Chapter 7
07. If You Can Endure It (2)
“That’s…”
It was a very strange thing to say. Taken away. By whom, from whom? You were the one who took me away from him. Black was speaking as if Liene had originally belonged to him.
“Why do you say things like ‘taken away’?”
“And now I think it’s a good thing I wasn’t.”
“Lord Tiwakan…”
“If you had married another, it would have been even messier. …It would have been even harder to endure me.”
Black's mutterings were hazy and vague, like a dream.
“May I not kiss you?”
Hazy eyes turned to her lips. Liene saw Black stick out his tongue and lick his parched lips like a thirsty man.
“Yes, I…”
“Is that a no?”
…No. Don’t be fooled. Looking at the man's lips, dry and peeling, she felt her own lips burning up. Liene decided not to be fooled by this sudden thirst. It's the fever. It was what happened when a man mistook heat for desire. Once the fever broke, it would cool down together. Your courtship isn't real. Just as my permission wasn't real.
“You can’t refuse me forever. I’m not a suitor anymore, but your betrothed.”
Black still seemed feverish. Liene bit her lip, seeing the unusual turbidity in his eyes.
“What can I do to get your permission?”
…Maybe. If he was so drunk with fever that he was making a mistake. Then maybe she could use this situation.
“Then promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
The man had already promised a lot. He promised the continuation of Nauk, the lives and safety of bastards, and the future rule. Looking only at the results, Liene was the one who benefited from this marriage. With this, Liene had gained a powerful force that would not allow any invaders, and Black was to pay the price for it. Perhaps Nauk needed a King like Black. A husband who could fill the place that had been left empty because there was no other way. Liene wanted all these promises to be a solid truth, not just a piece of paper that could be torn at any time. She wanted their marriage to be real.
“If you decide to take me because you want me, then just take me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t break me or get rid of me.”
Black exhaled briefly. He couldn't understand why either.
“Just truly want me.”
“……What will the Princess give me in return for that promise?”
This time, Liene exhaled.
“If you promise me that, then I will promise you that I will do my best to yearn for Lord Tiwakan with all my heart…”
The answer was very quick.
“Good.”
“Lord Tiwakan…”
“If I wanted to break you, I would have done so from the beginning. Instead of proposing.”
After speaking, Black wrapped his arms around Liene's waist. It was hard to believe that he was a patient with an arrow in his shoulder. Liene's neck was thrown back as she was held in one arm. Black held Liene as if he were going to lay her down and covered her lips. The moment she heard the sound of skin touching and being sucked into her ear, her mind went blank. Hot breath was transmitted directly through her lips. Before she knew it, her arms were around Black's neck. She felt like she would sink somewhere far away if she didn't hold him. The sensation that the man's lips were breathing into her was completely unknown. A lover's kiss was never like this. The kiss Liene knew was something endlessly soft. This kind of passion that made her feel like she was going to be ruined was not a kiss.
“……I think I should stop here.”
The storm that seemed like it would never end ended at some point. Black muttered, burying his lips in the soft skin connecting her chin and neck.
“I don’t know how far I’ll use the fever as an excuse.”
Even so, his lips were still touching her bare skin. Only then did a shiver of ticklishness come over her. Liene, who had come to her senses, pushed Black away. She tried not to show that her fingertips were trembling.
“I forgot that Lord Tiwakan is a patient.”
“……”
Black readily gave way. Liene, who quickly got out of bed, pretended to be calm and said goodbye.
“Then I’ll leave you to rest. I hope you get well soon.”
“I’ll get better soon. Now that I know I don’t have to use the fever as an excuse.”
Black slowly accepted the greeting like a man lost in a dream. Even his voice was low and sleepy, as if he were drunk on sleep.
“Good night.”
The dreamlike voice tickled her ear. Liene quickly left Black's bedroom, afraid that she would be drunk on the dream as well. As she left, she prayed inwardly. Please, don't forget your promise. Even if you find out that I tricked you in the future, please, as we promised, just want me. * * * But keeping the promise was never easy.
“Princess.”
When Liene returned to her bedroom, there was someone waiting for her. Liene, who had expected the room to be empty, was so surprised that she almost screamed.
“Weroz…”
“Shh.”
Weroz put a finger on his lips. Even in the empty room, he looked around one more time. It meant that there was a secret that no one else should know.
“I just shook them off for a moment. I haven’t aroused suspicion yet, but there might be someone following me.”
Liene also lowered her voice as much as possible and whispered.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s something you need to know.”
Weroz, along with Fermos and the Tiwakans, had organized a search party to track down the person who shot the arrow. In the process, he found something. Something that the barbarians wouldn't recognize.
“This…”
Weroz rummaged through his sleeve and took something out.
“Do you recognize it?”
“……”
What Weroz held out was a long, thick leaf, about two finger joints long. To others, it would just be a leaf. But there was a small mark on the end of the leaf where a thread had been tied. It was a lover's arrow ornament.
“It’s not old. It couldn’t have fallen off long ago.”
