If there had been even the slightest hint of sinisterness in his eyes, and if I were my normal self, I would have kicked his shins without a care in the world.
But there was not even a trace of that in Dmitry.
In addition, the sound of the knights' footsteps passing through the alley right in front of the inn made me feel even more intimidated. If I were to chase them out the door, someone passing by in the hallway might find it suspicious.
Even though I understood the whole situation in my head, it was difficult to make up my mind. I moistened my dry lips with my tongue.
“...Then, turn around.”
Dmitry turned around obediently as I said.
I had thought about this hundreds of times, whether it was right or not, but nothing was a matter that could be compromised in the face of life. Moreover, he was a nobleman who valued trust and honor more than life.
But above all else, I trusted Dmitry's ambition. He was not the kind of man to commit such a heinous act against a woman who had the potential to inherit the throne.
Now that I had made up my mind, I had to act even faster. I quickly took off my maid's uniform and put on a black velvet one-piece dress over my chemise.
Since I had done this without even lighting a candle when I lived in George, I didn't have to worry about it again.
But what was different then was that this one-piece didn't allow me to tie the knot in the back by myself.
“I’ve done it all...”
I spread out the maid's uniform I had taken off as if it were a shield. I couldn't look Dmitry in the face at all.
My shoulders were exposed through the gap in my clothes that had not been tied. My skin, which was exposed to air, and therefore all parts that Dmitry might have seen, felt overly sensitive.
“Tie the knot for me.”
I turned my back on Dmitry, gathering the hair that had fallen from my neck into a single strand. As if this had no meaning at all. Or, as if I knew nothing.
He let out a short sigh, and soon I heard the sound of someone approaching.
“...”
I felt long fingers delicately adjusting my collar. Soon, the knot slowly tightened, and the open collar was opened.
His touch was so exquisite. It almost felt like an excuse to say that he didn't have time to buy these clothes...
“Ugh.”
I couldn't hold my breath due to the sudden, strong force.
“...Did it hurt?”
It was a very subdued voice. I thought I knew what kind of look Dmitry had in his eyes without even looking back.
Time quickly turned back to that salty twilight, the moment before Dmitry crossed the line I had set.
At that time, I really didn't know anything... but now I know what a man's greed was.
“Yes, yes, I’ll do it, I’ll do it...”
I twisted my body, trying to get out of his grasp.
“If you tie it up to this extent, I can do it all by myself.”
“...It’s sad that you’re being so cautious.”
“...”
“It’s even sadder because it’s different from before when I was cautious and rational.”
“...”
“It's all done.”
He tied the last knot carefully and took a step back. His attitude was so calm that the tense moment seemed colorless.
I raised my collar in a daze. When I looked back carefully, Dmitry was still there, without even a single blush on his face.
“Get some sleep. I’m going to take my leave now.”
It was a face that was almost indifferent. Even the voice that had been a little disturbed, as if it were all my imagination.
He stood up, put the frock coat he had left on over one arm, and then kissed the back of my hand elegantly.
“I'll come back at dawn.”
Even at the moment of closing the door, Dmitry was still young. There were no flushed cheeks, no wavering eyes, no clenched lips.
However, I couldn't hide my trembling hands.
Dmitry's new hideout was a two-story mansion in the inner city, an area densely packed with villas owned by nobles for their secret meetings.
Since there were very few people walking around during normal times, the entire alley was dark without a single light.
“Watch your step.”
I took his hand and cautiously entered the dark mansion. It was dusty, as if it had been abandoned for a long time, and all the furniture was covered in white cloth.
Dmitry opened all the windows and walked quickly through the mansion, throwing away the curtains.
“Since we don’t have anyone available right now, we have cleaned up the space where Your Highness will stay. This way.”
It was probably originally intended as a living room. There was a couch large enough for me to lie down on, a thick blanket, a table, and a fireplace.
The glass windows had double curtains, and all the furniture was expensive. Perhaps because it had been cleaned, there wasn't a lot of dust like in the hallway.
“Is it okay to stay in a place like this?”
It was definitely better than the inn I had stayed at before, but... Honestly, when I moved my hideout this time, I thought I would be going to a place where people could barely live.
A place like an abandoned house in a slum, or a shabby inn where the knights wouldn't even think I'd be staying.
