"...Your Majesty, are you hungry? Shall we go for a meal?"
To get through this situation, I asked gently, almost coaxing him. Fortunately, perhaps pleased with my very cautious tone, his brow furrowed.
"Are you hungry? Let's go quickly."
I generously understood Thierry's behavior of naturally shifting his hunger onto me and simply nodded.
"Ah."
Then, I stopped in my tracks as I was about to leave the room to retrieve something I had briefly forgotten. As I turned my head slightly, I caught sight of the head maid, who was still standing quietly behind me, waiting with her eyes downcast.
"Madam, then should I assume that Marie will be coming starting tomorrow?"
She flinch.
The head maid, who had not moved an inch, lifted her chin slightly, revealing her swamp-like green eyes.
"... Yes."
Since she had given that answer in front of Thierry, she couldn't go back on it. Satisfied that I wouldn't have to see one of the two starting tomorrow, I followed Thierry out for a tearful breakfast.
It was a start where it felt like today was going to be a long day for some reason.
***
“How about that?”
Leaving the day behind, breakfast was dragging on. A fear ran through the back of my throat that I might end up hanging out until lunchtime.
"...It is delicious."
This was because Thierry's attitude, as he had been prying into every detail for a while, was anything but ordinary.
"What are you going to do today? What did you do yesterday? What do you do before going to bed?" His behavior of prying into my every move, as if he wanted to know my entire existence, sent chills down my spine.
Maybe this is a revelation in my dream. It might not just be a meaningless dream; maybe he was catching me like a mouse in my dream to send a warning to watch out for Thierry today!
I stared nervously at Thierry's handsome face as he served food onto my plate.
'You aren't trying to figure out my food preferences like this just to serve me only the things I dislike later, are you? Surely you wouldn't be that childish... It can't be. It shouldn't be.'
I couldn't tell if the food was going into my mouth or my nose. Moreover, whenever I tried to put down my fork, Thierry would quickly refill the plate, so I couldn't even say I couldn't eat any more.
"Do you like sweet food? Do you have a favorite dessert?"
Thierry's questions, who had no way of knowing what was going on inside my head, did not stop.
"...I tend to like most desserts."
"And it looks like you like salad more than meat? You didn't touch the meat."
"Yes. I prefer something a bit lighter in the morning."
“I see.”
...Why? Are you seriously trying to figure out what foods I can't eat? The area under my eyes trembled as if it were having a spasm.
"Princess, are you full? You've slowed down significantly."
Furthermore, that tone of voice was also a problem. The way he used to address me—heartless and abrupt, as if calling a passing stray dog—had become strangely gentle.
To what extent? I would say the word 'Princess' sounded so soft, wrapped in a languid tone, that I even wondered if my ears were playing tricks on me.
"It looks like you only ate a tiny bit."
"If you were in my position, would you let it slide? Ah. Then again, Thierry would probably just ignore it and eat it. Hmph," I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
I've been so uncomfortable for a while now that it feels like all my food is stuck in my throat. It looked like I would have to look for an antacid as soon as I got back.
I held the glass of water and smiled awkwardly.
"I've been watching you, Princess, and you eat too little. Why can't you eat?"
Huh. Because I ate with you...
"Are you sick?"
I feel a bit unsettled because of you.
"You're not feeling well, so why doesn't anyone know? Surely I'm not the only one who knows?"
I swallowed the pent-up words I couldn't bring myself to say.
'Please stop...'
It's too much! No matter what he wants from me, seeing someone so far removed from sensitivity acting this affectionately, I kept seeing him in a different light, perhaps because of that damn affection.
"You mean, 'It's only me'?" I don't know why those words are piercing my heart. This is ridiculous. Why does it sound so cute?
'Ha. This is a big problem.'
I was starting to worry that I might gradually fall for his clumsy tricks.
Okay, let's at least change the subject.
I was about to carefully set the glass down and open my mouth when he muttered cynically first.
"I'll have to get rid of them right away."
"Yes?"
"I kept their life alive to serve their purpose, so if they can't even do their job, they should die."
It was an incredibly cold and heartless face. The harmless appearance of him calling out to me just moments ago had vanished without a trace, and in his place stood a ruthless tyrant who had taken the lives of many.
It was as if everything up until just now was a midsummer night's dream.
'Wow, I must have been possessed by something for a moment. It really snapped me back to reality.'
It really resonated with me because I knew he was someone who would actually put his words into action, not just say them in passing.
