Even after becoming Crown Prince, His Highness often went on subjugations. However, there was no need for His Highness to personally go on a subjugation that had to leave so suddenly in the middle of the night. It was troublesome, and judging by the fact that it wasn’t a major alert, it didn’t seem like a high-grade demon had appeared either.
“Must Your Highness go yourself?”
“Wasn’t today a festival? There will be many people from other countries, so it will be difficult to control. Since it’s close to residential areas, going in person looks better too.”
Looking better also meant it was politically necessary. Then it wasn’t for me to judge further. Nothing would happen in such a small subjugation anyway, so there was nothing to worry about greatly. I got up from the bed without further deliberation.
“I’ll prepare as well.”
“No.”
“Pardon? Shouldn’t I naturally guard Your Highness’s side as well?”
I knew His Highness was overprotective of me, but since there was the experience of taking me to the hunting competition, I naturally thought I could go together this time too.
“It’s a public occasion but a place that’s difficult to control systematically. Unless it’s a perfectly safe location, I can’t take you along.”
“I can protect myself too.”
Since he was someone with such excellent martial arts, I understood that my skills might be unreliable, but if I stayed like this, it felt like my very identity as a knight would collapse. Not using a sword somehow didn’t feel like me.
“I know. But if you go on the subjugation, demons won’t be the only ones targeting you.”
I immediately understood what he meant. In fact, if I begged several times like at the hunting competition, he might reluctantly allow it. However, if His Highness had to worry about not only demons but also enemies targeting me, I would just be a hindrance.
‘There wasn’t even a prophecy this time. Let’s just wait quietly.’
I wanted to be helpful to His Highness as a knight, not to stubbornly insist like a child.
“I’ll return within half a day, so sleep well. Don’t even touch food unless Sir Ken gives it to you.”
I wanted to say it was an unnecessary worry, but knowing now why His Highness was so sensitive about poison, I couldn’t.
“I’ll do so.”
“Good. If you feel sick, make sure to call a physician. Not any other physician, you must call Seran.”
At another time, I would have asked how I could possibly summon the physician in charge of His Highness, but now that the imprint had to be kept secret, I answered that I would do so. As soon as a few instructions ended, a knock sounded as if to inform there was no time to delay.
“I’ll be back.”
His Highness lightly stroked my head and then left. I turned my eyes away, embarrassed at thinking for a moment he might kiss me, and my gaze met with Sir Ken who seemed to be thinking about something.
“Sir Ken, I’m sorry that you always can’t accompany His Highness because of me.”
He wasn’t someone who would honestly show he was upset about not being kept by His Highness’s side. However, being distanced from a person in power itself was likely to be an unpleasant experience.
“It’s all right.”
As expected, he was completely viewing me as a subject of protection. Though I didn’t have a personal friendship with Sir Ken, because I’d always been conscious of being colleagues, this attitude felt unfamiliar.
“His Highness placed me by your side because he trusts me the most. So this is rather something I should be happy about.”
However, the words he added were unexpected. When I looked at him with wide eyes, he added words in a rambling manner that didn’t suit him.
“If you care for His Highness, please endure by his side as much as possible. I will protect you so that you can do so.”
Though he must have clearly heard that I would only be in this position temporarily, he spoke as if it were an indefinite matter. Knowing that Sir Ken took considerable courage to say this, I didn’t say anything dampening.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable with me being in this position? Even if it’s just for a short while, it’s quite unsuitable.”
“That’s for His Highness to decide. And I may be mistaken, but Sir Aila seems like someone who sincerely worries about His Highness. That would be better than someone who doesn’t.”
Even knowing well about Aila’s rumors, Sir Ken was firm. I could feel his intention to judge only by what he himself saw.
“And whoever sits in that position, there would probably have been many checks. Even those who were on the same side when dealing with the Second Prince could react hostilely. There will be those aiming for that position, those who want to push in someone politically advantageous, or at the very least, those who think out of twisted loyalty that anyone unsuitable for His Highness should be dealt with.”
This was the first time I’d seen him speak this long while not drunk. Though he was saying important things, it was a bit absurd that this impression came first.