“You don’t have to worry. It’s one of my mansions, but when I trade these villas, I buy them under false names through several people.”
“...”
“Even if you raid Batistan’s ledgers, it would be difficult to find any connection between me and this mansion.”
Dmitry skillfully filled the fireplace with firewood and lit it. Soon, warmth filled the room.
“If possible, don’t turn on any lights except the fireplace at night. Always close the curtains. Feel free to use anywhere, but... except here, it’s not cleaned, so it’ll be uncomfortable. Only ventilate during the day, and avoid leaving it open for too long.”
“I will do that.”
“Just bear with it for a little longer.”
A week. Maybe, more than that... He added, as if he were not sure. It was the opposite of what he had said only yesterday: a week would be enough.
I could see the nervousness and anxiety on Dmitry's face. No matter how hard you try to hide it, such emotions tend to show up involuntarily.
A week and a day have passed since we started staying in their new hideout.
Dmitry came twice a day. In the morning, he brought me some fruit and a change of clothes, and in the evening, he brought me some warm food.
It was something I could have done even if I had to be a tight-lipped servant... I felt sorry but also grateful.
Since I was living in hiding, I had to be extremely careful about using fire. Heating water to wash was no easy task, so they had to wrestle with cold water every morning.
Dmitry never brought me a newspaper. He said he would let me know as soon as things got better, but... The longer I stayed here, the more anxious I became. I didn’t like the feeling that the world was going by without me knowing.
By the time Dmitry's promise was over a week away, my impatience was at its peak.
But it was not something I could just set out on. The Knights' search was becoming more intense.
Just this morning, a stranger knocked on the door, and a few days ago, someone sneaked into the garden and tried to spy inside.
“Asha.”
It was Dmitry's voice. Is it that time already?
I carefully pulled back the curtains, looked outside, checked the face, then opened the door. Dmitry came in through the slightly open door, along with a cool breeze.
“You skipped a lot of meals today.”
He said, putting the basket down on the table.
I barely touched the bread and fruit he gave me in the morning because I was so surprised by the sudden knock on the door.
As I told that story, Dmitry washed his face with a tired look.
“Things are getting more and more difficult.”
“Dmitry. Tell me honestly.”
“...”
“What happened?”
He sat silently for a long time, throwing logs into the fireplace, as if he really wanted to avoid the subject.
“Answer me. What happened in the palace?”
I raised my voice again and asked, but Dmitry remained unmoved.
I jumped up from my seat and knelt down in front of the chair he was sitting on.
He was so surprised that he even called me by my old name, which I hadn't been called since that night.
"Your Highness!"
“Please, Dmitry, be honest with me...”
Out of my nineteen years of life, I have not even lived a month with the pride of being a Princess.
Until then, I had always been in an environment where I had to get on my knees to eat and survive.
I have knelt before innkeepers to get money for Olga's medicine, and I have bowed to the lord's guards many times. So what's the big deal about kneeling before Dmitry?
“...First of all, please get up.”
“I can’t get up until you tell me honestly.”
I answered firmly. He buried his tired face in his hands.
The thought didn't last long. He grabbed my arm and forcibly lifted me up from the floor.
“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you... So please stand up.”
“Everything, without hiding anything.”
“...”
“Shall I kneel again?”
Dmitry let out a short laugh, seeming shocked at the thought of being threatened with my knee.
He made me sit back down on the chair and held my wrists down so I couldn't get up. It didn't hurt, but... the feeling of being tied up wasn't very pleasant.
“...You can do whatever you want, but don’t kneel. That makes me feel really weird.”
“Just tell me what you’re hiding. I’m starting to get really anxious now...”
He let out a long sigh as if he had no choice. The more he didn't talk, the more my imagination drifted towards the worst.
“They say His Majesty has completely lost consciousness. The palace says that tonight will be a critical night.”
“...What did you say?”
My heart sank. My hands and feet trembled, and all the blood drained from my body.
I grabbed his arm urgently as he raised himself to get me some water.
“I didn’t tell you until now because I was afraid you would be surprised...”
“Tell me everything, without leaving anything out.”
“He seemed to have recovered somewhat after initially losing consciousness, but then suddenly complained of chest pain and collapsed again. He has been unconscious ever since.”
“T-Twas like that the other day, but you woke up often after that, too. This time too, isn’t it like that?”
