Translator: Nox
(13) The Darling of Lily Palace (5)
Realizing his feelings, the strength left her jaw.
His finger, which she had been biting hard, slipped out. He chuckled, looking at the teeth marks left on his finger.
"It doesn't even hurt. Do you think you could sever my finger with that?"
Roxana wanted to ask him.
Why he was trying so hard to save her. Wouldn't it be better for Torkan if she died? Keeping her alive would only cause conflict with Gania, so why was he trying so hard to save a troublesome woman who had nothing?
But before she could utter the question, his finger was back in Roxana's mouth. This time, it was a grape.
The grape pulp smeared on his finger slid across Roxana's tongue and down her throat. He kept his finger in her mouth, preventing her from closing it, and fed her the grape pulp, one piece at a time.
The refreshing and sweet fruit stirred her long-dormant stomach. A faint strength was returning to her body, which had felt like it was sinking into the ground to die.
"Live, Princess."
He said, looking down at Roxana with serious gray eyes.
"You must want to die. Life must be tasteless. I know. I know it very well, but still, try to live. Even if breathing is difficult and disgusting, if you persevere, something good will happen once in a while, and then something even better, and you'll laugh, and then you'll think, 'I'm glad I'm alive.'"
"How do you..."
Roxana pushed his hand away with both hands.
"How do you know that?"
Her hoarse voice cried out plaintively.
"How do you know that?"
Floyd stared at Roxana, who was struggling to utter a few words, having no strength to even be angry.
A breeze blew. But it wasn't coming from the open window, but from the closed bedroom door. The breeze, carrying the air of Torkan but without the salty smell, brushed past Floyd's hair several times.
As if to strike him on behalf of the powerless princess.
Floyd glanced at the empty bedroom door, then looked back at Roxana and said.
"I know, I do. Even if no one else does, I know. So, Princess, try to live."
Roxana's face contorted. Roxana grabbed his thick forearm with both hands. She pulled his hand to her neck.
"I want to die, Your Highness. I really want to die. Please, please, Your Highness. I'll do anything. I'll follow any order you give me without complaint or displeasure. So please, if I die, throw me into that sea. Tie a stone to me so no one can save me."
Floyd closed his mouth tightly and stared at her, who was desperately pleading. Irrelevant to the situation, he was bothered by the juice dripping from her mouth.
Floyd wiped the corner of her mouth with his sleeve and said.
"I understand, Princess. If you're going to do something, then yes. Let's do it."
Only then did the light return to her eyes, which had been dying black.
Could there be another person who regains life upon hearing that they will be allowed to die?
"But I don't need swords, shields, or Sorceress. So do something else."
"What should I do?"
"Live."
"......"
"Let's just live properly for a year. Eat, sleep, and take occasional walks, just live like a living person for a year."
Roxana's eyes wavered. Floyd thought those eyes were like a summer tree caught in a storm.
"If someone talks to you, greet them, have a conversation, and sometimes go to the theater or parties, just live for a year. That's what I want from you, Princess."
"Then... if I live like that for a year..."
"If you still want to die after living like that for a year, I'll kill you myself. I'll bury you deep in that sea so no one can throw Adelia Flower."
"Is that really true?"
"I don't lie or make false promises, Princess."
Floyd felt sick at the sight of her showing hope at the words that she would be killed. But without showing it, he picked up an apple from the tray, cut it in half, and offered it to Roxana.
"So eat, Princess. If you don't recover enough to walk in the garden within a week, our promise will be off."
+++
Floyd left the bedroom with a stiff expression. Petria was standing next to the uneaten food with an anxious expression.
"The Princess has finished her meal, so take that out."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"And..."
Floyd slowly looked around the drawing room.
"Call the contractors and have them fill Lily Palace with Adelia Flower."
Petria's eyes widened at the unexpected order.
"Fill it with Adelia Flower...?"
"Engrave Adelia Flower on everything from the tapestries to the blankets, the carpets on the floor, and every single vase. So that the Princess can be embraced by God wherever she breathes her last."
