Me too.
'Me too, not your friend...l.'
I should say that I want to draw a future as a lover. The feeling of my throat being blocked was not just a feeling. I barely managed to get away from him, weakly tapping his shoulder while he hugged me and muttered like a madman. Even that small gap must have made me anxious, because he pulled me back, and I vomited out a clot of blood with a “Whoosh!” sound.
The mouth that vomited out blood would be even more grotesque in contrast to the pale skin. The eyes of Rhodnes, which had suddenly distorted, looked at me frantically, and at the same time, a large hand reached for the side where the dagger was still stuck. I screamed in the excruciating pain I had never felt before in my life.
“It hurts, it hurts...”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, please. Please don’t die.”
I suddenly realized as I looked at the despairing face of Rhodnes, who had turned pale.
“...Don’t die.”
Cursing himself for being able to utter only those words.
It might sound like a crazy person saying something as soon as he came to his senses, but I, who was still on the border between fantasy and reality, said those words as soon as I saw Rhodnes’ face.
“Why is your face so hurt...”
Rhodnes snorted softly, his face slightly distorted. But his face remained stiff.
“Your face is more damaged.”
"Ah."
“Do you know how many days it’s been since you woke up?”
It was a resentful word, but the voice was trembling. When I flinched at the dramatic change of emotion coming from his frozen face, Rhodnes grabbed my finger that was brushing the tip of his chin and held me in his arms. I could smell the familiar scent of his body and the faint smell of medicine. Perhaps he was the one who had been pouring medicine into my mouth the whole time in this room.
“I wasn’t going to forgive you if you died.”
“!”
“Not you, me.”
A person can sob without tears. It was a moist voice like water drawn from a deep well. He didn't cry, but I felt tears welling up in his eyes. I felt like I had finally come out of the fantasy and returned to reality. However, the pitiful, large back of Rhodnes in the fantasy kept coming to mind, and my nose stung.
“If you had died, I would have died with you.”
Even without him saying so, I knew. The day he confirmed Adrienne's body, he was the man who mercilessly and terribly put a sharp blade to his neck.
I looked at him with slightly surprised eyes. Neil glanced at my obviously haggard face, bowed his head, and apologized sincerely.
“I should have taken care of Madam first and then attended to my business. I’m sorry.”
"It's okay."
“It’s not okay.”
I was about to forgive him for going to the Grand Duke's residence without waiting for Neil, but then Rhodnes suddenly interrupted. Neil sighed deeply as if he had expected that.
“...I told the sinner about Madam, and she asked me to meet you.”
“I guess they deserve that level of torture. Tighten the other guys’ mouths until they open their mouths. Keep their mouths shut so they can’t swear at each other, like asking to see Adrienne.”
“...You have to have a mouth to talk, right?”
“I'll go.”
Before Rhodnes could get angry at Neil, who had an apologetic expression on his face but never forgot to say the right thing, I struck first. When I got up from my seat, Neil was startled and turned around. It was only then that I realized that I was wearing a thin negligee. Rhodnes kicked Neil’s Achilles tendon mercilessly, and when he hurriedly left the room, Jonah came in with tears in her eyes.
'Me too, not your friend...l.'
I should say that I want to draw a future as a lover. The feeling of my throat being blocked was not just a feeling. I barely managed to get away from him, weakly tapping his shoulder while he hugged me and muttered like a madman. Even that small gap must have made me anxious, because he pulled me back, and I vomited out a clot of blood with a “Whoosh!” sound.
Rhodnes froze as if he had forgotten to breathe. I twisted my body painfully and felt my side, where I had not felt a terrible pain during the chaos.
“Adrienne!”
“Ugh...”
A dagger was stuck in it. Marge and Jonah, who were shivering in the corner and taking stock of the situation, suddenly screamed.
“That woman, that woman is like that! That fucking bitch!”
As soon as Marge's scream echoed through the warehouse, Sophie, who had briefly lost consciousness in the corner, woke up and stirred. Neil, who had hurriedly come in as if rolling after taking care of the situation outside, went to the place Jonah was pointing to while running around and tied up the old woman. The old woman, with bloodshot eyes, checked on Rhodnes and smiled at me while trembling. She must have appeared and stabbed me while I was still stunned. The pain I hadn't felt before surged in like a tidal wave, but Rhodnes hurriedly picked me up and hugged me.
“Ro....”
“Adrienne, Adrienne...!”
“Adrienne!”
“Ugh...”
A dagger was stuck in it. Marge and Jonah, who were shivering in the corner and taking stock of the situation, suddenly screamed.
“That woman, that woman is like that! That fucking bitch!”
As soon as Marge's scream echoed through the warehouse, Sophie, who had briefly lost consciousness in the corner, woke up and stirred. Neil, who had hurriedly come in as if rolling after taking care of the situation outside, went to the place Jonah was pointing to while running around and tied up the old woman. The old woman, with bloodshot eyes, checked on Rhodnes and smiled at me while trembling. She must have appeared and stabbed me while I was still stunned. The pain I hadn't felt before surged in like a tidal wave, but Rhodnes hurriedly picked me up and hugged me.
