Chapter 11
From head to toe, every part of her body ached.
It felt like a massive hammer was slamming into her body, while at the same time, thousands of needles stabbed at her. She struggled to breathe, her body burning with fever, only for sudden chills to make her curl up and shiver uncontrollably.
If only the physical pain repeated over and over, it might have been bearable. But what tormented Iru even more than her physical suffering were the memories that kept flooding back to her. Starting with the comrades who died without putting up a fight, older memories crawled to the surface, unbidden.
The most agonizing of them was the memory of the day she was burned.
Her father’s kind voice, the first she had ever heard in her life. Opening her eyes to find their mansion in flames, collapsing. Being tied to a pillar, and her father’s mad shouts that they should all die together.
The burning mansion crumbled down upon her. Her body caught fire…
“P-please, save me…”
Iru, though well aware that it was all in the past, found herself babbling for help. In the memory, the pillar in the mansion collapsed, trapping her right arm underneath it. It had been so hot. Hot enough that she had begged to die, to just let it end.
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…”
Shaking uncontrollably, Iru kept muttering like someone possessed. Her right arm, which now had little sensation, felt as if it were burning and melting once again.
‘Should I just cut it off?’
Rather than endure this pain again, she thought it might be better to…
At that moment, someone grabbed Iru’s arm. The sudden warmth startled her, and instinctively, she clung to the other person. She had done the same back then. When she had been too disoriented to understand what was happening, someone had pulled her from under the pillar. Without even knowing who they were, she had clung to them, begging to be saved. And at the same time, she had felt relief, knowing someone had found her.
Just like now. The person gripping Iru’s arm gently began to massage it.
It was as if they were telling her that everything was alright, that the pain she was experiencing was all an illusion and that it was over.
The careful touch gradually brought her back to her senses. Her gasping breath began to settle, though the heat in her body persisted.
Unconsciously, she held tightly to the hand gripping her. She didn’t know who it belonged to, but it felt cool and soothing. As she clung to it, the hand, which had momentarily stopped, began to touch her face, caressing her forehead, cheeks, neck, and shoulders.
With the fever starting to subside, Iru’s breathing grew easier, and without even realizing it, she fell into a deep sleep, free from any nightmares.
* * *
“Mmm…”
With a groan, Iru slowly opened her eyes.
Where was this? What time was it? What was she supposed to do?
She realized that she was lying on something soft, likely a bed. The blanket covering her was incredibly soft too, so much so that she wanted to close her eyes and drift back to sleep. That’s when she noticed something in her right hand.
‘What’s this?’
Absentmindedly, she turned her head, only for her vision to be filled with something golden and shimmering. Her eyes were still blurry, so she couldn’t quite make out what it was, only that it was very beautiful.
Maybe because she had moved, the golden shimmer shifted as well. And beneath it, a pair of blue eyes looked at her. The moment she met those blue eyes, Iru smiled unconsciously and opened her mouth.
“Nergal…”
The corners of the blue eyes, which had been watching her, lifted in amusement.
The only one of her peers with whom she had ever exchanged meaningful conversations. The one who, while often saying things to irritate her, would quietly leave food for her on days she couldn’t eat.
But with the fall of the kingdom, they had returned to their respective roles, and now they no longer spoke of such trivial matters…
When she realized this, Iru shot up, yelling.
“Your Highness Nergal!”
The blue eyes watching her distorted. Iru quickly blinked. In the few moments it took for her to blink, her surroundings came into sharp focus. And standing before her was Nergal, his face expressionless.
As she looked at him, the fragmented memories in her head began to come together. She immediately got out of bed. Every movement made her body throb, and her head, still feverish, pounded with a headache. But none of that mattered right now.
Iru steadied her swaying body and bowed deeply to him. It was a perfectly formal greeting, one she had mastered from the Royal Knights’ manual.
“You…”
Nergal, who had been watching her, rose from the bed. As she looked up at him, Iru swallowed involuntarily. Nergal stood from the bed wearing only simple trousers, his upper body completely bare.
