Side Story Chapter 5
In the guest room, the palace physician and Suren were waiting.
Suren, who had been stoking the fire so vigorously that it scorched the hearth, sprang to her feet when she saw me.
“Lady Leonie, I’ve been waiting for you.”
She greeted me with a satisfied smile in the warm room.
“I was ordered to examine you, Countess.”
The palace physician politely guided me towards the bed.
I sat on the edge of the bed, as usual, and unbuttoned the cuffs of my sleeves.
With practiced ease, he massaged my wrist and quickly inserted the needle, so fast I didn’t even feel it.
As I watched the blood drip into the vial, he spoke.
“There’s no need for further scar treatment.”
His gaze was fixed on my upturned palm.
The scars from gripping a sword with bare hands had healed completely. The magician he had summoned was competent, and the wounds vanished within a week.
Isella, who had received similar magical treatment for her scars, still bore marks on her face.
She considered them medals awarded to the founders of the new nation, but I couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness every time I saw her face.
Suren stood with her hands behind her back, peering at my arm with curious eyes.
I addressed her.
“Suren, go to the carriage house and check how the repairs are coming along. If they need any materials, tell them to inform me.”
She averted her gaze from my arm, pretending not to hear.
“Suren.”
I lowered my voice, and she responded.
“Are you already preparing to leave? That’s disappointing.”
“Take the nails and hammer needed for the repairs too.”
I ignored her comment and continued, but she didn’t seem to be listening attentively.
“Lady Leonie, I am a maid attached to the Empress’s palace.”
“So?”
Was she implying she couldn’t take orders from someone who wasn’t the Empress?
Since becoming employed by the royal family, she had subtly ignored commands and acted as she pleased.
“No, it means that with the palace vacant, I have nothing to do. Going to the carriage house to hand over tools is dull work. I wish I had something more important to do, like assisting the Empress…”
She glanced at me as she said this.
Had she conspired with Deon?
Though we were apart for only a short time, she had become Deon’s loyal mouthpiece.
Whatever she had heard from him, her words were full of his intent.
“Really? Then I’ll have another maid do it. James has been hired as the coachman this time…”
Before I could finish, Suren’s eyes lit up.
“I’ll go. You rest.”
She jumped up from her seat and hummed a tune as she opened the door.
Suren had recently shown a keen interest in James. Perhaps that’s why she was so eager for me to stay longer in the palace.
Seeing her, usually grumbling and wary, now in love, was endearing.
“All done. I’ll give you the test results tomorrow.”
The physician finished.
The physician finished drawing the blood, coiled the tubing, and packed his medical bag.
He bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Silence filled the space, and my conversation with Deon replayed in my mind.
Despite his reassurances, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.
Should I just say I’ll follow him?
In a way, my peaceful life depended on being a noble protected by the empire.
If war broke out and the enemy invaded, ravaging my territory or taking nobles as prisoners, my carefully planned serene life would be in ruins.
Most of the citizens and nobles of the empire didn’t realize it, but my role in this war was crucial. The outcome could very well rest in my hands.
A hero’s life without anyone acknowledging the sacrifices wasn’t appealing, but…
“But if I go, everyone will misunderstand.”
Being the only woman accompanying the war was indeed strange.
“Then pushing for a royal marriage? That’s unacceptable.”
Unable to contain my agitation, I sprang up from my seat.
I paced the room briskly.
From the window to the bed, from the bed to the window.
My steps quickened with each turn at the wall.
Eventually, unable to make a decision, I collapsed into the armchair. The chair creaked loudly, echoing my unsettled heart.
* * *
He was right. I couldn’t leave the palace for a while.
The weather was terrible. Fierce blizzards swept through, and walking in the garden meant sinking into the snow.
I spent my time cooped up in the guest room and the library, bored out of my mind.
During the torrential rains that stranded me here last summer, I had also passed the time in the library. The difference now was that I hadn’t seen Deon at all while he entertained the delegation.
It wasn’t until three full days after my arrival at the palace that he invited me to a breakfast banquet.
“Is the food not to your liking?”
He asked as I reluctantly chewed on the meat.
“It’s perfectly fine.”
“Then why do you still look like that?”
He spoke with a hint of disapproval.
“…What do you mean?”
“You need to put on more weight.”
His gaze was fixed on my exposed wrist.
“That’s not something I can control.”
I lowered my sleeve to cover my wrist.
“Should I make it happen?”
“No.”
He probably wished I would stay in the palace, enjoying the chef’s elaborate 20-course meals. I shook my head firmly.
“Did the meetings go well? And the delegation?”
I placed my napkin on my lap and spoke.
