YED Chapter 148

That day, on a bright summer day, something very ominous happened at the imperial palace. First, whether it was because of the sudden thunder and lightning, the Marchioness of Schroz was found alone, collapsed in a blood-splattered reception room.

She just sat there laughing, drooling and having wet herself. The shocked Crown Prince quickly hid his mother.

His mother had said that the Grand Duchess of Lusenford would leave on her own. However, the maid guarding outside the reception room said the Grand Duchess never came out.

Had the Grand Duchess disappeared from the reception room?

‘Nothing went wrong, right?’

He anxiously paced around the study. It must have gone well. The Grand Duchess must have disappeared a bit early, and since blood was found, she must have died on her own. He was trying to think positively, but he couldn’t understand why he felt so uneasy.

“Your Highness! Your Highness! There’s a fire at Soleil Palace!”

A fire! The Crown Prince turned around urgently.

“They say there’s a fire in the magic tool room.”

“What about His Majesty? Is His Majesty alright?”

If he rushed there right now and showed his face first, the Emperor would feel at least somewhat reassured by him. As Gregory was carefully calculating and about to move, his close aide held him back.

“That’s not the issue, Your Highness. They say the Grand Duke of Lusenford was in the magic tool room.”

“What?”

“And it seems he was carrying the Grand Duchess.”

“How?”

Gregory couldn’t understand right away. The Grand Duke was carrying the Grand Duchess? At Soleil Palace, how?

“Our spy saw it.”

Recently, as the Emperor’s magic tools had been causing trouble, the strict surveillance network the Emperor had set up weakened. Experienced people who noticed this recently started planting their own eyes and ears in the imperial palace, and the Crown Prince was among them.

The Crown Prince, who was well aware that his position was shaking, became even more desperate and was anxious to plant spies in Soleil Palace.

Somehow, through bribes, threats, and persuasion, he succeeded in planting a spy, and it seems that spy did their job properly.

“I was assigned to clean the corridor near the magic tool room, when suddenly there were screams from inside. Haven’t magicians been coming and going since spring, saying they would repair the magic tools?”

Actually, it had been since last winter, when the Empress collapsed, but there were always limitations to the information the Crown Prince could gather. The imperfect and amateurish nature was always due to the careless personalities of him and the Marchioness of Schroz.

“There was fire and smoke from some problem that occurred, and when I went to check because of a screaming servant, the person in the smoke looked unmistakably like the Grand Duke. There’s no one else that tall in the imperial palace, right?”

The Crown Prince nervously swallowed.

“Are you sure he was carrying the Grand Duchess?”

“There was a limp woman with blonde hair.”

The only blonde woman in the imperial family is the Grand Duchess of Lusenford. The Crown Prince’s face hardened as he started toward Soleil Palace but then hesitated.

“So they set fire inside and haven’t escaped yet?”

****

The sound of water splashing could be heard. Peon looked at Kaela, who lay in warm water still wearing her blood-soaked dress. He carefully took clean, warm water in his hands and gently wiped the blood from Kaela’s cheeks.

She was so weak that she kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Her eyes were closed now. But thanks to thoroughly searching for and removing all the absorbed poison, her breathing was steady and her heart was beating regularly.

‘…You really won’t abandon me?’

He wanted to ask. He couldn’t bear wanting to ask. He wanted to confirm if she really meant it, if she was sincere, if she would really keep him by her side.

But he wasn’t foolish enough to bother his wife who had fainted covered in blood, so Peon held back again and again. Instead, he kept replaying and rewinding the memory of what Kaela had said in the magic tool room.

[I will never abandon you.]

[Me?]

Too weak to answer, she couldn’t speak anymore, but she definitely nodded. Then she fainted again, and Peon immediately moved from the magic tool room to here.

[I absolutely won’t die.]

That alone was ecstatic, but saying she wouldn’t abandon him – Peon now wondered if he was hallucinating from going mad. He knew he was mad.

His way of thinking had already diverged from human thought patterns. Every time Kaela attempted to take her own life, suffered pain, or he discovered new wounds she carried, Peon steadily and quietly added to his madness.

What if it was a hallucination? Nothing frightened him more than the shattering of hope that grew uncontrollably no matter how much he tried to suppress it.

He was such a poor person. Even after returning to the past, all he had left was his mother who set fires for his sake, and Kaela. If the hope that Kaela had made flourish were to break, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

“Stay with me.”

Kaela, who had slightly opened her eyes then, said.

“Don’t go anywhere……”

A voice half words, half air. But it was so quiet around that it could be heard very clearly. She drifted back to sleep. Since Her Highness had given strict orders, he must obey.

Peon threw off his clothes one by one, which were cumbersome being both blood-soaked and wet.

He carefully washed Kaela’s body and removed her dress which was heavy with blood and hanging limp. The exposed skin was too pale, and her body was just thin.

Although he had definitely found all the poison, Peon compulsively searched deep into her bones. He couldn’t shake off the anxious thought that remaining poison might kill Kaela.

“Don’t go anywhere……”

She mumbled as if sleep-talking.

“I’ll stay here.”

“Don’t cause any more trouble……”

Ah, is that why she wants to keep me close? Peon expressionlessly wiped his face with his water-filled hands. Dark red blood spread across his palms.

He briefly considered whether to stay looking like he was crying tears of blood, or to clean up and present himself neatly and properly.

The former would terrify Kaela but make him look pitiful, while the latter would highlight his handsome face and fine body – assets he actually possessed.

“Go wash……”

Kaela pointed at him, weakly moving her hand. Without another word, Peon rubbed his face. Blood water trickled down his sinewy neck and chiseled jaw.

