I Love You
“Aigoo… the ligaments are completely shredded.”
The palace physician examined her ankle from every angle, shaking his head in pity. The right ankle was swollen a dark reddish-black. Even without an expert diagnosis, it was clearly a serious injury.
“Why did you do that, miss? You must have known it hurt. An ankle sprain this bad is painful even if you just leave it alone.”
“…”
“And yet you danced on it…”
Tsk tsk. The physician clicked his tongue. He looked at Elizabeth with eyes full of exasperation at her foolishness.
But Elizabeth just stared blankly into space.
“So… what happens now?”
Leo, sitting beside her, asked with a grave expression. He laced his fingers together tightly, his leg jittering with anxiety.
“We’ll use a potion for now, and apply ointment for at least a month. You’ll need to avoid using the ankle as much as possible during that time.”
“…”
Leo swallowed a sigh of relief. When he’d first seen the ankle, he’d feared permanent damage, but this was better than expected.
The physician slathered ointment on the ankle, wrapped it in bandages, and left.
“Ellie.”
“……”
Leo clutched his head.
“What on earth were you thinking? Huh? If it hurt that bad, you should’ve said something…”
Leo moved in front of her and slowly knelt down to meet her eyes. What she needed now wasn’t scolding—it was respect and tenderness.
Her eyes turned to him. But there was no light in them. Like a cold, deep sea, they were simply still and sunken.
It was the gaze of defeat.
Leo’s chest ached.
“Did you hurt it back then? During the fight?”
“…”
He wasn’t accusing her. He was genuinely curious.
In her silence, Leo took it as confirmation. He bowed his head quietly.
“…I’m sorry. Dad should’ve come sooner.”
“…”
Elizabeth’s eyes trembled.
It’s not Dad’s fault. It’s mine for letting my guard down.
She wanted to say it, but she didn’t have the energy.
“Just sit tight. Dad’ll grab some drinks and stuff.”
He patted the back of her hand gently and left the lounge.
Elizabeth’s fingertips reached out faintly, as if to grab his back—but they couldn’t. They sliced through empty air.
Thud.
“…”
She let her hand drop limply. The lounge was silent. Moonlight filtered through the window, glowing monochrome.
She felt like an empty shell. Her eyes faced forward, but saw nothing. Like a lost fish, adrift in meaningless wandering.
The once-brilliant spark in her eyes was now dull, like faded glass beads.
Her mind was blank. No thoughts, no emotions surfaced.
I’m broken.
Even that thought felt too calm.
She was breathing. Her heart was beating. Yet she couldn’t feel alive. Like an observer detached a step from everything.
A sensation that she could just die like this.
So she didn’t notice.
Creeeak…
The door opened quietly. And through the gap, Princess Mandelia staggered in.
Her eyes were already overtaken by drunken haze. Each breath reeked of thick alcohol, filling the room. Red flushes from the wine made her face even more sinister.
Her eyes were unfocused, her face stripped of any self-control. Eyes that could do anything, any atrocity.
Swish swish…
Mandelia chugged wine from the bottle and glared at Elizabeth. Her gaze mixed hatred, envy, and crumbling pride.
“You have everything.”
Glug.
“If you have everything, why try to take more?!”
She shouted at Elizabeth, her voice growing rougher toward the end.
“Fine! You’re pretty. You want everything! But daring to flirt with my duke!?”
Elizabeth gave no reply, just stared into space. All sounds felt like distant echoes.
“Hey, you ignoring me? Huh?! Ignoring me?!”
“…”
Mandelia shoved Elizabeth’s shoulder. Then, with full force—
Push!
Elizabeth toppled onto the sofa. Her golden hair whipped through the air.
Mandelia strode closer and gripped the wine bottle by the neck.
Glug glug glug.
The contents poured out. The raised bottle traced a wide arc. No hesitation, no restraint. She meant to smash it down.
But Elizabeth still stared blankly upward.
Then—
Crash!
A massive hand collided with the bottle. It was Leo.
The bottle shattered. Glass shards flew everywhere. But Leo shielded her—none reached Elizabeth.
Instead, the glove on his right hand tore to shreds. Beneath, a hideous scar revealed itself.
“Wh-what? Why are you here…”
Slap!
Leo backhanded Princess Mandelia across the cheek. Her head snapped around, a tooth flying out bloody.
“Ah…?”
The princess touched her cheek in disbelief. She’d never even been hit by her father, let alone some unheard-of commoner.
Leo glared down at her, veins bulging on his forehead.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He ground his teeth like a beast.
“What the hell are you doing?”
His fury suggested he’d kill her. And he wasn’t bluffing. He was holding back murderous intent.