“Ro....”
“Adrienne, Adrienne...!”
The mouth that vomited out blood would be even more grotesque in contrast to the pale skin. The eyes of Rhodnes, which had suddenly distorted, looked at me frantically, and at the same time, a large hand reached for the side where the dagger was still stuck. I screamed in the excruciating pain I had never felt before in my life.
“It hurts, it hurts...”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, please. Please don’t die.”
I suddenly realized as I looked at the despairing face of Rhodnes, who had turned pale.
Ah. I love this ma.
Even when the excruciating pain was unbearable and the blood was flowing enough to soak half of my dress. Even when I confronted Sophie with my dagger. Even when I opened my eyes and felt as if I could not see anything, as if it were the day I died in Adrienne’s body...
So much so that Rhodnes’ face, not Noevian Trovica’s, came to mind first. So much so that I wished Rhodnes would not be distressed or sad when he saw me like this. If I had not loved this man, how could the face that came to mind every time I thought of death be this man?
'So that's how much I've come to love Rhodnes.'
So I laughed. Just before losing consciousness. Even if I died like this, I thought I would be okay, just a little bit. I had completely erased Noevian from my mind. Just thinking about Rhodnes being left alone makes my heart rip, but I don’t know how I can be so happy about that... I thought.
'So that's how much I've come to love Rhodnes.'
So I laughed. Just before losing consciousness. Even if I died like this, I thought I would be okay, just a little bit. I had completely erased Noevian from my mind. Just thinking about Rhodnes being left alone makes my heart rip, but I don’t know how I can be so happy about that... I thought.
***
Rhodnes's shock was unimaginable. He shuddered at the thought of even going to the Grand Duke's residence and carried the bloodied Adrienne to his own quarters, where he had practically abandoned her. The doctor summoned at short notice, was informed that Adrienne was not to leave the mansion until she regained consciousness.
The doctor was not allowed to speak, of course, since it was 'the' Second Prince who had given the order. For three days, Rhodnes stayed at Adrienne's bedside without sleep, and on the fourth day after her collapse, he began to brush off everyone around him like a madman.
Neil thought that was the master's way of expressing his anxiety. Rhodnes couldn't even hold Adrienne's pale hand, so he glared at her, and if she even groaned, he would wake up all the servants in the middle of the night or in the early morning and drag the doctor by the collar and bring him in front of her.
And on the fifth day, for some reason, a rumor spread that Countess Blie Acacia, the Crown Princess' maid, and the Crown Prince's aide, had been attacked by a stranger. He tried to move quietly like Adrienne, but he decided that it would be difficult to bring in a famous doctor without spreading the rumor. Rhodnes immediately moved Adrienne to Count Acacia's mansion and was beating the doctor every day.
Adrienne's face, which was covered in cold sweat and suffering as if she was having a nightmare, had no blood on it. Rhodnes naturally recalled the moment when he had encountered Adrienne's body in the basement of the Grand Duke's mansion.
“...Don’t die.”
Cursing himself for being able to utter only those words.
***
The dream was cruel. After showing me my brilliant childhood, it constantly dragged me down to the moment when I realized the truth was stained with betrayal and deception. I sat affectionately to draw a portrait of Noevian and the couple without knowing anything. And the back of Rhodnes, the young boy who ran into the battlefield, saying he would propose to that foolishly innocent and foolish woman.
In the newspapers that were talking about the couple of the century. It showed me the cruel fantasy of Rhodnes, who had despaired while looking at me smiling shyly. I watched him cry from afar as he distrusted and despaired and finally collapsed with a face stained with anger and resignation.
Don’t abandon me. Please, don’t run away.
The voice I had been hearing for some time was getting louder in my ears.
Don’t abandon me, please. Don’t die.
The voice telling me not to die grew louder and louder, and I opened my eyes wide, breaking free from the distant fantasy. The sunlight that must have warmed my face was painful as it seeped into my eyes. I slowly blinked my eyes, which were still unfocused, and tried to see the figure in front of me. The face of Rhodnes, much more broken than the face of despair in the fantasy, was right before my eyes.
“I won’t die... I won’t die.”
“I won’t die... I won’t die.”
It might sound like a crazy person saying something as soon as he came to his senses, but I, who was still on the border between fantasy and reality, said those words as soon as I saw Rhodnes’ face.
The eyes that seemed to be watching a dead body awaken grew bigger and bigger at my words, and then suddenly distorted. Rhodnes, who was about to distort along with me, barely closed his mouth and swallowed a sigh mixed with tears as he glared at me and shook the rope madly.
Five doctors rushed in like well-trained knights. I glanced at Rhodnes, who was staring at me from afar while faithfully answering their questions. He stood there looking at me as if he were in a dream. Rhodnes did not say a word even when the doctors concluded that there was nothing wrong with my body and said they would increase my medication and left.
