Eventually, Jerald’s first hunting contest ended in a mess due to the unexpected accident.
And, that night.
“You’re here, my lord.”
“Yes. Is everything all right?”
“Yes. But more importantly, Master, are you all right? I heard His Majesty was hit by a poisoned arrow.”
“…I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.”
The butler, who nodded quietly, added as if he had forgotten,
“By the way, Lady Tanya returned to the mansion earlier.”
“Tanya?”
“Yes. It seems she was quite shocked by today’s events, and she mentioned staying here for a few days.”
“…Tell her to come to my study immediately.”
The butler nodded without sensing anything unusual in the now-subdued voice of Duke Gennant. Eventually, he went to call Tanya to the room.
—Knock, knock
As he knocked on the door, a trembling voice could be heard from inside.
“W,Who is it?”
“It’s me, lady.”
“…Butler?”
Even though he was identified, her voice was still trembling.
“What’s going on?”
“The master is calling.”
“…Father?”
The questioning voice inside the room seemed even more shaky than before. The butler, expecting her to inquire about the reason, calmly explained,
“He asked you to come to the study immediately. Right away.”
“…”
Surprisingly, there was no more questioning voice from inside the room. The butler thought she would ask for the reason, so it was quite an unexpected reaction.
After a while, the door opened and Tanya appeared.
“…”
Dressed in a white gown, Tanya looked quite pale. With a voice still trembling, she asked the butler,
“When did Father arrive?”
“He just arrived.”
“…”
That was the only question asked. Tanya walked down the corridor without asking further, and headed to her father’s study. Meanwhile Tanya’s eyes shook constantly.
Finally she arrived at the study, but Tanya could not knock on the door easily. But after a while, she raised her hand with a look of determination.
Knock knock. A slow knock rang out, and a voice came out from inside.
“Come on in.”
The stern voice sounded angry to anyone. Tanya closed her eyes tightly, then slowly opened the door and went inside. The duke was looking out the window in his study.
In the direction opposite Tanya, with his back turned, the duke remained silent. After Tanya swallowed dry saliva, she spoke slowly,
“…Father.”
“Tanya.”
Still with his back to her, the Duke of Gennant spoke heavily.
“Do you have any idea what you just did?”
“Ha, but … it was a mistake.”
Tanya responded immediately, as if she had been wronged.
“I didn’t know His Majesty would be at the hunting grounds! Do you think I intentionally shot him?!”
“Ha…”
The Duke of Gennant sighed heavily, and only then turned to his daughter. He looked worried.
“You weren’t caught, right? You weren’t even supposed to be there in the first place…”
“I had no choice. Only verified nobles are allowed in the hunting grounds.”
Tanya said, biting her teeth.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t get caught. I didn’t shoot it at such a close distance in the first place. As soon as His Majesty was shot with an arrow, I ran away immediately…”
“Yeah, that’s a relief.”
The Duke of Gennant said, holding his daughter by the shoulder.
“Keep it in mind, Tanya; we must not let the fact that we orchestrated today’s event be revealed.”
“… I know.”
This was a crime tantamount to treason. If the fact that the Gernant family orchestrated today’s event were to be known, the duke would lose his noble status and face exile or perhaps even execution.
No, maybe he would face execution.
“Don’t worry, Father, I’ll be on my guard for a while.”
“Good, Tanya. Don’t be too heartbroken, and forget about today.”
The Duke of Gennant patted his daughter on the shoulder and offered words of consolation.
“I know you’re angry, but hang in there. I’ll make you an empress no matter what.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Several days had passed since then.
Although he had been hit by an arrow, the wound was not deep and Jerald quickly received treatment, so he did not fall into a critical state. The doctors also did not expect Jerald’s condition.
“Why aren’t you waking up…”
However, Jerald showed no signs of regaining consciousness. Even though his breathing and overall condition were stable, when he didn’t open his eyes, Pristin became very anxious.
In her heart, she wanted to stay by Jerald’s bedside twenty-four hours a day, but unfortunately, she was neither the empress nor anything. Because she was unable to act carelessly, she was forced to stay in her room and receive a report on Jerald’s condition.
“Any news of him waking up today, Madame Korsol?”
“No, Your Excellency. Unfortunately…”
Aruvina replied in a hushed voice; as a result, Pristin’s expression darkened again. Aruvina quickly spoke again to reassure Pristin.
“But don’t worry too much. The doctors have assured that His Majesty will be fine.”
“I know. But… it’s unsettling that he hasn’t woken up yet.”
Pristin mumbled with a distressed tone. Even though she was worried, there was nothing she could do, so she felt the same helplessness as the year before. It seemed to overlap with the appearance of the time when she couldn’t do anything even though her parents were tortured, the family fell, and her sister went missing.
