.jpg)
His eyes were stiff with tension, as if he had instantly realized that I was not in a good state. While I knew he was worried, I was also mindful of Oksana and Valentin, who didn't even exchange a single glance.
Was it because they couldn't bring themselves to acknowledge each other in front of me, the Imperial Princess?
‘I should step away and leave them be.’
It felt like losing, but it couldn't be helped. Nothing would damage the dignity of the Imperial family more than interfering with a man and woman out of a fit of jealousy.
“I would like to rest now. Would that be alright?”
“Of course, Your Highness. Oksana will guide you.”
As I pushed myself up, Valentin stood up following me and spoke.
“I will come to see you this evening.”
Valentin really doesn't understand women's hearts. How could he say something that Oksana might misunderstand?
“To help with my treatment? I see.”
I thought of Emma from four years ago.
He must have acted this indifferently toward her as well. That's probably why she didn't expect love, and why she felt it was easier not to love at all.
‘I think I finally understand that feeling.’
Valentin, who seems uninterested in every member of the opposite sex in the world, puts me at ease, but at the same time, it leaves me feeling hollow. Because I feel as though I, too, will never love. I know that the day I exchange emotions of a special destiny beyond familial love will never come.
After guiding me to the bedroom, Oksana lingered by the door with a look on her face as if she had something to say.
“Um...”
“Is there something you wish to tell me?”
“No. If there is anything you need, please call for me. Then...”
After Oksana left, I groaned from the pain in my shoulder and eventually seemed to drift off to sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, the entire room was as dark as the world outside, save for the dimly glowing lamp by the bedside. It was as if a monster might emerge.
And there, sitting by the bed, was Valentin. I parted my lips with a dry, cracked voice.
“Since when have you been in here?”
After a moment of silence, he stood up and answered.
“I have stayed here since Your Highness fainted.”
“...Fainted?”
“Your complexion was poor, and when I followed you up, you had collapsed against the chair.”
Valentin habitually pulled me into an embrace and gave me some water to drink. I see; I hadn't fallen asleep, I had fainted.
Seeing as the pain in my shoulder had mostly subsided, he must have prescribed a painkiller. I forced a smile, pushing my dwindling energy to its absolute limit.
“I’m sorry, Valentin. You wasted your time again because of me.”
I felt uneasy, feeling as though I had held him back when he was likely busy. However, Valentin's expression was darker than mine, despite the fact that I was the one causing the nuisance. With an unbearably depressed face, he stroked my shoulder before suddenly pulling me tight into his arms. In my hazy consciousness, I felt my heart, which had been beating out of sync with his, slowly synchronize.
“Every time Your Highness acts like an adult, I feel as though my world becomes miserable again. Why have you already become an adult and keep making me feel so powerless?”
“I’m sorry about th—”
“Do not apologize.”
Drawing a firm line, Valentin released the hug and cupped both of my cheeks. A bittersweet smile hung on his pale face, where the contrast between light and shadow was vivid.
“Keep this in mind, Your Highness. In the future, no matter what happens, if you apologize to me one more time...”
“...”
“I will become a shameless man and kiss you.”
His warmth receded like a momentary illusion.
‘Huh?’
Kiss. He'll kiss me. Perhaps because my mind was hazy, his words were blurred, but suddenly I snapped wide awake.
‘Did I doze off for a second?’
To check if it was an auditory hallucination, I was about to ask where he intended to kiss me, but Valentin gave me more water to drink.
At that moment.
My eyes met a monster hiding in the shadows behind Valentin.
It was Oksana.
“Pffft!”
I wiped the water from my mouth, gave a small, stiff bow, and stared blankly at the woman in the darkness, whose cheeks were flushed red.
“O-Oksana... Oksana is over there...”
Valentin, shaking the moisture off the bedding, replied in a dry tone.
“Yes, I know. Have you only just noticed?”
“Only just noticed?”
I learned for the first time that if you snap awake twice, you become confused and hazy again. Noticed? Then... just now... in front of the woman who will become his future wife... to me...
“Just in case you're wondering, Miss Oksana followed me here of her own volition.”
“...”
“Though I wanted to come alone.”
Is it okay to say things like that in front of Oksana?
I looked back at Oksana with an uncomfortable feeling, but she was simply staring at Valentin with curious eyes. I had felt it from the first impression, but she is someone whose thoughts are hard to read.
And the one I understand even less is Valentin.
I can't even begin to list which parts of him I don't understand. Does Valentin always act this unsettlingly toward his younger sister? Is he saying and doing these things because I truly don't feel like a woman to him?
‘That can't be it.’
Valentin is a rational man. A rational man wouldn't say something about kissing a woman he doesn't have feelings for. Right? Someone please answer me. Whether you refute or agree with my logic, please give me an answer...
I shook off the moisture, wiped my damp skin, and looked down distractedly at Valentin's hand, which had naturally gripped me again. Seeing my fingernail protruding between my thumb and index finger, I realized, just as Valentin said, that I had truly become an adult.
“Does your finger hurt?”
“...Eh? No. I was just surprised by the difference in our hand sizes.”
“Your Highness's hand is indeed small.”
“Small? I was surprised that my hand has grown so much. Don't you remember four years ago? Compared to then, there's hardly any difference now. Back then, it was like a niece and an uncle...”
“Yes, that is true. Now we look like an ordinary man and woman. It is a perfect match.”
See.
Are you watching? Listen to me. Has Valentin really started to view me as a member of the opposite sex? Or is he simply playing a prank after realizing my goodwill?
But cruelly, the only third party in this room besides Valentin and me was Oksana. Someone I couldn't even express my doubts to, let alone get an answer from, as long as I possessed a shred of shame.
Recognizing her presence once more, I sighed and pulled my hand away. Seeing this, Valentin quirked an eyebrow and turned his head backward.
“Are you not leaving, Miss Oksana?”
“Huh? Why would I?”
Oksana blinked with a look of incomprehension.
“I... I came to sleep with the Imperial Princess.”
Had I made such a request? I racked my brain, but there was no such memory. Valentin eyed Oksana suspiciously.
“Did the Duchess order this?”
“No. I just... wanted to stay by Your Highness's side...”
What is she thinking?
‘As expected, her thoughts are hard to read.’
Aside from my blood relatives, the only women I've kept by my side are Emma and Fedora. Do daughters of noble families usually sleep in the same bed? I've never heard of such a thing.
Regardless of the reason, it was true that I grew curious at Oksana's utterly confident attitude. I sent Valentin away—who was prying into her intentions (it would be more accurate to say I spent a long time persuading him that it was fine—and patted the spot next to me on the bed.
“Come here, Miss Oksana.”
Oksana, who had been looking down with a shy face the entire time, sat beside me with a smile for the first time. Now that I look at her, she came dressed specifically for this. I wondered if she simply wasn't bothered by Valentin.
.jpg)