Chaptr : 10. The Cursed Young Noble (6)
‘I thought he was with someone.’
But looking around, Aksion was alone. The footprints confirmed it.
Hearing a voice must have been her imagination. Elia deleted the error from her memory.
“Why did I come all the way here?”
“I’m not sure.”
Aksion answered quietly. Elia looked at him with wonder.
‘How can such a gentle person be the mastermind behind this?’
It was hard to believe.
His handsome face looked especially forlorn today, like someone who was sad without shedding a tear.
Elia unconsciously reached out her hand to him.
Her cheek brushed softly against the palm of her hand. Elia brushed under Aksion’s eyes.
“…Princess?”
“Ah, sorry.”
No matter how gentle someone was, touching his face carelessly was inappropriate.
Elia apologized, and he avoided her gaze. He didn’t seem angry.
Rather, he looked almost embarrassed.
‘What is he thinking now?’
Elia couldn’t help but ask.
“You don’t dislike me, do you?”
It would be troublesome if he hated her.
‘If I had time to approach him slowly, it might be different. But things are urgent now.’
She knew she had to be cautious, but she was anxious, never knowing when the emperor might reach out here.
Elia was thinking about how to handle the situation.
“That’s not the case.”
He didn’t seem upset about what had just happened. While Elia felt relieved, he continued.
“Princess, you must not touch me.”
Aksion stepped back. He remained expressionless and seemed to consider his words perfectly reasonable.
Elia frowned. She stepped forward and grabbed Aksion’s hand.
“Why? Are you afraid of catching something?”
“Wait…”
“Young Master, look at me.”
The more Aksion tried to step back, the tighter Elia held his hand.
A few minutes seemed to pass.
“You’re fine, right?”
Elia slowly released her grip and opened her palm toward him.
Her hand was completely fine. In fact, the hand that had been frozen from holding his warmth was now thawed.
“…But…”
Aksion looked startled.
No one had ever touched him like this or confirmed he was unharmed.
‘He looks troubled.’
The more flustered Aksion became, the more Elia’s heart ached.
Through him, she was projecting her own childhood.
‘I know it’s rude…’
She had only realized after turning back time that she was never at fault.
Elia’s gaze pierced Aksion. He finally spoke.
“Princess, you don’t find me repulsive, do you?”
“Why would I?”
“Because it would be natural for you to dislike me.”
Aksion spoke as if he always had a predetermined answer.
‘I have to make sure about this part.’
Elia cupped his cheeks, meeting his eyes.
“I don’t dislike you, Young Master. I don’t find you repulsive either.”
Her violet eyes shone with unshakable truth.
“You know… why did you save me?”
Before Aksion could answer, Elia brought up the question she had wanted to ask.
“…!”
She grabbed his arm and rolled up his sleeve.
There were fang marks stretching from his wrist to his elbow.
“You didn’t even say you were hurt.”
Elia took out the medicine she had brought and applied it to his wounds.
Aksion stared blankly at her careful touch on his skin.
‘After being hurt by someone like that… and yet he saves a complete stranger.’
Elia muttered silently but didn’t speak it aloud.
“All done.”
After wrapping his arm with a bandage over the medicine, she finally let go of him.
She had come to talk to him, but her bigger purpose was to tend to his injuries.
Aksion fiddled with the bandaged arm for a while, then suddenly spoke.
“…Because it was sparkling.”
“Sparkling? What do you mean?”
Confused, Elia asked. Aksion blushed and pointed to her hair.
“You mean this?”
Elia shook her golden hair that reached below her chest.
‘Wait… could this be the reason he saved me…?’
Seeing her incredulous expression, Aksion nodded.
“I kept watching because it was sparkling and beautiful.”
So… he saved her simply because her hair sparkled and was beautiful.
“Like a crow or something…”
Elia muttered in disbelief.
She hadn’t expected a special reason, but hearing this left her feeling oddly empty.
“Well, whatever.”
Elia shrugged.
Whatever the reason, it was certain that Aksion had saved her. That was reason enough.
Putting her flustered feelings aside, she spoke.
“You know, Young Master… there’s never been anyone who genuinely liked me.”
Elia decided to be honest.
She saw that Aksion was listening.
Elia smiled at his cute expression and revealed the painful truth inside her.
“I thought everyone liked me, but it was all fake. All lies.”
Those she thought were family had offered her as a sacrifice for their own safety.
‘Even if I die again, I’ll never forget that moment.’
Her mouth tasted bitter.
But she didn’t want to show it in front of Aksion. She smiled brightly at him.
“So… could you be on my side?”
The wind behind her stirred around Aksion.
He didn’t answer, just stared at her, captivated.
“We could be good friends and partners.”
“Partners…”
Elia nodded.
Since she had been honest, she decided to reveal her true feelings.
“I don’t want to go back to where I came from.”
If she returned to the palace now, she would never escape again.
‘It would follow the fate that’s been set.’
She would become a half-hearted sacrifice again, and Aksion would meet his end as the villain.
‘At first, I wanted everything to fall apart.’
After turning back, she had been consumed with betrayal and anger. She even thought of running away to a place no one could find her. But…
‘If that happened, neither I nor Aksion would change.’
She would live a life consumed by anger, trusting no one, and Aksion would live a life of pain and misunderstanding, eventually going mad again.
‘I won’t let that happen.’
Elia swore again and again.
Knowing the truth, she had the right to change her fate.
“If I don’t want to go back, what should I do?”
Perhaps because she had revealed her true feelings, Aksion finally looked at her.
That alone was enough of an answer. Elia smiled and whispered in his ear.
“Let’s get married.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Let’s get married. You and me, Young Master.”
Aksion still looked like he had misheard.
Finally calming down, he asked again.
“Didn’t you just say partner?”
“You don’t understand, Young Master. Even if we marry, we can still be friends.”
She had thought him just shy, but he was a man with Confucian values installed.
Elia waved her hand as if to say, don’t worry.
“There are plenty of couples like that. And…”
Elia got very close to him, until his back touched a wooden pillar, leaving him nowhere to escape.
She smiled, satisfied.
“If someday you really fall in love with someone else, I’ll divorce you.”
A shadow of concern fell over Aksion. Elia patted his shoulder as if to say not to worry.
‘I’ll have to tame him properly.’
She only hoped that neither she nor the villain would ruin everything.
If this gentle and naive personality… could just become a little more human, maybe everything would work out.
