Chapter 9
“……!”
“Why are you out here?”
“Lenny?”
Lenny, whom I had thought to be resting in her room, was standing in front of mine.
“Wh-Why are you here?”
I stammered in surprise.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came by… but where were you at this late hour, Your Highness?”
“Well, I just…”
“Your Highness?”
“Le…ny…”
Perhaps it was the relief of seeing Lenny again, back at my room, my vision spun.
“Your Highness!”
As I staggered and nearly collapsed forward, Lenny rushed over and caught me in her arms.
‘Lenny… it’s all right now…’
“Your Highness! Please, stay with me!”
Wrapped in Lenny’s familiar embrace, I let go and surrendered to unconsciousness.
***
“Her Highness the Princess still hasn’t opened her eyes….”
“She will awaken soon.”
“But it’s already been a week since she last woke….”
“You, more than anyone, know how strong Her Highness is.”
Yet Lenny couldn’t help but blame herself, convinced it was all her fault.
The day after Eileen collapsed, word spread that Sir Baumann’s severe wounds had been completely healed.
Hearing the news, Lenny hurried to his ward, and just as the reports had said, Sir Baumann’s sculpted face and his body, without so much as a scar remaining, were perfectly restored. She was truly overjoyed at the sight.
The imperial court had clearly said that though his life might be spared, he would bear scars, so she was bewildered at what could have happened.
“I believe… Her Highness saved me that night.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
At Sir Baumann’s following words, Lenny’s eyes widened.
“That night when I heard the Princess had collapsed….”
Unable to find restful sleep due to his injuries, Sir Baumann had sensed the faint presence of Eileen quietly entering his room.
He felt Eileen approach and gently pat his body, and at that very moment, a pure white light enveloped him.
The pain gradually subsided, and a sense of peace spread through his body.
But fearing that if he opened his eyes too suddenly it might startle Eileen, he pretended to be asleep.
After a long while, the gentle touch finally stopped, and he saw her small, swaying figure as she unsteadily left the room.
“Could it be… Her Highness has already…?”
“It seems that way.”
Both of them instinctively realized that Eileen had already awakened her ability.
“I can’t say exactly when it first manifested, but it seems she had been concealing it… and used it for my sake.”
“Ah… Your Highness, our dear Princess….”
At Sir Baumann’s words, Lenny finally broke down in tears. Sir Baumann pulled her into his arms and quietly comforted her.
“I owe this life Her Highness saved to the last breath. So you, stay by her side, just as you are now.”
While the two of them spoke, Eileen’s eyelashes began to tremble faintly. Though fully conscious, I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt their tender moment and lay there awkwardly with my eyes still shut.
“Your Highness, you may open your eyes now.”
“……”
“Wait, is Her Highness awake?!”
At Sir Baumann’s words, I gave a small start, slowly opened my eyes, and saw the two of them still clinging tightly to one another.
“Mmm… You two… get along reaaally well.”
At my words, Lenny hastily pulled away from Sir Baumann’s embrace. He, as though reluctant to let her go, looked at her a moment longer before turning to face me.
“Your Highness, you’ve yet to master your expressions.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Your lashes were trembling so hard, I thought an earthquake had struck.”
“Then you shouldn’t stand so close to me when you’re like that!”
“How could one possibly conceal love?”
Saying this, Sir Baumann took Lenny’s hand and gently placed a kiss upon the back of it. Honestly, was this truly the same cold-blooded knight I once knew?
The man who used to radiate a chill sharp enough to freeze a bird mid-flight now gazed at Lenny with an expression as warm as spring sunlight.
Lenny too, though her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, made no move to stop him.
‘Well, would you look at that. The two of them fit together like rice cakes, just perfectly matched.’
Pretending not to see any of it, I burrowed deeper beneath the covers.
After awakening from a deep slumber, Sir Bauman’s loyalty toward her was so unwavering it could have moved even the gods.
Wherever she went, he insisted on following, and at the slightest sign of weariness, he would scoop her into his arms without hesitation.
People seemed puzzled to see the man who was to become the captain of the Imperial Knights trailing after her so devotedly, but upon spotting Lenny by her side, they all quietly accepted it.
After all, there wasn’t a soul in the palace unaware that the two had already confirmed each other’s hearts.
Her father, too, made no particular comment on Sir Bauman’s behavior.
It was likely because, back when she was still an infant, Sir Bauman had frequently visited the Princess’s Palace just to catch a glimpse of Lenny.
The uneasy sense that she had somehow stolen away one of the Empire’s finest knights lingered for only a moment before giving way to indifference. She figured things could unravel however they pleased.
In any case, she had intended to draw him to her side in this lifetime. The circumstances of her father, Lucas, and anyone else were none of her concern.
As Sir Bauman began frequenting the Princess’s Palace, it was inevitable that he would cross paths with Lucas, who treated her residence like his own.
Lucas would react violently at the mere sight of Sir Bauman, while Sir Bauman, in turn, seemed to regard Lucas as something utterly insignificant.