She’d sneaked in while he was gone and tried to murder his daughter. Smashing with a bottle wasn’t attempted murder—what was?
Especially on a child with an injured ankle.
“Dad.”
In that moment, Elizabeth slowly lifted her head to look at him. In her eyes, amid the broken shell, a tiny ember flickered to life.
The lightless gaze regained a faint hue. Not as clear and brilliant as before. But calm, colorless—yet unmistakably alive.
She grabbed his arm and pulled herself up.
“Sit down.”
“I… I want to go somewhere else.”
“…Somewhere else?”
She forced herself to stand, even on her ruined ankle.
“I want to be alone with you, Dad.”
“…”
“Somewhere with no one else.”
Her voice was low but firm. A tone on the edge of resignation and release. Like clutching the last piece of a shattered world.
“…Let’s do that.”
Leo nodded, turned, and crouched down.
“Hop on.”
Elizabeth wrapped around him, clinging tight. He gripped her thighs firmly and headed to the garden.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been piggybacked by you, Dad.”
She giggled softly.
“Tell me anytime next time. Don’t tough it out like today.”
“But… I wanted to look good for you.”
“You don’t need to look good for Dad. I’ll always just see my daughter.”
“Good.”
“So don’t beat yourself up over today, okay?”
“Yeah.”
Elizabeth hugged his neck tight, rubbing her cheek against his nape. Cool night breeze rustled their hair—black and gold.
Under a sky dense with starlight, moonlight and shadows painted every corner of the garden. Though night, everything felt vividly clear.
“Dad, remember that time?”
Elizabeth gazed at the night sky, pulling out an old memory. A mix of longing, wistfulness, and a hint of laughter.
“Which time?”
“You know. When I was twelve? We went to the Ravense Plains to stargaze.”
A brief silence. Leo chuckled.
“I remember. You threw a fit, saying you wanted to live stargazing forever.”
“I meant it.”
“I know. That’s why we rushed a tent and blankets. Gathered firewood in the woods and…”
“Sat in the middle of nowhere, picking out stars all night.”
“You even named them. Fluffy, Puffy, Spiky… what else?”
“Twinkly and Morning Star.”
“Right. You still remember all that?”
“I’ll never forget that day.”
That night on the Ravense Plains, not a whisper of wind—just serene quiet. Young Elizabeth saw a true ‘night sky’ for the first time. No city lights, no people. Just her and Dad, a tent and blanket in the plain’s heart. The world lit by starlight alone.
“Wow… that star just moved!”
Elizabeth exclaimed. Leo smiled.
“Stars move a little. That’s what ‘stars streaming’ means.”
“Really? So… the sky flows too?”
“Yeah. The sky, time, us… everything flows.”
She gazed up quietly. A sky she’d never known. Dad’s unfamiliar expression. Someone aging before her. Someone who knew far more. But right now, someone beside her, watching the same stars.
Then, Elizabeth realized. She didn’t see him as just ‘Dad’ anymore.
Lying beside him, skyward, hearing his breath, nestled in his warm arm. Something went thud deep inside.
Not crumbling or tearing—but settling profoundly.
Ah, I…
She couldn’t finish even in her mind, but the feeling took root. Between respect and affection for her father. Love quietly seeped in.
—It started then. Whenever she saw stars, that night returned. She hid her unspeakable feelings in the sky’s brightest star. Unseen, a single emotion grew that night.
The first time Elizabeth felt love.
The garden was quiet. Elizabeth asked to be set down where the night sky was clearest. Leo gladly spread his coat on the ground.
She’d been silently skyward since. Then softly leaned on his shoulder.
Leo eyed her smooth shoulder.
“Cold? I’ll lend you a coat.”
But she slowly shook her head.
“No. I think it’s time I said it.”
“Said what?”
Elizabeth drew a small breath. Placed hands on his chest and thigh. Feeling his warmth and heartbeat through her palms, she spoke slowly.
“I love you.”
A small voice. But in the night’s hush, it rang huge.
Leo froze. Words failed him.
Feeling his reaction, she hid no more.
“Not as your daughter. As a person… as a woman…”
“……”
“I love you.”
“……”
“It’s been so long. I don’t know when… maybe from that stargazing night.”
No tremor in her words. But the weight of long-buried emotions.
She let out a hollow laugh.
“Weird, right? That’s why I couldn’t say it. I thought I shouldn’t.”
Leo stayed silent. She hugged his neck anyway.
“But… now I have to.”
She closed and opened her eyes. Her blue gaze held him.
A breeze whispered through her hair.
“I love you. Truly… I love you.”