The Hunting Season (10)
I couldn't come to my senses until I got home. My mind felt like it was taken over by Kalit.
The questions continued.
You're saying that what you've been saying to me all this time wasn't a joke? Since when?
"Keep running away."
"The more you do that, the more excited I become."
And why did you say that?
Do you really think I know your heart and yet ignore it?
'What's in your mind?'
If it had been someone else, I would have thought that they liked me, but when I thought of them as Kalit, I couldn't be sure.
Come to think of it, Rahon also said this to me.
"Be conscious of me, Millenia."
I should have questioned that when I heard that.
What do you want me to do if I'm conscious of it?
After thinking about it to the point of giving me a headache, I suddenly felt aggrieved.
Neither of you has shown it until now, so what do you want me to do if you suddenly do this?
Of course, I like Rahon and Kalit.
I admired Rahon's deep thoughts and envied his free spirit. I wanted to emulate him as a guardian.
On the other hand, the first emotion I felt towards Kalit was guilt.
When I think about what I did to him in my past life, nothing I could have done would have been enough.
Then, when I learned about his dark childhood, I felt sorry for him and deeply sympathized with the wounds he had received.
I was truly moved when I saw him becoming aware of his crooked self and trying to overcome it.
Kalit was different from me, who had lost my sight and was just hiding.
He was a man who could overcome any ordeal and stand up on his own. I thought this kind of person should become the Emperor.
So are Rahon and Kalit good men?
Regardless of whether I like it or not, I never even thought about it in the first place.
What if it was lan?
"Uh?"
A sudden thought occurred to me and my heart sank. Nadia tilted her head.
"What did you say, Miss?"
"Oh, no, it's nothing..."
I lowered my head, mumbling. My heart was pounding wildly.
Certainly, Ian was different from Rahon and Kalit. But that was only a difference in intimacy, not because I felt it was a romantic relationship.
I thought so...
Was I seeing Ian as a man without realizing it? Why? Could it be that I had feelings for him?
'I don't know.'
My love story was too shabby and impoverished to find the right answer.
The only man I've ever loved was Oslo, and wasn't that a lie?
Actually, I feel sorry for Ian when I compare him to Oslo...
In the end, I couldn't come to any conclusion and returned to the starting point. I pressed my temples.
"Miss, should I call Lord Rahon?"
I was so distracted that I couldn't hear Nadia properly. I opened my eyes wide and asked.
“Why, Rahon?”
"Why are you so surprised? I was just telling him because you seemed to have a headache."
"Ah... It's not that I'm sick. I just have a lot to think about. Are you ready for the bath?"
"It's already finished. Go into the bathroom."
As I soaked in the warm water, I sighed. It felt like all the worries that had filled my head to the point of bursting were melting away.
I folded my legs and rested my head on my knees. Nadia rubbed my back with a soapy sponge.
"Miss, I have quite a few friends."
"I know. No one in the capital doesn't know you."
"Hey, not to that extent..."
Nadia gave me a shy nudge on the shoulder.
"Anyway, I have a friend who works at the palace. I heard he was assigned to the accommodations for the summit attendees this time."
"Which person?"
"The second grand Prince of the Grand Duchy of Romena."
"Yes?"
"Do you know that Lady Sierra is staying there?"
The summit was currently being held informally.
Of course, most of the nobles had noticed, but it had to be kept secret until the Emperor made it public.
Naturally, the participants' accommodations were also under control to prevent outsiders from entering.
But Nadia shook her head, saying that Sierra had just pushed in without warning.
"She barged in without any plan and made her run all sorts of errands. She's not even engaged to the Grand Duke yet, but she's acting like she's royalty or something? Oh my, she's really being rude."
Nadia, who had been shivering, suddenly lowered her voice.
"But... she's saying weird things."
"What?"
"There's something fishy about the relationship between little Prince Romena and Lady Sierra."
"Suspicious, how?"
"It seems that Lady Sierra is being very rude to the little Grand Duke. And yet the little Grand Duke doesn't say a word?"
"If you love someone, isn't that possible?"
Just like me. I couldn't say a single word that Oslo would dislike. But what Nadia said next was beyond my imagination.
