Unable to wait any longer, Kayden called her in a puzzled voice. He was about to open his eyes when she suddenly rested her head against his chest. Kayden froze in surprise, but hearing a small sob through her pink hair, he quickly embraced her and patted her back.
“Diana, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Or was the medicine too bitter?”
“You shouldn’t be worrying about me… The medicine was bitter…”
“Ah, right. Sorry. Do you want to hit me until the bitterness goes away?”
In a rare display of vulnerability, Diana lightly hit his chest with her fists, whimpering softly. Kayden, still unsure what he had done wrong, rambled to comfort her.
“You must have been really worried. I did lose a lot of blood… It must have been scary. I’ll be more careful next time. I may be unreliable, but I don’t plan on breaking our contract and dying—”
“That’s not why.” Diana suddenly cut him off, lifting her head abruptly. Her tear-streaked face and accusing expression made Kayden hold his breath.
Without even thinking to wipe her tears, Diana stared straight at him, her voice quivering with emotion. “It’s not about the contract. I…”
“…”
“I’m just worried about you purely because I care about you.” As she finished speaking, tears streamed down her face again.
It had been about a week since the defense battle ended. During that time, the imperial palace was abuzz with talk about the battle’s outcome every day. Although there was no clear evidence that Bezet had tried to attack Diana, the strange atmosphere among the people persisted.
Eight out of ten nobles, hearing about the events of that day, subtly suggested it might have been Rebecca’s doing. This was partly because Diana’s tearful embrace of Kayden during the battle had moved many onlookers. As a result, Rebecca’s reputation had taken a significant hit.
Losing the role of leading the founding festival parade was enough to keep Rebecca in the public eye constantly. The rumor that she had tried to harm Diana, who was known to be powerless, further tarnished Rebecca’s image. However, Diana couldn’t find any joy in Rebecca’s misfortune. Kayden had been unconscious for several days due to his injuries from Rebecca’s actions.
Diana had experienced firsthand what it meant to be driven to despair. Even though the imperial doctor assured her that Kayden’s external wounds were healing well, her anxiety did not subside. Despite Elliott and Fleur’s repeated attempts to get her to rest, Diana stubbornly stayed by Kayden’s side, nursing him. She was plagued by the irrational fear that if she looked away even for a moment, he might die again.
Diana didn’t want to lose anything else because of Rebecca. Kayden was the most precious thing she had.
With tear-filled eyes, Diana spoke sincerely. “I just want you… to be happy.”
Ah. Hearing those words, Kayden couldn’t help but let out a low sigh. His throat felt hot, and he swallowed hard, feeling as if he might cry.
How is it that she always manages to pull him out of the depths like this? How does she always know the right thing to say and do when he needs it most, even when he doesn’t realize it himself? How on earth…
“Why do you do this to me…”
Kayden finally pulled Diana into a tight embrace, burying his face in her shoulder. Only then did he feel his breath come more easily. Yet, the relief made him feel even more despair.
“Don’t worry. Once Your Highness ascends to the crown prince position, I will surely divorce you.”
Kayden recalled Diana’s words and silently mocked himself. Yes, they are bound by a contract, a relationship with an end already determined. But now, if he says he doesn’t want to let her go… If he says he can’t imagine a life without her… will she despise him?
Unable to voice these thoughts, Kayden simply swallowed his questions and held Diana tightly for a long time.
* * *
Fortunately, Kayden recovered soon enough to get out of bed. The imperial doctor marveled at Kayden’s monstrous stamina and recovery.
“Your Highness seems well enough to attend the celebration banquet tonight. Of course, Your Highness must refrain from drinking.”
“It’s impressive the banquet wasn’t canceled.”
“Her Majesty worked hard to ensure it wasn’t.” Kayden’s words made the imperial doctor shake his head as he closed his medical kit.
Traditionally, a celebration banquet was held at the imperial palace ten days after the mock battle to honor the winner. The first concubine had argued vehemently for canceling the banquet, citing Kayden’s unconscious state. With Rebecca’s image already tarnished, holding the banquet would only cement Kayden’s victory over her. Whether he attended or not, it would keep people talking, and nobles would start approaching Kayden.
However, the first concubine didn’t get what she wanted. The empress, shocked by seeing Diana almost get hurt and Kayden severely injured, stood in her way.
“According to the imperial doctor, the third prince will wake up soon. So, we’ll proceed with the banquet as planned.”
“Shouldn’t we prevent wasting the national treasury and manpower based on the vague word ‘soon’? There’s no guarantee the third prince will wake up before the banquet…”
“First Concubine, it sounded like you hope the third prince won’t wake up before the banquet. Am I wrong?”
Although the first concubine had wielded real power, the empress was still the empress. Before her marriage, she had been the only princess of the Kingdom Ravic, the most powerful kingdom on the continent after the Valhanas Empire, and the current king’s only sister. Her innate authority was not easily dismissed.
The first concubine was quite taken aback because it was the first time the Empress, who had always remained quiet and never directly opposed her, had come out so strongly.
“The celebration banquet of the mock battle is a long-standing tradition. If the empire would falter from preparing just a single banquet, it would have collapsed long ago.”
Even the emperor, usually uninvolved in such disputes, had added his voice, leaving the first concubine no choice but to retreat. Despite her frustration, Rebecca’s faction was too unsettled to retaliate against the empress.
“Thank you for everything. I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble.” Kayden finished buttoning his shirt and patted the imperial doctor’s shoulder.
The doctor chuckled and shook his head. Just before leaving, he turned back and lowered his voice. “By the way, how are your seizures?”
“Seizures? Now that you mention it…”
Kayden suddenly realized he hadn’t suffered from a seizure recently and looked surprised. I think the last time was on my wedding day. He thought about the dates and chuckled.
Ever since marrying Diana, everything seemed to be going unusually well. Thinking about their marriage naturally led to thoughts of the divorce a year later, making Kayden feel gloomy again.
Is his body fine, but his mind acting up? Seeing Kayden chuckling to himself and then looking downcast repeatedly, the imperial doctor slowly backed away as if he had seen something bizarre.
Not long after the imperial doctor left, there was a knock, and Diana came in. She smiled warmly, dressed up properly for the first time in a while.
“Are you ready?”
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