READING GUIDANCE
" This is a direct sentence in the present time."
" This is a direct sentence in the past time."
' This is a character's inner thought in the present time.'
' This is a character's inner thought in the past time.'
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the present time.]
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the past time.]
HAPPY READING!
.
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She has a nightmare again, the same nightmare that has been haunting her in her sleep lately. Sometimes it is just blurry memories she tries to forget, but other times it is vivid and wakes her up with a sickening feeling as if something is stuffed in her lungs and stealing her breath. She ends up curling her body while clutching her chest tightly because it hurts so much.
Just like now.
In the middle of a big, dark room, she cannot see clearly because the pain in her chest is too intense for her to stay in her right mind. She needs to calm herself down like usual, trying to take a deep breath even though it takes a while to do so.
"Breath slo—"
Slap!
She brushes off the hand that touches her suddenly before she realizes the golden eyes looking at her. Then, he uses sign language to say,
"Calm down, take a deep breath."
She frowns painfully before she remembers what happened earlier. Then she sees this man treating her so casually, as if what he is seeing right now is something normal. It is hard to accept. The unpleasant feeling grows stronger after knowing that someone is aware of her condition.
She does not even care to talk or act properly in front of the one and only crown prince of this empire. Her logic cannot work with this kind of emotion inside her. She pushes away the blanket that covers her and steps down. Yet, her weak knees almost make her fall before the man pulls her into his embrace. His grip feels strong as he holds her arms, as if he knows she is trying so hard to make him let her go.
[Let go.] She looks at him with a strange fury she cannot understand.
But the man just holds her arms without moving an inch. With a serious expression he has never shown to her before. Because, as far as she remembers, he always gives her a smile and silly expressions whenever they are together.
Now, he looks angry in his heavy silence. Yet it somehow feels different. "Don't do something that will hurt you." And her heart pounds every time she faces him like this.
[It is not your business, Your Grace.] But the fact that he keeps trying to meddle in her world makes her feel hopeless and, at the same time, afraid.
So, she slowly looks away as she starts to realize he will not let her go, since his strength is far greater than hers to escape on her own.
"Your Grace, Ms. Arisha wants to meet you." Someone knocks on his door while Irisha decides not to look at him anymore. He grits his teeth while staring at the miserable woman in his arms. He holds her tight, yet she feels so far away from him.
He sighs after a long silence. "Let her in." He then releases one of his hands, but the other still holds Irisha so she can stand steadily.
Then, when Arisha comes in and the maid turns on the lamp, the gloomy and despairing look on her face suddenly disappears as if it was never there in the first place — as if her sister's presence is enough to save her, or as if she has long learned how to wear a perfect smile when needed.
[Arisha?] The sparkles instantly return to her eyes whenever she is with her little sister.
"Are you okay, Sister?" she asks after hugging her for quite a while. "The ladies said that you were not feeling well, so you came here to rest."
[I am okay.] she says with a smile.
"Are you sure?" She looks at her with concern.
[Yes.] Slowly, her hand brushes his away casually and quietly. [Let's go home.]
Arisha looks confused, glancing at him and her sister several times.
[Arisha, come on.] But the sister who always greets and smiles at everyone decides not to look at him, not even out of courtesy.
Then Arisha looks at him, smiles awkwardly, and says, "Thank you, Your Grace, for letting my sister rest here. See you tomorrow." She runs to her sister, who is still trembling while walking but keeps smiling in front of her.
He even follows them from a distance until they both get inside the carriage he prepared. Irisha never turns back like she usually does with a grumpy and sulking face.
.
.
"... I don't like this," he mutters while looking at the carriage that is already far from his sight. He crosses his arms and covers his mouth. The gaze he gives is deep and dark. He knows exactly that he is furious. Yet the worst part is not his anger — it is the fact that he cannot use it.
"... because you will go away from me if I do that."
He could force her. No one would dare question him. He has the power to make her stay, to make her obey. But Irisha is not someone who would bend. If he chains her down, she will only look at him with those cold eyes and walk away from him in her heart.
And that is something he cannot accept.
.
.
"He surely falls for that woman, huh?"
From afar, in the front yard of the palace near the outer fence, Ivy stands quietly as she watches the carriage disappear from sight. Her platinum hair falls straight down her back, almost shining under the light, and the breeze gently moves a few strands across her face. Her golden eyes remain fixed on the empty path long after the carriage is gone.
There is a small smile on her lips — calm, almost amused.
With those sharp golden eyes, she wonders what is so special about that woman that makes all of her siblings obsessed with her. She then giggles softly.
"Both of you are bewitched by the same girl."
.
"It is not sincerity as people excitedly think."
"The crown prince with the dragon's blood sincerely falls for a commoner?"
"Or a commoner sincerely falls for the crown prince?"
