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Chapter 41
What is This Feeling?
A cool breeze blew, and with it, shriveled leaves slipped quietly through the open window. The bluish moonlight made the face of the sleeping one look pale. A shadow fell over it.
“Now, I am yours alone, Princess.”
Late into the night, Herya slipped into the Princess’s chamber. Guards filled the imperial palace after the attack, but they were of no use against him. He had long been used to becoming one with the darkness—avoiding their eyes was child’s play.
Herya leaned in toward Rose, as though about to kiss her. Even at his mischievous prank, the Princess did not stir. Normally, she would have reacted with a funny expression, but not this time. Hiding his disappointment, he straightened his posture.
“Still not waking up? Should I just pounce on you for real?”
No reply. She remained as motionless as a doll, sending a strange chill down his spine. His playful smile faded.
“A boring Princess is no fun.”
At last, the man began to recite a prayer. His soft, boyish voice rang gently in the air. His cold hands, in rhythm with the prayer, slowly regained warmth. Herya smirked and rubbed his cheek against her white hand. If he had been a cat, he would have purred happily.
“Sleep well. When you wake, your head will be clear.”
Prayer magic induced deep sleep to restore vitality to the body. It was precisely what Rose needed. Herya recalled a conversation he had once eavesdropped on between Savas and Arsen: the Princess had fallen unconscious because she was “regenerating” her poisoned body. For some reason, using the blessing of the fairies sent her into a deep sleep.
“Narcolepsy, huh? Don’t be sick, Princess.”
The fact that she had an incurable illness was, in truth, an opportunity. It gave him the perfect excuse to take root in the Kallon Empire under the pretense of guarding her. One could say the gods had aided him. Herya’s lips twisted wickedly. He was already looking forward to the expression on that man’s face when he found out Herya had become the Princess’s escort.
After tucking in her blanket with a light pat, he stood. Placing one foot on the window ledge, he turned back to gaze at the sleeping Rose. Sleep, after all, was a thing from which one eventually awoke. Thanks to his prayer, she would soon open her eyes. He smiled with satisfaction.
“I’ll take responsibility for your night.”
It was a quiet afternoon, as always. On the office desk lay a book she had never seen before. It looked like an old tome, bound in thick leather.
“Hm? What’s this?”
The title read: The Immortal Emperor.
“Who left this here?”
Opening to the first page, she found a note from the author:
To you, lost in a long slumber. For the day you awaken again.
“Hm, some recommended youth reading?”
With a bit of free time, she decided to read.
She read for a while, then tilted her head.
“This feels familiar.”
Something was strange. She had never seen the book before, yet its content was not unfamiliar.
“Do I know the author?”
Looking for an introduction, she found none. Instead, only a seal: a phoenix, wings spread wide. The bird looked eternal, like a mythical creature said to live forever.
She stared at the seal.
Suddenly, the phoenix’s wings seemed to flicker. Then the book caught fire. Startled, she dropped it—and a pillar of flame burst forth. From within the seal, the phoenix itself leapt out. The blazing creature cried out with a mighty screech, its wings beating furiously. Wind roared, the chamber shook, and her hair whipped about in the storm.
Struggling, she forced her eyes open and looked up. She met its radiant gaze. The next instant, burning heat engulfed her.
Flash. Rose opened her eyes.
“Your Highness!”
The head maid’s voice rang out. Sunlight dazzled her eyes, making her squint.
“…Ah.”
At last, a hoarse voice escaped her lips, as if she had just surfaced after being submerged in heavy waters.
“Are you awake, Your Highness?”
“Where… am I?”
The head maid hurried to fetch the physician, who arrived promptly.
“In your bedchamber, Your Highness. Do you not remember? You collapsed after drinking poison at the eve festival.”
Rose’s thoughts cleared. She recalled her palm, stained a vivid red.
Right. I coughed blood and collapsed.
Thankfully, she hadn’t died.
“What of the Founding Festival?”
“It has not yet concluded. The closing ceremony has not been held. The palace has been in chaos, Your Highness.”
Countess Verdier looked even more aged with new wrinkles.
“I’m sorry for worrying you. How long was I asleep?”
“A week and half a day has passed.”
“That long?”
Could someone really sleep for over a week?
“No wonder my back aches.”
Still, her head felt wonderfully clear. For someone nearly assassinated, her condition was remarkably good. She remembered the last face she had seen before losing consciousness.
“Where’s Arachne?”
The head maid’s expression darkened.
“Did you already know that the Second Princess orchestrated this?”
“Our eyes met just before I collapsed. I had a feeling.”
“I see…”
She trailed off, then explained. Arachne had used her ability to lace Rose’s cup with “acid.” After Rose drank it, she fell into a deep sleep. For this crime, Arachne was under house arrest. Rose was dumbfounded.