‘Perhaps I should try imitating that look of his.’
For a brief moment, she wondered if doing so might make Lucas fear her.
Despite the comfort she took in Lucas’s presence, her plan to trample the budding sprout remained firmly in motion.
“Erin! Where are you going?”
“……”
That relentless pest. Since Lucas had taken his first steps and started running around, he had been trailing her nonstop.
She thought she had hidden perfectly, but she had no idea how he always managed to find and follow her.
Could it be that someone was planted inside the Princess’s Palace? Or had he cast some kind of tracking spell on her? Uneasy with the thought, she nervously glanced all around her body.
“Yo, Ape, you’re out… where you going?”
Ugh! Lucas’s voice reached her ears, and she clamped her mouth shut. While she stood frozen, he had crept even closer.
“Erin! New-nim!”
Holding her breath and staying perfectly still, she sensed Lucas’s voice gradually fading away. She finally lowered the hand covering her mouth.
“Phew!”
With both nose and mouth covered, she had been gasping for air; now that her breath was freed, she inhaled sharply and deeply. Catching her breath, she took in her surroundings.
Only then did the landscape come into focus. Where was this? In trying to escape Lucas and hiding anywhere she could, it seemed she had truly lost her way.
“Hah. What is this!”
Her eyes fell on the heavily wrinkled hem of her dress as she looked around.
The dress Lenny had dressed her in so beautifully that morning was now dirty and grimy in places; the ribbon once tied in her hair was long gone, and her golden autumn-field-colored hair was wild and tangled.
“Lenny’s going to scold me again later.”
Ah, second round of life, and I’m only four years old. Life is so exhausting.
Determined to return to the Princess’s Palace, she gave the dirty dress a quick shake and forced her weary body to stand up.
“Ah.”
A sigh slipped from her lips, turning into a small exclamation. She had gotten lost.
That realization drained all her energy.
“No, Erin. Get a grip!”
She raised her short, chubby arm and slapped her soft cheek. She couldn’t just stand here waiting for someone to come find her.
“Ha-yu.”
She shuffled forward, not knowing where she was. If she kept walking, someone would eventually appear and recognize her. Then she could go back to the palace.
“……”
But honestly, this was just too much.
“Hah, what kind of desolate place is this?”
Unable to hold back, she shouted in frustration. How was it possible to not meet a single soul?
No matter how far she walked, she couldn’t meet anyone at all, so much so that it was almost surprising Lucas had been able to follow her.
Come to think of it, she had passed that tree before.
And that stone ornament looked familiar too…
“I’m… cold.”
Where on earth was this place? All she could see were trees and a tower poking sharply into the sky. Her heart began to flutter with unease.
Growl.
Her stomach rumbled, oblivious to her worries.
“Quiet, quiet, be gentle!”
She lightly tapped her protruding belly with the palm of her hand.
“Ah-woo.”
Her tension eased a bit, and just as she was about to set off again to find her way, thud-thud, she heard the sound of footsteps crunching on twigs nearby. Until now, there had been nothing but silence.
“Wh-who’s there?”
She called out, wondering if Lucas had come looking for her, but no answer came.
“Who’s there!”
“……”
“Who is it!”
“……”
“Who are you!”
“……”
“I’m just… coming out…”
Rustle, rustle.
Her voice grew smaller and smaller. Hearing it, the footsteps that had stopped began moving again, coming closer. She swallowed dryly.
“……”
Nervous, she picked up a small stone from the forest floor. The closer the footsteps came, the heavier her breathing grew.
“Wh-who are you!”
Her tongue, already short, stiffened so much she could barely speak.
A sinister chuckle.
She fixed her stance, ready to throw the stone the moment a stranger appeared, eyes fixed on the rustling bushes.
“Then who might you be?”
Parting the tall grass, a figure emerged, wearing a gray robe pulled low over the bridge of their nose.
Only shadowed lips were visible beneath the hood, making it impossible to tell whether the person was male or female, young or old.
“How did you get into my front yard?”
The newcomer seemed not to hear her words, speaking only what they wished. From their voice, they seemed to be a young man.
“So, who might you be?”
“Who?” This was his front yard, and yet she was so bold as to call the Imperial Palace her own front yard.
“I’m not the owner here…”
“I am the finest in this empire…”
Growl.
“……”
“……”
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes…! I am.”
Growl.
“Oh dear. How could you be like this, following me around!”
Blushing, she slapped her innocent belly again.
Hmm.
The man examined her with a snort of amusement.
“At your age, it’s only natural to be hungry. Come with me.”
His suspicion seemed to ease, and he extended his hand as if for her to take it.
“Where to?”
Did he know who she was and genuinely want to help? Or had he simply seen her hiding in the woods, crawling around looking filthy and lost, and assumed she was just a stray child?
“Take my hand quickly. Let’s go eat something delicious.”
She only stared at the outstretched hand warily, and the man urged her again, speaking with a gentle insistence.