“...They say it’s been three days since he lost consciousness.”
But there was not even a trace of that in Dmitry.
In addition, the sound of the knights' footsteps passing through the alley right in front of the inn made me feel even more intimidated. If I were to chase them out the door, someone passing by in the hallway might find it suspicious.
Even though I understood the whole situation in my head, it was difficult to make up my mind. I moistened my dry lips with my tongue.
“...Then, turn around.”
Dmitry turned around obediently as I said.
I had thought about this hundreds of times, whether it was right or not, but nothing was a matter that could be compromised in the face of life. Moreover, he was a nobleman who valued trust and honor more than life.
But above all else, I trusted Dmitry's ambition. He was not the kind of man to commit such a heinous act against a woman who had the potential to inherit the throne.
Now that I had made up my mind, I had to act even faster. I quickly took off my maid's uniform and put on a black velvet one-piece dress over my chemise.
Since I had done this without even lighting a candle when I lived in George, I didn't have to worry about it again.
But what was different then was that this one-piece didn't allow me to tie the knot in the back by myself.
“I’ve done it all...”
I spread out the maid's uniform I had taken off as if it were a shield. I couldn't look Dmitry in the face at all.
My shoulders were exposed through the gap in my clothes that had not been tied. My skin, which was exposed to air, and therefore all parts that Dmitry might have seen, felt overly sensitive.
“Tie the knot for me.”
I turned my back on Dmitry, gathering the hair that had fallen from my neck into a single strand. As if this had no meaning at all. Or, as if I knew nothing.
He let out a short sigh, and soon I heard the sound of someone approaching.
“...”
I felt long fingers delicately adjusting my collar. Soon, the knot slowly tightened, and the open collar was opened.
His touch was so exquisite. It almost felt like an excuse to say that he didn't have time to buy these clothes...
“Ugh.”
I couldn't hold my breath due to the sudden, strong force.
“...Did it hurt?”
It was a very subdued voice. I thought I knew what kind of look Dmitry had in his eyes without even looking back.
Time quickly turned back to that salty twilight, the moment before Dmitry crossed the line I had set.
At that time, I really didn't know anything... but now I know what a man's greed was.
“Yes, yes, I’ll do it, I’ll do it...”
I twisted my body, trying to get out of his grasp.
“If you tie it up to this extent, I can do it all by myself.”
“...It’s sad that you’re being so cautious.”
“...”
“It’s even sadder because it’s different from before when I was cautious and rational.”
“...”
“It's all done.”
He tied the last knot carefully and took a step back. His attitude was so calm that the tense moment seemed colorless.
I raised my collar in a daze. When I looked back carefully, Dmitry was still there, without even a single blush on his face.
“Get some sleep. I’m going to take my leave now.”
It was a face that was almost indifferent. Even the voice that had been a little disturbed, as if it were all my imagination.
He stood up, put the frock coat he had left on over one arm, and then kissed the back of my hand elegantly.
“I'll come back at dawn.”
Even at the moment of closing the door, Dmitry was still young. There were no flushed cheeks, no wavering eyes, no clenched lips.
However, I couldn't hide my trembling hands.
***
Dmitry's new hideout was a two-story mansion in the inner city, an area densely packed with villas owned by nobles for their secret meetings.
Since there were very few people walking around during normal times, the entire alley was dark without a single light.
“Watch your step.”
I took his hand and cautiously entered the dark mansion. It was dusty, as if it had been abandoned for a long time, and all the furniture was covered in white cloth.
Dmitry opened all the windows and walked quickly through the mansion, throwing away the curtains.
“Since we don’t have anyone available right now, we have cleaned up the space where Your Highness will stay. This way.”
It was probably originally intended as a living room. There was a couch large enough for me to lie down on, a thick blanket, a table, and a fireplace.
The glass windows had double curtains, and all the furniture was expensive. Perhaps because it had been cleaned, there wasn't a lot of dust like in the hallway.
“Is it okay to stay in a place like this?”
It was definitely better than the inn I had stayed at before, but... Honestly, when I moved my hideout this time, I thought I would be going to a place where people could barely live.
A place like an abandoned house in a slum, or a shabby inn where the knights wouldn't even think I'd be staying.
“You don’t have to worry. It’s one of my mansions, but when I trade these villas, I buy them under false names through several people.”
