Chapter 130
***
Raha walked down the west corridor.
Outside, it was springtime and warm, but in here, by design, it was as cold as midwinter.
Raha sat with her back against the wall and hugged her knees.
She knew she was doing something stupid and childish, but it was still hard to bear. She wanted to grab onto something and cry, confessing her pathetic condition, but she couldn't think of a place to do it.
So she returned to this western corridor.
Karzen had built a beautiful palace for the ailing Raha, but he had built the same corridor for the dead bodies of the slaves.
It must be love.
Not once had she ever thought that Karzen loved her; her twin had only dared to utter the word on a subject she hated so much.
Raha slowly drifted off to sleep. When she opened her eyes again, her vision was blurry like a drunk. A beat too late, Raha realized she was wrapped in something warm.
She would recognize this solid body anywhere.
Impatiently, like a child finding sanctuary, Raha threw her arms around Shed’s neck.
"......Raha, are you awake?"
His voice was tinged with sleep. Raha didn't answer. Only the slender arms around him felt unusually urgent. Shed stroked his fingers slowly through Raha's hair without any pressure.
"Raha."
"Yes."
"Do you want to stay here?"
"......No."
Shed smiled weakly. He picked Raha up off the hallway floor.
Raha could feel him opening and closing the hallway doors as he cradled her in one arm, marveling all over again at his strength.
Setting Raha down on the bed, Shed reached for the thin cloak she wore. Raha hadn't bothered to change since entering the palace hours ago, so she was still wearing the same clothes she'd left outside.
"You fell asleep."
Shed, who had untied the ribbons that held her cloak together and was peeling off her dress, looked up.
"You didn’t even bother to change."
The voice whispered with a smile. Shed cupped Raha's cheeks with both hands. He was about to press his lips to her forehead, as he always did, when he paused. Gentle blue eyelashes fluttered gently.
Jewel-like eyes with an equally gentle glow....... Shed’s face slowly contorted.
"Raha."
"Huh?"
"Can't you see me?"
"What are you talking about, I can see you."
Raha didn't realize that Shed’s cheeks and jaw were frighteningly set.
"Raha Delharsa."
Shed stood up, his voice hardening.
"Walk this way."
Blinking for a moment, Raha pushed herself to her feet without a hitch, and walked toward the sound of Shed’s voice. Her steps were as natural as water.
It wasn't long before Shed grabbed her around the waist.
Shed bit his lip as he ferociously pushed the chair that Raha had nearly crashed into a moment ago.
"Raha."
"......."
"What the fuck did he do to you?"
"Not entirely far."
"You mean you know what you just almost ran into?"
"The national wedding is around the corner, and even Karzen Delharsa is losing his mind. I'm sure it’ll be normal in a day. It's trivial."
"Nothing about you is trivial….”
"Shed.”
Raha nuzzled Shed’s neck and hugged him.
"It's one day, it doesn't matter."
Her voice was uncharacteristically calm. And yet Raha's hands were cold, and stayed cold, and Shed realized in an instant that it was not because she had fallen asleep in that cold hallway.
"You're supposed to be next to me, Shed."
Raha was afraid. That Shed would leave her there, ready to plunge his sword into Karzen's throat. The fragile heart that breathed as thinly as an ember hidden in the ashes....... Unable to see, her shoulders trembled slightly.
Shed clenched his hands.
"Yes."
"......."
"I told you I'd be by your side."
The words were enough to bring tears to Raha's eyes.
"Then it's okay."
She leaned her cheek against Shed’s neck. Only when she heard the pulse in her ear did she slowly relax.
"That's it."
The first time her eyes started to blur slightly was the moment Rosain grabbed her wrist. At the time, she thought she had cried herself silly, but strangely, her cheeks were just flushed.
It was when she opened her eyes in the corridors of the palace that her vision completely disappeared. For a moment, a thousand terrible what-ifs raced through Raha's mind. If she hadn't thrown her arms around Shed’s neck then, she would have sobbed like a child this time.
Raha relied on the only warmth that held her together. Her lost eyes held Shed there, and she breathed slowly.
* * *
A few days later.
