You brought me out of the darkness
Herhan remembered when he first started losing consciousness.
His body started to feel strange right after he drank the champagne the maid gave him in the garden.
He thought it was the alcohol taking effect because his stomach felt warm as he inhaled, but soon his head started to hurt.
The maid started to say completely unbelievable things, and Herhan read her memories.
Herhan’s head was about to burst, and all he could see were fragments of scenes.
The maid roughly drags Riella out of the bathtub, as if she were a piece of luggage.
In Riella’s room, looking at Riella’s mirror, wearing Riella’s clothes, smiling greedily.
It was like selling Riella to someone who appeared from the shadows.
Herhan grabbed the maid’s chin in anger boiling over from instinct and fought the urge to wring her neck right then and there.
It was probably around that time that his mind started to become clouded.
After that, it was just a constant battle with pain.
The symptoms were similar to previous attacks, but the physical pain was several times more intense.
It felt like someone was twisting and squeezing every muscle in his body.
It felt hot like he was thrown into a pit of fire.
At that moment, when Herhan was so miserable that he thought he would rather just die, his mind suddenly became clear and all the pain disappeared.
It was something he had experienced before.
“Your Majesty.”
‘Was it from then? Did I love this voice from then on? Or was it before then?’
“I’m back.”
The dark world suddenly became a bright sunny place.
The voice that once said it would be by his side was now saying that it was back.
‘My goddess.’
Herhan, who had once doubted her existence, now held her hand tightly without a moment’s hesitation.
He slowly opened his eyes and raised his head, and his goddess was looking down at him like the sun.
Her eyes were crying with a lovely smile on her lips.
“Your Majesty. Can you see me?”
‘I see you.’
Herhan knew that his answer was conveyed even without making a sound.
“Your Majesty. Did I ever tell you that I love you?”
Herhan shook his head.
Riella had made some pretty bold confessions, but she had never actually told him she loved him.
How it hurt him inside.
Still, Herhan waited without showing any sign of it. He knew there would be a moment and an opportunity for her.
That must have been today.
“I love you, Your Majesty.”
Riella’s eyes sparkled beautifully as she followed the soft confession.
“I love you, Your Majesty. Perhaps even more than you love me.”
‘Probably not. It can’t be any bigger than that.’
“I will always be by your side, Your Majesty. I will never leave your side for even a moment. I will always be by your side.”
‘That’s nice to hear…’
“I love you.”
‘That’s nice to hear again…’
Herhan’s face, which had been smiling happily, seemed tired, so Riella cupped his cheek with her warm hand.
Herhan leaned against the gentle touch and raised his head.
Riella bowed her head and kissed him.
Their lips pressed together softly, and their breaths, filled with affection, exchanged.
Herhan drank the life that Riella gave him, like someone who had wandered through a swamp of death and found an oasis.
* * *
Seeing his lord quickly regain stability, Jess turned to face the wall and took a deep breath.
Asion also watched the two in silence, his sword raised in his hand still in his hand.
There was something desperate and longing about the two lovers.
Perhaps that was why. Even those who would normally be interested in the rumors surrounding the Emperor, or who would have gazed at Loriell’s revelations with disbelief, were silent and bowed their heads in contemplation.
The gazes that had been withdrawn from the emperor and his lover were now turned towards Loriell.
‘What is this?’
‘You said that Riella Blinite ran away in the middle of the night? That’s not true, is it?’
‘Is it possible that His Majesty the Emperor would touch such a maid so carelessly?’
Loriell was also embarrassed as suspicious eyes poured in.
‘What the hell happened? How did that woman get back here? Did she escape on her own?’
As Loriell was rolling her eyes frivolously and looking around, he saw El standing with his arms crossed at the entrance of the banquet hall.
He was looking at the Emperor and Riella, who were still kissing, from afar, and then turned to Loriell when he felt her gaze on him.
‘Ha! I’ve never seen such a stupid man like you in the world! I laid out everything for you, but you came back unable to do anything about that one woman?’
Loriell gritted her teeth and glared at El, but he just had a tired and indifferent look on his face.
At that moment, a small commotion arose in the middle of the banquet hall.
Loriel absentmindedly turned her head toward the sound and almost collapsed in her seat.
Riella was coming towards her and she was taking Asion’s sword.
“Loriell.”
“What, what! Are you going to cut me in front of everyone?”
Loriel screamed and slowly backed away.
‘No matter what I’d tried to do to her, she’d always managed to act all noble in front of me.’
That was so annoying and irritating that Loriell wanted to grab her hair and fight her instead, but she never thought that Riella would come and pull out a sword like that.
“What do you think?”
“…..”
“I was an assassin who seduced His Majesty and ran away in the middle of the night with my aide, so I’m supposed to be able to kill people, right?”
“That’s right, try it! You live on pine needles, but you’ve been pretending to be a nobleman you don’t belong to all this time, Miss Riella, no, you’ve been such a knife-wielding, lowly subject from the beginning, so why not be lowly all the way through!”
“Okay.”
At that moment, with a swoosh, the tip of Riella’s sword reached out and almost touched Loriell’s chin.
It was an exquisite distance as if measured with a ruler. If she had been not careful, she could have stabbed her in the flesh.
Loriell, who had never thought that Riella would actually swing her sword, groaned involuntarily.
Without putting away her sword, Riella slowly ran her fingers over Loriell from head to toe.
“I don’t think I’m the one who’s off-topic right now.”
Loriell was unable to move, as if she was chained, and received Riella’s cold gaze.
“Loriell. Why are you wearing my clothes?”
Suddenly, a hot shiver ran down Loriell’s spine.
She felt ashamed as if she had been stripped naked in front of a crowd.
