By Zephyria 
A pleasant scent wafted in, like a wind blowing from afar. It guided me in the right direction, like a lighthouse in a stormy sea.
Wandering through the depths of my memory, I finally opened my eyes and blinked slowly, trying to gather my wits. I wondered why my heart had been racing, only to realize that my heartbeat was abnormal.
It was as if two hearts were beating out of sync…
As I entertained such absurd thoughts, I suddenly turned my head. Someone was leaning over me, lying down and staring at me. I blankly stared at the face propped up on one hand, observing me from an excessively close distance, before widening my eyes.
“……!”
I quickly rolled off the bed and onto the floor, immediately summoning my sword and swinging it. Terrible pain and chill covered my palm, but I had no time to care. The last place I lost consciousness was the enemy camp…
I tilted my head with a puzzled expression, looking down at the pure white sword I was holding.
What is this?
I stared at the unidentified sword with a bewildered face before lifting my head. A long gash ran across the cheek of the unidentified man, likely from the sword I had just swung, and next to him was a prostrate…
Wolf? No, it’s too big to be a wolf.
“It’s dangerous, let go of it.”
“……?”
The man grabbed my sword and forcefully pushed it down. I tried to pull it away, but it wouldn’t budge. Red blood streamed down the blade from his bare hand gripping the sword.
“Kyle.”
“……”
“Let it go.”
“……”
I couldn’t abandon my weapon in an unknown place. But at his resolute words, I unconsciously loosened my grip. As soon as I let go of the sword, he threw it far away as if discarding a dangerous object and pulled my arm.
I stumbled and fell into his arms, immediately feeling dizzy.
“Legs… I need to get my legs down…”
I mumbled incoherently, and then I heard a gentle voice in my ear.
“You’re safely down. The war is over now.”
I can’t believe it until I see it for myself. How can I trust the words of someone I don’t even know? But a strange sense of relief washed over me, and my strength drained away.
“The Crown Prince will scold me.”
As the thought that the war was over settled in, the face of the Crown Prince, who had been glaring at me with terrifying eyes, flashed in my mind. Even though I was exhausted and in terrible pain, he looked like he wanted to kill me as soon as I took off my helmet.
“No one will say anything to you. If anyone tries to scold you, I’ll beat them up.”
That’s absurd. Who could possibly beat up the Crown Prince? I stared at the man with suspicious eyes, even as my head throbbed.
“Who are you?”
“I’m on your side.”
“What?”
“On your side.”
Hearing those words, my heart pounded. Not with joy, but with fear. An endless, bottomless fear washed over me like a wave.
“No.”
“What’s not allowed?”
“It’s not allowed… I hate it, damn it. Get lost…”
Eventually, I’ll end up killing you again someday.
“Who decided that…”
I was rambling incoherently when I was pulled into a tight embrace. I was too weak to even try to escape. The pleasant scent, seeping into me like a hallucinogen, made me lose even more strength.
“I’ve never listened to you since I was a kid anyway. So don’t tell me what to do.”
A voice whispered in my ear like a constant incantation. I stubbornly repeated that I hated it, like a parrot.
“Keep saying you hate it. Let’s see who wins. I’m going to live longer than you anyway. Even if you keep saying you hate it until you die, I’ll eventually win.”
“What are you talking about, you impudent bastard? Do you know who I am?”
“So what? I am the Imperial Princess Consort.”
“If you keep talking back, I’ll cut off your head.”
“Cut it off.”
“You think I can’t?”
“I can just put it back on.”
I was annoyed that he wouldn’t give in, but I wasn’t particularly angry. I was more surprised. No one had ever talked back to me like this before.
I wanted to keep talking and see how far he could go with his impudence. But I couldn’t keep my mind focused. I barely mustered the strength to warn him.
“Don’t move from that spot until I wake up. You’re dead when I open my eyes.”
My consciousness faded, but I didn’t hear a response. Was he scared by just that? He was so talkative just a moment ago. I really, truly mustered the last of my strength and moved my lips.
“Killing you is canceled…”
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
I opened my eyes with a start.
I stared blankly at the off-white ceiling before turning my eyes. I tried to turn my head, but I couldn’t even twitch a finger, as if my nerves were paralyzed.
“……”
“……”
But I soon regretted that action. The Crown Prince was sitting upright in a chair with his arms crossed, glaring at me.
Our eyes met, but he didn’t open his mouth. It was as if he intended to kill me with his gaze.
But what did I do so wrong? Sure, I killed some people in the Imperial Castle, but they were scum, worse than trash, not even worthy of being called human.
And the kidnapping, did I want to be kidnapped? Of course, I slightly, just a little, induced it, but Gaulaprum ultimately made the decision to do it.
It’s not like I sent a letter directly asking them to kidnap me, so what’s the big deal?
I was diligently defending myself in my mind when the Crown Prince finally opened his mouth.
“I don’t know where to begin.”
I easily understood that this meant, ‘You’ve done about 8,600 things wrong, which one should I tell you about first?’
What’s done is done anyway. If I have to be punished, then I have to be punished.
In one corner of my mind, I wondered if the Crown Prince would slap my cheek like the Emperor. But fortunately or unfortunately, he didn’t raise his hand to me.
“Are you in any pain?”
And the first thing he said was a concern. Before I could even react, the Crown Prince sighed deeply.
“Of course, you are. Your whole body must be aching. You must be in terrible pain. You foolish thing.”
“……”
“If I had been a little later, you might have died. Why would you do such a dangerous thing? Who told you to charge into the enemy camp alone? Who taught you that?”
He didn’t stop, he kept nagging endlessly. As I watched him with a contrite face, I felt like my body was starting to move.
I wiggled my fingers and toes slightly and asked.
“How did the war go?”
Whether he didn’t like the question or was still angry, the Crown Prince’s brow furrowed.
“There were many civilians in the fortress. And while escaping, we encountered quite a few soldiers, most of whom surrendered. They even showed us the way.”
“……”
He still didn’t say anything. At this point, I started to feel uneasy. Did he kill them all in anger? They were prisoners of war, so it wasn’t really my place to interfere with how he disposed of them.
It might be morally questionable, but he was of divine blood, like the Emperor. Who would criticize the Crown Prince for killing a few barbarians from this remote backwater?
As I imagined the worst-case scenario, my thoughts jumped to that point without me realizing it. I hadn’t known him for long, but he didn’t seem like that kind of person. But there was always a possibility.
“Kyle.”
As I was feeling confused, the Crown Prince called me. He stared at me silently with an expressionless face. I had never seen him this angry before.
“What is your dream?”
He asked an absurd question as if he was about to slap me in the face with anger. Not knowing his intention, I couldn’t answer easily, so he spoke instead.
“Is it to protect the peace of the world?”
What nonsense is that? What peace all of a sudden?
I had never worried about the peace of the world. I’m too busy taking care of myself, so what do I care about the world?
I frowned without realizing it, and the Crown Prince asked another strange question.
“There were quite a few severely mutilated corpses in the fortress, did you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I did it to demoralize the soldiers.”
What kind of conversation is this? I couldn’t understand the meaning even as I answered.
“Tearing them limb from limb and scattering their entrails and flesh everywhere?”
“Yes.”
“Did you do all of that? With your own hands?”
He kept asking, even though he already knew. It felt like he was scolding me for doing it, and my stomach churned.