“So right now, Sir Aila is in a truly dangerous situation. You must be careful and careful again. If the fact of the imprint becomes known, there will be more who try to kill Sir Aila than those who want to keep you alive. His Highness has already gone through one painful separation, so this time such a thing absolutely must not happen.”
Sir Ken caught his breath like someone who had finished a very difficult task. Only after the last words ended did I realize why he had continued explaining so earnestly. His words had also come from loyalty toward His Highness.
“I’ll make sure not to get hurt. Until His Highness returns, I won’t step a single foot outside this room, so please put your worries to rest.”
“Phew, I don’t know why I spoke so long either.”
Sir Ken briefly tilted his head as if this situation was awkward even for himself, then muttered lowly to himself.
“Maybe it’s because not knowing how to value one’s own body resembles that friend.”
It probably wasn’t something he meant for me to hear, so I just pretended not to know.
“Then I’ll obediently go to sleep. Considering my recent condition, I might just sleep until His Highness arrives.”
It was something I said to lighten the mood a bit. Actually, thinking about how I’d been drowsy at all hours lately, sleeping and such didn’t seem like it would be very difficult. But unbelievably, that was my mistake. When I closed my eyes and lay on the bed, I thought drowsiness would come as always. However, even after 10 minutes, 20 minutes passed, I couldn’t fall asleep at all.
‘If anything, it feels like I’m waking up more as time goes on?’
I’d lain down boasting I would sleep, but in reality I couldn’t fall asleep. That said, there was nothing else to do in the middle of the night, and having said I’d be careful, I couldn’t go for a walk either.
‘If I keep my eyes closed, won’t I get sleepy?’
Since I usually slept at set times and woke at set times, thinking ‘I need to sleep but why won’t sleep come?’ was truly something I hadn’t experienced in a long time. No, before, if I felt sleep wouldn’t come, I could train to make my body tired, so the circumstances were different from now. Though it was just sleep, my stomach felt heavy thinking I couldn’t do what I was supposed to do.
‘Since I can’t use my body, I should at least use my head.’
Glancing at the clock, an hour and a half had already passed. Eventually thinking this wouldn’t work, I gave up on falling asleep and got up. When I turned on the light, the guard knight who seemed to know I couldn’t sleep only gave a glance, and a servant approached.
“Are you perhaps uncomfortable anywhere?”
“It’s not that. I suddenly want to read a book.”
“Then I’ll bring you something to read. What kind of book would be good?”
I’d just planned to pick any book in the bedroom, but things had escalated. Since it would be ridiculous to say it was fine now, I asked them to bring the most boring magic history book I knew. The servants seemed to be thinking ‘Why is a knight looking for a magic book?’, but for now, any book that could help with sleep would be good.
“I’ll prepare it.”
The servant who disappeared without a sound returned not long after. Sir Ken received the book, checked it once, and only then handed it to me.
[Before the special power called authority existed in the beginning, from the time when fire and water, wind and earth, light and darkness were establishing their places, throughout the countless centuries that flowed, the mysterious power called magic power has existed, and what allowed humans to use it by interpreting it with language can be called magic, meaning magic power is not limited only to humans…]
From the first passage of the preface, it was writing where you couldn’t find a period, and the problem was that this was a sentence written simply considering readers. It wasn’t for nothing that there was a saying that by the time you finished reading this book during academy days, you’d be in your graduating year. Though it was a field completely unrelated to me, I’d once recklessly followed along reading it, recalling that His Highness had read it.
‘In the end, I couldn’t finish it.’
I would always fall asleep while reading, and occasionally on days I read more than thirty pages, my head would invariably cramp up. But this time, even this book betrayed me. My head was still throbbing, but sleep wouldn’t come at all. It felt like I was being punished for lazily sleeping all the time until now.
“Are you all right?”
As I held the book even after the sun rose, Sir Ken asked. Though it was a strange situation where my head was heavy and I was tired but sleep absolutely wouldn’t come, there was nothing particularly wrong other than that, so I answered, “I’m all right.” However, the moment breakfast entered the bedroom, I realized I wasn’t all right at all.
“Urp.”
I came to know exactly what that nauseating smell His Highness had felt was. His Highness had told me not to eat anything except food Sir Ken gave me, but I couldn’t properly eat even the food Sir Ken gave me.
‘Why is this happening?’
