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Chapter 15
The emperor and the imperial knights were definitely not acting. They had no idea that Davin had overheard their entire conversation.
‘…So the emperor isn’t working with the culprits?’
Davin recalled the emperor’s pale face as he looked at Anise.
To be honest, before the emperor accused Anise of staging everything today, Davin had never suspected him.
Even when the memory-lost Anise showed signs of doubting the emperor, Davin had always thought otherwise.
The emperor and Anise had shared a deep bond since childhood, and if the emperor truly wanted Anise dead, there would have been no need for such a complicated scheme involving poison and assassins.
He could have simply ordered the imperial knights to kill Anise. And if he needed justification, he could easily have turned one of the nobles’ frequent malicious petitions against Anise into “truth.”
After hearing the emperor mention a “self-orchestrated act,” Davin briefly wondered whether he was allied with the enemies, but after overhearing the imperial knights’ conversation earlier, he leaned back toward believing the emperor was not the culprit.
Personally, Davin disliked him, but he was still the emperor. If he wasn’t allied with the criminals, then keeping him as an ally would benefit Anise. And perhaps now he would finally listen to what Anise had to say.
‘…Let’s postpone escaping.’
Frowning, Davin looked down at the wound on Anise’s neck. If they were going to show Anise to others, it was probably better not to heal it any further. He hated the fact that he could completely erase the injury but couldn’t.
For the same reason, his own left arm—which had healed perfectly—would also be a problem. People had seen it pierced through.
Letting out a sigh, Davin pulled the dagger from his waist.
He took out a first-aid kit, applied medicine to Anise’s neck, and carefully covered it with gauze. Then he reopened the wound on his own arm with the dagger, treated it, and wrapped it with bandages.
Once he finished, someone tried to open the bedroom door and spoke in confusion.
“Huh? Why won’t the door—”
When it refused to budge, the person began pounding on it violently.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Count! Are you in there?”
It was the imperial knight Joshua.
Davin stood up, removed the longsword blocking the door, sheathed it at his waist, and opened the door.
Click—
As soon as the door opened, Joshua stood there with both hands raised in surrender, apparently expecting Davin to point a sword at him. Seeing Davin unarmed, he lowered his hands and asked,
“Are you alright, Count?”
“…Fortunately, the wound wasn’t deep, so I administered first aid.”
Joshua, who had seen blood spurting from Anise’s neck, had apparently prepared himself for the worst. He let out a huge sigh of relief at Davin’s words.
“A physician has arrived from the imperial palace. His Majesty wishes for the Count to be examined by the royal doctor.”
Davin pressed his lips together and silently stared at Joshua. Thinking Davin was wary, Joshua added,
“Wouldn’t it be best to entrust the injured Count to a professional for treatment first? His Majesty also said he would personally oversee the treatment.”
Hearing the emperor’s message, Davin barely suppressed a bitter laugh.
You could’ve trusted us from the start.
If the emperor hadn’t shouted at that moment, Anise would never have ended up in this condition.
At the same time, Davin also understood why the emperor had shouted. Ever since long ago, the emperor had become sharp and hostile whenever Davin and Anise seemed even slightly close.
Suppressing the boiling anger inside him, Davin answered calmly.
“Understood. Bring them in.”
“Yes, sir. Ah, and the intruders who entered the estate have all been dealt with! We’ve also summoned additional imperial knights to guard the area around the mansion, so you can rest easy now.”
“Thank you.”
At Davin’s thanks, Joshua smiled and hurried off somewhere. Davin quietly watched his retreating figure before shutting the door again.
Anise slept quietly on the bed. Hearing her peaceful breathing, Davin touched her forehead to check if she had developed a fever. Perhaps because he had poured so much holy power into her, despite suffering a fatal wound, Anise’s condition was thankfully completely stable.
Soon, the sound of many footsteps rushed toward Anise’s bedroom. A deep voice rang out from outside the door.
“His Majesty the Emperor enters.”
The door opened, and the pale-faced emperor entered alongside the medical staff. Seeing Anise lying in bed, the emperor approached with a tense expression.
“…Is Anise alright?”
“Yes. Fortunately, the stab wasn’t deep.”
To hide the coldness in his eyes, Davin lowered his gaze as he answered.
Even after seeing that Davin himself had treated Anise, the emperor said nothing. Under normal circumstances, he would have scolded him for touching the Count improperly or crossing boundaries, but he must have acknowledged the urgency of the situation.
Davin’s strikingly handsome appearance had long been considered one of Anise’s greatest weaknesses in having him as her guard knight.
The nobles repeatedly spread absurd rumors about the emperor’s fiancée Anise and her guard knight, and the emperor had always been sensitive to them. Because of this, he had even pressured Anise to dismiss Davin from his position and send him away from the estate.
“Just write him a decent recommendation letter and send him off.”
But Anise had stubbornly remained loyal to Davin despite the emperor’s criticism, insisting that the real problem was the people spreading strange rumors about a relationship that didn’t exist between them.
At least until Davin learned the truth Anise had been hiding from him.
After confirming with his own eyes that Anise was not in critical condition, the emperor gestured to the physician he had brought. Soon, the emperor’s personal doctor and nurses surrounded Anise.
Davin watched them closely, wary of the medical staff. But neither the doctor nor the nurses showed any suspicious behavior as they examined Anise, and before long the treatment was finished.
“Fortunately, the cut wasn’t deep, and the first aid was appropriate. She hasn’t been exposed to poison, and there’s no fever, so the infection doesn’t appear severe. We only need to change the bandages regularly and provide painkillers and ointment.”
After confirming that Anise’s condition was not serious, the emperor’s physician smiled brightly in relief, and only then did the emperor finally nod with a reassured expression.
“You’ve done well.”
The physician then examined Davin’s arm. Seeing how neatly he had treated the pierced wound, the doctor admired Davin’s response.
The emperor sat in a chair beside Anise’s bed and let out a long sigh of relief. Then he placed his hand over Anise’s and held it gently.
“Phew… Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness…”
“There is still a chance she may develop a fever later, so I’ll leave attendants to watch over the Count and take my leave now, Your Majesty.”
The emperor’s physician bowed politely and left the room, leaving behind two nurses.
“…”
Silence filled the room for a moment. After staring at Anise for a long while, the emperor finally spoke.
“…This has been happening since the second?”
At the emperor’s question, Davin turned his gaze away from monitoring the nurses and looked at him.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“…Do you have any idea who might be trying to kill Anise?”
So now you finally listen to us.
Davin gave a bitter smile before answering.
“Up until now, we’ve been too busy defending ourselves to properly investigate whoever is behind this.”
“Did Anise mention any possible suspects?”
“It didn’t seem like Lady Anise had any idea either.”
The memory-lost Anise had no real ability to guess who the culprit might be. But because Davin did not want to reveal Anise’s memory loss to the emperor, he chose not to mention that part.
“I see.”
The emperor’s eyes burned with fury toward the unknown enemies.
Then he spoke firmly.
“This place is too dangerous. We must move Anise to the imperial palace immediately.”