“Hey, Do you have any proof that all of this is yours…?”
When Loriell blurted out something in a panic, Riella opened her eyes slightly wide and let out a shallow sigh.
“Okay. If you want it so badly, take it. I’ll give it to you.”
That was even more humiliating for Loriell.
‘It would be better if she just giggled and pointed at me.’
At that moment, Riella, who had been glaring at Loriell, called out to the captain of the guards in a calm voice.
“Captain Asion. I will return the sword now. After all, summary execution seems too lenient for this criminal.”
“Do you think I’m a criminal just because I stole some clothes…?”
“Loriell poisoned His Majesty. She also used sleeping pills on me to help kidnap me.”
“…..!”
‘How did this woman know that?’
Loriell opened her eyes wide.
Even those who had been watching the situation with bated breath began to scream.
Count Igdnis stepped back, pale as a ghost, and the countess had long since fainted and been carried away by her servant.
“Oh, no,…I didn’t poison His Majesty.…”
The knights grabbed Loriell’s arms as if there was nothing more to hear.
“I’m innocent, I didn’t mean to poison His Majesty, I swear, I didn’t know it was poison, I swear, I swear, I swear, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
Loriell’s screams gradually became fainter.
Riella looked at Loriell’s miserable back for a moment before adding quietly to Asion.
“My aide knows the details of the poison, so go with Sir Jess and question him.”
“Ah. The aide who ran away with you in the middle of the night.”
“Yes. The aide I had an affair with.”
After some joking, Riella looked straight at Asion again and spoke calmly.
“Sir El is waiting at the door of the banquet hall. He promised to follow my orders obediently, so he will turn himself in and cooperate with the investigation.”
“Yes, I understand. I will take good care of it.”
“I am…Did I make a big accident?”
“It wasn’t Miss Riella who caused the accident. Rather, you were the one who took care of everything.”
Asion placed the sword he had received from Riella on the floor, then sat down on one knee and took the knight’s posture.
“Thank you for returning safely and for saving His Majesty.”
* * *
It was late the next evening when Herhan woke up.
“Riella…?”
As soon as Herhan opened his eyes, he got up and called Riella’s name.
The bedroom, no different from any other day, was filled with sunset.
Herhan usually loved the soft, languid glow, but today the red glow only made him more anxious that Riella wasn’t there.
“Riella? Where are you? Riella?”
Herhan got out of bed right away.
When he took his first step, he stumbled a little.
“Riella?”
The whole living room was quiet.
As if he was left alone in a world without people.
A moment of dizziness came over Herhan, so he leaned back against the wall for a moment and caught his breath.
‘My head hurt. All kinds of scenes flooded into my head, and I couldn’t tell what was real and what was imagined.’
‘Did I meet Riella when I came back from my business trip? Did I propose to her? Did I never meet her at all? What do I remember about the banquet hall?’
Herhan checked the calendar on the table in the living room with a sense of urgency.
He slowly recalled his memories, going back to the dates, and then he sighed heavily and touched his forehead.
“Your Majesty, are you awake? Do you want me to call Sir Jess?”
“No. It’s okay.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the lake palace.”
It was the doorkeeper who stopped Herhan, who was trying to go out without thinking, wearing only a jacket.
“Why are you going to the lake palace?”
Herhan frowned at his question.
“Of course, I’m going to see Riella.”
“That…Isn’t Miss Riella no longer at the lake palace?”
“What?”
Herhan was dumbfounded by the answer and just stood in front of the door with a blank expression for a while.
‘Is Riella not at the lake palace? Could it be that Riella’s departure was the only reality, and her return was just an illusion?’
His heart sank when he thought about it like that.
El Weiss ended up kidnapping Riella.
Herhan thinks he will stop El even if it means mobilizing the entire imperial army.
“Your Majesty?”
Just then a clear voice was heard from inside the room.
In the place where Herhan walked out an instant, Riella was standing there with her wet hair pulled up and a flushed face.
“Are you awake? Are you okay? Do you recognize me?”
“Riella…”
“Hah. You recognized me. I’m grateful.”
Riella closed her eyes tightly and sighed in relief.
“I watched Your Majesty sleep and then went to take a quick shower, but in the meantime, you woke—”
Before Riella could finish speaking, Herhan came up to her and kissed her earnestly.
Riella had just come out of the bath and her body was covered in fragrant moisture.
“What happened? I thought you were gone. What happened to Loriell? And El Weiss?”
“Sir Jess said that the detoxification is not yet complete, so your memory may be a little confusing. However, he said that there will be no major problems with Your Majesty’s health….”
“You’re not going anywhere, are you?”
Herhan was more impatient than usual.
Riella smiled cutely and affectionately, understanding his feelings.
“How much do you remember?”
“You brought me out of the darkness.”
Herhan answered while hugging Riella. His answer continued.
“You promised me that you would stay by my side no matter what. And you told me countless times that you loved me.”
Riella smiled brightly.
“I think Sir Jess was wrong. Your Majesty remembers everything perfectly.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“You really came and saved me.”
“Yes.”
“And confess your love to me.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Even though Riella kept saying yes, Herhan still couldn’t believe all that.
It was too much to just accept, so Herhan thinks he will probably continue giving stupid questions like that for a while.
Herhan paused for a moment before trying to kiss Riella again.
“But what does the doorkeeper mean you’re not at the lake palace?”
“Ah…that….”
Riella, who had been answering cheerfully the whole time, seemed embarrassed to answer and buried her forehead in Herhan’s chest and muttered.
“I felt like I had to keep my promise to always be with you….So from now on, I’m thinking of sharing a bedroom with Your Majesty….Of course, if your Majesty approves. But actually, I’ve already moved all of my things…..”
* * *
