Chapter 10
I was able to arrive at Teansis’s quarters within the Kamara Academy, cradled in his arms.
Since I had been there once before, I knew very well that the distance between the storage area, where I had been earlier, and Teansis’s quarters was quite far, even though it was still within the Kamara Academy grounds.
But the reason I was able to arrive so quickly was simply because Teansis’s speed was unbelievably fast.
Normally, I would have been astonished by such a thing, but right now, the shock I had just experienced was so great that it felt unimportant.
I stared down at my palm, which was stained with the green blood of a monster.
‘Because of me… it died.’
I had only thought of it as a monster.
Up until now, the only knowledge I had was that there were monsters living in the Taran Forest.
The storage area had been full of monsters, none of which I had ever seen before, aside from the ones that had attacked me at Kamara Academy last time.
But…
For the first time, I saw those monsters throw themselves to save me, even as the explosion shattered the storage area.
When the explosion happened and the warehouse collapsed, they threw themselves over me without hesitation, dying under the massive rubble.
Even when the warehouse was engulfed in flames, they didn’t spare themselves, surrounding me with their bodies to block the hot flames.
They kept shouting like this:
“Your Majesty, our Queen!”
That desperate cry still rang clearly in my ears.
I didn’t understand. Even now, my mind was in turmoil.
‘Why are they calling me their queen?’
I wasn’t a monster. In fact, before coming to Kamara Academy, I had forgotten that there were monsters in the Taran Forest and had lived as an ordinary citizen.
Yet, for me… those monsters sacrificed their lives.
“Ah…”
My heart felt heavy.
I couldn’t understand how this happened, but as someone who had witnessed their sacrifice firsthand, the pain in my chest was unbearable.
The longing look in their eyes as they stared at me still lingered.
I couldn’t forget that the monsters had saved my life.
I felt like I owed them an enormous debt.
“Please bring me a cup of hot tea.”
When the sudden voice reached my ears, I looked up to see Teansis standing there.
When I came to my senses, I also saw Emily, the maid I had met when I fainted earlier, standing by the door.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Emily responded immediately and hurried off.
Only after arriving in the room did Teansis gently set me down on a chair at the table, looking at me seriously.
“Are you alright? If you’re injured, please let me know. I’ll call for a doctor.”
“No, I’m fine. I… I’m not hurt.”
I had survived without a single scratch, thanks to the monsters. On the one hand, it felt surreal, like I wasn’t even in reality.
Perhaps it was because I hadn’t recovered from the shock of seeing so many monsters die in front of me.
Noticing my confused state, Teansis spoke softly.
“For now, drink some hot tea to calm yourself.”
He must have been sweating from all the running, because he took off his jacket. Then, naturally, he sat down in the chair across from me.
Knock knock.
At that moment, a knock came from outside the door, followed by Emily’s voice.
“Your Grace, I’ve brought the hot tea.”
“Come in.”
With Teansis’s permission, Emily entered and, with practiced movements, placed the tea cups on the table.
“If you need anything, please call for me.”
After a polite bow, she left the room.
Once again, we were left alone. Teansis gently held the saucer of the steaming tea and extended it toward me.
“Drink… Ah!”
For some reason, Teansis suddenly raised his hand with a shocked expression.
Clink!
His abrupt movement caused the tea cup to wobble, spilling hot tea over the back of his hand. But he didn’t even scream; he just stared at his hand.
“Are you alright?”
I was the one who was surprised.
I didn’t understand why he had acted that way, but his hand, burned by the hot tea, was turning red.
“I need to cool it down with something cold.”
I reached out for the bell on the table to call for the maid again.
At that moment…
Teansis suddenly took my hand, as if stunned.
Had he burned himself from the tea?
His touch was incredibly hot.
“Why… suddenly…”
I looked at Teansis, confused. For some reason, his violet eyes were dark and intense, as if something had changed.