“...”
“Even if you raid Batistan’s ledgers, it would be difficult to find any connection between me and this mansion.”
Dmitry skillfully filled the fireplace with firewood and lit it. Soon, warmth filled the room.
“If possible, don’t turn on any lights except the fireplace at night. Always close the curtains. Feel free to use anywhere, but... except here, it’s not cleaned, so it’ll be uncomfortable. Only ventilate during the day, and avoid leaving it open for too long.”
“I will do that.”
“Just bear with it for a little longer.”
A week. Maybe, more than that... He added, as if he were not sure. It was the opposite of what he had said only yesterday: a week would be enough.
I could see the nervousness and anxiety on Dmitry's face. No matter how hard you try to hide it, such emotions tend to show up involuntarily.
***
A week and a day have passed since we started staying in their new hideout.
Dmitry came twice a day. In the morning, he brought me some fruit and a change of clothes, and in the evening, he brought me some warm food.
It was something I could have done even if I had to be a tight-lipped servant... I felt sorry but also grateful.
Since I was living in hiding, I had to be extremely careful about using fire. Heating water to wash was no easy task, so they had to wrestle with cold water every morning.
Dmitry never brought me a newspaper. He said he would let me know as soon as things got better, but... The longer I stayed here, the more anxious I became. I didn’t like the feeling that the world was going by without me knowing.
By the time Dmitry's promise was over a week away, my impatience was at its peak.
But it was not something I could just set out on. The Knights' search was becoming more intense.
Just this morning, a stranger knocked on the door, and a few days ago, someone sneaked into the garden and tried to spy inside.
“Asha.”
It was Dmitry's voice. Is it that time already?
I carefully pulled back the curtains, looked outside, checked the face, then opened the door. Dmitry came in through the slightly open door, along with a cool breeze.
“You skipped a lot of meals today.”
He said, putting the basket down on the table.
I barely touched the bread and fruit he gave me in the morning because I was so surprised by the sudden knock on the door.
As I told that story, Dmitry washed his face with a tired look.
“Things are getting more and more difficult.”
“Dmitry. Tell me honestly.”
“...”
“What happened?”
He sat silently for a long time, throwing logs into the fireplace, as if he really wanted to avoid the subject.
“Answer me. What happened in the palace?”
I raised my voice again and asked, but Dmitry remained unmoved.
I jumped up from my seat and knelt down in front of the chair he was sitting on.
He was so surprised that he even called me by my old name, which I hadn't been called since that night.
"Your Highness!"
“Please, Dmitry, be honest with me...”
Out of my nineteen years of life, I have not even lived a month with the pride of being a Princess.
Until then, I had always been in an environment where I had to get on my knees to eat and survive.
I have knelt before innkeepers to get money for Olga's medicine, and I have bowed to the lord's guards many times. So what's the big deal about kneeling before Dmitry?
“...First of all, please get up.”
“I can’t get up until you tell me honestly.”
I answered firmly. He buried his tired face in his hands.
The thought didn't last long. He grabbed my arm and forcibly lifted me up from the floor.
“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you... So please stand up.”
“Everything, without hiding anything.”
“...”
“Shall I kneel again?”
Dmitry let out a short laugh, seeming shocked at the thought of being threatened with my knee.
He made me sit back down on the chair and held my wrists down so I couldn't get up. It didn't hurt, but... the feeling of being tied up wasn't very pleasant.
“...You can do whatever you want, but don’t kneel. That makes me feel really weird.”
“Just tell me what you’re hiding. I’m starting to get really anxious now...”
He let out a long sigh as if he had no choice. The more he didn't talk, the more my imagination drifted towards the worst.
“They say His Majesty has completely lost consciousness. The palace says that tonight will be a critical night.”
“...What did you say?”
My heart sank. My hands and feet trembled, and all the blood drained from my body.
I grabbed his arm urgently as he raised himself to get me some water.
“I didn’t tell you until now because I was afraid you would be surprised...”
“Tell me everything, without leaving anything out.”
“He seemed to have recovered somewhat after initially losing consciousness, but then suddenly complained of chest pain and collapsed again. He has been unconscious ever since.”
“T-Twas like that the other day, but you woke up often after that, too. This time too, isn’t it like that?”
“...They say it’s been three days since he lost consciousness.”
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