She laughs while speaking to herself. Then, in just a second, her expression disappears completely. "There is no such thing in this world." The look on her beautiful face darkens.
"Don't make me laugh."
***
.
.
.
It becomes very uncomfortable.
People can tell that something is wrong between those two. It has already been the seventh day of this heavy atmosphere, yet there is no sign that things will return to normal. Of course, they still work together like usual, but everyone can clearly see the distance between them.
...just like now, after the meeting.
[After that, I will send someone to inform you,] she says with her unusually dark expression.
"You come by yourself." He says without the faint smile he usually shows.
[I have something to do.]
"Ask someone to do it."
She grips her hands tightly. It is so obvious that everyone can tell she is angry. A very rare sight of Ms. Irisha, as they know her. [.... okay, Your Grace.] Then she turns away without their usual conversation.
After Ms. Irisha leaves, the tension becomes so thick that everyone tries to step outside as soon as possible. Even if they have something to report to the prince, his face clearly shows that now is not the right time.
Even for Irisha, this is the most she can do to avoid him. After all, once her thoughts become clear enough to think rationally, she realizes that the partner she is facing right now is the famous crown prince of the superior Empire. The one known as someone blessed by the dragons. Which means he is not someone she can freely provoke. Even she understands that what she is doing now carries too much risk and consequence. If, in the end, she truly makes him angry—what can she even do? Because he keeps trying to dig deeper into her world... the world she tries so hard to bury in her heart.
"Ms. Irisha."
Suddenly, while she is walking in the hallway, a very beautiful lady gently taps her while holding her baby in her arms. "It has been a while, Ms. Irisha."
She smiles at Lady Cordelia, who is now fluent in sign language. Dressed in a solemn yet elegant attire, Lady Cordelia looks graceful as always. The dark, modest gown she wears is simple but refined, fitting perfectly with her calm presence. Her bright brown hair is neatly arranged behind her shoulders, and her orange-tinted eyes glow warmly whenever she smiles.
In her arms rests her adorable baby, wrapped carefully in soft cloth, his tiny fingers gripping the fabric of her dress.
[Yes, it has been a while since we last met.]
She then looks at the baby, who is as handsome as his parents.
"Raya, say hi to Ms. Irisha." she says warmly, signing 'hi' with her hands.
The shy boy Irisha met before looks at her and moves his hands the same way his mother does.
"Wow, good job, Raya!" Lady Cordelia smiles proudly whenever her baby does that. Then she looks at Irisha again. "Yesterday, he said 'dada' to my husband, and he became so emotional that he cried," she says with a laugh. "We also started to try a method to help Raya understand sound through vibration. It might take a long time, or it might not succeed at all. But in the end, I will be happy as long as he is happy too."
[That's great,] she says with a gentle smile, especially as she watches how cheerful and talkative Lady Cordelia has become.
Lady Cordelia smiles at her. "You are truly our savior, Ms. Irisha," she says sincerely.
[You are exaggerating, Lady Cordelia.]
"If you have time, why don't you join us? I made some food for my husband."
[Ah, I might just disturb both of you.]
"No... I enjoy talking with you," she says. "It is especially rare to talk with the famous Ms. Irisha, so—"
In the end, Irisha cannot refuse her bright and warm smile. [Well, just until the next meeting.]
"That's good!"
Both of them then walk to the training field where Lady Cordelia's husband is leading the practice of the elite Holy Knights.
The wide field stretches beneath the open sky, surrounded by tall, black rocky mountains. A few dragons glide calmly above, their large wings moving steadily through the air. Now and then, one descends smoothly to the ground, its rider guiding it with practiced ease.
On the field, knights in armor move in coordinated formations, their movements sharp but controlled. The sound of steel meeting steel echoes lightly, followed by firm instructions from the commander.
Irisha finds herself speechless even from just one glance. Even in practice, their presence alone feels overwhelming. Surely, this is the kind of place where life and death once stood side by side.
"Please enjoy the food, Ms. Irisha," Lady Cordelia says after setting down the picnic basket under a very large tree, quite far from the training ground. It still amazes Irisha that on the first floor of a 'flying' castle, there is a place like this.
[... I guess I understand why people admire the Holy Knights.] she says.
Lady Cordelia, who is holding her son while he eats quietly, begins to sign again. [I actually decided to practice my skills to become a knight.]
Irisha's eyes widen. "Really?" She remembers how Lady Cordelia once dreamed of becoming a knight.
Lady Cordelia smiles shyly. [I talked with my father and my husband about it. I thought they would be against it, but they said I can do whatever I want.] She sighs in relief before continuing. [I used to think my father was stubborn like my mother, but I was wrong. I should have spoken about my feelings sooner so we would not misunderstand each other.]
Irisha nods. [I agree.]
"But because I decided not to go to the Knight Academy while Raya is still young, my husband becomes my trainer for now..." She sighs deeply. "And his training is so harsh that it feels like I might die."