“…I’m sorry.”

Peon froze in place. His gaze wandered lost, until he finally laughed irritably.

“What on earth are you sorry for?”

His voice had an edge to it. He didn’t want to be like this with a patient drifting in and out of consciousness.

“What did you do wrong?”

Just smiling while coughing up blood.

“Even if you stabbed me in the back, there’d be nothing to apologize for.”

The blue eyes that had been fluttering closed opened again.

“For making you upset……”

He wanted to protest that he wasn’t upset, but his lips remained tightly sealed.

“For hurting you, I’m sorry.”

Kaela’s eyes closed again after speaking with difficulty. Peon lowered his head.

“…It didn’t hurt.”

Why on earth are you sorry for that? It’s ridiculous.

“It didn’t hurt at all.”

He held Kaela who had fallen asleep again and buried his face in her embrace. The blood that fell into the clear water bloomed like smoke before disappearing.

****

“Kaela.”

Kiss, kiss, the sensation of something touching the face was ticklish.

“Kaela. You need to wake up.”

It was a low, gentle voice that could almost lull one deeper into sleep.

“Let’s eat just one bite and sleep. You need to take medicine too.”

Though there was strong concern in his tone, it seemed like she could just ignore it and keep sleeping. Her eyelids were that heavy.

“Kaela?”

But when anxiety touched the calling voice, Kaela had no choice but to open her eyes. She knew that was a signal that shouldn’t be ignored no matter how tired and sleepy she was.

“Sorry for waking you. But you can’t sleep more.”

Peon kept giving her light kisses to wake her up. Since there was a high chance her consciousness could slip away to an unreachable place if sleep became too deep, he had to be careful again and again.

“Are you conscious?”

When she nodded, he lifted Kaela up. He sat her in his arms to lean completely against him, then pulled over some food. She was wearing very comfortable sleepwear lying in a large bed.

It seemed like she had been submerged in water until just before, but when did she come here? White, smooth sheets covered the bed with glossy white curtains hanging, filled with warm light and cool breeze.

“Where is this……”

“My lair. Remember the room with lots of gold and jewels you saw last time? That’s here.”

Ah. Her husband’s unique real estate. Kaela nodded and drank the water he held to her lips.

Peon was someone specialized in taking care of her. His solid embrace was just right for her to sit and lean against. But even just sitting was difficult. Her weak body was too heavy from lack of strength.

“Is it hard?”

For some reason those words made her sad, and Kaela’s delicate eyebrows twisted.

“Ugh……, it’s frustrating……”

Peon set down the tray he was bringing and cupped her face.

“Why? What’s frustrating?”

“Being sick and weak every day, I’m so tired of it. It’s frustrating……”

The precious Her Highness showed tears while getting frustrated, having no strength due to suffering from poison aftereffects. Doing this right after waking up showed how upset she must be. Her clouded voice was full of self-blame. But it wasn’t something to blame herself for.

“Look at me, Kaela.”

“I should have been awake……”

There was so much to say but she had no strength at all, and Peon had already cried covered in blood.

“Look at me.”

Peon pulled at his hands cupping her face. He gently captured her moistened lips. As breath mixed with breath, tremendous energy seeped into her completely withered body.

Ah, I think I’ll live. Just a bit more. Kaela pulled at his shirt. But Peon stiffened and removed his lips first.

“No.”

“More……”

Kaela’s arms wavered as she demanded more without even knowing what it was. Her small hands pulled at his forearms. Peon gritted his teeth.

“No. Only this much for now.”

Peon faced her slowly blinking blue eyes and wiped away the tears that had leaked out.

“Why? You can’t give me more?”

“Do you know what this is?”

Kaela tilted her head looking up at Peon who laughed as if dumbfounded.

“Good for the body……, dragon’s……, special medicine?”

She only states the correct answers even in this state.

“Similar, but in your current condition too much would be poison.”

At those words her small face became gloomy again. Then doesn’t that mean it would have been fine if she were stronger?

“There’s no need for that since I made medicine just for you. Being weak isn’t wrong.”

Having gained strength to speak, she still pretended not to hear.

“In Lusenford it is wrong.”

Peon rubbed his face and squeezed his eyes shut, holding back a sigh.

“No, it’s my fault for letting such bull…such nonsense stand. I’m sorry. It was my fault.”

Everyone should have worried saying our Her Highness is sick, she’s weak, but he didn’t pay attention and just confined her to her room when she said she was sick, so it’s all his fault that Kaela is so upset.

New sins keep popping up at every moment. Peon unconsciously tightened his arms wrapped around her.

“It’s okay. Really okay. Just you being alive is enough for me to be grateful. It was my fault.”

I’m sorry. He kept apologizing while habitually burying his face in her shoulder. I see. Even being sick was hard in Lusenford. Yes. It must have been like that. Peon felt helpless for not caring about that.

“Just, just live, Kaela. Just being alive is……”

He struggled to move his stiffening tongue.

“An honor and fortune to me. Being sick and weak isn’t wrong, okay?”

Kaela who had been quietly listening nodded once.

“Okay.”

“It was my fault, not yours. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“It’s okay to be sick. Even though you collapsed many times, I forcibly saved you.”

“Okay.”

Each time she answered, Kaela nodded her head.

“It was all my fault. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“Okay.”

Peon carefully looked at her. It was surprising that she didn’t argue against him and listened to each of his words. Pressing his forehead to hers, he whispered.

“Thank you for enduring well.”

He kept expressing gratitude for her being alive.

“Thank you for opening your eyes. Just that alone……just you breathing makes me grateful.”

That’s how the stoic man conveyed his heart.