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34.

"Wilhelmina, I'm sorry."
"What's wrong?"
Wilhelmina Lopez grasped my hand firmly, her expression clouded with concern.
"I've never seen you this anxious before."
I attempted to muster a professional smile, however forced.
But even the corners of my mouth refused to cooperate.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I truly appreciate that, but for now...."
"I understand—you're the Second Prince's aide, so there are matters you cannot discuss freely."
Wilhelmina's grip on my hand tightened with reassurance.
"I've watched my father and brother countless times refrain from sharing details of their duties with each other, so ‌‌‌please don't worry about ‌‌‌‌that."
In moments like this, I was reminded that she truly was a noblewoman of an ancient and distinguished house.
"Then tell me just one thing: would it be better for me to stay ‌here, or should I return to ‌‌‌the Capital City?"
Her compassion was as boundless as the sea ‌‌itself.
And I lacked the luxury of declining her consideration out of mere guilt.
I knew how remarkable it was that I had faced no true hardship until now, and how cruelly this world could turn against its protagonists.
"I think it would be best if you returned, my lady."
Wilhelmina Lopez nodded, as though she had anticipated this answer.
"Then I'll go back without incident, and you'll spend time with your fiancé, ‌‌‌‌the Second ‌‌‌‌Prince, before returning."
"Thank you, Wilhelmina."
"There's no need for such formality between us—we're friends."
With that, Wilhelmina summoned the ‌‌Estate Butler and extended her hospitality so ‌‌‌‌I could remain at the Villa for a few more days.
When I mentioned finding a modest inn instead, Wilhelmina wore the most frightening expression I had yet seen from her.
"Then I'll see you ‌in the Capital City. And do be careful not to get hurt."
"Yes. Oh, and Wilhelmina."
I wasn't certain she would listen to me the way Cassian Artez would, but being thought strange seemed preferable ‌‌to harboring regrets for remaining silent.
"Could you be cautious about venturing outside until Cassian Artez and I return to the Capital City?"
There was no concrete reason for this request.
But I had no desire to witness some cruel twist of fate where she became a pawn in the First Empress's schemes.
As I held this thought, Wilhelmina regarded me quietly for a moment.
"That's another matter you cannot explain, isn't it?"
"Yes."
I answered with deliberate cheerfulness and shameless candor.
"Very well, I'll do as you ask."
And ‌‌my precious friend ‌‌‌granted my request with ‌‌‌a smile as bright and refreshing as my superior's own.
I saw Wilhelmina off in that manner.
Hoping ‌that back in the Capital City, I could laugh it all off as mere anxiety on my ‌‌part.

*

After sending Wilhelmina away, I retrieved a somewhat lighter dress from what I had brought.
'Ilium.'
Cassian Artez had given me the address of the lodging two days prior, just in case.

'Of course, my bashful fiancé would never come barging in with suspicions.'

His playful whisper echoed vividly ‌in my mind.
'He surely wouldn't have fallen into any serious crisis.'
It had to be that way.
'Being the cunning man he is, he would have certainly found his own path to safety.' ‌‌‌
Perhaps by now he was laughing wryly, thinking he'd broken his promise with Rose?
Even as I thought this, my anxious hands tied the ribbon askew.
I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment.
Confirming an appearance that Cassian Artez would certainly tease me about, I briefly reached for the ribbon before leaving it as it was. ‍‌‌‌
I should leave the mischievous superior his amusement.
This was the greatest prayer I could offer him.

*

'Rose must be worried.'
Surely she was.
Cassian Artez brushed back his damp hair with that thought.
'My aide acts as though I'm the most detestable person in the world, yet she cares for me more than anyone.'
Perhaps more than anyone else remaining in this world. ‌‌‌‌
After all, I have no one left who could truly be called family.
"Sigh...."
I want to send word that I'm alright.
"Facing a Mage alone was indeed too much."
Roselita, who would shower me with complaints the moment she saw my face, appeared before my eyes.
Asking what I'd done with the knights.
"Forgive me a little, Rose."
Being as cunning as I am, I would never eliminate my escape route.

'Don't think me ‌‌‌‌a coward—I always ensure I have a way out. You understand, don't you?'

A little lady from the time when her teeth were just coming in, her speech still slurred and lisping with childish chatter.
I had barely concealed my name when I revealed it, yet she couldn't pronounce it properly and called me Lean instead—that image of ‌‌her remained the warmest memory ‌‌‌of my entire childhood.
Each and every word she spoke accumulated within me, shaping who I am now.
'I'm truly going to be scolded.'
That little lady had made it ‌‌‌quite clear.

'What? You ‌‌remember? It's not like you're dying! Don't go reminiscing about the best moments right now, ‌‌I'm telling you.'