'I thought it was even more suspicious because the person changed so suddenly, yet to think I almost forgot about it so quickly...'
I felt my relaxed mood sink in an instant at his words and actions, which held people's lives in such ease. It was enough to make me catch my breath in a split second, as if sinking into the deep sea.
'Is it because I keep trying to look back on the days gone by?'
The man standing before me right now is the Emperor of Podia, and while I only call him His Majesty in name, I kept trying to see the Thierry I remember in him.
Bound by the past I lost, I might have tried to unlock the bolt of my heart under the pretext of finding the Thierry of the past.
'...Snap out of it. After all, I’m just a hostage.'
My tangled mind gradually grew cold.
"Princess?"
"Yes?"
At his call, I lifted my gaze, which had been lowered. I was startled to realize belatedly that I had missed the timing to answer him while lost in thought. Because of this, the tip of my voice, which had naturally risen, trembled slightly.
"You look pale. Are you okay?"
"Yes..."
It wasn't okay, but I couldn't be honest about it.
However, what weighed on my mind was whether I should pretend not to hear what had just been said. If I did, someone could have lost their life because of me.
Moreover, the most important problem was that my situation itself meant that adding unnecessary words to his suspicious kindness could actually invite even greater trouble.
'Ugh, why on earth are you doing this to me?'
I parted my lips, looking as if I didn't know what to do. Thierry, who had been scrutinizing my face, suddenly stood up and approached me. His large hand, naturally reaching out toward my face, filled my vision.
"What's wrong? Wait, I'll call a royal physician."
In that instant, my body reacted before I knew it. I ended up stepping back slightly, looking as if I were trying to avoid it.
"Ah. No. Well, I guess it's because I'm a bit tired... I apologize."
His hand froze awkwardly, suspended in the air. Seeing his knuckles, which had been stiff and still, slowly begin to retract, I realized my mistake belatedly.
Realizing my mistake, I tried to stay as calm as possible and curled the corners of my mouth. Just hoping my smile would look natural, and that his interest would crumble.
His lips, which had been pressed together, tightened slightly. His bright red eyes, staring at me, wavered for a moment, and his gaze lingered on my eyes and lips for a long time.
I didn't dare to look him in the eye any longer, so I quietly lowered my gaze. And following that gaze, his hand dropped down with a thud.
"..."
True to the breakfast that was suffocating from the start, the end was ultimately a definite integral.
***
Thierry did not show up for dinner, perhaps because he was not at all satisfied with the half-hearted meal. And breakfast, too.
I sat on the terrace attached to the room, rummaging through the simple meal. Fortunately, the Head Maid had kept her promise and sent Marie to be my lady-in-waiting today, but I was too bothered to accept Marie's return with a bright smile.
"Princess, do you have no appetite?"
"Yeah, it's always a bit like that in the mornings."
As soon as Marie arrived in the morning, she pledged her loyalty to me in tears and earnestly begged me to treat her comfortably, so I had no choice but to speak to her in a relaxed tone.
Marie wore a look of pity at my lukewarm answer. It was a clear day that seemed to have the words, "Our Princess needs to eat well to stay healthy," written right on it.
"I'll take my time eating. Go do your work."
"Ah, yes. I'll be waiting outside, so please call me if you need anything."
The only thing that improved was that Marie followed my instructions without complaint. Seeing her discreetly notice that I wanted to be alone and step aside relieved some of my frustration.
Well, just a little bit.
Since the cause of the frustration lay with Thierry in the first place, there was nothing that could be done for the time being.
Whenever I saw it right in front of me, I felt like my safety wasn't guaranteed, but now that I couldn't see it, that felt unsettling in its own way.
"...You aren't offended, are you?"
It would have been fine if he had just decided to leave it alone because it was a hassle, but my heart shrank at the thought that he might be holding a grudge out of spite.
I had been absentmindedly poking at the scrambled eggs with a fork when the ominous thought that this might be my future made me shudder and pull my hand away. Then, I gently pushed the plate aside and rested both elbows on the table.
“It won’t work.”
I rested my chin on my fists with a serious expression.
It was true that I was in an unavoidable position, but I strongly felt that I was sitting idly by without a plan. If I just waited patiently for people's interest to fade, I might be tossed around and eventually lose my job.
'Now that things have turned out this way, I have to make him my ally somehow.'
Since I had come here all alone, I desperately needed someone I could trust and rely on.
It would be nice to have someone to hide behind and move forward from the front, and it would be even better if they invested in me.
'Isn't this practically a unicorn?'
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment