‘Ugh… My head hurts…’
Arundel woke up in a daze. Seeing the bright crescent moon hanging in the window, it seemed to be still dawn.
As Arundel gradually regained consciousness, she looked around.
The space that had become a bit familiar,
And the unfamiliar man, Zion, was lying next to her.
“Huff…!”
Arundel took a breath to avoid screaming. She didn’t know why she was brought here every time he fainted.
Wouldn’t it be okay to just take him to the Empress’s Palace?
In a déjà vu situation, she lifted the blanket with a skeptical heart.
“Phew…”
As she suspected, she was still dressed, and the bandage she had wrapped was still intact.
Nothing happened. After all, Zion wasn’t so shameless as to touch a sleeping woman.
But she had no memory of why she fainted and ended up here.
Arundel went over the memories of last night one by one.
Changing into a dress alone… Wrapping a bandage… Meeting Belle… Again and again…
“Ah! That old man!”
Thinking about it, the last person she interacted with was the old man. She drank the wine given by the old man…..and she couldn’t remember.
Then, the reason she suddenly fainted and couldn’t remember anything was because of the wine given by the old man.
Arundel, lost in thought, stroked her chin.
“Is it because of a drink after a long time. Or was it a very poisonous wine…”
Upon reflection, that old man seemed a bit suspicious… But what was frustrating was that she didn’t even know who the old man was.
All she could remember was his impression, but that alone made it hard to find the old man.
Moreover, she couldn’t infer whether the wine was really strange, whether it was because she had drunk alcohol for the first time in a long time, or whether the body of Empress Irina couldn’t handle alcohol.
Arundel regretted gulping down the alcohol given by a stranger at once.
“That… stop…”
Huh…?
Arundel turned her gaze to where the sound came from. Zion was murmuring in a small voice with his eyes tightly closed.
‘Is Zion sleep talking…?’
Arundel barely held back a smile at the sight that didn’t suit him at all.
“…I’ll try… harder…”
Arundel paid more attention to Zion’s words, which were in a ‘childlike’ tone that was far from his usual way of speaking.
The sight of him sleep talking seemed somewhat pitiful, and his closed eyelids trembled slightly.
“Mother… please…”
Seeing Zion’s face, which was frowning and sweating cold sweat, Arundel realized the seriousness.
“Zion…”
He seemed to be having a terrible nightmare.
Arundel looked around Zion as if she knew something. Faint black figures were flying around Zion.
Arundel knew what they were.
The black figures that were flying around Zion and tormenting him were ‘Mongma’. (TL: A general term for demons that appears in human dreams)
Mongma feeds on people’s nightmares.
They stick to people who have trauma or are psychologically unstable, and appear when night falls. And they induce nightmares.
They were low-ranking demons in the underworld, as tenacious as cockroaches in terms of survival.
But once a person gets caught by those guys, no matter how strong the opponent is, they make them have nightmares little by little and make their lives miserable.
Considering Zion’s mental strength, it wouldn’t affect his daily life, but it would be hard for him to sleep deeply.
Arundel swung around the vicinity of Mongma, wondering if the mark of Hills would have any effect.
The Mongma ran away for a while, but soon circled near Zion’s head.
Hills’ mark seemed to protect only Arundel thoroughly.
‘Really persistent… these guys.’
Arundel looked at the flying Mongma.
Not one, but three were flying around, and it seemed that Zion was having quite a terrible nightmare.
Hmm… should I just watch this?
While thinking, she suddenly remembered what Mannheim had said.
‘Ah, my divine power has returned a bit!’
Thinking about it, as Zion goes the right way, her divine power also returns.
When she checked last time, she could only use a weak, tingling divine power, but now it would be different.
Thanks to Zion’s honest confession earlier, Arundel was confident.
Arundel concentrated her divine power on her palm. As before, a bright white light sparkled above her palm.
‘As expected…!’
Much more divine power was condensed than when it was manifested last time.
She brought the divine power gathered on her palm to Zion’s forehead. The white light slowly seeped into Zion’s head.
Not long after, the Mongmas, like bugs that had taken drugs, staggered and hid their figures.
Fortunately, as soon as the Mongmas disappeared, Zion’s expression relaxed. He seemed to be sleeping deeply, exhaling evenly.
Arundel looked down at Zion’s sleeping face, which looked peaceful.
‘I’ve never seen this face before.’
Arundel admired his handsome face anew.
His sparkling platinum hair was scattered on the pillow, and his perfectly harmonious features were neatly in place without any expression.
The sleeping Zion looked like a sculpture made by a craftsman.
But Arundel realized once again.
This beautiful man can kill people in an instant, even against multiple opponents.
‘That guy. It’s definitely not human power.’
Suddenly, Hills’ words came to mind. He had spoken with a rare serious expression.
‘…If he’s not human, what is he?’
He wouldn’t be an angel with this personality… then a demon?
His personality seemed closer to that side, but it wasn’t a demon’s symbol, purple eyes, so that was wrong too.
Rather, ‘monster-like human’ was the word that suited him. Arundel thought it was not a big deal.
What was important right now was the mark stamped on her wrist.
