No More Misunderstandings
Enough with the unfair treatment! The meal that Viol had brought spilled everywhere. She tossed it aside and rushed over, snatching the fruit knife from my hand.
"What the hell is this? Where did you get it?!"
She snapped the knife in half in an instant, her voice burning with fury.
"I thought I'd gotten rid of everything dangerous!"
"You left it here yesterday."
"Why did you hide it?"
I hadn't hidden it. I'd kept it to give back to her when she came, but she never showed. I tried to explain, but before I could, she grabbed my hand and checked it over.
"No injuries yet, good."
No, I did cut myself, but I healed it.
With no way of knowing that, Viol looked relieved for a moment before glaring at me ferociously.
"You crazy bastard."
"…."
"Starving you a little and you immediately go for self-harm?!"
Huh? The atmosphere felt off, so I glanced around cautiously, but she jumped to some bizarre conclusion.
"No."
"Don't lie. I saw it with my own two eyes!"
"I was just testing if I could heal myself with my own power."
"So you started with your wrist? Who the hell does that kind of insane shit?!"
I was telling the truth, but she wouldn't believe a word.
"Did the empire's greatest beauty get her pride hurt that bad? Mad that you dared treat me like this?"
"That's not—"
"If you wanted to make me regret it as some kind of protest, why not stab me with it instead? Not hide away like a loser and hurt yourself!"
Damn it! Fine, think whatever you want. Nice words weren't getting through anyway, so I yelled back.
"Don't pretend to care after locking me in solitary!"
"What?"
"Keep someone cooped up in isolation long enough, and even a sane person might start self-harming!"
In truth, I spent so much time lounging in bed back home that I was used to it by now. But I pointed out that normal people might crack, and Viol's expression shifted. She flinched, then made a suggestion as if she couldn't help it.
"How about a quick stroll to get some air?"
"I can't let you outside, but I can show you around the palace grounds."
"At night?"
"Doesn't matter. It's chilly, though—dress warmer."
I threw on some extra layers without complaint. Misunderstanding or not, it had been ages since I'd gotten out. We stepped through the door together.
"What happened, Your Majesty?"
The guard outside asked, but Viol's gaze on him was anything but normal.
"You useless piece of shit. I told you to watch him properly…."
"Let's go!"
She looked ready to beat the poor guy to death, so I hurriedly dragged her away.
"You're showing me the palace, right? Don't worry about anyone else."
"…Fine."
She backed off reluctantly and led me around the palace with heavy steps.
"That's—"
"Lord Seres?"
People passing by in the palace openly stared, recognizing me with wide eyes.
"Why is he out?"
"I heard Her Majesty locked him in solitary."
No wonder they were shocked—I was the prisoner she herself had confined, yet here we were strolling boldly.
"And why is she being so affectionate?!"
Her attitude was downright tender, too. She stuck right by my side, watching to make sure I didn't trip or anything.
"Is that really Her Majesty?"
"I heard she even brings him meals personally."
"What? Talk about—"
"Just like Lord Seres said at the party, Her Majesty…."
As the whispers grew, Viol growled.
"What's the spectacle? Shut up and scram, or I'll kill you all!"
Everyone bolted in fright.
"Too noisy here."
Not satisfied, she changed our route.
"Follow me."
She took me to a garden.
"This is the imperial garden, reserved for royalty. …Like it?"
"It's pretty."
I gave a plain reaction to the vibrant flowers. I wasn't into flowers, so there wasn't much else to say. But.
The real Seres loved this place, didn't he?
There was a scene in the original story where Viol brought him here. She'd noticed him getting depressed in confinement and brought him for a mood boost—a good call.
He must have really loved it. For the first time, the real Seres—who always hated Viol during his confinement—thanked her. And now here I was, in Seres's body, at that very spot. A hard-to-describe emotion welled up.
Did the real Seres love places like this enough to lift his spirits during captivity? Hmm, it was nice and well-kept, but I wasn't that into it.
I imagined the real Seres playing here, picturing my current self dolled up in feminine, pretty clothes, striking poses in the garden.
That was when it happened.
"…Who were you just thinking about?"
Viol said something weird out of nowhere.
"What're you talking about?"
I started to snap back curtly but checked her mood and asked seriously. Her face was dead serious.
"Tell me—who was that woman you were thinking of?"
"…Wasn't thinking of any woman."
I had been thinking of Seres, who was a guy in female form, but I couldn't say that.
"I was thinking of you. Wondering when this crap would end."
I was Seres, so it wasn't entirely wrong. I was telling the truth, but her face twisted even more.
"You get that lovestruck look thinking about yourself?"
"What?"
"Playing dumb? Or do you really not know? You just had eyes full of affection for someone dear. Eyes I've never seen from you before."
Another misunderstanding! With no choice, I told her something close to the truth.
"Actually, I was thinking of a character from a novel I like."
"Bullshit—that wasn't it. Arios? Were you thinking of her?!"
She grabbed my shoulders and shook me, interrogating.
"I did everything! Released your mom and that Arios bitch like you wanted! Least you could do is pay attention to me, right? I brought you all the way here, but you're not even impressed, just mooning over some other woman—are you heartless?!"
"Stop."
The irrational grilling pushed me over the edge; I gritted my teeth.
"Keep this up, and I won't hold back."
I slapped her arms away, and she scoffed.
"Oh yeah? And what'll you do?"
"Resist."
I took a stance, and she blinked in confusion.
"Have you lost it? Fight me?"
"As if. I couldn't beat you anyway. Not fighting—just resisting."
"Think some pathetic resistance will make me stop?"
"Who knows. But I can make it a pain for you."
I pointed out to her.
"You've never trained in martial arts or anything, right?"
"Obviously. Why would I? Born strong as hell."
Yeah, figured. From observing her up close, Viol clearly had no martial training. Odd. In the original, she had a similar mindset but trained as a hobby on top of her natural power. That combo put her second in raw combat strength among the male leads. Why was she different here?
I didn't know why, but it gave me a slim chance.
"…."
I quietly loosened up. Frail, but it moved as I willed. I could probably dodge if I anticipated her moves.
"Warning you now: from here on, you won't touch a thread of my clothes."
"How?"
"I'm actually a martial arts master. Dodging a newbie like you? Easy."
"You, who was bedridden like an invalid—how'd you learn martial arts?"
"Meditation training. Lying in bed, sensing the world's energy."
"Are you actually insane?"
She laughed like I'd said the dumbest thing ever and thrust her palm out. Reacting to the light shove, I moved to dodge—but suddenly, my body went limp.
I couldn't evade; her gentle push sent me tumbling backward.
"Ugh!"
As I fell, Viol yelped in surprise.
"D-don't play dramatic. I didn't push that hard."
"…."
"Seres?"
She called out, but I couldn't respond.
"Ah, aaah!!"
My body—it hurt so much! All my adaptation meant nothing. This pain dwarfed anything before—like my whole body was tearing apart at the seams!
Wh-what the hell? The original Seres never hurt this bad. Not even at the end with his terminal illness! Nothing had happened to worsen my condition. Locked up, sure, but I'd eaten well, rested, even recovered enough to walk.
…Backlash?
Unlike the original, I'd rushed my recovery in a week instead of months. Too fast—strained my body, and now the rebound hit?
Damn it, more bad luck!
"Uh, ugh…."
I screamed in agony until I couldn't anymore, on the verge of blacking out.
"Seres, what's wrong?! Snap out of it! Seres!!!"
The last thing I heard as consciousness faded was Viol calling my name.