Lucky Vicky
Taking Ethan with me on my first inspection had been an utterly impulsive decision.
But I can say, without the slightest hesitation, that it was the choice I have regretted least in all my life.
Even now, recalling the moment we shared grilled skewers, my cheeks seemed to burn. He had been so dependable then, drawing coins from his pocket in place of me — I, who knew nothing of how the world worked. And then...
"Heh heh, well, that happens! Our young miss has found herself a fine young man, she has. Must be nice, having a sweetheart that capable!"
At that single remark from the shopkeeper, my face grew so hot it felt ready to split, and something tickled in a corner of my chest. A strange, unfamiliar feeling, the first of its kind in my life. A soft warmth welling up, and not entirely unwelcome.
Does Ethan feel the same as I do?
Holding fast to that hope, I stole a glance at him. He only looked sick at the very idea, waving his hands in frantic denial.
"I am merely a distant relative of the young lady of the house I serve. I am only assisting her on an outing. That is all."
At the cold refusal from his mouth, my lifted heart sank in an instant. How maddening he was. Before I knew it my feelings were hurt, and for the first time I sulked at him.
Even as I turned my face from him on purpose and walked on ahead, my heart stayed a tight knot of worry.
What if... my sulking has wounded his feelings?
The instant that thought struck, I startled myself so badly I held my breath.
I, an imperial princess. I, the Empire's First Imperial Princess — was I truly reading the mood of a mere attendant, fretting over how he felt?
I was lost. I could not tell what Ethan was changing inside me.
It was in that very moment.
"Your Highness, danger!"
A desperate cry shattered my thoughts, and Ethan shoved me hard. I fell to the ground with no idea why, and when I lifted my head, what met my eyes was... a violet flash, striking his chest.
"...No."
Time seemed to stop.
Ethan dropped, limp and strengthless, and I ran for him like a madwoman.
"Ethan! Ethan, stay with me! What is this—!"
I gathered him into my arms, but his body hung slack and did not stir. Those bright, living blue eyes had gone dull and unfocused. Against my palm, I felt his warmth vanishing fast.
Terror swallowed my heart. At the thought that I might lose him, pain tore through me as if my whole body were being ripped apart.
A moment later, knights who had arrived too late closed around me and asked in a rush.
"Your Highness! Are you all right!"
As if I could possibly be all right.
I could not answer. I only clutched Ethan as he cooled, and called his name with everything I had.
Please, open your eyes. Do not leave me.
"Christina!"
I screamed until my throat tore. At my call, my most trusted guard knight dropped to one knee.
"Your command, Your Highness."
"E-Ethan—! Take him to a physician at once! The finest physician in the Imperial Palace! Whatever it takes, you will save him!"
My voice cracked, raw with desperation.
"Understood!"
Christina did not hesitate for a heartbeat. She swept Ethan onto her back as if he weighed nothing, and I forced my faltering body up and chased after them, desperate not to fall behind.
The door of the Imperial Palace infirmary shut.
That cold door cut me off from Ethan.
I paced without end before it. How long had passed — an hour? No. It felt like eternity. Again and again I bit at my nails, a thing nothing like me. It felt as though my heart had dropped all the way to my feet and was rolling through the mud.
Why...
Why did it hurt this much? He was only an attendant.
A creak — and before the thought could even finish, the door that had been shut fast swung open. The chief physician of the Imperial Palace appeared, his hair gone entirely white. I seized his arm on reflex.
"Physician! Ethan — what has become of Ethan!"
He seemed briefly startled by my urgency, then bowed his head with composure.
"Your Highness, pray do not worry so. What has taken root in the attendant's body is no high curse of the sort that threatens life. It is nearer to a wasting curse — the kind that clouds the mind and saps one's strength. Conduct a purification rite with holy power at once, and within a day or two he will regain his senses in full."
In that instant, the enormous weight crushing me vanished as if it had never been. Strength left my legs. I barely caught my swaying body against the wall, and relief wrapped me whole.
When the purification was finished, Ethan was moved to the finest guest chamber, the one adjoining my own bedchamber. I remained at his side, wiping the sweat from him with a damp cloth, listening quietly to the sound of his breath.
