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Truly, it was terrifying.
'Is this some kind of macabre joke?'
My mouth went dry as I struggled to grasp his hidden intentions. But then again, Valentin, you've already saved me several times. Despite my confusion, I answered calmly.
“Such a thing... won't happen. My guard will stop you.”
“Do not trust your guard too much. He is a spy planted secretly while the Emperor was being coaxed by a silver tongue.”
“Do you think my father would place just anyone by my side simply because he trusts you?”
“Does someone so confident suspect Prince Ivan?”
Huh? At that short sneer, a bolt of white lightning seemed to strike my mind.
“Does that mean... I can trust Ivan...?”
“No. It meant that after murdering Your Highness here and now, I would also deal with Crown Prince Vasily and Princess Tatyana, who would surely come to confirm Your Highness's corpse.”
“....”
“If you can stop me, feel free to try. Considering our history, I can give you one chance.”
...Liar.
'You just want to press me.'
I could vaguely guess the reason. He probably found it frustrating that I had followed him so blindly during such a dangerous time.
Perhaps he was very angry.
But really, why does he torture me like this? Shouldn't he be happy that I trust him blindly? I followed you without a doubt because you are Valentin. If it had been Igor, I wouldn't have come this far!
“...Your Highness.”
I bent my back and exhaled ragged breaths dozens of times.
Valentin's feet, which had been some distance away, suddenly appeared right in front of me. As I staggered and braced myself against the ground with my palms, a firm grip urgently supported my arm.
“Princess Larisa!”
The moment a familiar scent hit the tip of my nose, I lifted my upper body and tugged at his collar.
His turquoise eyes focused on me, his breath hitched. Facing his stiff, tense expression, I blamed Valentin.
“Why play such a tasteless joke when you're going to make a face like that?”
Seeing him unable to say a word brought me a bit of satisfaction. See, he gets flustered and embarrassed when I play a prank, so why doesn't he consider the opposite?
“Do you really think I'm an idiot? If you wanted to scold me for following you without suspicion, you could have just—”
A powerful force constricted me. It was an embrace that could only be described as crushing.
I pride myself on being relatively tall, but because Valentin was so massive, I nearly lost my dignity as my feet dangled in the air. However, I couldn't bring myself to blame this rude man for hugging me without permission. Valentin's heart was already beating at its limit.
Moreover, it seemed as if he had forgotten how to breathe at some point.
Breathe now.
As if he could hear my heart, Valentin slowly exhaled.
“...Listen. I know you worry about me a lot.”
After a long silence, Valentin answered in a husky voice.
“Yes. I am glad you know. There are times when I am confused as to whether Your Highness truly doesn't know, or if you're just pretending not to.”
“Why would I pretend? I'm sincerely grateful, Valentin. Looking back, you've already saved me three times. At this rate, the only way I could repay the debt I owe you would be to arm myself and enter the Colosseum as a fighter in your stead; otherwise, I'll never pay it back in this lifetime.”
“That is a distressing example.”
“I'm the one who's distressed! I almost got a hole put through my head. If I had been drowned in this filthy water, I would have become a ghost harboring a grudge.”
“Actually, I was a bit flustered myself. I thought it was a quite convincing act, but Your Highness responded far too calmly. I had even prepared for the possibility of you bursting into tears.”
“What? I'm an adult. I'm a grown woman who can marry and have children. I'm not a child, so stop indulging in strange delusions and snap out of it!”
At those words, Valentin slowly pulled away.
His meticulous gaze scanned my complexion, and his delicate touch smoothed out the wrinkles in my dress. Only after he had perfectly restored my appearance, measuring every angle, did he speak.
“You're right.”
“....”
“I should snap out of it.”
Looking at his somehow indifferent face, a sense of regret washed over me.
'Did I say that for nothing?'
Being hugged by Valentin—aside from the fact that my heart beats so hard it makes me dizzy—is a pleasant and happy thing.
“...So, my guard really is my father's man, right?”
“Who knows.”
“Ah, right. 'Who knows,' huh? Fine. I'll ask him myself.”
As I grabbed the hem of my dress, poised to run toward the guard standing at the end of the bridge, Valentin urgently pulled my hand.
“Sigh. Yes, that's correct. He is not some spy I planted. He is a loyal knight serving the Imperial Castle. Do you believe me now?”
“Another lie. While you were hugging me tight like a doll, that man didn't budge an inch. What kind of guard just stands there and watches a princess be embraced by another man?”
“Because I am an exception. There must have been separate instructions from the higher-ups regarding my conduct. And today's events will certainly reach His Majesty's ears.”
With a smile that went beyond assertion to a firm vow, Valentin looped my hand over his arm.
“Do not worry. I harbor no impure intentions toward Your Highness, and His Majesty is aware of that fact.”
His leisurely pace led me across the bridge again, and I continued walking beside him as if nothing were wrong, but in truth, I was very, very, very displeased.
'Why are they so sure?'
Why on earth are both my father and Valentin so certain that he wouldn't harbor impure intentions toward me?
Does it mean I'm that unattractive? Or are they asserting that regardless of whether I'm attractive or not, he'll never see me as a woman until the day he dies?
Eventually, unable to hold it back, I asked.
“If you have no impure intentions... then why do you keep helping me?”
“Does it make you uncomfortable that I help Your Highness?”
“How could it mean that? It's a pure question. Are you doing this simply because I'm a princess? Or because I know your prophecy? Actually, I don't even know which parts of you are real. Did you really go study abroad? Did you happen to kill someone on your way there? ...I take back the last part. Pretend you didn't hear that.”
In truth, it wasn't just the last part I wanted to take back. If possible, I wanted to erase every sentence I had just uttered.
'I really am too impulsive. What meaning is there in such questions.'
Thinking about it, it was a bit foolish.
If Valentin truly belonged to that Horgan group or whatever, he wouldn't be able to reveal the truth easily. Protecting me was a natural part of his mission. After all, I, Princess Larisa, am the target the rebel leader relentlessly pursues.
...So, what I really wanted to ask Valentin was:
“I want to know your true feelings.”
“My true feelings?”
“Yes, your heart. Your story. I don't know much about you. Perhaps that's why I often feel confused when I'm with you. I've never felt this way in front of others...”
Before we knew it, we had crossed the bridge and arrived at a pure white courtyard that bloomed like a lotus upon the waterway.
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