CH 31

Chapter 31

After I finished eating my food with an iron plate of shamelessness on my face, I eventually felt ashamed.

If I still had my old job, I could have just gone home after work, but I was in the tower right now. I was still too sick to escape to the kitchen. It could get dangerous if I ever collapse by myself.

After worrying about it for a moment, I then decided to escape to the bed.

I didn’t want to use the bed as much as possible, but I just followed Albert’s order for me to use the bed as long as I was sick.

“Ugh.”

The moment I lay in bed and my head hit the pillow, the migraine became unbearable. I frowned.

“I’ll… be off to dreamland now!”

What a wondrous phenomenon it was to not feel pain while you sleep and let time fly by!

But as I’ve just been closing my eyes, I realized that it was harder to fall asleep. I couldn’t slip off to dreamland because my head hurts. It feels the same as not being allowed to eat dinner when you’re on a diet.

And when you try to will yourself asleep, that’s when sleep escapes you.

What kind rebellion¹ is my body doing…

I shut my eyes tightly. I’m going to sleep. I’m falling asleep. I’m sleeping. One sheep… Two… Three…

“Didn’t you say you’re going to sleep?”

I don’t know if he was acknowledging my desperate efforts or if he’s just laughing at me, but Albert asked like this. Considering that his voice had a tinge of amusement in it, the second guess would be the right one.

“…I’m about to sleep, but sleep isn’t coming to me. I’m in a terrible condition, but my body isn’t letting me sleep…”

And as I complained, Albert responded.

“Then it’s my turn to take care of you.”

How did he pull that conclusion out of my complaints? I answered right away.

“No thank you. I’m fine.”

“You’re not. You’re only saying you’re fine. I should make you feel better.”

Yet again, I failed to hide my thoughts. I could feel the bed shifting under his weight beside me.

I gulped down. When I opened my eyes, I saw Albert sitting on the bed. Our roles were entirely reversed, and now he’s the one taking care of me.

How can a maid make a prince do something for her? With my eyes wide open, I spoke firmly towards Albert.

“For just letting me use the bed, I’m already eternally grateful to Your Highness.”

“Nonsense.”

My serious words were ignored at once. What do you mean, nonsense? I really mean it.

“I also fed you personally. This is nothing.”

His words held no lies, but I was nonetheless left speechless. As expected, I should have refused earlier, but a capitalist mindset was such a force to be reckoned with.

Even so, wasn’t it so outrageous that my land had increased with just eating one spoon of food that he offered? Anyone who grew up in a capitalist society would have accepted as well.

I wonder what I should say to this prince so that he’ll listen to my refusal.

As I was wrestling with my thoughts, which would likely run away from me soon because of the migraine, Albert asked with a languid voice.

“How should we start, Rosé.”

His low voice sent shivers down my body. I couldn’t figure out why the words, ‘How should we start,’ sounded so different to me.

And his face, which should be harmless, was like a deadly weapon right now.

Pulling the blanket up until the tip of my nose, I murmured quietly.

“I really would like it if Your Highness doesn’t do anything for me…”

In response to what I said, Albert smirked.

“That’s a difficult request, Rosé.”

But at that moment, the migraine shot through my head and seemed to split it in half. It was like the pain I’d felt until now was just a taste test, and so a tremendous amount of pain hit me like a sledgehammer.

“Agh…”

A groan slipped through my lips by itself. I reflexively wrapped my hands over my head.

“Huuuuk…”

Then an inexplicable force came in droves throughout my entire body. Because of the excessive shock, I was left dazed for a moment. My eyes went blank.

“Rosé?”

Albert’s voice sounded so far away.

“Uuugh…”

Tears flowed out of my eyes. I wasn’t crying because I wanted to. I didn’t even know that I was crying until I felt those tears trickling down. I couldn’t stand it.

“Mmh…”

I clenched my teeth together and held back my groans. I was worried that I might bite so hard that my teeth would get cracked, but those worries disappeared in an instant. I couldn’t think about anything anymore as I clutched my head tighter when another wave of pain hit my head. I just had to believe that the pain would pass if I continued doing this.

I squinted through my previously shut eyes. Then, I made eye contact with Albert. He was staring at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

The look in his narrowed eyes was deep, as though he had unknown oceans within them.

I managed to open my lips to mutter towards Albert.

“P-Prince, you should go and rest.”

It wouldn’t feel nice to look at a sick person. And besides, we were in the tower, so there’s no way to help me. I don’t need to make someone feel helpless when there really is nothing for them to do. So, it’s better if Albert stays away.

But come to think of it, I’m in his room and there’s nowhere else Albert can go. It would be preposterous for me to kick Albert out and send him to my attic.

Then, there’s only one way. I’m the one who needs to move.

