SLDS 66

The bathroom, if you could call it that, was a humble space. The prepared wooden bathtub was so small it was barely big enough for one person to sit in.

When Cecil was placed inside the round wooden tub, the warm water rose above his chest. Alexis carefully laid Cecil’s head back and then perched himself on the edge of the tub.

He rolled his long sleeves up to his elbows. Then, he picked up a clean towel, soaked it thoroughly in the bathwater, and squeezed it out.

There was no soap and no fragrant oil, so all he could do was pour clean water over him and rub his skin with the wet towel. Even though his touch was clumsy, Alexis took meticulous care as he washed Cecil’s neck and face.

Cecil, being tended to, was the picture of peace. His clean-washed face had regained its original clear complexion, and there wasn’t even the slightest tremor in his closed eyelids.

Water dripping from his hair trickled down his face, collected at the tip of his chin, and then fell onto the surface of the water below, drip, drip.

It was the only sound in the quiet bathroom. At that, Alexis paused his hand and gazed at Cecil.

“I still resent you. I can’t forgive you.”

He tossed the towel he was holding onto the floor. A snort mixed with a sigh escaped him.

“I get angry when you’re hanging around in front of my eyes, and I worry when you’re not. What am I supposed to do? How did it come to this? I have never once doubted a decision I’ve made. But you have become the exception. What do you think I should do about this, Cecil.”

Alexis stared intensely at Cecil’s face.

As if the piercing gaze had a physical form, Cecil furrowed his brow. A slight reaction followed, as if he might wake up, but his heavy eyelids didn’t so much as twitch.

“Talking all this nonsense to a guy who can’t even stay conscious.”

Muttering to himself, Alexis let out a short laugh. The warm water was starting to cool, and he had washed off most of the sweat. He was leaning over to get Cecil out of the tub when it happened.

He caught a glimpse of something like a scar on Cecil’s chest. Alexis narrowed his eyes.

It didn’t seem recent, more like some time had passed… It also looked like a very unusually shaped scar.

He tried to look closely, but the thin fabric of the clothing undulated in the water, constantly obstructing his view.

Alexis slowly submerged his hand into the water. The moment he tried to part the collar of the shirt to get a better look, Cecil’s hand came up and abruptly seized his wrist.

“…Your Highness.”

Cecil slowly lifted his eyelids. His consciousness had finally returned, and his emerald eyes focused for the first time in a very long while.

“You’re finally awake.”

Alexis flicked his wet hands dry. Watching him get up nonchalantly, Cecil lifted his head. He had to grab his forehead, as his head was still dizzy.

“What in the world… happened?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I know that… you came to rescue me, Your Highness.”

A faint smile traced Alexis’s lips. He picked up a dry towel he had set aside and began to dry his arms, looking completely unconcerned.

“If you know that, then that’s enough. You don’t need to worry too much about the rest. The drug you took has also been dealt with.”

“The Marquis… what about him?”

“Are you curious?”

Cecil frowned and gave a small nod. The situation was coming back to him in fragments. He wasn’t certain, but he clearly remembered Alexis swinging his sword at the Marquis.

Alexis straightened his rolled-up sleeves and replied.

“I barely left him his life. Once he recovers, I plan to throw him somewhere far away in the countryside.”

“…”

“I dealt with him properly. In that state, no one will recognize him as Marquis Valery. He can’t see, speak, or write, so he won’t be able to ask anyone for help. He will probably live a life worse than death.”

Cecil couldn’t understand. He let out a soft sigh and asked again.

“…Why did you bloody your own hands?”

“Why, you ask?”

“If he had stood trial, he would certainly have been beheaded. His title and all his assets would have been confiscated as well.”

Having neatly arranged his clothes, Alexis leaned against the wooden wall of the bathroom.

“Paying with his death is too easy. I want the Marquis to suffer for a long time.”

He crossed his arms and looked down at Cecil’s face.

“Most importantly, if he stood trial, wouldn’t what happened to you become public knowledge?”

“…”

Cecil was at a loss for words. The meaning contained within the indifferent tone was so heavy and undeserved that his throat felt constricted.

He had thought that things with Alexis were now completely beyond repair. But he had never imagined that, on top of saving him, Alexis would be this considerate.

Complex emotions made his eyes burn. Cecil let out a long sigh, whoo, scooped up water from the tub, and splashed it on his face. It was obvious he was trying to hide his tears, but Alexis pretended not to notice.

