READING GUIDANCE
" This is a direct sentence in the present time."
" This is a direct sentence in the past time."
' This is a character's inner thought in the present time.'
' This is a character's inner thought in the past time.'
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the present time.]
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the past time.]
HAPPY READING!
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In the end, life is always full of complicated things. Whether she wants it or not, it does not matter because, as someone who is living, she has no control over what will happen in her life, does she?
Kind of unfair. Yet, what could she do other than move forward?
Although her heart feels so anxious every time she looks at him, when his touches are vividly engraved in her mind and his scent starts to be something that calms her down, after being drowned in the comfortable embrace, the reality of her past slaps her in the most agonizing way.
And life sometimes likes to joke around as it then puts her in a situation where she can do nothing but live.
[I will ask you again, are you sure?]
"I am sure!" said Arisha.
[It is okay if you still want to take a break.]
"No, my teacher said today will be the day we learn magic!"
Irisha sighed while looking at her little sister, who was now ready with her uniform. [Are you not tired?]
She shook her head quite hard while showing a big, wide smile. "I am okay! I will come back after school is done!" and excitedly did her sign language in front of her.
"I will pick her up, Irisha. So, don't worry," said the second prince, showing up behind Arisha's back while pinching Arisha's cheeks. Her little sister did not seem to mind it.
Again, she sighed while looking at both of them, who had already become good allies whenever something Irisha argued about came up. [Your Grace, you have to attend your classes too.]
"I am!"
Irisha glared at him for a while.
"... Okay, okay..." He chuckled. "Why do they always tell you about it now?"
[Your teachers are concerned about you!] she said. [Arisha, don't play with His Grace if he skips your classes.]
Arisha nodded. "Okay, sister!"
"Wow, you traitor!" He continued to play with her cheeks, and Arisha ended up laughing so hard.
Arisha sighed again. [... Alright then, please have fun, both of you.] This made both of them excited as Arisha kissed her on the cheek after Irisha leaned toward her because she was now sitting in the bed.
"I love you, sister!" Arisha said.
As Irisha smiled, she then looked at the maid behind them. [Please take care of her.] The maid was now in charge of taking care of Arisha.
"Of course, My Lady," she said with sign language. She never expected to use it in this imperial palace... and yes, she was now living in the palace. The place where members of the Imperial family lived, and to be specific, the very palace of the first crown prince. It had been one week, and she was confused about why she was still here. The room was enormous and elegant, with the thick accents of the Malum Empire—the silver and platinum walls and engraved dragon statues catching the light—but the perfection felt almost too deliberate, as if the palace had been rebuilt again and again. The furniture was functional yet stylish, and despite the flawless appearance, she sensed the undercurrent of Castra's chaos: the building looked new, but only because it had likely been destroyed more times than she could imagine, each explosion and repair leaving its mark on the palace's hidden history.
Now, she could see the details of it clearly as the light was turned on. In fact, she already remembered the details as she had spent quite a while in this room. Most of the time, to be exact, because her body had been injured so badly. It would worsen if the medicines ran out, and it would be better if the Imperial Pharmacy did the healing. Unfortunately, they would only allow it for four hours per day, depending on her body and the injury.
'... Tara should come soon, I'd better prepare.' After several days and treatments, her body gradually became better, and she could move without much pain except for her broken right foot.
That was also the reason she struggled to reach the wheelchair that was prepared for her after she asked for it stubbornly. Yet, before her hand could reach it, a big hand she was familiar with reached it first and pushed it closer to her.
When she looked up, she found the handsome, wicked prince who seemed to have just come out of the shower. His damp hair clings slightly to his forehead, and the faint outline of his toned chest and abs is visible beneath the towel draped over his shoulders.
"... How many times should I tell you to call someone to help you?" he asked with his nagging expression, which had recently become so expressive.
And she had already gotten used to it. [... Dry your hair first before coming out of the bathroom.] She decided to ignore him, as she figured that was the most effective solution. Then he would just look at her for a while, as if asking for a staring battle with her in the very morning like this. [I will help you dry your hair. Please sit down.] She would then find a distraction to stop his nagging.
After he sat down in the chair that he always used whenever he came to his own room, which was now being used by her, Irisha took the towel he gave her and dried his hair gently.
Strange?
Yes. Of course. She was not that dumb not to realize. Yet, she was also confused about all these things from the start.
[The meeting will end around 7 P.M.], he said with only his hands because she was now looking down. [I can have dinner with you.]
And she gently brushed the towel.
[Tomorrow, I will put off my schedule too so I can accompany you with your treatment.]
She then pulled him up, and they both looked at each other before she turned her eyes away and gently brushed his ears.
"Bring Ray whenever you go," he said. His golden eyes sparkled while looking at hers. "Don't go everywhere without anyone," he added, saying something she was still confused about how to react to.
'How am I supposed to answer that?'
The question she had recently asked every time they had this kind of conversation.
'Who am I to answer that?'
And the further she thought about it, the more difficult it became to bear the answer.
So, she decided to remain silent.
"Do you understand?"
She looked at him while letting go of the towel. '... Because I cannot do anything now.' Her condition was worsening, and his protectiveness was something she could not argue with, given her current state.
Then she smiled gently. [I understand.] and said something she could say for now.
"Then good." He smiled while reaching out with his sturdy hands and lifting her up as if she were a feather. It was done so casually, even though Irisha still felt her heart jump whenever he did this. She was also surprised by herself at how she could still compose her expression while always feeling sudden hyperventilation if she was in his embrace.