“……”
“I found this while searching the path of the person who shot the arrow today.”
She felt a dizzying sensation. The meaning was obvious. Her lover might not be dead. He might have survived without dying, deceived the enemies, and entered Nauk Castle. …And he must have shot the arrow. At Black.
“Princess! Are you alright?”
Liene realized that she had staggered because Weroz was trying to support her.
“I’m alright… no, I’m not alright. That person… that person is alive… is he?”
“I don’t know. Someone else might have used Lord Kleinfelter’s arrow.”
It was impossible to say for sure. They needed evidence.
“The coffin… you haven’t opened it yet, have you?”
The six coffins that Black had brought were in the royal chapel, waiting for the funeral. She naturally thought that one of them was her lover's body.
“That’s right. Would you like to check?”
“……Yes, I should.”
“I agree. But Princess, I think you should prepare yourself beforehand.”
Weroz's stern voice sounded heavy today. As if to gauge the weight of what he was about to say.
“If Lord Kleinfelter is alive, what do you intend to do about the marriage?”
“……”
That's why she couldn't answer easily. Liene had accepted another man's proposal without formally breaking up. She had made a promise to the man who had shielded her from the arrow today to make this marriage real. But it might have been her lover who shot that arrow.
“……I have to see it first. With my own eyes.”
Liene forced her back straight, resisting the black dizziness that seemed to swallow her up.
“Then I’ll think about it.”
If her lover was alive. So if he was risking his life to make this marriage null and void. Then what should I do?
“……”
Liene covered her thoughts and turned around. And ran towards the chapel. * * * …Thud! The coffin lid closed, making a heavy noise.
“……Princess! Are you hurt?”
Weroz quickly grabbed Liene, who was almost hit by the coffin lid.
“It wasn’t… him, was it?”
The one she just opened was the last coffin. Among the six coffins that Black had brought today, there was no body of her lover. However, there was a body wearing his helmet and a cloak embroidered with the Kleinfelter Family crest, pretending to be her lover. He must have taken his death instead to save her lover.
“Yes.”
“He was alive.”
Sweat beaded on her pale forehead.
“It seems so. The arrow from earlier today as well…”
“That person intends to fight, doesn’t he?”
“It seems so. I would have done the same if I were Kleinfelter.”
Drip. A bead of sweat trickled down. Princess Liene also had to make a choice. Whether to fight, or to succumb to force. Whether to trust her lover's devotion, or to trust her feverish passion.
“Kleinfelter is probably under the protection of the Grand Council.”
Weroz continued. That was why the search had been useless.
“He can be completely safe there. Perhaps a letter first, without them knowing…”
Weroz's words were cut short. Screeeak! The sound of the chapel doors opening harshly scraped against their ears. Startled, they turned to see Fermos and Tiwakan's mercenaries entering.
“Oh dear… It’s the Princess. What are you doing here?”
* * * Could they have heard? It was fortunate that the chapel was dark. The fact that Princess Liene's expression crumbled the moment she saw Fermos's face fortunately remained hidden in the darkness.
“What were you doing here?”
Suspicion was thick in Fermos's voice. There had to be a reason why Princess Liene was in the chapel, so far from her chambers in the main palace, with only the captain of the royal guard, at this late hour.
“Did you confirm the body? That’s quite strange.”
Fermos's monocle reflected the moonlight that struggled to penetrate through the small window. The cold moonlight was like a blade.
“Doesn’t Nauk have a custom of not allowing the living to face the deceased until the funeral?”
“……”
It was true. Princess Liene and Weroz were at a loss for words.
“Is there perhaps something that Lord Tiwakan should know?”
“That’s…”
Princess Liene forced open her lips, which seemed to be stuck together. She had to make some kind of excuse now. If they were to realize that her lover was still alive, something uncontrollable would happen.
“……I was saying my farewells.”
Tiwakan would believe that Arsac, the captain of the royal guard, was dead. So, she had to fit the situation into that assumption.
“Because there won’t be time later.”
“……Hmm.”
Fermos revealed his displeasure in that way, instead of saying it outright.
“Lord Tiwakan and I have promised each other to make this marriage as genuine as possible. So…”
“Yes, so you’re saying that this man was the Princess's lover, and the Princess needed time to say goodbye separately?”
“……Yes.”
Had she fooled them? With this, her lover was officially a dead man. That brought a strange chill. Princess Liene felt as if she were standing alone in the middle of a blizzard, naked. The monocle flashed again like a blade.
“Hmm, if you say so. Understood, then. I will report the same to Lord Tiwakan.”
“……I trust he will understand.”
Princess Liene nodded lightly, maintaining a calm demeanor on the outside, no matter how she felt inside.
“I must be going now. I pray that there will be progress in the search, even at this late hour.”
“If you mean that sincerely, then I am truly grateful, Princess.”
Fermos stepped aside from the chapel entrance and showed courtesy.
“Go. I will see you next time.”
“Then.”
Princess Liene turned away first. Weroz followed behind her.