In the full glory of spring, the Imperial Palace was as busy and vibrant as ever. Despite having the most luxurious castle in all of the continent's countries, the palace was usually quiet due to the extremely small number of royalty that resided there.
But now, it was crowded with nobles and royalty everywhere.
A national marriage at hand.
Karzen had organized a small hunting banquet with a few key figures.
It wasn't exactly something he'd organized; it was part of the already-planned schedule of entertaining guests.
Karzen needed to keep a certain amount of modesty in the run-up to his wedding, so the invitees to this little hunting banquet were all men.
Covered in hot blood, Karzen dismounted his horse. Servants hurried over with wet towels.
"Your Majesty, are you all right?"
Wiping his face with a towel, Karzen furrowed his brow.
"It's nothing, no need to fuss."
Karzen looked at the cracked sword and quickly tossed it to the knight. The blade was cracked from catching the bear that had suddenly sprung into a rampage just moments before.
"We haven't had a hunting banquet in a long time. The beasts are quite ferocious."
This vast western forest, an imperial estate, was also famous for its beasts. In keeping with the Emperor's preference for raw hunting, the population was not artificially controlled.
Karzen shifted his stiff arms.
"The doctor......."
"Not necessary."
Karzen was indirectly protected anyway by the Eye of the heir.
Thanks to it, he had never felt much fear of death. Or, more accurately, very little.
Except when he tried to touch Raha.
But those expansive eyes would soon stop rejecting him.
"The royal lord is coming."
Shed’s body was similarly spattered with some blood. However, compared to the other young men, it was far less. Just then, a servant arrived with a wet towel and ran over to Shed. He took the towel and wiped his cheeks.
"Shed Hildes."
Karzen walked up to Shed and saw the cart following behind him. The amount of prey on board was not large.
"You didn’t catch much. I'm sure you don’t have much to give to Raha, do you mind if I share some of mine?"
"No, thank you, I have no intention of giving her the beasts."
"You don't want to give it to Raha, why?"
"Raha doesn't like this kind of game."
"That's the first time I've heard that. She's always been good with what I give her."
"Your Majesty."
A moment of mockery flashed across Shed’s otherwise nonchalant face.
"You don't seem to know much about her."
Karzen's eyebrows twitched.
The royal lord’s voice was low and even. A dry voice that reflected its master's temper. But Karzen sensed a clear sense of insult in everything about Shed Hildes.
Especially considering the fact that Raha loved him.
Karzen's fingers lightly touched his waistband out of habit. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd just thrown his sword to the knight.
"I guess I didn't know much about Raha."
"I don't suppose it matters if you don't know her."
"She is my twin."
"As you say, Your Majesty and my fiancée are merely twins."
"......."
At that, Karzen's jaw tightened.
It was then that Shed walked over to where the servants were to check the blade.
"Your Majesty!"
A sharp voice rang in his ears. The wolf in the cart was on Karzen in an instant.
The wolf was enormous, and the numerous arrows in its back rattled.
Karzen clicked his tongue briefly, the thought of getting hurt in the heat of the moment being the first thing on his mind, and that was all. Fear of injury could not be equated with fear of death. As long as he knew he wasn’t going to die, any fear was child's play.
The moment the wolf lunged right in front of him to maul him.
The wolf's head was broken right in front of his eyes.
A simultaneous gush of red blood.
Karzen was covered in the wolf's brain matter and red blood. His vision turned bright red.
"Your Majesty, summon the doctor, now!”
A panicked voice.
Karzen stared at the carcass of the giant wolf that had died right in front of him. The weight of the dead wolf was on him, and he was forced to stumble backwards.
He could see the dagger that had pierced the wolf's head, crushed it, and pierced its guts. It wasn't a stab. It was more like it was pierced through.
Red blood flowed endlessly. The wolf's eyes twisted like demons. It was the royal lord who had killed him, and the wolf's dead eyes were glaring at him as if to devour him.
Karzen sensed a shadow above him.
Shed Hildes crouched before him.
***
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Write a comment
Chiqi (Saturday, 30 March 2024 03:46)
Damn this is too exciting! I couldn’t find this on the previous website and I just kind of forgot about this. Idk how this popped up in my emails, but I’m so glad! Ty for the wonderful translation as always ❤️❤️❤️