"Both of you are surely romantic even in the morning," said the first princess, Ivy Isaac Malum, who was now entering his room with Tara behind her.
He stared at her. "I don't think that my room is a place for someone to enter freely."
She lifted her shoulders. "It's open, so I just came in." She then looked at Irisha and smiled warmly and beautifully. "Sister Irisha, how are you?" she asked with slow sign language, but still understandable.
Irisha, still in the crown prince's embrace, smiled awkwardly. [Good morning, My La- Ivy. I feel refreshed. How about you?] She was still trying to be more casual with the first princess of this empire because the princess was the one who had asked her to. Every time she failed to do so, the princess would show Irisha a heartbroken expression that Irisha could not stand.
"That is nice," the princess said with a bright smile, a very lovely one that made people think of how cute she was every time they looked at her. Irisha thought the same. Compared to the first time after the accident, when she somehow asked Irisha to talk with her.
The princess had been so quiet, bowed her head, and could not talk or write much. Irisha was not sure if the princess's quietness was due to a lack of communication skills or if she simply did not want to communicate. Either way, the princess was the one who had asked for the meeting, and Irisha had just done what she asked. The princess had been so different from what people always said about her, that she was so talkative and expressive. Yet, in front of Irisha at that time, the princess could not do anything.
After quite a while, Irisha wrote something on her note.
[If it is hard for you to say something now, you can send me a letter.] she said, drawing her attention. She then wrote again, [I also had a time when I found it hard to tell someone about my feelings, so I wrote them a letter.]
After that, the princess took her note and went away, leaving Irisha in confusion. Later on, her ladies-in-waiting came and delivered a letter from the princess.
It was a simple letter.
[Thank you.]
And that was it. Yet, Irisha felt that the princess had tried so hard to express her gratitude, and that was reason enough for her to reply with the same sincerity. She replied to the letter. After that day, the princess came to her with a bright, shy smile.
They were now becoming partners to talk with in this very palace.
"... Then, when will you go, brother?" asked the princess while staring at her brother. She still used sign language so Irisha could understand.
He then stared at her sister for a while before sighing and putting Irisha down in her wheelchair. "... Don't overwork yourself," he said while touching her cheeks gently and smiling without guilt, even though he realized how red her cheeks were due to embarrassment. Yet, he enjoyed it. Pretty much. "Then I will go now." He stood up, looking at Irisha for a while before turning to Tara, who jolted upon realizing his stare. "Report to me if something happens."
Tara nodded and gave him the imperial greeting as he left his room.
The wide back of him was something she would always look at every morning.
Ah, her heart was thumping really hard as her cheeks felt burning.
"I will wait for you until your work is done," the princess said, waking her from her endless thoughts. "Is it okay?"
She smiled. [Of course.] She said, while the princess pushed her wheelchair, even though Tara had offered to do it. Yet, the princess seemed to enjoy doing so, and they just let her be.
In the end, she was still 16 years old despite the titles she had. After living in the palace and meeting all the Imperial children, she somehow questioned if they were lonely.
The palace was enormous, perched atop the rocky mountain like a jewel of the Malum Empire. Beyond the main palace, there were several other palaces scattered across the heights, each one beautiful, luxurious, and extravagantly decorated. Elite imperial maids moved gracefully through the halls, always under the watchful eyes of the Holy Knights. In every corner, statues of charismatic dragons stood as silent guardians, their presence both majestic and intimidating. Yet, even after spending considerable time there, Irisha noticed the subtle distance everyone kept—no one dared approach them too closely.
'... Because they are all terrified.' She had once felt the same.
The dreadful threats that crawled in her body. The painful pressure of something they called the dragon's pheromone. Even though a child was born without knowing anything.
"The princess was usually not appropriate in melee fights; it is not her style," Ray told her. "... It seemed that, in critical situations, she overused her power and triggered her dragon's instinct. Whenever the blessed one uses that, whether friend or foe, they will just eliminate everything that blocks them," he said with a casual expression, as if it were nothing new to him.
"Yet, your blood, Ms. Irisha... then wakes her up," he said. "As I am not blessed by the dragon, I don't really understand, but it seems human blood has different traits from their blood. The aroma could help them take control of their mind for a while... but it is never effective as it requires a lot of aroma."
[How?]
He smiled awkwardly. "I am sure you don't want me to tell you about it."
Irisha took a moment before realizing.
Ray smiled vainly. "So that is why we have to make sure they get their daily transfusion to prevent the worst case of this dragon's blood."
[You did a great thing.]
"... I am pleased to hear that, Ms. Irisha, but I am not," he said. "I just do what fate told us to do."
"All of us have our own struggles; it applies to the Imperial members as well," he said. "They had a hard start in the very beginning of their lives, as well as now... To see someone like you come across them, I am truly grateful, Ms. Irisha."
"I hope you can stay a long time with us."
'A long time,' he said, and she questioned it always. With the same amount of happiness she felt now, as she did when she lost control of her mind or body, many questions came overwhelmingly.
As she looked at the lovely princess who was smiling toward her, '... Will you be the same if you know who I am?'
As she remembered the gentle touches of him and his smile, she started to miss, her heart thumped and ached painfully. It was hard to breathe and compose herself to act okay in front of people while her thoughts were going so wild.
'I am not someone as you think.'
'... You will despise me eventually.'
'As it is my punishment.'
And yes, it was as she then tried to hold the trembling hand and anxious feeling inside her.
"Sister, are you okay?" asked the princess.
She smiled gently. [I am okay.]
***