Before she could even question why he was getting up from her bed in such a state, Iru realized something else. Unlike Nergal, who was at least half-dressed, she wasn’t wearing anything at all.
“A-ah, um, this is…”
Iru had been trained to remain calm no matter the situation. Even when her training uniform had been torn during sparring, leaving her upper body exposed, she hadn’t even raised an eyebrow. In fact, it was her opponent who, upon seeing her scars, had recoiled in disgust.
But now, seeing her unscarred body, it felt like she was looking at a stranger’s skin, and she couldn’t help but feel a wave of embarrassment.
Just as she thought to search for something to wear, something flew over her head. Iru reached out instinctively and caught it.
It was a thin blanket from the bed, which she quickly wrapped around herself. As she did, Nergal rose from the bed and approached her.
When he stood before her, Iru knelt on one knee and looked up at him.
Her mind had cleared entirely now, and with it came the realization of how strange this situation was.
Nergal had purchased a woman from the slave market. But what if that woman claimed to be a knight of the empire who was believed to have died six months ago in a cave collapse? Anyone would think she was insane.
Despite knowing this, Iru spoke without hesitation.
“It may be hard to believe, but I am Iru… Carla of the 9th Knight Order.”
Iru Kalla was the name her adoptive father had given her when she joined the empire.
“A fresh start requires a new name. How about Irucarla?”
Iru watched her adoptive father, feeling a bit awkward but deeply appreciative of his thoughtfulness.
It was common for defeated nations on the continent to adopt the children of noble families, but giving them new names was rare. Most were taken as a mix of hostages and useful workers, not to be treated like true children.
Typically, they were reminded not to forget their past, and affection or giving them a new name was unheard of.
But Iru’s adoptive father had spent the night poring over books to find a suitable name for her. Iru liked the new name he found. It still allowed her to keep the nickname “Iru,” which those who once cared for her had used.
‘He’s being considerate in every way.’
Her biological father had named her Ishtar, after the goddess of war, beauty, and love. But with the scars of her burns marring her body, such a name would have only led to more ridicule.
Her adoptive father must have considered all that.
So Iru readily accepted the new name. After all, there was no one left to mourn the loss of Ishtar.
Iru watched Nergal carefully after introducing herself with her name and affiliation.
Though she expected him to dismiss her as a lunatic, she had no choice but to tell the truth.
She wasn’t capable of deep strategizing or playing mind games. To be exact, she didn’t believe she could outsmart Nergal in that regard.
‘Was there anyone in the royal palace who could ever outwit Prince Nergal?’
Even those who could eloquently speak without hesitation would clam up like mute children in front of Nergal.
The thing he despised most as Chancellor was when people tried to deceive him with half-baked lies.
‘So, it’s better to just tell the truth.’
Whether he believed her or not was a different matter.
Iru locked eyes with him. His gaze was colder than she had ever seen. It was as if he was dissecting her, searching even her thoughts.
Seeing the expression on his face, Iru bit her lip.
‘It’s absurd.’
Even she still couldn’t fully believe the situation she was in, so there was no way Nergal would.
As she braced herself for the cold words she expected him to deliver, Nergal moved toward her.
Then, he knelt down on one knee, facing her.
For a long while, he stared at her in silence. His expression wasn’t one of doubt. Iru noticed his eyelashes tremble.
His eyes, wide with disbelief, flickered with complicated emotions, as though he were witnessing a miracle.
Slowly, Nergal raised his hand. His hand, trembling more than his eyes, reached out to her. Hovering close, as if about to touch her, he hesitated before grabbing the thin cloth wrapped around her.
Then, with a firm tug, he pulled her toward him.
Caught off guard by his sudden action, Iru stumbled forward. Nergal grabbed her shoulders, his eyes intently scanning her, as though looking beyond the surface.
Just as Iru was about to speak again, he interrupted.
“I already know.”
His response came with unwavering certainty, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
