The fact that they wanted to talk alone meant there was information that many shouldn’t know about, which wasn’t a good sign. The words slipped out reflexively.
“Wait a moment, it could be dangerous for just the two of you to remain.”
Even if it didn’t seem like the priest could harm His Highness in any way, if it was about His Highness’s body, I absolutely had to hear it. Especially in the current situation where it was clearly related to me.
“Right. Just the two of us alone is a bit much. I’ll leave Ken and the physician, so could you step outside for a moment?”
It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand my intention, yet a cold dismissal fell. For a moment, I thought about insisting that I also absolutely needed to hear what the priest had to say, but since he wasn’t someone who would reverse a command already given, I had no choice but to give up.
“I’ll do so.”
Though I answered that I would comply with the order to leave, my feet wouldn’t move easily. Those in the room didn’t rush me, but it seemed clear they wouldn’t open their mouths until I left.
“Wait.”
His Highness stopped me as I slowly retreated to the door. A hope arose that perhaps he would allow me to stay.
“It might be cold outside, so put on an outer coat before you go.”
Though it wasn’t what I’d hoped for, just having His Highness’s warm outer coat draped over my shoulders made me feel much better. A belief bloomed that if it was something I absolutely needed to know, he would surely tell me later. His Highness, who had affectionately fastened the coat for me, even opened the door himself.
“Let’s see each other again soon.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Guard well.”
As the door closed, someone standing by the door cast a silence spell to prevent sounds from inside from leaking out. They probably used a silence spell when I was inside too, but it seemed the spell broke when the door opened, so they were casting it again.
“Would you like to sit here?”
Sir Sepiel asked courteously. I could feel that not just in his words but in his behavior, he was showing manners to an almost excessive degree. It wasn’t just Sir Sepiel. When I scanned the knights standing in the corridor with my eyes, they were all extremely polite, as if it were a lie that they had shown contemptuous or suspicious looks when ‘Aila’ first became a guard knight.
‘They’re probably acting this way because they think I’m an important person to His Highness.’
I had become someone who, even if they actually thought of me as pathetic, they felt they absolutely mustn’t show it. Judging by how those who had shown particularly bad looks toward Aila were nowhere to be seen, His Highness might have dealt with them.
Without my knowledge, in places I wasn’t present, my surroundings were changing rapidly. By the time I realized the change, the previous state was already so faded.
“Sir Aila?”
As I stood there blankly, Sir Sepiel called out to me.
“Ah, thank you, but they said it wouldn’t take long, so I’ll just stand.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Once I declined, after that no one spoke to me or sent me unnecessary glances. Had about five minutes passed like that? The door opened again. Whether the conversation had ended, the priest and physician came out into the corridor with pale faces.
“Everyone’s leaving, so come inside.”
His Highness spoke as if pleased to have driven out unwelcome guests. I was curious about what conversation the two had with His Highness, so I turned my head slightly to observe their retreating figures, but His Highness’s hand was faster.
“Quickly.”
His Highness, who pulled me into the room, swiftly closed the door.
“Did something seriously wrong happen to Your Highness’s body because of the imprint?”
“Didn’t you hear the explanation that it’s not the case? It wasn’t anything particular, just that both you and I could be temporarily weakened since we just imprinted. We talked about having to take appropriate medicine daily.”
“Do I have to take it too?”
I hadn’t noticed any changes enough to realize I’d been imprinted, so I wondered if I really needed to take medicine.
‘I did seem to get sleepy more often than before, could that possibly be related to the imprint?’
It wasn’t uncomfortable enough to warrant taking medicine though.
“If the priest was going to talk about me too, why did he send me outside?”
“Medicine that royalty takes is supposed to be kept as confidential as possible. He was just following protocol.”
With that explanation, it made sense. Since I wasn’t a close aide knight like Sir Ken, they probably didn’t want to disclose confidential information to me, someone who couldn’t yet be trusted just because we’d imprinted.
