The eyes of the doctor, with his graying hair, narrowed. Leticia waited anxiously for the doctor to speak. Despite trying to calm herself, her heart kept pounding violently. After a moment, the doctor withdrew his stethoscope and said,
“There is nothing wrong with you. You are very healthy. Fortunately.”
Leticia barely sighed with relief. She had been worried throughout the examination that her coughing up blood might be discovered.
“It seems you were just tired from the long journey. You still don’t remember what happened last night, do you?”
“Yes, that’s right. I remember walking in the garden and falling asleep on the bench, but…”
“I will prescribe some medicine to help you recover your strength. But you should be careful for a while. There may be symptoms that I missed.”
The doctor packed up his medical instruments and stood up. Dietrian, who had been watching the doctor’s consultation, also stood up.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The doctor bowed his head slightly and left the room. Leticia awkwardly smiled at Dietrian.
“See? I told you there was nothing wrong. That blood wasn’t mine.”
“Indeed. That’s a relief.”
Dietrian lifted the corners of his mouth smoothly. It was a different smile from usual, but Leticia, tense as she was, didn’t notice at all. He gently pressed his lips to Leticia’s forehead and whispered,
“For now, just rest. I’ll handle things with the others. It must remain a secret that the goddess has called for you.”
“Thank you.”
Shortly after, Dietrian left the room. His expression was terrifyingly stern as he entered the next room where the doctor, anxiously waiting, quickly approached him.
“Your Highness, the examination results are as I told Her Highness. There is nothing wrong with Her Highness’s health.”
“Are you certain you’ve examined thoroughly?”
“Yes, I am.”
The doctor said with a serious face.
“I especially focused on anything that could cause the bleeding. But there was nothing unusual.”
“Stand down for now. I will call you again soon.”
“Understood.”
“To her…”
“I won’t show any signs. Don’t worry.”
Shortly after, the doctor bowed deeply and left the room. Dietrian slumped into a chair, his expression contorted in agony. The pain was unbearable. He clenched his teeth, burying his face in his hand.
Last night, he had endured a night too terrible for words. It was dreadful enough that Leticia had collapsed, but the fact that her body disappeared before his eyes made him almost mad.
Fortunately, he had seen the light emanating from the elixir before she vanished. It meant that the goddess had taken her. So, she should be safe. He reassured himself.
But soon, it was all in vain. The goddess doesn’t always exert absolute power. What if something happened to Leticia? What if she never came back?
He had agonized alone all night. Despair and fear had repeatedly choked him in front of the empty bed. By a stroke of luck, just before he went mad, Leticia returned.
At first, he thought he was dreaming. Even seeing her approaching him with a smile felt unreal. But soon, he realized it was not a dream. And then, he realized that reality was worse than any dream.
Because Leticia had coughed up blood. The bloodstains on Leticia’s clothes were clearly from coughing up blood. Leticia had claimed it wasn’t her blood, but it wasn’t true. The shape was clearly different from someone else’s blood. It felt like the world had stopped. He was frozen, unable to breathe, and then she said with a smile,
“Were you very surprised? I’m sorry for worrying you. You don’t have to worry at all. This isn’t my blood.”
At that moment, he realized there was another floor beneath the floor. Leticia had hidden her coughing up blood from him.
“…I will call the doctor.”
He couldn’t precisely identify the turmoil of emotions inside him. To keep from yelling at her, he barely managed to say that. Unaware of his inner turmoil, Leticia grabbed him desperately.
“No, Your Highness, really. You don’t have to worry at all.”
He wanted to scream. Every time you say not to worry, do you know how I feel? Do you have any idea how tormenting it is for me to see you hiding your wounds from me because you love me?
From then on, every moment felt like a limit. He feared that if he let his guard down for even a moment, everything he had desperately upheld would collapse.
To the woman who kept saying everything was fine, I wanted to plead: nothing is fine, I love you, so please don’t hide anything from me!
“…Ah.”
Dietrian let out a hollow laugh. The suppressed emotions had ignited, burning his insides. The pain was so intense that he laughed.
“You, how can I possibly…”
How long can I endure you? His love for her now felt like poison. What was more painful was that, even amidst this torment, he couldn’t bring himself to give up on that lovely woman.