Looking at Zion’s changing attitude and the returning divine power, it seemed that the situation was going smoothly.
But if this mark is exposed to someone, if the person who finds out is Zion…!
Just imagining it made her bones ache.
The time to deal with it with a bandage as an excuse would be a week, at most two weeks. She had to find a solution quickly.
As Arundel was about to get up, the dark night sky caught her eye.
“Hmm…It’s approaching dawn now.”
Arundel lay down on the bed again. It was her second time lying down, but the bed seemed really nice.
A lot of dynamic things happened in a day. She also thought a lot, so her head seemed to spin.
She had to fall asleep quickly.
“Good night, Zion.”
Before going to sleep, Arundel briefly greeted Zion and quickly closed her eyes.
****
“Uh… Hmm…”
When someone touched her hair, Arundel buried her face in the pillow as if she was sulking.
“Wake up.”
“…I don’t want to…”
Arundel grumbled with her face buried in the pillow.
“I have to go now.”
Then… go…
Arundel, who was still wandering in her dream, muttered to herself. But at the sound of a short sigh, Arundel slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze gradually rose from the pure white pillow, and a tall man… Zion came into view.
“Gasp!”
“You wake up quickly.”
Zion was standing right next to her, looking down at Arundel.
Arundel was startled and sat up abruptly.
“I’m…I’m sorry!”
“How’s your body?”
“My body…? I’m fine…?”
“Next time, it would be good to drink moderately. It’s not good to see the Empress drunk and faint.”
“Yes…”
Zion seemed dissatisfied with something, frowning. And he muttered as if he was thinking deeply.
“…It’s strange.”
“Yes?”
Zion stared at Arundel.
“I didn’t take a sleeping pill yesterday…”
Zion’s gaze scanned Arundel sharply. But Arundel had to pretend not to know as best she could.
I used divine power to drive out the Mongmas! She couldn’t say that.
When Zion left the bedroom at Cain’s urging, Arundel finally sighed.
Arundel also quietly got up from the bed. He couldn’t stay in Zion’s bed forever.
But at that moment,
“Ugh-!”
Arundel, who was getting off the bed, clutched her chest. A tremendous pain struck her heart for a moment.
Feeling as if someone was squeezing her heart, Arundel took a deep breath.
It was very momentary, but at the terrible pain, Arundel paused for a moment.
‘What is this…?’
At the aftermath of the pain, Arundel muttered with a surprised face.
****
“Today’s schedule is…”
As Zion came out of the bedroom, Cain stuck to him and recited the schedule.
But even as he read a whole page, there was no particular reaction from Zion, so Cain couldn’t help but turn his gaze from the schedule to Zion.
“Lunch with the Pope after… Are you listening, Your Majesty?”
“I heard.”
Zion’s answer was suspicious, but Cain looked at the schedule again.
He was used to Zion’s state these days. He looked somewhat dazed, as if he was thinking about something else.
Cain didn’t know what he was thinking, but at least it was much better than the usual Zion, who seemed to be pricked by a needle any day.
Especially since he seemed to be completely not listening like that, but there was no mistake or misunderstanding in the schedule, so Cain didn’t care.
In a word, he was the type to take care of himself.
“Did I tell you that Royden brought the unconscious Empress yesterday?”
“Yes. Royden, the captain of the knights, carried the unconscious Empress… Huh!”
Cain stopped talking. It was because Zion was glaring at Cain with a scary expression.
But really fortunately, Zion opened his mouth on another topic.
“Cain.”
“Yes?”
“Has anyone ever risked their life for you?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure? I’ve never been in such a situation. But I guess my mother would do that for me, haha.”
At the sudden question, Cain answered lightly.
“Come to think of it, it’s sad…Your Majesty?”
When Cain didn’t feel any presence next to him, he stopped and turned around to see Zion standing still.
But as if nothing had happened, Zion soon walked over.
“Let’s go.”
“…Yes.”
Cain looked at Zion strangely, but Zion seemed to pay no attention.
****
“You’ve worked hard today, Your Majesty.”
By the time the sun was setting, Zion’s daily schedule was all over. At Cain’s words of appreciation, Zion nodded slightly.
Knock knock-
As Cain was about to leave work, he looked at the incoming guard with sensitive eyes.
“What’s the matter?”
“Your Majesty, there is someone requesting an audience.”
“His Majesty’s schedule for today is all over. Tell them to come next time.”
“Well… they say they must see you today…”
“Ha, who is that person?”
Cain spoke in an annoyed voice. Who was blocking the way of someone who wanted to leave work early today?
The guard revealed the identity of the uninvited guest.
“It’s the Count Montreal.”
“The Count Montreal?”
Cain stroked his chin as if he was in a dilemma.
The Count Montreal was a person with quite a strong political influence. He was currently in a neutral position, so he was not in conflict with Zion.
If he turned away, it wouldn’t have a significant impact, but it would be quite annoying.
Unable to make a decision, Cain looked at Zion. Zion asked with his chin propped up.
“What did they come for?”
“Well… they say they have something important to say related to the Empress.”
At the word ‘Empress’, Zion’s eyes sharpened.
“Let them in.”