+++
Floyd told her to live for just one year. He said she had to recover enough to walk in the garden within a week.
Roxana clung to that promise.
She would do anything if it meant she could die without smelling Adelia. She was prepared to be a sword, a shield, even a Sorceress moving for him, so just living wouldn't be difficult.
She had no appetite, but she dipped bread in the soup and ate it. At first, she couldn't even swallow a piece of bread properly, but by the next meal, she ate a whole piece of bread. Little by little, the amount she ate increased.
Occasionally, she felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, but she endured it. She covered her mouth with both hands and swallowed the food that came back up.
Petria was relieved that Roxana was finally eating properly, but Roxana ate the food feeling like she was chewing sand, like she was swallowing pieces of iron.
After the meal, she sat blankly on the bed, staring out the window. Even though the place was different and the air was different, the sky was similar to the sky she had seen from the princess's bedroom in Ider Palace.
Looking at the same sky as Kanta made her think of her family, but she didn't dream when she slept. She wanted to see her family even in her dreams, but it seemed that her family, who had not been embraced by God, didn't have the time to come to her dreams, so she was plunged into extreme grief every time she woke up.
The thought of having to endure this pain and despair for a year was daunting, but the thought that she would definitely die after a year made it bearable.
"Lady Roxana. The bathwater is ready."
That morning, Roxana ate soup and a piece of bread from the lavishly prepared food and sat blankly on the bed. Until now, Petria had been wiping Roxana with a wet towel because she didn't have the strength to get up, but today Roxana had said that she would wash herself.
Roxana dragged her heavy legs off the bed. A strange maid was standing in front of the bathroom with a displeased expression, holding a towel.
"This child will help Lady Roxana with her bath."
"It's okay."
Roxana took the towel from the maid.
"I'll wash myself. You don't have to help me."
"But Lady Roxana..."
"I'll wash myself."
When Roxana said firmly, the maid said to Petria as if scolding her.
"She said she'll wash herself. Are you satisfied now?"
The maid, who was annoyed at the thought of having to help the darling of Lily Palace with her bath, did not miss the opportunity and turned around and left the room.
Roxana wanted to smile at Petria, who was embarrassed, but she seemed to have forgotten how to smile, and she couldn't remember how to use the muscles in her mouth, so she went into the bathroom as she was.
As befitting a room for honored guests, the bathroom was also luxurious. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all white marble, and various flowers, trees, and animals were carved on the walls. There was a dolphin statue in the large bathtub, and water flowed from the statue's mouth.
Next to the bathtub was a table and chair for placing snacks to enjoy while taking a bath, and the windows high up were fitted with colorful glass, so the sunlight coming in changed into various colors and landed on the water in the bathtub.
Roxana had never seen such a luxurious bathroom. Even the bathroom in Ider Palace in Kanta was not this fancy.
'Torkan must have a lot of money.'
The Hwinasel region in the southwestern part of the continent, which is now the Grand Duchy of Torkan, was once a desolate wasteland. There were too many Rifts and monsters flowing out of the Rifts, and the Magical Energy had contaminated the land, making it impossible for people to live there.
It was Floyd Ratean who pioneered that area into what is now Torkan.
'Crimson Tiger who exterminates monsters.'
That was the title he earned while annihilating the monsters that had occupied this land.
Monsters are terrible, but the by-products from monsters are useful and traded at very high prices. Torkan's rapid growth and becoming one of the wealthiest countries in the world was probably thanks to that.
Roxana took off her clothes and sat down in the bathtub filled with warm water.
'What would it be like to face a monster?'
Roxana had never seen a monster. She often heard stories from knights about fighting monsters. They said that even a few well-trained knights would have a hard time dealing with them because they were strong and used strange tricks.
Monster stories were scary but interesting, and sometimes they kept Roxana from falling asleep. When Roxana stayed up late and went out into the hallway, wailing about what would happen if a monster appeared, Robert, who was guarding the front of the hallway, smiled and said.
-"Don't worry, Princess. I will always be by your side, so you will never be harmed by a monster."