Then Christina drew near without a sound.
"Have you caught the culprit?"
"Captured alive. He has been confirmed as a low-ranking member of a small mercenary band called the Shadow Rats, parasites clinging to the Empire's Dark Bureau."
"The mastermind."
"...He keeps his mouth firmly shut regarding the client. A spell of mental enslavement has been laid upon him. Interrogation is impossible."
Something inside me went cold and still. The heart that had been fretting over Ethan until a moment ago vanished without a trace, and a chill fury took command of every inch of me. I looked for a moment at his face, pale in sleep, and gave the order in a voice like ice.
"Find whoever is behind this. By whatever means necessary."
Christina said nothing.
"The Shadow Rats. Hunt down every hole they draw breath in, and reduce it all to ash. Overturn the entire Empire if you must. Find the one who dared lay a hand on someone of mine."
"...As you command, Your Highness."
Christina and the knights withdrew without a sound, and stillness returned to the room.
Quietly, I lifted Ethan's hand and closed both of mine around it. A cold hand. Its warmth had not yet fully come back.
"Ethan."
I whispered it against his ear.
"This is an order."
My voice was trembling, ever so faintly.
"...Open your eyes. And never again — not without my permission — are you to get hurt, or collapse, as you please."
Evangeline's whisper brushed my ear, and I thought.
...If I open my eyes right now, this is going to be awkward as hell.
Honestly, my mind had come back a long while ago. When the palace physician began the purification rite, pouring holy power into my body, I felt it clear as day — that horrible insect-crawling sensation, the one that had been creeping over every inch of me, melting clean away. My head had never been clearer.
But I couldn't open my eyes. Do it now, and there was no predicting how this girl would react. For the moment, lying here like a corpse and watching how things played out was the best move I had.
I cracked my eyes and stole a look at her through the narrow gap — cheeks stained with tear tracks, eyes red and bloodshot, a pale slender hand locked around mine. Even that order she'd thrown at the knights a moment ago, cold as sheet ice.
Watching all that heat, I arrived at one fact.
Ah. One wrong step, and I'm getting a ring through my nose. For good.
My goal, start to finish, was to scrape together a thousand gold and leave the Imperial Palace. But judging by Evangeline's reaction, she did not look likely to let me go quietly. If anything, this whole mess seemed to have made her fall completely — over the fact that I'd thrown my life away for her.
Not good. Not good at all.
My sacrifice had been a calculated play for a reward, nothing more. And yet that little performance looked to have toppled the Iron-Blooded Empress completely. This was not the picture I had wanted.
A horrible unease crept in. At this rate, forget thirty romances — I might go to my grave having never dated once, all because of this one woman.
A secret affair with Evangeline. I could pull it off, sure. But what do I get out of it?
The Crown Prince and the rest of the pack fighting for the throne were not going to sit still. They couldn't lay a hand on Evangeline herself, so they'd sink their teeth into her weakest link and not let go. Me. Assassination, blackmail, a frame-up. My head ached just thinking about it.
And above all of that, there was a more important reason.
Ha... I've got this face, and I'm supposed to meet one woman and call it done? That's blasphemy against the gods.
This was the world inside a romance fantasy novel. Countless charming heroines had to be strutting the streets out there. Aloof, mysterious elves, the race of beauty itself. Beastkin young ladies overflowing with wild allure. What a vivid, beautiful world.
My grand plan was to romance my fill, then at the end marry whichever country girl suited me best and settle into a peaceful ending. A life-or-death romance with Evangeline had even less place in it.
For now, I'll stay down another day or so and keep playing unconscious.
I quietly revised the plan.
I've got a read on the situation. All that's left is reward time.
No way they'd let me save an imperial princess with my life and walk away without a single reward. Preferably something solid — a fat purse of gold coins — so I could retire on the spot, without serving out so much as the nine months.
Right. A crisis is an opportunity. Lucky Vicky. That's me.
I arrived at a deeply satisfying conclusion, and beside Evangeline — still nursing me, my hand clasped tight in hers — I sank into a deep sleep with a perfectly easy heart.