Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Rosalyn placed the snowman’s head on top of its body. Theodor watched quietly as she struggled to complete it with a few grunts.
“Tada!”
A snowman as tall as they were now stood fully built. Rosalyn giggled.
“Doesn’t this snowman look like Your Highness?”
“Which part?”
“The odd-colored eyes, just like you! I searched the whole garden to find these leaves.”
Theodor looked at the snowman’s face, decorated with leaves. One purple and one green leaf had been placed in the eye sockets.
Where in the world did she even find those?
Then Rosalyn unwound the scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around the snowman. When Theodor looked at her in question, she smiled and said,
“The snowman must be cold too.”
A faint bruise peeked out from beneath her robe, visible on her pale neck. It shimmered oddly in the sunlight. The strange sensation from earlier, when she had taken his hand, swept over him again.
Suppressing that feeling, Theodor spoke to her.
“…Let’s just go back now.”
Theodor turned and started for the annex entrance. But Rosalyn lingered behind.
“We have to move the snowman to the front. If we leave it here, it’ll be buried in snow overnight.”
But the snowman, nearly as tall as her, wouldn’t budge easily. Theodor frowned slightly and gave Arch a glance.
Arching a brow, Arch stepped forward and jerked his chin, signaling Rosalyn to go ahead. The moment she met his sharp gaze, goosebumps broke across her arms and she hurried toward the entrance.
Arch then lifted the massive snowman with ease and began to carry it.
Watching in awe, Rosalyn muttered,
“Wow, he’s seriously strong.” Despite his lean frame, Arch had a remarkably well-balanced and developed body.
Will Theodor ever reach that kind of strength?
Rosalyn glanced at Theodor, lost in thought.
Sensing her stare, Theodor asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was just wondering if Your Highness would ever be able to lift that snowman on your own.”
“And why would I want to do that?”
“Because if you can, it means your awakening will go smoothly.”
Rosalyn hadn’t meant to say it outright, it had simply slipped out as a sign of her hope for his health. But the moment she said it, Theodor’s eyes gleamed strangely.
“Is that true?”
“What is?”
“That if I can lift that thing, I’ll awaken?”
“Um… Well, not exactly. I meant if you’re healthy enough to do that, is what I mean…”
But Theodor had already latched onto the word ‘awaken,’ and before she could finish, he rushed over to Arch.
“Put it down. I’m going to lift it.”
Theodor approached the snowman and bent down, bracing himself.
“Rgh…!”
His face was filled with determination and desperation. He clearly intended to lift it no matter what. Had he been pouring the same desperation into his training in that dark tower all those years?
‘Wait, what if he actually manages to lift it?’
Rosalyn’s worried expression hardened.
He couldn’t awaken like this. He’d only activated his mana once so far. And suddenly, the memory of Theodor ordering her execution in the East Tower flashed through her mind. A chill ran down her spine.
“Your Highness!”
She rushed toward him, but Theodor didn’t stop. His hunched back trembled as he strained.
‘Wait, that posture is even more dangerous!’
Trying to lift that heavy snowman using only his back was dangerous. A frail body like his, with no real muscle, could be seriously injured. Rosalyn ran to stop him.
But she was too late.
Crack!
A horrible sound came from his lower back.
“Ugh!”
Theodor groaned in pain and collapsed into the snow. Rosalyn hurried to him.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
“Of course. I will lift that snowman… ugh!”
But he couldn’t even sit up.
Don’t tell me… does he have a slipped disc?
Rosalyn prayed it wasn’t true.
If a disc had ruptured, he’d be bedridden for weeks. And in that case, even her mana couldn’t heal it.
‘Let’s check his condition first.’
She turned to Arch and shouted urgently,
“Please help carry His Highness to his room!”
Arch nodded and immediately hoisted Theodor onto his back. Rosalyn, seeing that, felt a surge of relief. She never could have moved him on her own.
‘Wow, he really is fast…’
Watching Arch sprint toward the annex with Theodor slung over his back, Rosalyn was stunned. The way he moved without a sound with this incredible speed was far beyond human limits.
No wonder he was known in the novel as a top-tier assassin. But how had someone like him come to serve the exiled prince Theodor?
‘He could’ve made a fortune in a mercenary guild or something…’
Well, maybe it was just part of the story’s setup. With that thought, Rosalyn dashed toward the annex after them.
***
“What in the world happened?”
Anton looked startled when he saw Theodor slung over Archi’s shoulder. Rosalyn quickly explained.
“His Highness hurt his back. Please prepare hot compresses and painkillers right away.”