However, when I reached for a glass of water to quench my thirst, he strode over to me and held the glass to my lips instead. I drank the water like a baby bird and then I looked up at Rhodnes, who had come to me. His face, which had always been smooth and shiny, had become dull, and thick hairs were sticking out on his clean-shaven chin.
His lips, which had always bothered me, were rough and swollen as if he had never taken a sip of water. When I gently grabbed his arm holding the glass of water and pulled him toward me, he obediently sat down on the edge of the bed. However, his face was hardened as if he were angry. I reached out with a trembling hand and stroked his beard-grown chin. Only then did he flinch.
“Why is your face so hurt...”
Rhodnes snorted softly, his face slightly distorted. But his face remained stiff.
“Your face is more damaged.”
"Ah."
“Do you know how many days it’s been since you woke up?”
It was a resentful word, but the voice was trembling. When I flinched at the dramatic change of emotion coming from his frozen face, Rhodnes grabbed my finger that was brushing the tip of his chin and held me in his arms. I could smell the familiar scent of his body and the faint smell of medicine. Perhaps he was the one who had been pouring medicine into my mouth the whole time in this room.
“I wasn’t going to forgive you if you died.”
“!”
“Not you, me.”
A person can sob without tears. It was a moist voice like water drawn from a deep well. He didn't cry, but I felt tears welling up in his eyes. I felt like I had finally come out of the fantasy and returned to reality. However, the pitiful, large back of Rhodnes in the fantasy kept coming to mind, and my nose stung.
“If you had died, I would have died with you.”
Even without him saying so, I knew. The day he confirmed Adrienne's body, he was the man who mercilessly and terribly put a sharp blade to his neck.
Rhodnes said that I hadn't opened my eyes for a week and that I would have died soon. Before that, I had a carriage accident and lost consciousness after hitting my head hard. Or maybe my soul and body had different owners, so I was weak to such shocks. When I told him what I thought, Rhodnes told me with a pale face that I should bring at least 50 guards. And he even said that he would guard me himself if possible.
“I’m glad you’re recovering, ma’am.”
Neil also looked a little haggard, perhaps from mental anguish. That was understandable, as Rhodnes’s gaze upon Neil, who opened the door and stood there, was cold.
“I told you to go back home, so why are you still here?”
“I’m sorry. I’m worried about Madam too...”
“I’m glad you’re recovering, ma’am.”
Neil also looked a little haggard, perhaps from mental anguish. That was understandable, as Rhodnes’s gaze upon Neil, who opened the door and stood there, was cold.
“I told you to go back home, so why are you still here?”
“I’m sorry. I’m worried about Madam too...”
I looked at him with slightly surprised eyes. Neil glanced at my obviously haggard face, bowed his head, and apologized sincerely.
“I should have taken care of Madam first and then attended to my business. I’m sorry.”
"It's okay."
“It’s not okay.”
I was about to forgive him for going to the Grand Duke's residence without waiting for Neil, but then Rhodnes suddenly interrupted. Neil sighed deeply as if he had expected that.
“...I told the sinner about Madam, and she asked me to meet you.”
“I guess they deserve that level of torture. Tighten the other guys’ mouths until they open their mouths. Keep their mouths shut so they can’t swear at each other, like asking to see Adrienne.”
“...You have to have a mouth to talk, right?”
“I'll go.”
Before Rhodnes could get angry at Neil, who had an apologetic expression on his face but never forgot to say the right thing, I struck first. When I got up from my seat, Neil was startled and turned around. It was only then that I realized that I was wearing a thin negligee. Rhodnes kicked Neil’s Achilles tendon mercilessly, and when he hurriedly left the room, Jonah came in with tears in her eyes.
Jonah had already draped an indoor gown over her arm as if she had roughly figured out the situation outside the open door. In fact, my side was still sore, but I smiled at Rhodnes, who was looking at me with a disapproving look as I put on the gown with Jonah’s help.
“Don’t smile like that, I’m not fooling you any more.”
“Can you please fool me a little?”
As I spoke as if I was complaining, Rhodnes, who had a blank expression on his face, pressed his temples and quickly washed his face. He sat up from where he was sitting on the armrest of the sofa, and without giving me a chance to scold him, he quickly picked me up. I was so surprised that my side stung, but I immediately saw Rhodnes’ tightly shut mouth slightly loosen.
“Even if you blatantly deceive me, I’m the kind of person who can’t help but be deceived.”
It meant that he would deceive me.
“Don’t smile like that, I’m not fooling you any more.”
“Can you please fool me a little?”
As I spoke as if I was complaining, Rhodnes, who had a blank expression on his face, pressed his temples and quickly washed his face. He sat up from where he was sitting on the armrest of the sofa, and without giving me a chance to scold him, he quickly picked me up. I was so surprised that my side stung, but I immediately saw Rhodnes’ tightly shut mouth slightly loosen.
“Even if you blatantly deceive me, I’m the kind of person who can’t help but be deceived.”
It meant that he would deceive me.
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