🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 55
“Rena, where did you go… Are you crying?”
Calix was startled as he hurried over to me.
I almost ran into him, throwing myself into his arms. Only when I felt his shirt becoming damp did I realize I was crying.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
He held me tightly, worried, but I only shook my head and buried my face in his chest, clutching his shirt desperately.
What should I do?
What I wanted was simple. To forget about the dragon and everything else and go somewhere with Calix where no one knew us.
If only my life wasn’t tied to the dragon. If not, I would’ve given it away long ago.
“Who hurt you? Did someone say something?”
I even thought about going to the Emperor and revealing everything about her son’s plans to overthrow her.
Or confronting Pryn directly, telling her I knew she was Lenia and that she had tried to kill me.
“Lenia…”
Before I knew it, I was confessing everything to Calix.
“Lenia?”
“Lenia tried to kill me. She poisoned my wine to take the dragon from me…”
Calix’s body stiffened. I rubbed my face into his chest like a child, the tears streaming even harder. I hadn’t cried when I almost died, nor when I reunited with Calix. But now, I couldn’t stop.
At least I had him by my side now—someone who would always be on my side.
I finally pulled back, lips pressed tightly together, and said firmly:
“Calix, find out about Lenia. She’s a maid here. People also call her Pryn.”
“Pryn?”
Calix’s expression changed instantly. He grabbed my shoulders.
“The Pryn you were looking for is the one who poisoned your wine? Not the maid’s friend who was framed?”
“…It was easier to frame someone close to her friend…” I muttered, my voice breaking. The tears that had finally stopped threatened to spill again.
I rambled on, unable to stop myself.
“I just saw her. Pryn poisoned my wine. People also call her Lenia, but I don’t know which is her real name. Maybe it’s just a nickname…”
“But I heard Pryn wasn’t even in the palace during the party.”
“She has an accomplice in the palace.”
Calix cut me off. “How do you know that?”
“….”
I froze, my lips sealing shut.
Should I tell him I’d met the Prince? But I didn’t want him to worry. He already had enough to handle with the Emperor. I didn’t want him to be burdened by the Prince too.
I looked away and muttered,
“…I just knew it through magic.”
Calix clearly didn’t believe me, but he didn’t call me out. He only observed me silently for a long time before finally saying,
“Alright. I’ll send people to investigate the maid Pryn—Lenia.”
I nodded.
“So please… stop crying.”
He gently wiped my tears away with both hands, but that only made me cry harder. He used his thumb to softly brush my tears.
“Hey, I told you to stop crying. Why are you crying more?”
“I don’t know…”
“Please don’t cry. When you cry, I don’t know what to do either.”
“…Okay…”
Calix lowered his head and kissed the corners of my eyes, again and again, as if to swallow my tears away.
Only after a long time did I finally stop crying. Once I’d calmed down, he said,
“You should rest today. You’ve overworked yourself.”
I nodded obediently.
“…Okay…”
I let him lead me to bed. He tucked me in carefully, and I stared up at him as he went to the bathroom to wet a towel with warm water.
As he returned and began to gently wipe my face, I impulsively said,
“Calix.”
“Why?”
He dimmed the lights as he answered. Watching him, I blurted out,
“Hold my hand.”
“….”
He immediately stopped what he was doing and took my hand.
“Don’t leave until I fall asleep.”
“…Okay.”
“Even if I fall asleep, don’t go anywhere.”
“Okay, I promise.”
I needed that promise, even if it was just words. I was afraid Calix would leave to do something dangerous the moment I closed my eyes.
He looked down at me with unreadable eyes, holding my hand until I finally fell asleep.
The next morning, I woke up and called for him immediately.
“Calix?”
He was at the table, setting breakfast. When he saw me awake, he came over and kissed my cheek.
“Did you sleep well? Come eat.”
He had kept his promise. He hadn’t left my side until I was asleep, and he had even woken up to greet me when I opened my eyes.
Everything felt so normal, as if I hadn’t cried myself to sleep in his arms the night before.
But there was a secret between us. We both knew it, yet we pretended everything was fine.
It was like a fragile peace built on sand.
In truth, I was worried that Calix might have gone somewhere while I slept. I wanted to ask him where he had gone that day I’d met the Prince too. But to ask him that, I would have to tell him my secret first.
Rena, who were you looking for at the party?
Do you know who the culprit is?
He hadn’t forgotten those questions. He was only pretending to, because I didn’t want to answer.
There were too many things to think about: the Emperor and the Prince, who knew my identity; Lenia, who wanted to kill me and take the dragon for her revenge; and even Calix.
I’m still a patient. Should I really be pushing myself like this?
I was still a sick person who had to take medicine from the imperial doctor every day.
But there were too many problems, and I couldn’t afford to sit and wait.
So, in the middle of breakfast, I dropped the bomb.
“I want to go out after breakfast today.”
“Go out? Where?” Calix’s eyes widened.
I stirred my broccoli soup calmly.
“I want to go into the capital.”
“Outside the palace?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To shop.”
“Shop?”
Calix’s eyes widened even more. He was clearly wondering if I had another motive.
I cut him off before his imagination could run wild.
“I just want to shop, to relieve stress.”
“…I thought you didn’t like shopping?”
“Who doesn’t like spending money?”
At that, Calix nodded gravely, as if it made perfect sense.
“You don’t have to come with me. I can go alone.”
“That’s not happening,” Calix said firmly.
I couldn’t help but feel relieved at his reaction. At least he wasn’t planning to run off and do something dangerous while I was gone.
Still, I really did want to go alone. I needed space to clear my head.
Calix looked at me like I was insane. How could I even think about walking around alone when the people who tried to kill me were still out there?
“I’ll be fine. I know who the culprit is—Lenia.”
“What about Lenia’s accomplice? She had someone in the palace trying to kill you while she was on vacation.”
“….”
I couldn’t answer that. My silence made Calix’s face harden.
Finally, I pulled out my trump card.
“Anyway, I can protect myself with magic, can’t I?”
This time, he couldn’t argue.
After a long pause, Calix finally said I could go—but only if I took one of his knights with me.
“Fine. That’s reasonable…”
“But I’ll choose which knight.”
Who could he possibly pick?
I thought it would be one of the familiar faces: Sir Ishar, Sir Rodrigo, Sir Warret, or Sir Maiden.
But the knight Calix brought was someone I never expected.
