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The moment I stepped into the empty corridor, I realized a shocking truth. My god, I hadn't been cast into hell as punishment for becoming an adult. It was just that the banquet hall had been as hot, humid, and suffocating as hell!
"Your Imperial Highness, that way is—"
"Shh."
Boom! A bolt of lightning struck, lighting up the view outside the window as bright as day.
I walked toward the direction of the cool breeze. Naturally, my destination was the outdoors, where the storm was raging.
"Damn this coming-of-age ceremony. If you drink what they give you, they call you ignorant... if you filter it out moderately, they call you a sneak."
"Your Imperial Highness."
"Why do you keep calling me? It's because it's hot. You saw it too, didn't you? Them swarming like a pack of dogs, pouring alcohol down my throat. Don't let anyone know I'm out here. I'll be back soon."
Perhaps because my mind and body felt liberated, I felt my staggering footsteps more vividly than ever. Good. Now that the air had cooled, the nausea was subsiding; it wasn't bad. Maybe because I felt better, the sensation of the rain pouring down like sheets didn't feel so bad either.
Ignoring the servant who was shrieking as if they'd discovered a corpse, I ran along the long corridor following the square garden.
Boom!
Suddenly, black flames flickered atop the wall that had flashed stark white. I saw the lamps lighting the corridor turn into giant shadows, rising like waves every time the lightning struck.
'It looks like they're dancing.'
Suddenly, memories of the cradle surfaced.
The searing, burning heat and the chaotic screams. The alien noise of things crumbling into ash...
[You should never have been born.]
The shadow of the fire demon, rising along the wall, lunged at me as if to devour me. In an instant, my vision blurred and my breath was choked off.
Ah...
No...
Not this... If this keeps up, I might burn to death!
To cool my heating body, I sprinted toward the courtyard located in the center of the square garden. I reached the bottom of the courtyard through the raging wind and rain and caught my breath, but the fire demon chasing me did not subside in the slightest.
Ah, no... at this rate, I...
At that moment.
Ssh.
A cool warmth blocked my vision. Then, surprisingly, the terrible fire demon that had been echoing through the sound of the rain vanished in an instant.
Thunder rolled once more, but nothing was visible except for the dark world. And when I opened my eyes again, Valentin stood before me, drenched in rainwater. His chillingly cold expression gripped my ankles in a different sense. His hand touched the tip of my nose.
"You're alive."
Valentin took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. Then, crossing his arms, he pondered for a brief moment before placing his hand on my forehead.
I slowly closed my eyes, leaning into that large hand. I felt the heartbeat piercing through my brain slowly fade away. I wanted to rest like that a bit longer, but the heartless Valentin soon withdrew his hand.
'...Ah.'
Surprisingly, everything became peaceful. Truly surprising.
Valentin shouted to the servant standing blankly beyond the corridor.
"The Imperial Highness's body temperature has dropped significantly. Bring a raincoat, a thick blanket, and warm tea. I will take responsibility for Her Highness's safety, so move carefully and quietly without causing a commotion, and inform His Highness Ivan of our location."
"Yes."
The servant's obedient manner as they turned away was absurd. Hadn't Vasily told them to protect me even if they had to use his name?
But the servant left, and only the two of us remained in the courtyard. The unwelcome guests I had vowed to drive away had vanished somewhere.
I couldn't easily open my mouth. The energy that had been so vibrant while crossing the corridor had long since shriveled up like a deflated balloon. Valentin looked at me as if wondering how to handle me, then let out a small sigh.
Leaning against the wall, Valentin slowly slid down and gestured to me.
"Come here."
Valentin waited patiently for me to reach him, then grabbed my hesitating wrist and sat me down between his legs. While I was too startled to say anything, a heavy warmth settled over my back, which I had been curling up to avoid touching him as much as possible. He hooked his chin over my shoulder, pinning me like a grape with a fork, and pulled me firmly toward his body.
"Your body is cold, so it can't be helped. Don't think about anything and just stay quietly in my arms. If it were up to me, I'd rip off all these cumbersome laces clinging to your shoulders."
This was the first time Valentin had spoken so like a rogue.
If I had listened without thinking, it was the kind of content that would make me slap his cheek in horror, but if I used my head just a little, the implied meaning was entirely different.
The reason I knew the inner thoughts of someone I'd known for over four years but had only seen face-to-face for less than six months was simple. As he had said before, Valentin was the world's greatest nag when it came to dealing with me.
[Your Highness has a natural talent for making people worry.]
I usually listened intently to his advice, but today would be difficult. No matter how hard I tried, I didn't have the confidence to be comfortably embraced by Valentin.
So, I focused all my attention on staring at my trembling hands. Was I shaking because I was cold? No. When the thunder struck, the fire-shadow that had rendered me immobile returned. Just thinking about it made me feel like I was suffocating, so I had to force it out of my head.
'It's definitely skin-crawlingly unpleasant just to imagine it. But Valentin hugging me is just a bit uncomfortable; it's not unpleasant.'
As expected, Valentin is family to me.
Not just family, but a very special kind of family.
That's why I keep wanting to see him, keep thinking about him, and keep worrying about him. Because Valentin is... because... he's Nagging Person No. 4, after Vasily, Tatyana, and Ivan.
My god, a nagging Valentin!
"Ahaha, no way! That's too funny."
"What is so funny? These tattered laces of yours?"
"Yeah, the laces are a secret."
"That the laces are a secret... how surprising."
Was it because I accepted this happy trembling? The heart that had been whispering every time I thought of his face over the past few days somehow felt at peace.
I felt like a true idiot for ignoring him—who had returned after four years—simply because my heart felt unsettled every time our eyes met. I must be a real dummy.
Sensing my change, Valentin asked in a much softer voice, his chin still resting on my shoulder.
"The weather is quite wonderful."
A fierce gust of wind slapped my cheek and passed by. I nodded, ignoring the presence of the hair plastered all over my face.
"Yeah. It's the kind of weather where it wouldn't be strange if I flew away."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. But how can Valentin be here? I clearly saw you trapped in the banquet hall before I left."
"You were staggering as you left, so I followed you out of concern that you might collapse and fall asleep with your nose in the dirt."
"Yeah. But I'm not that pathetic of an adult..."
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