Chapter 6

The princess smiled brightly once more. “I understand what you mean, Sir Kyrstan. I am sorry that you had to leave before we could discuss it further.”

A sense of discomfort settled within Rezette’s chest. He had always assumed that the princess, with her sense of honor, would choose death over life. But now, she was seeking to preserve her own life, and the discomfort burned within him like smoldering embers.

The princess sighed softly and whispered, “But now that you are by my side, Sir Kyrstan, please do not leave my side for even a moment. I beg of you.”

“If it is an order, I will obey,” Sir Kyrstan replied.

“I apologize for imposing upon you like this,” the princess said. “But I must ask it of you nonetheless.” Rezette suppressed a moan as the princess took his hand and pressed a kiss to his rough knuckles, a gesture of respect and appreciation from a lady to a knight, or from a master to a servant. “According to the lord’s words, I am a person who will die at any moment, so this gesture is enough for me,” she continued.

Their eyes met, and Sir Kyrstan saw the princess’s blind faith that he alone was her salvation, an arrow that he knew he could not deflect. It was a pitiful, unrequited hope.

“Please take care of yourself,” Sir Kyrstan said, unable to say anything more to the princess as he turned away from her blurring golden eyes and pulled his hand away from her.

However, just one week later, the discomfort that had been stagnant within him began to grow. The princess, who had seemed as though she would die at any moment if he left her side, suddenly fell ill with a high fever.

***

The Archduke of Kyrstan’s discomfort towards Elise was subtle, but not lost on her. However, Elise was not greatly disappointed. In fact, she had not meant to try and convince him in the first place.

His defenses were not something that could be easily breached. He had certain vulnerabilities, but also areas that were impenetrable. Emotional appeals and clumsy temptation would be useless against a man who was both principled and rational. Besides, it had always been questionable whether Rezette saw her as a woman at all.

The journey to Van Yela was a slow one, made even slower by Elise’s injury. Even if she had been able to ride a horse at full speed, the journey would have taken over two weeks. But with her injury, there was no way for her to pick up the pace.

Nearly three weeks had passed since Elise was captured by the Van Yela Imperial Army, and for all but the first five days, Archduke Kyrstan was absent from her side. Elise never left his side, whether it was afternoon, night, dawn, or morning.

At one point, the Archduke attempted to assign another knight to Elise, but she silently picked up a dagger and made it clear that she did not want the company. However, as the two weeks passed, Elise no longer needed to cling to the Archduke’s side. Before her shoulder wound could even heal, she was struck with a terrible fever.

The man who touched Elise’s forehead with his hand sighed softly. “The fever doesn’t seem to be subsiding.”

Elise barely opened her eyes and muttered, “It’s always been like this. I get really sick with a cold sometimes, but this time it feels like it’s going to be even worse…” She trailed off as she coughed.

Elise was not physically healthy. This was something that Andrei had worried about since she was a young girl. Her stamina was weak, and even her immunity was significantly lower than that of most people. Her recovery was also painfully slow. If she fell and scraped her palms or broke a bone, it would take a long time for her wounds to heal. Even a mild illness or cold would linger for weeks.

There was nothing wrong with any of her organs, but it seemed like she was constantly battling some form of illness, as if it were a never-ending struggle.

The man quietly placed his hand on her forehead to check her fever and let out a shallow sigh.

“If you stay this close, you’ll catch my illness…” Elise said.

“I’ve never had a cold in my life,” the man replied, a reaction that seemed to suggest he had heard it all before.

Elise burst out laughing. “Well, good for you. You must be very strong.”

Even though her body was aching, she felt good. Had she not caught a cold, she would not have been able to observe this man so closely for long.

Over the past three weeks, she had come to a conclusion about Archduke Rezette Kyrstan: he did not refuse her orders. Although he had stated that he had no intention of helping her, he was always courteous to Elise. He would maintain his distance and walk away, but he never ignored her when she reached out to him. No, he couldn’t ignore her. After all, Elise was his responsibility, the object of his protection, although as soon as she arrived in the capital, she would be sentenced to death.

The man’s eyes narrowed at the gap in Elise’s laughter, but as always, he didn’t ask why. It wasn’t easy for a person to be so reticent, but in a way, it was impressive. In any case, Rezette Kyrstan remained by her side.

As dawn broke, Elise woke up with a shiver, her hand automatically reaching for the bedside table. Then, a hand grabbed hers and held it.

“What do you need, Your Majesty?” came a voice that was barely audible to someone waking up. Elise looked blankly at the man, raising her eyes.

Was it because she was still half-asleep, or was it because the man was shrouded in darkness? In her mind, the man’s dark hair overlapped with Andrei’s brown locks.

Elise reached out with her other hand to him and wound her fingers through his soft hair. “Andrei,” she whispered. Those eyes were blue like the sea, but she wanted to believe they were golden. “Andrei,” she repeated. 

My emperor, my beloved half, my world. My kind little brother who always called me, his big sister, even though we were only ten minutes apart.

“Andrei.”

“…Your majesty.”

“If you could survive, I would do anything…” I still can’t believe you’re not in this world. Elise’s devastated mumbles drifted futilely in the air. “I should have been the emperor,” she whispered sadly. “If I had been the emperor, I would have died…” Then you would live. Even if Argan fell, you would have built it up again. You were a child who could do anything.

From somewhere, she heard her brother’s faint reply.

[So do you.]

No.

[My sister is a much more wonderful and graceful person than she thinks. A princess who deserves to be admired by everyone, more suited to Argan than anyone else.]

No, Andrei.

 [Without you, I would be nothing. It’s the truth, Elizabeth.]

“If you knew my thoughts right now, you might detest me,” Elise whispered. “But it doesn’t matter.” 

From the moment I plunged that dagger into my shoulder, I stopped being the perfect princess. 

“I’ll be there to make sure your tombstone is built, my dear brother.”

The words fell from her lips as her consciousness slipped away.

***

Rezette gazed down at the princess, who had been asleep for so long it seemed as if she had fainted. Her body was burning hot, like a ball of fire. He had heard rumors that the princess of Argan was sick, but he had not expected it to be this severe. The long journey and her poor surroundings had clearly taken a toll on her already injured body. Has the treasure of Argan ever slept in such a humble barracks? It seemed that the princess was not as strong as she appeared. Had she really scarred her delicate body just to keep him by her side?

Rezette gently removed the hand the princess was grasping. As soon as the warmth left, she curled up. “Andrei,” she whispered, calling out to the man who had already passed away. Her voice was faint and her beauty was fragile, like she could break at any moment. Rezette understood why the emperor of Argan treasured his sister so much. He had said that if he held his sister too tightly, she would break, and if he let her go, she would fly away. Rezette would have done the same.

But it wasn’t just because the princess was enchanting and her body was weak. There was something about her that was completely inexplicable, almost otherworldly. She was born to command, to reign, to put the world at her feet. She lived in a completely different world from Rezette in many ways. He had been born on the humblest of ships and had barely made it to the top while rolling through the mud. The princess, on the other hand, was born with a different fate.

That was why Rezette had no doubt that even if death loomed over her, she would straighten her spine and remain resolute until the end. But he had not expected her to cling to him like a lifeline. It was a strange feeling. Rezette could only acknowledge it. He had always stood by her side, the only person she could have by her side in this large barracks. 

As the woman’s body shuddered under her thin blanket, Rezette heard her whisper, “It’s cold.” There were no watching eyes, and an impulse suddenly rose within him. He lifted his head, like a snake ready to strike.