“I see. I apologize. Since it’s related to Your Highness’s health, I was worried.”
“You should worry about yourself instead.”
Though mixed with a low laugh, it was sincere words. As if to wrap up the matter, he removed my outer coat and laid me down on the bed as if it were the most natural thing. So I knew I should stop with the words of concern here, yet the words burst out first.
“Your Highness. Wouldn’t it be better to look for a way to break the imprint? No matter how I think about it, there’s no need for Your Highness to be subjected to such restraints. Isn’t it already causing problems with your body?”
Since imprinting was a rare phenomenon, if we looked through materials, there would surely be a way somewhere to safely break this restraint. Also, His Highness, who was proficient at utilizing information, would be able to find anything he truly wanted. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping for an affirmative answer.
A long silence flowed. Thinking he might be upset, I cautiously opened my eyes to check, and His Highness had the same affectionate face as usual. His Highness, who had been meeting my eyes for a long time, opened his mouth very slowly.
“Let’s go swimming tomorrow.”
It was an answer completely unrelated to the question. As I was tapping my ears to check if they were mistaken, I heard a low laugh.
“Would the sea be good, or a lake?”
The next question followed as if to explain I hadn’t misheard.
“Y-Your Highness?”
“The sea might be a bit dangerous, so a lake would be better. We can enjoy it at a nearby place.”
“Don’t you have a schedule tomorrow too?”
The words I really needed to say were different, but I found myself unknowingly swept along by the flow of conversation.
“When your condition isn’t good, would I make you work until tomorrow too?”
The retort that then we shouldn’t go swimming but you should rest rose to the tip of my throat. If the other person hadn’t been His Highness, I would have spoken in bewilderment. However, perhaps I couldn’t hide my expression even if I hid my words, as His Highness lightly tapped my nose.
“No need to make that face. Tomorrow is a national holiday anyway, so there was no schedule originally.”
“What national holiday is tomorrow… Ah, it’s the Day of Abundance.”
The Day of Abundance was close to the hunting competition, so while the imperial palace didn’t celebrate it separately, outside was different. An event where people play by throwing tomatoes, it was a national holiday designated by His Imperial Majesty to celebrate peace and abundance after ending the war. The event of throwing tomatoes, which had the best harvest that month, gradually grew until a large festival formed. So while at first they only played by throwing damaged produce, now there was even a separate space for cultivating tomatoes for the event.
Though it wasn’t a festival for nobles, there were openly many who enjoyed it while hiding their status.
“I hear many merchants from foreign countries come to enjoy it too, so let’s sightsee and enjoy swimming. There’s nothing to worry about since tomatoes won’t suddenly fly at you unless you’re in the festival space.”
Even though His Highness knew that wasn’t what I was worried about, he spoke reassuringly.
“Don’t say any more today and sleep.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I closed my eyes.
In the darkness, I was certain that His Highness had no intention of breaking the imprint.
‘Then should I… look for a way to sever the imprint on my own?’
This was the way I originally acted. But after that, a new path of thinking I’d never walked before continued.
‘I need to find a way not to die.’
Perhaps that was truly what His Highness wanted.
‘If I obtain certainty that I truly won’t die…’
I wanted to continue more thoughts, but drowsiness wouldn’t leave me alone. It was truly strange that sleep would come when my insides were this confused.
* * *
A garden in full bloom with soft pink roses unfolded. The sky was blue without a single cloud. It was a space I was seeing for the first time.
‘Is this a prophetic dream?’
Being dropped into a space without any context like this was usually the case with prophetic dreams. What was peculiar was that for a prophecy, it had an extremely peaceful and gentle atmosphere.
I heard something rustling behind me. When I reflexively turned my head, a young beast poked its face out from among the flowers.
‘A cat?’
For a cat, it was quite large. When I approached a bit closer, another beast hidden in the silver fur came into view.
‘It wasn’t one but two.’
The one that had been hiding had brilliant golden fur. Though the two were quite different in color to be called siblings, their appearances were strangely identical.