"But isn't it a bit much to tolerate hitting?"
"... Hitting? Who, Sierra, hit the little Grand Duke?"
"Yes, she said she would raise her hand to the little Grand Duke even if she were a little dissatisfied? What kind of young lady treats her fiancé like that? He's not some kind of slave."
"..."
At that moment, the face of Anton that I had encountered during the day flashed through my mind.
His head was bowed down without confidence, and his back was hunched over so pitifully.
That was me, once hidden only in the bedroom.
"You know that the two of you met by chance, right? The little Grand Duke visited the Empire and stopped by a tailor shop for a moment, and that's where he met Lady Sierra."
"..."
"Actually, this is also suspicious. Why would an unmarried young lady go to a tailor shop that only gentlemen visit? Unless someone tells her that the Grand Duke is visiting."
"How did you know that the two of you met like that?"
"A lot of people know that. Lady Sierra brags about it so much."
I knew it the moment I heard it.
Sierra approached him on purpose.
If it were her, she would have noticed Anton's state of low self-esteem as soon as she saw him.
And she must have cleverly dug into that desperate desire for someone to save him from his terrible loneliness.
'Just like you did to me.'
I have already experienced a situation where the moment you give your heart, you become completely weak.
Anton would have done the same.
No matter how much she behaves, even if she hits him, he has no choice but to endure it.
Sierra is the only one who approached him first, even though everyone else hates him...
Was that all? He would have done whatever she asked because he was afraid of her leaving and being left alone.
What's scary is that it's so obvious to others, but you don't know It.
They are so used to being treated abnormally that they don't know what is wrong or what their situation is.
No matter how much advice I received from those around me, it was the same. It was no different from being mentally controlled.
Didn't I also realize it only after experiencing it myself?
Suddenly, I smelled Sierra's perfume.
Knock knock.
The sound of high heels that echoed through the prison rang in my ears.
"I pretended to be friendly with you for His Highness's sake, but honestly. I didn't like you from the beginning. You act pitiful and make a fool of yourself, like being blind is some great misfortune. When you have everything."
Goosebumps suddenly appeared on my skin. Soon, my throat suddenly blocked and I felt nauseous.
Unable to bear it any longer, I leaned out of the bathtub and retched.
"Ugh!"
"Miss! What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
I feel like I'm going to throw up.
"Oh my goodness, look at your pale face! This is not possible, Miss. Stop bathing and go out."
I roughly dried myself off and lay down on the bed with Nadia's help. Nadia, who had been rubbing my stomach, suddenly sat up.
"Just wait a moment. I'll call Rahon!"
I really wanted to decline, but I felt really bad.
I nodded weakly and closed my eyes. The sound of footsteps running outside continued loudly.
A moment later, the bedroom door was heard opening.
I had no strength to speak, so I closed my eyes, and someone walked over to me without a sound and sat down carefully on the bed.
A large, callused hand carefully brushed away the still-dry hair. Then he gently placed his hand on my forehead to feel its temperature.
Only then did I slowly open my eyes.
"Are you lan?"
"I heard from Nadia that you are sick."
"It's not that bad..."
"Please take your medicine first."
Ian put his arm around the back of my neck and lifted me up. He held me close to him like a child and gave me pills and water himself.
"Well done."
The action of giving medicine to a child made me laugh helplessly.
"I'm okay now, so you can go. Ian, you should rest too."
"I'll stay until you fall asleep."
Ian laid me back on the bed, pulling the blanket over my neck and slowly stroking my hair.
I don't know if it was because of his touch or because the medicine contained a sleeping ingredient, but I felt drowsy.
I yawned slightly and closed my eyes.
"I guess Rahon hasn't returned home yet."
"Yes."
"He's late..."
"..."
"I met Kalit earlier. I gave him a picture of the Nokron Prison... and he returned it to me."
I was so drunk that my words came out incoherently. Ian gently brushed my lips.
"Stop talking about other men."
"..."
"Go to sleep."
His hands smelled strongly of soap.
My stomach is gradually sinking.
I surrendered myself to the oncoming tide.
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