[Wow! You are so lucky, aren't you? Many people told me how great your husband is. You will become a great knight too if he is your teacher.]
After she finishes speaking, Lady Cordelia suddenly turns her face away and waves her hand excitedly. She seems to be calling out happily, but Irisha cannot understand from this distance. So she follows Lady Cordelia's gaze.
She then sees the first commander of the elite knights running toward them in his training uniform.
At that very second, Irisha can already tell that Raya will become the most adored bachelor in this empire one day, because his parents' genes are truly stunning.
.
After arriving, the commander greets Irisha with a gesture before sitting beside Lady Cordelia. He seems to be talking about something, but she cannot understand him, so she looks at Lady Cordelia instead.
"My husband says he apologizes because he has not learned sign language yet," she explains.
[Ah, it is nothing to apologize for.] Irisha says, waving both of her hands lightly.
Lady Cordelia's husband, whose name is Luke, shakes his head. "I was going to officially express my gratitude to you, but it seems we met sooner than I expected."
She tilts her head, not quite understanding. [What are we talking about?] she asks, confused.
Lady Cordelia laughs at her expression. "It is about the last war, Ms. Irisha."
Irisha goes silent for a moment, trying to remember. [... I cannot recall anything I did that deserves your gratitude. In fact, Sir Luke was the one who went to the front lines to protect us. I should be the one thanking you for your service.]
Sir Luke looks awkward after seeing Irisha's gesture of gratitude. He waves his hand dismissively while holding Raya, who is crawling toward him. "You embarrass me, Ms. Irisha. I did not do much in the last war."
[... But you pushed back the enemy troops from Nara and even survived while protecting Nara's agreement, which despised war in their land.]
"... Well, they were all weaklings, to be honest," he says seriously.
His tone surprises Irisha more than she expects, because he is not joking at all. "... Even when we were cornered before, I could tell their troops were not on the same level as ours," he continues.
Irisha becomes speechless, remembering how desperately she tried to find a solution to help them at that time. Yet she only smiles and keeps that thought to herself.
"But in the end, your solution was the best one we could hope for," he says, looking at her with a deep gaze to show how serious he is. "After the enemy troops suddenly retreated and we went to Nara, that was the first time people outside the Malum Empire welcomed us without fear."
He continues, "They were surprised by our dragons—yes, a little scared—but some of them even tried to talk about them." He giggles awkwardly, a gesture no one would expect from the first commander of the elite knights. "In the end, I am a Holy Dragon Knight, so dragons are like friends to me. Seeing people try to understand them instead of being terrified at first sight made me very happy."
"Many of my comrades were confused at first, but then Nara's representative said something that made us understand everything."
[What did they say to you?]
He smiles widely. "They said, 'If Malum's traders had not come here before, I would always be terrified whenever a huge dragon flew above me.'"
Irisha smiles gently after hearing such a heartwarming story. [I am glad to hear that, Sir Luke.]
"... Ms. Irisha might not fully understand because you are an immigrant," Lady Cordelia adds softly. "It has been known for hundreds of years that this empire is the land once ruled by the Holy Dragon. With his terrifying and overwhelming presence, the whole world trembled before him." She laughs lightly. "Even our ancestors, the native people, were pressured and frightened by the dragon's blessing."
Irisha looks at her thoughtfully. This is something she has always wondered about. [Then why do you still serve them if their presence only brings discomfort?]
Lady Cordelia and Luke exchange a glance before smiling at her.
"Well, I cannot fully explain it either," Luke says. "But I know one thing for sure—the royal family has always been the first and the last to stand and protect this land."
"They were the ones in the last war who stood at the very front to defend the place they belong to."
Irisha begins to understand, at least a little. She has spent enough time with the heir of this empire to see how hard he works to manage everything. No matter what methods he uses, in the end, he always chooses what he believes is best for his land.
[Even though I am only a newcomer, I am truly happy to hear that... I thought everyone was afraid of the royal family.]
They both smile strangely.
"... We are," Lady Cordelia admits. Seeing the confusion on Irisha's face, she continues, "Ms. Irisha, you are the only one the crown prince treats differently."
"... Are you not aware?"
Irisha looks at them for a long moment.
' Am I not aware?'
They ask as if they think she truly does not understand what they mean.
But how could she not be aware? She is the one who has spent so much time with him this past year. How could she not realize that his kindness toward her is different? He is the one who gives her gentle smiles and touches her with care every single time.
How could she not know—
When, he is the one who always gives her the chance to stand tall and see how beautiful the world can be?
'... How could I not know?'
Even her heart starts pounding as she thinks about it now.
Yet, she smiles.
[No, I don't know.]
Slowly, she pushes down the feeling rising inside her.
' Just don't.'
' I should not.'
' Please, go away.'
***