“Sigh…”
Pristin breathed a deep sigh and buried her face in both palms, and Aruvina looked at her with an apologetic look. She came carefully to Pristin’s side, placing her hands comfortingly on her shoulders.
“I hope you haven’t had any strange thoughts.”
“…”
“It’s not the countess’s fault that His Majesty ended up like this.”
Those words pierced Pristin’s heart. In reality, Pristin had been harboring such thoughts.
‘If I had been hit by that arrow, he wouldn’t have suffered like this.’
It wasn’t just an accident that happened, but she felt more guilty because he was hurt trying to protect her. She was so thankful and sorry for him who always tried to protect her despite the fact that she kept pushing him away after their reunion.
“I’m sure His Majesty will be sad to know that you are thinking that way.”
And surely enough, Pristin agreed. If he knew how badly she felt, he would definitely be upset. But hearing those words meant to comfort her actually made her feel more uncomfortable.
“Countess.”
Then a maid from outside came into Pristin’s room. Both of them raised their heads. The maid had an urgent, evocative expression. Pristin asked, feeling something had happened,
“What’s going on?”
“Good news, Your Excellency! It has been reported that His Majesty has awakened!”
“Is that true?”
Pristin stood up abruptly. The maid nodded, and Pristin, with a trembling expression, asked another question.
“How is he? Is he okay?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. He has awakened safely, and the doctors have just visited.”
“Oh…”
Finally, Pristin could breathe a sigh of relief. She momentarily suppressed the excitement, then turned to Aruvina.
“I’m going to see His Majesty. Right now…”
“Countess.”
Then the maid’s voice was heard from outside again. What was heard in time was unexpected to everyone in the room, including Pristin.
“His Majesty is here.”
“What…?”
Pristin was taken aback. Before she could react, Jerald entered the room. Despite having collapsed earlier, he appeared completely unharmed.
Jerald approached Pristin, who remained speechless. Aruvina and the other maids discreetly excused themselves from the room. And with the two left alone, Pristin still felt like it was a dream at this moment.
“Pristin.”
That low, sweet voice that always called her.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Oh…”
At that moment, Pristin’s legs gave way, and she staggered. Jerald quickly approached, catching her before she could fall.
“You have to be careful.”
“…Really.”
Pristin looked up at the man holding her with a dazed expression.
“Are you really His Majesty?”
“Then are you afraid I’m a stand-in?”
Jerald chuckled, but noticed Pristin’s continued skepticism. Jerald placed Pristin back in her original position.
“You still seem to have a hard time believing it.”
“…No. I’m just a bit surprised.”
With a still astonished expression, Pristin patted Jerald’s back. Perhaps because he was wearing clothes, he looked completely healthy, and it was hard to believe that just a few days ago, he was in a different condition.
“Are you really okay now?”
“I’m fine.”
Jerald whispered, hugging Pristin warmly.
“You were very worried, weren’t you?”
“…”
“Your face is quite bruised.”
With that, Jerald’s large hand gently caressed Pristin’s face. In fact, Pristin had been unable to sleep properly for the past few days due to worry.
Pristin looked a little embarrassed and avoided Jerald’s gaze. However, the subsequent question made her look at him again.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
“… Your Majesty, I am perfectly fine.”
Pristin replied in a voice that seemed a little emotional.
“Your Majesty took the poisoned arrow in my stead.”
“I’ll say it in case you’re feeling guilty.”
Jerald replied in a nonchalant voice.
“It was just an accident. I hope you don’t feel guilty for nothing.”
“…”
“You must have worried a lot about me.”
“How can I not worry?”
Pristin recited in a strangled voice.
“You collapsed like that and couldn’t open your eyes for days.”
“I apologize for causing you so much worry.”
Jerald whispered affectionately, giving Pristin a tight hug. Pristin did not resist and held him in her arms. With her face buried in his arms, Pristin murmured in a struggling voice,
“Don’t do such a dangerous thing again.”
“Even if I could turn back time, I would do the same thing.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Even if a similar situation arises in the future, I’ll act the same way.”
Jerald smiled and stroked Pristin’s head affectionately.
“Before closing my eyes for the last time, seeing you unharmed made me so happy.”
“… You’re cruel, you know how much I would have suffered.”
“Yes, I am by nature such a selfish man.”
Without denying it, Jerald buried his face behind Pristin’s neck.
“But still, will you love someone like me?”
…Gladly.
Unable to say the words out loud, Pristin swallowed the words stuck in her throat while holding Jerald’s waist tightly.
Thank you for the chapter!❤️🔥