Chapter 13
As the carriage departed, Khalid rested his chin on the windowsill, lost in thought.
I still couldn’t find the words to respond. After all, Khalid was the person who had observed Isar and me from the closest and for the longest time.
So, it wouldn’t be strange if he suddenly felt a physiological aversion to me, now that I had become his fiancée. I felt melancholic.
Just a while ago, I had vaguely entertained the idea of becoming the Crown Princess Consort if things turned out like this. I hadn’t known that Khalid was aware of the times Isar and I occasionally stayed in the palace after becoming adults.
Perhaps there were no secrets between twins, or maybe Khalid was just observant.
A sigh escaped me as I glanced out the window in the opposite direction. Faded leaves barely clinging to dry branches came into view. The somber season was approaching.
****
We were both lost in our thoughts, not exchanging any words. The carriage carrying us stopped in front of the Crown Prince’s palace.
Come to think of it, it seemed like it had been a while since I had been here. Khalid, who had risen first, opened the carriage door.
Clatter.
Khalid lightly jumped out of the carriage as if annoyed.
“Why are you all out here when I didn’t say I was coming?”
Khalid had forgotten his manners. I shot a glance at the back of his head while straightening my wrinkled skirt. The court lady of the Crown Prince’s palace behind Khalid greeted him as if she was accustomed to him.
Behind her, courtiers and maids were curiously looking at us.
“Welcome, Your Highness Khalid. I saw your carriage from afar, so I came out to wait for you.”
“Oh, really? Madam seems unexpectedly cheerful. I thought she was just an old hag.”
“Khalid, shut your mouth.”
Once the carriage was tidied up, I grabbed the handle nearby and leaned out of the carriage. After ignoring his piercing gaze, I asked the court lady about her well-being.
“It’s been a while since the funeral, isn’t it, Lady Tenia?”
“Renata? What brings you and His Highness Khalid here together? Did you fall into a pond or something?”
Lady Tenia, the Countess, had known me since I became engaged to Isar at the age of 10. She was one of the few nobles who didn’t discriminate against me.
With her round eyes wide open, Lady Tenia subtly pushed Khalid, who was standing next to me, aside. Her round features and warm hands suited her gentle demeanor.
“Oh dear, you’re so cold. Come down quickly. Let’s go inside the palace before you catch a cold.”
“Look at them, treating me like a nuisance.”
Khalid, who was pushed aside by the wave, asked with a smirk. Then Lady Tenia glanced at him.
“Your Highness, are you finally considering moving your residence? The palace staff at the Crown Prince’s palace are curious about when Your Highness will enter the palace.”
“Instead of that, hurry and fetch water for this kid to wash up. If you keep Renata standing like this for too long, Isar’s ghost might come at night.”
“Why do you always make such unfunny jokes that only make the atmosphere colder?”
“Oh, nagging again. My ears hurt. They’re bleeding.”
Khalid blocked his ears as he spoke in a cold, humorless tone. He was making a face like a sulky child to an adult.
Eventually, Lady Tenia’s hand slid down and took mine. As I tried to get out of the carriage with her help, a large hand suddenly reached out and wrapped around my waist, still wet with tea.
“Why would you get down like that? It’s stifling inside.”
Khalid, with his arm around my waist, smiled mischievously. I clenched my fist and punched his stomach in defiance.
“Hey, don’t touch me. Don’t touch me, Khalid. Every time you speak like that, I feel like I’m talking to a toad.”
“Hey!”
But Khalid didn’t seem to feel any pain or ticklishness; instead, he laughed at me. Then, he carried me as if I were luggage and walked towards the Crown Prince’s palace.
Surprised, Lady Tenia shouted from behind.
“Oh, Your Highness, you can’t just carry the future Crown Princess Consort like that!”
“Yeah, she’s right. Of course, you can’t. So don’t do this.”
Anyway, in terms of personality… I glared at Khalid, demanding to be let down several times. But Khalid ignored my stubbornness as if he were determined.
He continued to carry me until we reached the inside of the Crown Prince’s palace. It was around the time when the grand hall decorated with amethyst accents came into view.
I asked in resignation, “Why are you being so mischievous all of a sudden? I’m already exhausted enough as it is.”
“Just like there were reasons for why I did this before, as you put it.”
Continuing the conversation any further wouldn’t lead to any meaningful results. I forced myself to suppress my boiling frustration.
Lady Tenia, who had been following us distractedly, breathed heavily. She blocked Khalid’s path to prevent him from going too far alone.
“With so many eyes watching, why are you doing this? Anyway, you haven’t changed a bit since childhood. Come on, now hand over Renata to me. You’re not going to take her to the bath, are you?”
“Why are you all so conscious of the people around you? Anyway, I was going to let her down around here. Here.”
“…Khalid, are you treating me like an object?”
“Oh, it’s wet.”
Khalid ignored my question as if it were obvious. Then he wiped the moisture on my hand on the hem of his robe.
“Because of you, my clothes are all wet. Look at this.”
Khalid looked down at the water stains on the side of his clothes. Then, nonchalantly, he unbuttoned and took off his shirt, revealing his arms. Various scars were engraved on his torso.
I hesitated for a moment and looked at Khalid’s broad chest. …To confess, I was not unaware of Khalid’s past. The oldest scar on his body was a stab wound to his chest, made about 8 years ago.
The person who inflicted the wound was a mentally disturbed imperial citizen who had lost his son to the enemy’s traps during a long war.
Later, I heard that the imperial citizen mistook Khalid for his lost son, Isar, and stabbed him in the chest. The commoner, who had lost his child in such a futile manner, went mad at the sight of the fresh blood spouting from Khalid’s chest. And on that day, he was promptly executed. As a result of the incident, Khalid fell into a state of turmoil.
However, the royal side, who learned of the circumstances of the incident, was only concerned with protecting Isar for a while.
As a result, the royal family seemed to have conveniently forgotten to tend to the emotional wounds Khalid had suffered that day. At that time, I occasionally visited Khalid’s sickbed with Isar.
However, Khalid remained locked in his shell, completely refusing to communicate with others. The boy who once had melancholic, sky-colored eyes had now disappeared.
It was only then that I began to regret the words I had spoken earlier. The young prince who had nearly been mistaken for my brother and killed. No one had cared for the poor boy.
“…My prince, Khalid, I’m sorry.”
“…What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
Khalid, who usually spoke bluntly, snapped me out of my reverie of the past. He blinked a few times and then covered his bare chest with his arms as if to shield it from view.
“Stop staring at me like that, you pervert.”
…What is wrong with that guy? This was exactly why I disliked Khalid. He had a face so similar to Isar’s, yet his actions were incredibly polarizing. Any sympathy I had briefly felt for Khalid vanished. I stopped shooting daggers at him and instead decided that I would rather explore the Crown Prince’s palace, which had been untouched since Isar went off to war.
Every time I shifted my gaze, I found myself drowning in longing once again. There were so many memories here that Isar and I had built together.
“Miss Renata, please come this way. Oh, by the way, do you have any specific bath salts you prefer? It’s been a while since the palace was occupied, so there might be some left.”
It was while I was staring blankly at Isar’s portrait on the wall that the lady guiding me inside paused and her voice trailed off. Her eyes became moist in an instant.
Lady Tenia stared at me standing inside the Crown Prince’s palace, her eyes reddening with tears.
