Previously
Caesar pins Irenia to the floor in a predatory manner, but he stops when he notices her tears, showing a flicker of his human consciousness. Irenia manages to soothe him and realizes that he is starving, leading her to share the wedding feast remnants with him.
He hesitated, holding the fork in his hand, turning it several times in confusion, so I had no choice but to show him myself.
“Like this. Say ‘aah’ and open your mouth.”
The moment I did, he was quick to imitate me.
“Good boy, well done.”
“Mmh.”
He began chewing the food with his small lips, and I found myself watching him not as a husband, but as if he were a five-year-old child.
Soon after, he dragged his tongue across his lips to wipe away the remaining sauce, then proceeded to rub his face against the tablecloth. No, pardon me… that was not the behavior of a child.
He was more like a puppy.
Perhaps thinking of him that way would make things easier on my mind.
“Caesar.”
I called his name softly, and he turned steadily toward me, his large eyes staring into mine.
“I’m Irenia.”
“I… Ren.”
He murmured my name slowly, as though savoring it for the first time: Iren, Irena, Irenia. He repeated it over and over.
“Annalise used to call me Ren.”
“Ren.”
He immediately echoed, “Ren, Ren,” and then smiled with such pure innocence—a smile brimming with childish charm that melted my heart.
“We are husband and wife now.”
“Husband and wife?”
“Yes, husband and wife.”
From the very start, our standing was insignificant. No one even expected me to survive this marriage. Everyone around me thought I would die; even the dressing maids hadn't hesitated to hurl curses at me. And this wretched place—the Emerald Palace—was to become our home, shunned even by the Empress herself.
In this imperial palace, I had very few people to rely on. In fact, perhaps only one.
“I’m on your side, Caesar.”
“Side?”
“Yes, we’re on the same side.”
“Same…”
The truth was, I could not turn a blind eye to anyone mistreating Caesar, regardless of the circumstances. Even if he was the Cursed Prince, no one deserved to be treated that way.
“So if anyone tries to bully you again…”
“Bully?”
“Yes, like those wicked men earlier. Do you remember them?”
I mimicked the knights' gestures with my hands, and tension instantly flashed across Caesar's face.
“No!”
He shook his head violently, as if the mere memory was enough to enrage him.
Words like “no” and “hate” were the clearest things he could speak, and it was not hard to guess why.
· · ·
I sighed and shook my head slowly. There had to be a complete overhaul of the servants who abused him.
“If that happens again, come and tell me.”
“…Okay.”
I didn't know if I could truly be of help to him, but I couldn't accept putting chains and shackles on a human being, as if they had forgotten he was a person.
“Promise?”
I raised my pinky finger and extended it toward him. He just stared at it.
“This means we’re making a pledge.”
I gently took his pinky and hooked it around mine.
“Promise…”
I didn't know if he truly understood me, but then he slowly closed his eyes and opened them again, his gaze seeming to tell me something.
“Did you understand?”
“Yes.”
Then he smiled again, that pure, unblemished smile. Did he really understand?
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by the groan of the hinges.
“…Good heavens!”
It was a middle-aged woman, in her fifties at least. She looked at me in astonishment and hurried toward us, her face brimming with emotion.
“Your Highness!”
“Who are you?”
“Ah, forgive my lack of manners. I am Mercedes Arontio, the lady-in-waiting who cares for Prince Caesar.”
Caesar gave her a warm look. It seemed he knew her.
“Michi.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Mercedes was on the verge of tears, quickly wiping them away with her sleeve.
“As soon as I heard of your move to the Emerald Palace, I rushed over. But…”
Mercedes had been the prince's former wet nurse. Through her, I learned many things.
“I was originally one of the late Empress Adelaide’s close ladies-in-waiting.”
The current Empress Cornelia had driven out all who remained of the retinue of Adelaide, Caesar's late mother. Only Mercedes remained, because she was his wet nurse, and the only person Caesar trusted.
It was true that remaining in her care even at the age of eighteen was unusual, but he needed someone like her given his special condition. Mercedes was the last person left by his side.
“Lately, His Highness has become… extremely sensitive…”
She told me she could no longer manage him. Even touching him had become impossible. In the end, they resorted to sedatives and even restrained him.