This situation felt more and more strange, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
‘What’s going on? What’s bothering me?’
After thinking for a moment, I realized something.
‘Ah! His gloves!’
Teansis wasn’t wearing gloves.
He always wore gloves, so much so that there had been rumors that he had obsessive-compulsive tendencies. But now, he was holding my hand without gloves.
That wasn’t all.
Tap tap tap…
Teansis suddenly began unbuttoning his shirt with his other hand.
As his well-toned collarbones and firm chest came into view, I involuntarily turned my head quickly, my face burning.
“Wh-what are you doing, Your Grace?”
“I’m holding your hand, Lady.”
“I know that without you saying.”
“Is there a rash on my body?”
“A rash?”
I couldn’t understand what he meant, but I had no choice but to turn back toward him.
As the last button on his shirt came undone, I could see his sculpted abs beneath his clothes. He looked slim when dressed, but now, his body was covered in lean muscles.
All I could see was his mesmerizing physique; there was no sign of a rash anywhere on him.
“There’s no rash that I can see.”
At my answer, Teansis smiled faintly, his expression one of both joy and sorrow, though it was hard to pinpoint.
“…Hah.”
“Your Grace?”
For some reason, he didn’t seem like the Teansis I knew.
He stared at me with burning eyes.
“If there’s no rash on my body in this situation, then it doesn’t make sense.”
“Excuse me?”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
A rash?
Did he have a condition I didn’t know about?
As I looked at him in confusion, he continued, his violet eyes piercing me.
“Do you think it makes sense that the rash I couldn’t cure with every doctor, healing magic, and even curses would not affect you, Lady?”
“I don’t understand…”
Teansis always wore gloves during formal events, but he didn’t always wear them at all times. I knew that because he sometimes removed them during sword training.
It was something I knew better than anyone. So, I couldn’t understand why he would need a rash now.
‘What’s going on?’
I glanced around at the situation again.
Teansis and I were simply sitting across from each other, holding hands.
‘Could it be… because we’re holding hands?’
I didn’t continue the thought.
“Originally, I was going to ask you about this once you calmed down, but I can’t wait any longer. Did the monsters sacrifice themselves for you? How did you understand their language?” Teansis’s questions were sharp.
But there was nothing I could answer.
‘I don’t know.’
I had no idea how this had all happened.
The word ‘Queen’ that the monsters had shouted as they died echoed in my mind, but was it really meant for me?
Why? Why?
I really wanted to know the answer.
When I said nothing, Teansis asked again.
“Are you not going to answer?”
“No, it’s not that… You might not believe me, but I really don’t know.”
“Does that mean you’re not denying what I said, even though you don’t know why this is happening?”
Should I be honest?
Or should I lie?
In that brief moment, many thoughts crossed my mind, but I ultimately nodded and decided to speak the truth.
The Akruze family, known to know everything about the monsters in the Taran Forest, was involved. Hiding this wouldn’t be the best choice.
Many monsters had died for me. For some reason, I didn’t want them to suffer anymore, whether it was from me or someone else.
“Your Grace, what you said is correct.”
“Does that mean the monsters sacrificed themselves for you and you understood their language?”
“…Yes.”
I nodded along with my answer. Teansis’s expression subtly shifted, as if he hadn’t expected such a response.
“…I see. So what I suspected was true.”
“But I really don’t know why this is happening.”
“Do you suspect anything?”
“S-suspect?”
At that moment, the thought that had been crossing my mind surfaced: the experiment that had made me younger.
I had taken Zehr’s experimental potion and it had unexpectedly made me younger. It was the most surprising and unusual thing to happen recently.
Then, Zehr’s explanation came back to me.
—There’s a very slim chance that some might show a strange reaction. After a long time of research, I realized that this potion could react with the unique energy of a creature, bringing unexpected results.
Could it be that the side effect of the potion had caused all this?
I tried to connect the two incidents in my mind, but it only made things
