As he watched her from close by, her long eyelashes fluttered faintly, and her eyelids slowly lifted.
Her eyes were usually a pale purple, yet the gentle touch of sunlight lent them a heavenly blue tint, turning them an alluring, mysterious shade.
She peered up at him, a sleepy haze dulling her gaze, and their eyes met in the open air.
For a silent moment, their gazes remained intertwined.
“My hand is not a pillow, Miss.”
“Ah!”
Her eyes sprang wide. Jolting upright, she hastily pulled out a handkerchief, caught his hand, and began rubbing it down in earnest.
He regarded her with bewildered curiosity as a hot flush crept across her cheeks, turning them the color of her pale pink hair.
“I—I was worried I might have drooled on it.”
A short laugh slipped from Gray before he could catch himself.
“Rest assured, you did not.”
“That is a relief.”
She let out a deep breath, still holding fast to his hand.
The hand she clasped felt somehow larger than usual today… or perhaps hers was simply that small.
Catching himself measuring the size of her hand, he abruptly set his mouth into a rigid line.
Whatever the case, was it not reckless to take this so lightly, even if touching her brought no signs of his curse?
He found himself particularly displeased with his own conduct today.
“You seem to take any man’s hand without the slightest hesitation.”
“Oh, I apologize!”
Flustered, she let go of his hand at once.
Yet… was there truly any need to cast it off so harshly?
One of his eyebrows rose without his consent, betraying his annoyance.
“What in the world do you do at night to stay awake, only to doze off everywhere like this?”
Her eyes darted left and right in an obvious struggle to gather her thoughts.
“I suffer from insomnia.”
In truth, she had slept like the dead, but Dalia fabricated the excuse with an awkward smile.
Feigning insomnia seemed far preferable to admitting she fell asleep at random for no reason at all.
“I see. Did you not bring your notebook today?”
As his gaze raked over her, she spread her hands wide to show they were empty.
“No. Our agreed three meetings have ended, and this will likely be my last private audience with Your Majesty.”
“…Is that so?”
“Though, why did you summon me?”
“Start first with what you intended to say during the third meeting.”
“Truly? Then I hope there will be no five-minute time limit today.”
“Very well.”
She watched him lean back into his chair, looking at ease.
Dalia gathered the questions she had arranged in her mind.
“Last time, you said your favorite color was the color of dawn. Could you tell me specifically what dawn’s color is?”
Her eyes met the Emperor’s dark gaze head-on.
‘What is wrong with him? Why stare like that? It feels as if he’s boring a hole right through my face!’
“Skip the question.”
The answer fell from his lips after an extended, silent staring contest.
Dalia puffed out her cheeks in vexation, yet this time his gaze lingered long on her lips.
‘What is this? Speak with words, not with stares!’
‘Good heavens… Did I really drool in my sleep?’
She quickly wiped her mouth with her handkerchief.
At times like this, the subject had to be changed immediately!
“What do you think of women who enjoy tending gardens?”
“Your lips are speaking…”
Suddenly, the Emperor clamped a hand over his mouth as if in a hurry.
Dalia stared back at him, utterly stunned.
“And what else are lips supposed to do besides speak?”
Madness.
Without realizing it, his gaze had been utterly stolen by her lips.
When he had saved her with artificial respiration, those lips had been cold as ice; now, warmth had returned, tinting them a lovely shade of pink.
The instant the memory of that day’s touch resurfaced, he found himself powerless to look away.
A searing heat pooled behind his eyelids.
He had truly lost his senses.
Gray drew the hand that had just covered his mouth upward, shielding his eyes entirely.
“Your Majesty?”
He answered her while keeping his eyes hidden.
“Continue speaking. My head aches.”
A shadow settled over Dalia’s face.
She knew he was averse to women, but to suffer a headache at the mere mention of one? Could such a man truly marry? Yet he had to… There was no other choice.
She watched him with growing worry, recalling the question she had kept locked inside for so long.
In truth, she had wondered about it from the very first moment they met.
And since this meeting might well be their last, she had to ask now.
“Your Majesty, what are your thoughts on the end of the world?”
The Emperor lowered his hand slowly, scrutinizing her as if trying to fathom her depths.
“Are you asking that in earnest?”
Dalia drew a deep breath and nodded with a determined expression.
“Yes.”
“Do you know anything about Demonic Beasts?”
Gray asked in a sharp tone, his gaze boring into her purple eyes.
“And what are Demonic Beasts?”
The Princess tilted her head slightly, her face completely innocent and clear.
“You do not know what Demonic Beasts are? Truly?”
‘Yes. What are they?’
‘Truth.’
Only a short while ago, he had witnessed through a visual recording a creature termed a Demonic Beast—something he had never seen or heard of before.
And yet, her question concerned the end of the world.
Could the two matters be entirely unrelated?
Even so, his ability to discern the truth confirmed that her answer was sincere.
“What was the question you asked?”
“The end of the world. Do you know anything about it?”
Dalia asked cautiously, watching his expression, but Gray did not know the answer either.
Could those newfound creatures be the cause of the world’s demise?
The appearance of those beasts was currently a closely guarded secret.
What were they, exactly? How many were there? How much did the Holy Empire of Halin know about them, and why were they trying to capture one alive in the first place?
Too many questions remained unanswered.
“I do not know.”
Gray offered a vague response, observing how she would react.
“As I expected.”
The Princess shook her head, disappointment plain on her face.
“Now let me ask you. Why did you suddenly think to ask about the end of the world?”
“A mere hypothetical. If the world ended, everyone I hold dear would die… and that is terrifying.”
Her purple eyes trembled with genuine unease.
Could anyone be this anxious over a mere whim of the mind? If anything, his suspicions only deepened.
“You seem to possess a rather vast imagination, Miss.”
“Are you not afraid, Your Majesty?”
She looked at him in disbelief, as though unable to fathom his answer.
“Death does not frighten me.”
Ever since the mark denoting his limited lifespan appeared upon his back, he had asked himself each year: ‘Will I die this year? And how will my end come?’
He had drawn closer to death step by step, and he had prepared himself for it long ago.
“And what of the deaths of those you hold dear?”
Those he held dear… No one came to mind immediately.
Perhaps Viviana, as she was family.
“That… I might not care for.”
“Right? Then, suppose for a moment: if Your Majesty could prevent the end of the world, would you do it?”
The Princess asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up.
“Are you saying I possess the power to avert the world’s ruin, and not merely protect the Empire?”
When he countered with an incredulous question of his own, she gave a vigorous nod.
“Yes! Purely hypothetical!”
“I shall consider it when the time comes.”
Dalia dropped her head in disappointment.
He was a truly difficult man to deal with.
“Now it is my turn, is it not? How did you know the Princess had fallen into the lake?”
A sharp glint sparked in the Emperor’s eyes.
Dalia swallowed hard, warily reading the shift in his features.
So… that was why he had summoned her.