Anton nodded without delay and promptly gave orders to the staff.
With Arch’s help, Rosalyn laid Theodor down on the bed and removed his outerwear. Then she gently turned him over onto his stomach and carefully pressed her fingers around his lower back to locate the area of pain.
“Agh!”
Theodor cried out in pain, and she began softly pressing around the area to examine it more thoroughly. Thankfully, it wasn’t a herniated disc, just an acute strain.
He had overexerted his back, causing the muscles to seize up and tighten suddenly.
It was more intense than chronic muscle tension but also easier to resolve.
‘This should be manageable with mana massage.’
Relieved it wasn’t something more serious, Rosalyn exhaled softly and said,
“Your Highness, I’ll lift your shirt now.”
For mana to be absorbed effectively, it was best to apply it directly to the skin just like when she had held his hand to transfer warmth earlier. It was something she’d discovered through many trials.
“I’m going to start the massage. It might hurt a little.”
Theodor’s eyes trembled at her words.
Massage?
He had sworn to avoid contact with her as much as possible.
Desperately, recalling what had happened in the garden, he tried to protest.
“No. I’m fine. You may leave… ugh!”
Just the slightest movement in his back sent searing pain through him. There was nothing he could do.
Rosalyn gently raised his shirt up over his back.
His thin, bony back came into view. His white skin revealed the protrusion of his shoulder blades and spine.
‘He’s all skin and bone.’
Not only that, but his shoulders were so hunched from poor posture that even lying face down, his upper back stuck out like a hump. She had guessed as much from his slender frame and slouched stance, but seeing it up close was heartbreaking.
Rosalyn pressed her mana-infused hand against the muscles around his lower back.
Her touch was much gentler than it had been with Anton. In cases of muscle strain, strong pressure could make things worse. Bright yellow mana seeped into the stiffened muscles around his spine. But unlike with Anton, the tension didn’t release immediately. His muscles were wound too tightly to budge.
With care, she traced his spine with her fingers, feeling the knotted fibers beneath his pale skin.
“…!”
Theodor flinched and let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a gasp. Rosalyn noticed beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
‘I’m barely touching him. Is it really that painful?’
“If it hurts, please tell me, Your Highness.”
But Theodor didn’t answer. Rather, he couldn’t speak at all.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His heart pounded so violently it echoed through his entire body. The moment her gentle fingertips touched his back, he felt his body react unmistakably.
It was as if all the blood in his body rushed to his lower abdomen as sweat soaked his face. The sensation was far more intense than anything he had experienced in the garden.
Each time Rosalyn’s soft fingers pressed into his back and waist, he felt a strange stir. And in his mind, images of Rosalyn from earlier that morning began to resurface.
The way she smiled as she pulled back the curtains by the window. The way she poured him tea as she offered breakfast. The time she handed him milk, telling him to eat slowly. When she had answered ‘of course’ when he asked if he could awaken. And the way she had held his hand in the garden to share her warmth.
All those calm, steady gestures were like a little sunflower standing strong in the dead of winter.
Why does this all come to his mind?
It felt like someone was manipulating his body and thoughts from within. In that moment, a foreign and unfamiliar emotion began to sprout in his chest.
It wasn’t the sorrow, rage, or despair that had plagued him for years.
It was something else entirely; something strange that gently tickled at his heart. Theodor tried to resist the unfamiliar feeling.
His heart pounded even harder, as though fighting back only made it grow stronger. His breathing turned rough.
“Please… stop!”
Theodor finally cried out, barely able to form the words. Sensing something was off, Rosalyn halted the massage at once.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
The moment her hands left his back, the heat pooling in his lower abdomen dissipated. But the odd emotion still lingered. His back remained immobile, but Theodor knew he couldn’t go through with the massage any longer.
If it continued, he feared he would be consumed by that unfamiliar feeling.
He turned to Rosalyn with urgency.
“Tell Anton to bring the opium tincture. Immediately!”
Drinking opium tincture would put him to sleep. And if he was unconscious, he wouldn’t feel anything.
‘Seriously? All this just from a massage? Isn’t that a little overdramatic?’
Rosalyn, completely unaware of what was actually happening inside his body, thought as much as she called for Anton. Soon, Anton brought the tincture, and Theodor drank it and lost consciousness.
Once he went limp and relaxed, the massage became much easier.
Rosalyn resumed, carefully working out the knots in his tense back.
Twitch.
A faint white light flickered for a moment over Theodor’s lower abdomen. But since it was pressed against the mattress, Rosalyn didn’t notice it at all.