Using the fairy’s blessing? What an idiot.
It was galling enough that she had attacked her out of jealousy—but to leave behind such undeniable proof? The blessing of the fairies was unique, easily traceable to its user. Either she was thoughtless, or blinded by envy.
Even the slightest foresight would have revealed the outcome. Yet the Second Princess had not foreseen it. Well, her reckless behavior had always resembled a bulldozer charging in without thought.
Still, I didn’t think she’d go this far.
“Lord Savas has been preparing medicine for your recovery, Your Highness.”
The head maid offered her a bitter-smelling tea.
“A decoction to purge poison.”
“Ugh, bitter. I’ll have to thank Grandfather.”
“The Marquis of Lafayette has also visited without fail each day.”
“Arsen?”
Rose remembered his urgent voice calling her name before she blacked out.
He must have been so worried.
She drained the teacup and set it aside carelessly, then tried to rise.
“He hasn’t come today yet, has he? I’ll go see him.”
The head maid quickly pushed her back onto the bed.
“Your Highness, you must focus only on your recovery.”
“But I’m worried. Arsen was right beside me when I collapsed. He must be blaming himself.”
“The Marquis is too occupied questioning the Second Princess for that.”
“Questioning?”
Rose frowned. Was there more to investigate?
“I don’t know the details. Only that it was ordered by His Highness the Prince.”
At that moment—
Arsen, still unaware that the Third Princess had awoken, was interrogating Arachne in solitary confinement.
“Take this off me!”
Hands bound, Arachne glared with bloodshot eyes.
“Who helped you harm Her Highness?”
“Ha! I told you already. I cut my own hand and mixed the blood into the cup. How many times do I have to say it?”
“So you insist you acted entirely alone, using the fairy’s blessing everyone knows is unmistakable?”
“That’s right!”
She repeated the same claim endlessly. Whether from brainwashing or delusion, she never once spoke Ludwig’s name. Days of interrogation had yielded nothing Prince Thanasis wanted. For Arsen, it was becoming unbearable. To face the one who had harmed Rose, and yet restrain himself, was torture.
“See? Real wounds. The blood hasn’t even clotted yet!”
She spread her bound hand wide. Cuts across her palm were still crusted with blood.
“And she drank it all down without even realizing it was poisoned! Ha! Who told her to get in my way? Annoying little thing.”
Her innocent laughter made her seem deranged. She waved her hand wildly, staggering.
“Want to see? Want to see how beautiful my power is?”
At Arsen’s nod, knights forced her back into her seat.
“Unhand me! How dare you touch me! Filthy lowborns!”
The cloak of a knight brushed her palm and hissed, melting away. That such a deadly thing resided in her frail body… If the Third Princess had not possessed “regeneration,” what would have become of her? The thought made Arsen’s blood run cold.
Unaware, his fists clenched. His arm trembled. He held back words of fury with difficulty. Veins stood out against his strong jaw.
“We cannot release you. If you orchestrated this, then you are the sole culprit.”
“I’m innocent! I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Then tell me. Who else aided you? Who did you meet before the festival?”
Arsen thrust forward the visitor log from Thanasis.
“Here—Grand Duke Ludwig’s name is recorded. Why did you meet him? Did you conspire together?”
“If that girl had just stayed quiet, everything would’ve been fine.”
Arachne muttered, ignoring his words, grumbling only about her thwarted deed.
Arsen clenched his teeth. He knew well where her malice was directed.
“She should have died!”
That was his breaking point.
“She is not someone you can harm.”
“How dare you, before me—”
“Dare!”
His voice, sharp with menace, cut her off.
“Dare—when I am barely restraining myself from slitting your throat right here. So speak.”
“…”
“Who masterminded this?”
Cold air filled the chamber. Arachne’s eyes glazed, and she began to shriek in madness.
“I should have killed her! I will kill her! Aaaaah!”
She was beyond reason. The longer her confinement lasted, the faster her mind crumbled. Rumors were spreading quietly that she had gone insane. Could brainwashing alone truly destroy a person this completely?
Arsen ordered the knights to bind her tightly and left the room. He would not waste any more time interrogating that deranged woman.
That deranged woman…
He froze. For a knight of the Empire—one soon to be Captain of the Imperial Guard—to describe a princess that way! More shocking still, even such words felt too generous.
His chest tightened as he thought of Rose, who had barely escaped death.
He wanted to eliminate the one who endangered her. He wanted to mete out punishment with his own hands. Yet he realized the contradiction in his heart: Rose was a princess, and so was Arachne. By duty, he owed equal respect to both.
And yet his heart leaned entirely toward one side. Until now, he had stayed by Rose’s side out of loyalty to the royal family. But what he felt now could not be explained away as loyalty alone. Confusion overtook him.
“…What is this feeling?”