“How could you let things reach such a point?”
I was about to ask her that when my eyes fell upon her hands: her fingers were chapped, her skin rough, lined with scars and scrapes.
I knew what those hands meant.
Hands that had spent years in hard labor. A life of struggle, despite her high station.
She was the wife of a high-ranking official in the Kingdom of Isabria, who had followed the late Empress after her husband was killed in the war, becoming Caesar's wet nurse.
Her status as a wet nurse meant she was of noble blood as well. What had she endured to end up in this state?
She began to weep silently.
“I apologize… I couldn't… Her Majesty Cornelia’s treatment…”
I didn't know how to comfort her. I hesitated, my lips parting without a sound, until she caught me by surprise, seizing my hand tightly.
“Your Highness, what happened today is a miracle!”
“A miracle?”
What miracle was she talking about? Mercedes's brown eyes shone with a strange gleam.
“I have never seen Prince Caesar show this much acceptance toward anyone before you!”
His condition recently had been far worse than I had imagined. Even Mercedes herself was someone he could no longer bear near him.
He hadn't even been able to sit quietly. He was a beast who had lost all consciousness.
“T-That's because I…”
I couldn't tell her that I had calmed him with my blood.
I hid the wound on my hand behind my dress and fell silent.
· · ·
No matter what, this had to remain a secret. If it was revealed that I fed the prince my blood and tamed him with it, there was no telling what might happen.
They might accuse me of witchcraft. Witchcraft?!
I remembered the days when I still wandered the streets and witnessed a witch trial.
If one could even call it a trial.
The end of a “witch” was tragic beyond belief. Even if she was of the highest lineage, she would be stripped of everything, treated worse than a beggar.
Tied to a donkey and dragged through the streets, pelted with stones, spat upon, and cursed by the crowd.
Then taken to the town square, onto a platform where oil-soaked straw billowed with smoke.
There was no mercy for a witch. She had to suffer until the very last moment, for that was the only path to the forgiveness of her sins.
Her screams, the roar of the mob, the stench of burning flesh… filling the air.
“…Your Highness?”
I snapped out of my thoughts to find Mercedes watching me with concern.
“Ah, no, it's nothing.”
I shuddered slightly, taking care that no tension showed in my voice.
This secret must never be discovered. If it was, there would be no turning back.
Even if one were to say blood could calm a human being, would anyone truly believe that? Without a doubt, people would accuse me of using dark magic to control minds, and I would be hunted down for witchcraft.
On top of that, Caesar was a member of the imperial family. If this came to light, I wouldn't just be accused of witchcraft, but of insulting imperial royalty—a capital offense.
Where that would lead required little guessing; the consequences would be catastrophic.
So I resolved to guard this secret, swearing to myself that I would keep it completely concealed.
“Ren.”
Caesar called to me, tugging gently at the hem of my sleeve. I tried to summon a faint smile, worried he might have sensed my anxiety.
“It's time to sleep now. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“Yes…”
I had heard from Countess Elvira that I would soon be attending a tea party with Empress Cornelia.
She said that now that I was part of the imperial family, it was only proper to pay my respects to my elders on such an occasion.
“Hah…”
After a warm reception like this, I couldn't help but wonder what was in store for me next. The mere thought made my stomach twist.
Guided by Mercedes, I reached the bedroom where I would be staying from now on.
They seemed to have tidied it while we were eating, as it looked far more orderly than the other rooms.
“Ah, I'm so exhausted…”
I let out a long yawn, casting all decorum aside. I hadn't rested in two straight days of relentless fatigue and travel. I was literally on the verge of collapse.
And now that my stomach was full, my body felt even heavier, the urge to sleep growing stronger.
With the maid's help, I changed into light nightclothes and collapsed onto the bed as though something had pulled me in.
I was told that Caesar's room was directly across the hall. Since our “wedding night” was officially considered completed yesterday, there was no obligation for us to share a room tonight.
So, at least for tonight… I could sleep in peace…
Drowsiness gradually weighed down my eyelids. Or at least, that was what I thought.
A strange sensation crept over me… as if something was tugging at my toes.
FADE OUT