Episode 79: How a Mercenary and Her Husband Survive a Shipwreck (2)
Regina stacked stones at the cave entrance and sat against the wall. She spoke to Valentin, who was leaning there.
“Hmm?”
“If you keep wearing wet clothes, your body will lose heat. It’s better to dry them.”
Without hesitation, Regina took off her hunting jacket. She quietly admired that the clothes weren’t torn or damaged. That likely helped them survive the assassins’ attack.
Despite Regina’s warning, Valentin still wore his dripping wet clothes. He stared at the white skin exposed above his corset, where many scars showed.
Regina was glad the corset could be separated. She unfastened its laces.
“If you’re shy about taking everything off, at least take off your top.”
She didn’t plan to go totally naked. She kept on the relatively thin bottoms and removed the top as much as she could.
Except for the underwear that covered her chest, Regina spread her top out beside the torch to dry.
Across her smooth body, one scar was deeper and fiercer than the others. It rolled like a wave whenever she moved.
Valentin realized at once that the scar at her waist was what tormented her during rainstorms. It was an astonishing mark—how she had even survived it was shocking.
“Valentin.”
Rain hit the stone entrance. It had finally started to rain. Despite Regina urging him, he stayed still for a long moment, then slowly moved.
When he peeled off the wet clothing, Regina’s brow tightened.
His upper body, which he had wrapped up so carefully, was truly terrible. Where muscle used to be, the flesh had melted and then reattached. There was hardly a patch of smooth skin the size of a palm.
Regina understood immediately why he hid his upper body.
“What kind of bastard did this to you?”
She stepped close, matched his eye level, and without fear ran her hand slowly over his burn scars. Valentin reached and traced the scar on Regina’s waist with his fingertips.
“This is my fault—there’s no one to take it out on.”
“What kind of life did you live? Pretending to limp, hiding your skill, and setting my body on fire.”
“You curious?”
His hand suddenly pulled Regina hard. His solid chest pressed her cheek against him. He was cold to the touch.
“So we can warm each other up, right?”
Regina did not push him away. Already the places where they touched were growing warm. The contact was intense for Valentin.
She was annoyed that he took off his clothes so casually and acted like nothing had happened.
The tendons on the back of his hand stood out as he touched her waist.
“Do people call it dirty?”
“…Who said your body is dirty?”
“They all said so.”
Regina growled as if she wanted to hunt down whoever had said that.
Valentin held her like a comfortable cat and chuckled; her head nodded against his chest. He laughed so much that her pale hair shook.
He didn’t know how she might react to hearing about his past. He didn’t want to show an unfamiliar face to her and test her reaction.
“Do you want me to tell you about my past? It’s boring and not fun.”
“The night we have to endure will be long and dull, Valentin.”
There was nowhere left to retreat. Only after the wood popped in the fire did Valentin begin to speak.
If you were a bird kept in a cage since birth, would it feel like this? Valentin frowned remembering how his mother had rubbed his head with oil so the sun would shine on his face.
He could not sleep for four hours. His mother called many teachers, saying he needed to be better than the true heirs in every way.
“You’ve had it rough. What is that power worth anyway?”
“I don’t care about it.”
Valentin’s mother did not know that her young son met Bertonin in secret. They met not far from Valentin’s house, in a shabby warehouse, acting like brothers.
“Valentin, don’t worry. If I become emperor, I’ll protect you. I’ll deal with the hard things. You and the others can enjoy life.”
“Don’t cry about the training, big brother.”
The brothers were nine and twelve. Their gentle talk was warm like spring wind. Bertonin loved Valentin’s soft cheeks and fussed over him.
“Annoying.”
“Hey, stop acting like a noble. You’re silly.”
“It doesn’t suit you.”
They laughed at small things. The warehouse felt like a cozy home.
“Ah, I should go.”
“I’ll walk you.”
Even if he only walked with him partway on a quiet path, Valentin’s mother would make a fuss if she knew. She often could not control her anger.
Bertonin didn’t refuse. He wanted to stay with his plump little brother even a minute longer.
But their small pleasure brought great trouble.
“Oh my, my two sons together—what a surprise.”
Empress Dowager Elba had come down a path and caught them. No one expected her to take that route that day.
“…Mother.”
“Why so scared? Do you think I’ll scold you for brotherly love?”
Meeting his mother made Bertonin shrink. Very few people met Elba confidently. Even Valentin’s fierce mother could not be bold in front of her. But Valentin was different.
“May my brother and I be together?”
“When did I ever stop you?”
“Really? Don’t adults dislike it?”
The small child asked boldly. Elba felt both a fresh shock and deep disgust. How had this bastard grown so big?
She raised her parasol and stared at Valentin. He looked somewhat like the emperor—the bright ruler people praised.
‘I bet they don’t know how cruel that wise emperor really is.’
The northern colonization began to drive out minority peoples. The emperor supported it. Smart rulers know how to be cruel. Elba and the emperor were different in style but similar in essence.
A shadow of doubt and threat spread. She had been told the child of a mistress could show promise.
“…Of course. But it’s late. Let’s go back, Bertonin.”
Elba called her son and brought back the parasol she had set aside.
“Yes, mother.”
Bertonin did not want to leave, but he gave Valentin a look and stepped under his mother’s parasol. Elba turned and whispered to Kablen.
“Kablen, I’ll need you.”
Bertonin wanted to ask why. But just being near her made him shiver.
That night, the palace echoed with sharp screams. There are few secrets in the imperial palace.
After meeting Elba by the path, Valentin’s mother erupted, scolding him without end.
“You—! You agree with my rival, don’t you!”
Her shrieks were harsher than breaking porcelain.
The woman who had borne him was furious at the idea she was a mistress. She didn’t care if her son’s cheek was torn.
Though she came from a poor baron family, she had dreaming hopes of royal fortune. Meeting Elba had kept that dream alive.
“I never thought that, Mother.”
“You thought it! You—! You’re a prince of the official line; what am I supposed to be? Do you even see me as your mother?”
Valentin’s head ached from the harsh questioning. He was tired of hearing the same things.
Legally, Valentin was Elba’s son. The empire did not officially recognize the emperor’s mistress, so the mistress’s children had no place in official records.
“Yes, of course I think of you as my mother.”
So he kept standing there, even if the words hurt his cheeks.
Valentin stepped forward to calm his mother. He stretched his legs as far as he could to make up for his small height. Still, his mother’s cold eyes met him.