Since we have to eat and I’ll have to go down to the kitchen eventually, it would be better for me to go there. It’s perfect, too, since I can get some water right away to keep myself hydrated. After struggling through the throbbing in my head, I stood up and heaved in a deep breath.

“I’ll go to the kitchen.”

However.

“Preposterous.”

Albert ignored my words once more and gingerly grabbed my wrist. With no strength left in me, he pulled me into his arms. I could feel how strong Albert was.

“Lean on me.”

He gently pressed my head against his chest, which was as hard as stone. He felt a little cool, so it’s like my headache was going away.

“You haven’t even wiped the tears on your face. Where exactly are you going.”

He spoke softly as he gently wiped away the tears that remained around my eyes. His large hands moved delicately. The finger that wiped away the tears swept down the bridge of my nose, then eventually reached my lips.

Slightly leaning down his head, Albert’s gaze was entirely on my own as I looked up.

“It’s futile to ask you anything. Nothing honest comes out through these lips.”

“…There’s nothing Your Highness can do either. That’s why I’m just being considerate…”

I protested with a small voice. No, I mean, I said that it was for Albert’s sake, but if that’s how he interpreted it, then wasn’t that just unfair. I’m really just trying to be mindful.

A benign smile graced Albert’s lips as he countered my words.

“Look at you saying there’s nothing I can do. You’re good at trampling on my pride, too.”

…That’s not what I meant at all. Seeing his expression that was reminiscent of a cold winter breeze, it felt like he was going to cut me through my neck. I knew he wouldn’t do that, but my body still froze.

This always happened whenever I saw this expression on him. This was what a king looked like. His countenance made the people around him grow nervous and uneasy even if he wasn’t doing it on purpose.

I realized once more that the Albert here in the tower would return to his old self the moment we got out of here. When I face him then, he would be a different person. It scared me to think of the day I’d feel that difference. It was a day I knew about, and at the same time, a day I didn’t know about.

The day we leave this place and be free once more would be a turning point for both Albert and me. I looked away, and then I saw Blanc beneath the bed, staring up at me with concerned eyes.

Perhaps knowing the reason why I turned away from him, Albert let out a shallow exhale.

“With your condition like this, I don’t even know how you’ll go down the stairs.”

Scolding me, Albert immediately picked me up as I was half-leaning against his chest in his arms. It was like a princess carry that you see in every romance drama.

I could never win against Albert in any fight with him. And since I was already so exhausted from battling the headaches, I gave up protesting and surrendered myself to him.

Albert carried me back to bed. It was the very bed that I considered to be a sacred place I was forbidden to even get close to. But now, I was so used to it that it felt like it was my own bed.

He laid me down in the middle and tucked me in with the blanket. The way he pulled it up until my chin seemed to be his way of telling me that I shouldn’t think about going anywhere else.

“So it seems you managed to figure out that there’s no use arguing. Tell me which part hurts.”

Like a doctor, Albert probed and asked me about my symptoms. I mean, I know he’s not a doctor… But he really gave off that vibe. He’s the main character for a reason, after all. Right now, maybe Albert really knew how to make me feel better.

I closed my eyes and tried to pinpoint where the pain was concentrated.

“What hurts the most is the back of my head. It’s like someone’s stabbing me with needles.”

“The back of your head.”

Lost in thought for a moment as he cradled his chin with one hand, he soon approached closer. He gently lifted my neck with his left hand to make me sit up, and then he touched the back of my head with his right. Then, his hand swept over my face—my forehead, eyes, nose, lips. His touch, the heat I could feel over my neck and arms. It felt like sunlight.

“This place?”

“…A little lower.”

It was like that. I had to focus on answering his questions despite the headache that kept rushing in. Strangely, I grew nervous.

“Is it here?”

“…Yes.”

Huu. Albert was so close that his sigh touched the tip of my nose. Through his narrowly opened eyes, long lashes fluttered like gentle butterfly wings. For a moment, my heart seriously leapt out of my chest.

…Why are you so attractive?

How long will I be able to resist a man like him when he’s actively trying to win me over? Before anything else, the surefire way of not falling for him was to get out of the tower and stay away from him.

While I was grappling with these thoughts, Albert frowned and murmured as he touched the back of my head.

“…The symptoms are strange.”

Gasp. Why is it strange. I suddenly became scared. I wondered if the original Rosé had some kind of incurable disease that I didn’t know about. That’s not good.

Seeing the serious expression on Albert’s face, it was clear that there really was something more to my condition. Gulping, I steeled my mind and tried to calm my fluttering heart before I asked.

“Why do you think so?”

Albert stared into my eyes as he replied.

“It’s like you’ve been subjected to black magic.”

——

¹ the word used for ‘rebellion’ here is actually ‘green frog’, which is a character that appears in a fairytale where the green frog does everything that his mother tells him not to do.

t/n: aaaaaaaaaa this chapter oh my goodness my heart my heart aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa