Then why did you say you wouldn’t marry me?”
“Would you like to marry me?”
For some reason, it felt like déjà vu.
“I don’t know.”
“I didn’t want to involve you in my problems and make you suffer… I should have kept you out of it… But after hearing your confession, I couldn’t hold back…”
“I don’t care.”
“I care. Now that things are like this, no matter what happens, I will protect you, Litya.”
“Hmph, I’m not going to marry you. And I can take care of myself.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re truly amazing, Litya.”
I felt like a child being praised by my father.
I became awkward again and said, “You made me confess first.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You took care of me like that.”
“Litya.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you sleepy? You should go to bed soon, or you’ll wear yourself out.”
Latryne clearly had a natural talent for changing the subject.
Hearing that made me feel a little sleepy, so I decided to go back inside.
That night, I had a dream.
It was a strange dream, and I remembered it clearly.
I hadn’t been sleeping deeply lately, so this was the first time in a while that I had a vivid dream.
In the dream, I was standing in front of a bleeding Latryne.
At first, I was only thinking that Latryne might die because of all the blood.
“Latryne…!”
I reached out and ran toward him.
But by the time I realized it, Latryne had disappeared, and I was the one bleeding.
There was an unimaginable amount of blood pouring from my body.
Soon, my strength faded, and I collapsed.
I thought I had fallen to the ground, but strangely, someone was standing behind me. It was Ered.
“Litya, this is the best I can do.”
Ered said that as he suddenly stabbed a knife into my body.
The shock made me gasp, but surprisingly, as the knife pierced me, the blood that had been flowing out of me started to return to my body.
And with that, I woke up from the dream.
“…”
Now, even my dreams are unsettling.
I sat up and thought absentmindedly.
I didn’t think it was a dream with any particular meaning.
I had always had weird dreams, after all.
Come to think of it, last night, I still couldn’t bring myself to talk to Ered about the things I had mentioned on the train.
Today, we were supposed to return to the palace, but when would I ever get a chance to bring it up?
For some reason, it felt like there would never be a good time to talk.
There was a meeting at the palace today, so Latryne and Count Cloud had to return early.
But there was still the issue of Sertien not being fully recovered.
“Well, since he’s recovered somewhat, wouldn’t it be better to just take him along?”
“Hmm…”
“Or if you’re worried, I can take Sertien with me separately and give him more time to rest.”
I said that to Latryne, who was hesitating.
Latryne smiled and replied to me, “Would you really do that for me?”
Seeing Latryne smile made the world feel brighter.
Now that we had confirmed our feelings, I could finally appreciate Latryne’s appearance more comfortably.
Of course, it wasn’t just his looks that made me like him, but I couldn’t help but enjoy looking at him every time.
When I stared at him for too long, Latryne eventually asked, “Is there something wrong with my face?”
“No, it’s just… you’re too handsome.”
“…Not really.”
Whether he really thought that or was just being modest, Latryne answered humbly.
Count Cloud, who had been watching us, didn’t seem to like our behavior and said, “When are we leaving?”
“Let’s go now.”
“You two seem very happy. Did you confess last night or something?”
“….”
Count Cloud was surprisingly quick to notice these things.
After Latryne and the Count headed to the palace, my older brother and Ered came to find me, saying they were leaving the inn.
“Are you that busy?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to do today. Don’t be too upset. After this is over, I think I’ll have to head back to the Empire.”
It was unexpected news.
My little brother, who rarely returned to the country, was suddenly saying he was going back?
I asked out of happiness, “Really… it’s been so long. How long will you stay this time?”
“I don’t know. The person taking me back to the Empire probably knows.”
At those words, I noticed Ered flinch a little.
It seemed something had happened last night after all.
No matter how things had turned out, I was glad my brother was returning to the Imperial Palace.
“I see. Well, work hard. And why is Ered so busy that he’s leaving the inn so early in the morning?”
When I called Ered by name, my brother seemed a little surprised.
But Ered didn’t care whether I called him by his name or not and answered without any reaction.
“I’ve got a lot to do. I guess I looked like someone who had nothing to do.”
“Wasn’t that the case?”
Even my brother, standing next to me, gave Ered a look that seemed to say, This is just too much.
Ered, seeing both of us, sighed and said,
“Geez, what do you all think of me?”
“If you don’t like how we see you, maybe you should behave properly.”
My brother, unable to take it any longer, spoke up.
Shaking his head, my brother turned to me and said,
“Anyway, I’m taking this troublesome prince out. You’ll handle things, but make sure Sertien is okay and head back to the palace.”
“Got it.”
“Alright, see you later…”
“Okay.”
But even after saying that, my brother stared at me for a while and suddenly pressed down on my head before finally walking away from the inn.
I touched my head, feeling like my brother’s behavior was a bit strange.
It made me think that he must have heard something from Ered last night.
Anyway, I went back inside the inn to take care of Sertien.
After Sertien woke up, if he was feeling better, I planned to head back to the palace as quickly as possible.
What Latryne had said before was true.
I felt safer inside the palace, but the inn outside was dangerous.
Since I didn’t know when Sertien might be attacked again, I had to remain alert.
Inside the palace, the security was tight, so it would be harder for anyone to attack Sertien.
I stared at Sertien, who was still asleep, resting my chin on my hand in a daze.
I hadn’t slept much and, after having such a troubling dream, I was still tired.
I spent time in a half-asleep state, and before I knew it, morning had arrived.
I heard someone knock on the door, and then a voice,
“I’ve brought breakfast. May I come in?”
It was the breakfast I had ordered earlier from the inn.
“Yes, come in.”
The door opened, and someone who seemed to be an inn staff member came in with a simple meal.
The woman didn’t even look at me properly and began placing the food on the table next to the bed.
Though the noise wasn’t loud, the sound of someone entering and setting up the food seemed to have disturbed Sertien, who rubbed his eyes and woke up.
“Ugh… Mom?”
“Sertien, you’re awake? Want to eat breakfast with me?”
“With you?”
“Of course.”
“Yay!”
Sertien’s excited words made me smile because he looked so cute.
But then, suddenly, the woman who was placing the food stopped moving.
She froze completely, and anyone could tell something was off.
I walked over to her, concerned.
“Is something wrong? Are you okay?”
I asked in worry, and the woman suddenly jerked her head up and stared at me with wide eyes.
What’s going on…?
I froze, staring back at her in confusion.
After looking at me once, the woman then turned her gaze to Sertien.
Sertien, sensing something strange in the woman’s behavior, didn’t speak but just stared at her.
But then, Sertien did something unexpected.
“Uh…? Ajumma!”
Suddenly, Sertien shouted and rushed into the woman’s arms.
What was even more surprising was the woman’s reaction.
She started crying and tightly hugged Sertien, who had thrown himself into her arms.