* * *
The people of the Principality did not know that Leticia had disappeared last night. They only knew that she had collapsed in the evening.
“Everyone was very worried when they heard that Her Highness had collapsed.”
The people from the Principality’s delegation had rushed over as soon as they heard that she had woken up. Now that they were back at the castle, they all wore gleaming armor.
“Did you see a doctor?”
“Yes, they said there’s nothing wrong. That I’m very healthy.”
Still, they couldn’t shake off their worry for Leticia. Even as she reassured them with a smile, Leticia’s mind kept drifting to other concerns—about the wings in the Empire. Then, a comment from Julia snapped her back to attention.
“Julia? Did you just say something about a wedding?”
“Yes, His Highness has ordered preparations for the wedding. Have you heard?”
“No, not at all.”
“It seems he decided after talking with the prime minister yesterday.”
“Congratulations, Your Highness.”
“Hehe, expect a Principality wedding. It’ll be completely different from one in the Empire!”
“We’ll create the most perfect wedding in the world for you.”
While receiving the knights’ congratulations, Leticia felt uncomfortable throughout. At first, she didn’t understand why she felt this way, but soon she realized.
‘Having a wedding means being recognized as a couple by the people of the Principality.’
They were already recognized as a couple. However, Leticia always kept in mind the possibility that their relationship could end. She wanted to delay any official proceedings as much as possible. She believed in Gilead’s dreams, but one never knows with people.
‘I need to talk to Dietrian about this.’
After the knights left, Dietrian returned. Leticia immediately asked about the wedding. Dietrian nodded smoothly.
“Yes, I’ve ordered the preparations for the wedding. The royal secretary will likely visit soon. I want the wedding to be tailored to your tastes.”
Dietrian smiled gently and kissed each of her fingers.
“Consider it a gift to you, the lady of the castle.”
“Ah… I see.”
The warm breath brushing between her fingers made Leticia instinctively shrug her shoulders. It was a simple gesture, but for some reason, it made her stomach flutter. She instinctively tried to pull her hand away.
But Dietrian was quicker. He had already interlocked his fingers with hers and was looking up at her intently.
“It’s just a bit ticklish.”
Leticia avoided his gaze as she made an excuse. She couldn’t say that today, he felt dangerously close. Dietrian’s gaze, watching her intently, darkened.
“Do you not want to have the wedding?”
“No?”
“You seem uncomfortable.”
“Oh, that’s…”
Hesitating, Leticia carefully began to speak.
“It’s not certain yet.”
“What?”
“Our relationship, whether it will continue or not, it’s not certain.”
Dietrian was silent for a moment, but then he nodded.
“Ah, yes, that’s true. We don’t know what will happen to us in the future. We might even part ways in half a year. That’s right.”
Until then, Leticia hadn’t taken it too seriously. More precisely, her head was filled with concerns about the wings in the Empire.
“It’s a limit.”
Suddenly, Dietrian said,
“I can’t bear it any longer, Leticia.”
As he said this, he kept laughing. Leticia looked down at him, bewildered. All other thoughts flew out of her mind in an instant.
“Your Highness?”
“I adore you.”
“…What?”
“I am adoring you, Leticia.”
Dietrian slowly raised his head. His eyes were like black flames.
“I mean, I love you.”
Leticia couldn’t understand his words at all. Or rather, she understood them but couldn’t comprehend why he was saying them now.
“Your Highness, there’s no one here, why…”
“That’s right. No one is here. Just you and me, the two of us.”
“But, why.”
“That’s why I’m saying it.”
Dietrian’s voice lowered.
“It’s not an act to deceive others, but a sincere declaration of my love for you. Of course, it has never been an act.”
Dietrian chuckled to himself, then the smile faded from his face. Still interlocking fingers with the still bewildered Leticia, he whispered slowly,
“I have loved you from the Empire. I’ve desperately wanted you every moment, and now at this moment too, it is the same. Until now, I’ve been hiding my feelings, fearing you would run away, but I’ve reached my limit.”
Finally, shock spread through her green eyes. Looking at her, he smiled broadly.
“Don’t think of ignoring my feelings or running away, Leticia. I know everything, including the curse that Josephina placed on you.”
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