“…Thank you.”

“Alright.”

A short reply came back. Alexis, revealing his usual sharp demeanor without reservation, left the bathroom first.

Outside, Claude was waiting with several knights. They had already gathered from the conversation they heard through the door that Cecil had woken up.

“Your Highness, shall I prepare for our return?”

“He’s not in a stable condition yet, so stay for another day to keep an eye on him.”

“But you have been away from the Imperial Palace for too long.”

“I know. That’s why I plan to return first.”

Before leaving the inn, Alexis instructed Claude to look after Cecil’s well-being. Claude, who had naturally assumed he would be escorting the Crown Prince, asked back with some surprise.

“Me, Your Highness?”

It was rare for him to personally entrust someone to Claude. It meant that the person in question was that important.

Frankly, it was difficult to understand. Cecil had tried to harm Yuria, and because of that, he had fallen out of favor with Alexis.

Let’s say that searching all over the capital for the missing Cecil and punishing the Marquis so cruelly could be justified, as the safety of the royal family had been at stake.

But entrusting Cecil’s protection to Claude was a bit of an excessive measure.

“Is there a problem?”

“…No, Your Highness.”

Claude hastily bowed his head. The expression on Alexis’s face, which he had briefly glimpsed, looked as complicated as his own, making it difficult to dare guess his thoughts.

“I will obey your command. Please have a safe journey back to the palace.”

✽ ✽ ✽

As soon as Alexis returned to the Imperial Palace, he had to work frantically.

He had only been gone for two days, yet the state affairs awaiting his approval were piled up like a mountain.

He was so busy that he had no time to spare for anything else. It was better this way. His mind was in such a tangle that even he couldn’t sort it out, so he needed something to distract him for a while.

He was processing the backlogged affairs without a break when a visitor arrived. It was the prince of Temion, who had requested a meeting a few days ago.

Upon hearing the news that Alexis, who had been away from the palace for a short time, had returned, he had braved the discourtesy and come all the way to the office.

“It seems that in Temion, it’s customary to visit unannounced and without permission.”

As if revealing his displeasure, Alexis continued to look over his work even with the guest in front of him.

At this, Johannes bowed respectfully. He, too, was well aware that his actions were a breach of etiquette.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I have something I must tell you, but today is my last day in the Empire, so I had no other choice. I humbly beg your forgiveness for my rudeness.”

Alexis sighed softly and tossed aside the document in his hand.

No matter how busy he was, he couldn’t be rude to the head of a delegation, and a royal from another country at that.

“It is difficult for me to schedule a separate audience. So, say what you have to say now.”

As soon as permission was granted, Johannes took a breath so deep his chest swelled. He was so nervous that his palms were already sweating.

The Crown Prince of the Empire was, just as he had heard, a handsome man, and above all, he possessed a tremendous air of intimidation. Just standing before him made his knees tremble.

“I wish to tell Your Highness the truth about the incident that occurred a short while ago. The one who hurt the Saintess… was not Cecil. It was my doing.”

But he gathered his courage and confessed to all the wrongs he had committed.

From visiting Yuria in the middle of the night and harming her, to begging Cecil to confess in his stead, and even the fact that he was currently suffering from an incurable disease and did not have long to live.

As the confession continued, Alexis’s expression hardened. Leaning his head on his hand, he glared at Johannes with murderous eyes.

“Albrecht IV. Is there not a single lie in what you have told me?”

“I can swear on the name of Temion.”

“This matter is already closed. Cecil confessed on your behalf and has already been punished. All you had to do was return to your home country, so what is your reason for revealing this now?”

“If I leave the Empire… I will probably never be able to see Cecil again until I die. I cannot leave with the friendship I share with my precious friend in ruins. I want Cecil… hoo, I want him to come to my funeral.”

In the suffocating silence, Alexis’s index finger tapped on the desk with a steady rhythm. Tok, tok. It was because he was carefully mulling over Johannes’s words.

“The Saintess… prophesied the date of your death. Are you sure that’s what Cecil said?”

“Yes. I do not have much time left to live. At first, out of a simple desire to live a little longer… I made a mistake I should not have made, but it is different now. Even if I must pay for my sins, I want to spend the rest of my life with a more unburdened heart. Please, I beg you to clear up your misunderstanding of Cecil.”

Johannes pleaded to the very end with a trembling voice. He spoke with such sincerity that his quivering body looked pitiful.