Cassian Artez ‌‌‌chuckled softly ‌as he hastily staunched the bleeding from his warm abdomen.
Well ‌‌‌‌‌then, since I'm not dying, I should stop dwelling on ‌‌‌this.
I can't afford to break down again.
My condition wasn't so dire that I needed to extract those precious memories one by one to console ‌‌‌myself.
Just as ‌‌Roselita thought, he was quite cunning and meticulous, always prepared for contingencies.
Even now, he was making good use of ‌‌‌the emergency kit he'd had the Mages painstakingly assemble.
"Sigh...."
As the bleeding stopped and the sutures were completed, Cassian Artez took a deep breath at the discomfort that washed over him.
Warmth gradually spread through his body and fever began to rise, yet at this rate, there seemed to be nothing he couldn't accomplish.
'I don't want Rose to find out I used ‌‌‌the emergency kit.'
The nagging itself was bearable, but I simply couldn't bear to see that pained expression on her ‌‌‌‌face.
Cassian Artez hesitated for a moment, then stripped off his blood-stained white shirt. ‌‌‌
Better to be branded a pervert than that.
'I'm truly sorry for stealing your vacation.'
To resolve this matter, I needed to meet ‌‌‌‌with Roselita first.

*

"A cottage...? In such a remote corner at that?"
I came here on official business, true enough.
If the First Empress's pretext was a meeting with my betrothed, shouldn't I have secured more elegant accommodations?
'That would fall under official expenses, so I could ‌‌justify the budget.'
The address Cassian Artez had given me was for a cottage nestled deep within the Forest, even by Ilium's standards.
Just like before.
'Like the cottage I rented to hide from prying eyes while trying to save him.'
Was this another kind of signal meant for me?
I exhaled sharply and pushed open the cottage ‌‌‌‌door, only to find the interior eerily silent.
"He really spent days here...?"
Yet there wasn't the slightest trace of habitation.
Beyond merely clean, the space felt as though it had been vacant for days.
This meant I had no clues to track Cassian Artez...?
Giving me this address—wasn't that his way of saying to come rescue him if needed? ‌‌‌‌
There had been several times before when Cassian Artez spoke ‌to me in cryptic riddles.
But he had never failed to contact me or appear within the timeframe he promised, so I'd never had occasion to use such contingencies.
'Should I have checked this place beforehand, just to be safe?'
As I surveyed the spartan cottage interior with exasperation, I sensed a presence approaching from outside.
At the sound of footsteps drawing near, I cautiously concealed myself beside a large wardrobe.
'It could be a Mage connected to this affair.'
Getting entangled with those ‌‌‌temperamental creatures would be nothing but troublesome.
While ‌‌I was considering whether there was a back exit, the door creaked open.
"...Hello, ‌‌‌‌Rose."
At the sound of that familiar, slightly weary voice, I immediately stepped out from my hiding place.
"Your Highness!" ‌‌‌
And in the next instant, I found myself holding my breath.
Damp golden hair clinging to his skin, a complexion grown somewhat pallid, eyes sharpened by the intensity of whatever perilous place he'd been—
And below his neck, an undeniably magnificent physique laid bare—
"...Why are you undressed?"
The words tumbled out before I could filter them, utterly foolish.
A torso as breathtakingly sculpted as his face, no, no, this wasn't ‌‌‌‌‌‌the time to be looking—!
My gaze, which had been darting frantically up and down in confusion, finally fixed itself on his face, but the realization ‌‌‌that struck me next made me spin away ‌entirely.
"Have you developed some peculiar habit? It's not even weather appropriate for going about like that!"
"Did you like it?"
"Of course not—I mean, why are you asking such strange questions?"
"Strange, you say."
To my perfectly justified response, Cassian Artez clicked his tongue and approached me slowly.
The next moment, he placed one hand on my shoulder and extended his other arm, blocking any path of escape.
"Is there anything more important than catering to the tastes of a betrothed who adores beauty?"
As he lowered himself slightly and whispered against my ear in a voice lower than usual yet rougher—
A rough voice?
"...Stop fooling around and get dressed this instant."
My alarm dissipated in an instant.
I had just realized his ‌condition was far from good.
At my words, Cassian slid his hand down from my shoulder, wrapped his arm around my waist, and opened the wardrobe door ‌‌‌in front of us with his other hand.
"Don't make that face, Rose."
"Can I help it?"
Against my back, I felt the searing heat radiating ‌‌‌‌from his body.
After retrieving a shirt, Cassian held me close for a moment with a pleading grip before releasing me and beginning to dress himself quietly.
Only after hearing the soft rustle of fabric several times could I finally turn around.
His body burning with fever, yet his face so deathly pale.
Whether he knew or didn't know what I was feeling.
"Rose, your ribbon."
He reached toward my disheveled ribbon.
"Is the ribbon really the problem right now?"
"Yes, because you entrusted it to me."
With such a serious expression, I couldn't bring myself to stop him and simply let him retie it.
The moment a satisfied smile appeared ‌‌‌‌‌on his sickly pale face after he finished, I seized his hand and dragged him to the bed, laying him down without hesitation.
"I'd really like to indulge you, Rose—"
"Be quiet."
Under normal circumstances, I would have accepted his teasing.
"Rest now and sleep."
"...Rose, but the Mages—"
"Don't you dare think of becoming a burden to me while you're ill."
Speaking with ‌deliberate coldness, Cassian yielded with a nod.
Instead, he pulled a small cube from his trouser pocket.
"I'm entrusting this to you."
With ‌a smile full of trust.

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