Chapter 23
Lurick asked as if he didn’t really understand.
“How could you dare say such a thing? Everything I do is for……”
He stopped in his tracks, his heavy steps coming to an abrupt halt, and suddenly lowered himself.
I watched in a daze as he got down on one knee.
“For you.”
He spat out the words as if he were chewing on something unpleasant.
“If you are in pain, what’s the point of all this……”
Up close, I saw that one of his eyes had turned completely black.
I managed to move my parched tongue and whispered,
“Take me to my room, Brother. Please.”
Lurick groaned, seemingly trying to contain his anger, but then he let out a sigh and rose to his feet.
Suddenly, he reached out and pulled back the blanket.
His strong arms slid under my neck and knees.
“Everyone, out.”
Lurick commanded, lifting me up as if I weighed no more than a pillow.
His eyes flickered wildly.
I just wished everyone would get away from us quickly.
‘𝘐𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.’
And at the same time, I realized.
Even if he did go on a rampage, Lurick would never hurt me.
His gaze, filled with tenderness despite his anger, made that abundantly clear.
🔹🔹🔹
“I’m cold, brother.”
I purposely exaggerated my discomfort, and he pulled me closer into his arms.
Lurick hurriedly walked to the women’s quarters.
“This way, Your Highness.”
Phoebe quickly followed, guiding him to the room. However, she couldn’t bring herself to enter and stood outside the door.
Lurick only spoke after laying me on the bed and covering me with a blanket.
“Are you still cold?”
I nodded, and a large hand hesitantly touched my forehead.
Our eyes met suddenly.
I placed my hand on his, hoping the black energy that had consumed Lurick’s eyes would disappear soon.
“Your hand is warm, brother. I like it.”
He looked down at me with a flustered expression, then finally spoke in a relieved voice.
“Don’t try to brush this off as childish whims. You should have told me if you weren’t feeling well. Collapsing outside because you pushed yourself too hard……”
I feigned a pitiful look.
“I’m sorry, brother…… but I didn’t want to be a burden after coming all the way to the monastery.”
“……Since when have you been feeling unwell? From Heim?”
That day, Lurick had seen me slip away during dinner.
I nodded vaguely, and he sighed.
“I was careless. I just thought you were uncomfortable with the formal dinner.”
“No, brother. More importantly…… did you wait long at the waterfall?”
I asked, trying to gauge how badly he had treated Helena and if there was any possibility of recovery.
Lurick unexpectedly nodded immediately.
“I knew something was wrong when I saw the maid alone at the waterfall. There’s no way you would be late if you called me.”
Was it a wrong plan from the beginning?
As I lamented inwardly, Lurick asked,
“That maid, is she someone you particularly favor?”
He brought up Helena first.
I seized the opportunity and replied,
“Yes, brother. She’s even younger than me, and I’m so impressed by her diligence and faithfulness. If she wasn’t aiming to become a nun, I’d want to take her to the Imperial Palace.”
Lurick frowned.
“Why would you bring a country maid like that? Isn’t it more likely she’s cunningly trying to deceive you with your naivete?”
For a moment, I was so surprised that I almost jumped up, but I tried not to overreact and refuted timidly,
“No, brother. She even brought me pretty flowers and told me many stories about the monastery. And her emerald eyes are so beautiful.”
Lurick looked dumbfounded.
“Who would look at a maid’s eye color?”
You! You do!
‘𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!’