“Did you make a decision?”
He answered dryly.
“We haven’t reached a conclusion yet. We’re still negotiating.”
His eyes looked a bit darker beneath them.
“Deon, what happens in the war without a blood bag?”
I brought up the topic that had been on my mind, locking eyes with him so he couldn’t avoid the question.
At least by the end of the meal, I hoped he’d give me a satisfactory answer.
Realizing he couldn’t avoid my determined gaze, Deon finally spoke.
“Leonie, blood just draws out monstrous power. Without it, I fight with the strength of an ordinary human.”
“So, the chances of victory decrease.”
I didn’t know how good his swordsmanship was originally, but his title as a war hero owed much to the blood bag.
Without me, he was just an ordinary man. And in the face of sharp blades and death, everyone is equal.
I didn’t know where this conversation was heading. Everything had gone off course, and I couldn’t predict his fate anymore.
Most stories end with “they lived happily ever after,” but no one knows what happens to the hero after the story ends. And now, he didn’t even have Isella by his side.
If war broke out again… Would he really be safe?
I couldn’t guarantee his return.
“Why do you keep asking about that? Do you want to be with me that much?”
“…No.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why does it sound like you do?”
“You must be mistaken.”
I answered curtly and took a drink.
“Don’t you like me too?”
His sudden question made me cough, choking on my drink.
My throat burned from the wrong gulp.
I wiped my mouth with the napkin, trying to calm my heaving chest.
“Who told you that?”
“Isella mentioned it. She said you seem to care about me. And if you were planning to push me away and run, you would’ve strangled me that night instead of saying you’d give me one last chance.”
I let out a short, derisive laugh.
Isella had a surprisingly loose tongue. She was ambitious and didn’t mince words in front of her lord.
And she wasn’t close enough to me to cover for my mistakes. I had forgotten that.
“That’s all in the past. And it was just… a mild fondness.”
I mumbled, chewing on my fork.
“What’s mild fondness?”
He pressed on.
“I like you a lot.”
His next words almost made me drop my knife, but I forced myself to remain calm and flexed my fingers.
“What exactly do you like? My appearance? Or the blood flowing in my veins?”
My bitter words slipped out, but he didn’t flinch.
“Well, that too.”
When I scowled, he shrugged.
“Isn’t it quite a compliment to say I like your blood? Your blood flows everywhere in your body, in every nook and cranny.”
He said this while staring at me intensely. His gaze felt like a physical touch, even though he wasn’t actually touching me.
I brushed my hair away from the inside of my arm. Even after clearing my hair, his gaze still tickled my skin.
In the past, he wouldn’t have hesitated to reach out and touch me, but he had become quite a restrained man.
Deon was holding back his urge to come closer to me. Just like now.
“Leonie, I…”
“The blood test results should be out by now. If you’re thinking of taking me to the battlefield, you should check them.”
I cut him off firmly, and he closed his mouth again.
“Fine.”
Instead of speaking further, he scanned me with his blue eyes.
Every time this happened, my heart pounded uncontrollably, but I tried to maintain an appropriate distance from him.
I was healthy.
The old palace doctor would probably give the same monotonous report he had given for years.
He’d say my blood was slightly thinner but still fine, and that my thin frame was just my natural build.
And Deon wouldn’t pay much attention to the doctor’s words anyway. He had no intention of taking me to the battlefield. Even in this dire situation…
He gave a faint smile and looked away.
The fact that I had fallen hopelessly for him was partly because I had Leonie’s heart, and partly because he was somewhat attractive. But what had he seen in me?
I couldn’t fathom his peculiar taste.
Of course, I couldn’t voice the opinion that the emperor of the empire had strange preferences.
It seemed I’d have to keep this peculiar fact about him to myself.
In a few years, he had become an emperor praised by the citizens and even revered by the nobles. He had risen to become a wise ruler, and I couldn’t tarnish his reputation.
This secret would remain known only to me.
I thought this as I took a sip from the glass of water beside me.
“Your Majesty, Lady Bay from the delegation requests an audience.”
The head butler, who had been waiting at the door, informed him.
Although he lowered his voice, I clearly heard her name.
Her name is Bay.
“Let’s get up then.”
He placed his glass down and stood.
The empty chair looked forlorn without him.
If he accepted the proposal, would she sit with us at this banquet?
A bitter feeling washed over me.
If a new mistress entered the palace, would Suren be happy for her increased duties?
My mouth felt dry, and I set down the bread I had been half-heartedly spreading with jam.
I didn’t want to send him away. If I felt like this…
Do I like him?
I asked myself.
But then I realized my question was wrong.
…Do I still like him?
