Chapter 67
“Hmm?”
Florian, who had been hunting apart from Gredi’s party, looked up at the sky.
A large hawk was circling above him. Hastily putting on his gloves and raising his arm, Florian watched as the hawk landed on his forearm as if it had been waiting for him.
“What is this?”
Florian’s expression instantly stiffened as he removed the piece of cloth held in the hawk’s long, sharp talons. It was the handkerchief that had decorated Rosella’s riding outfit.
Few knew that it was the handkerchief she had not yet managed to give to Emperor Mateo. If Florian hadn’t seen Rosella being refused in front of the Emperor, he probably wouldn’t have known who the owner was.
Florian immediately turned his horse. The waterlogged piece of handkerchief seemed unusual.
Drip.
Raindrops began falling from the heavily clouded sky. Florian’s heart grew uneasy.
As he rode, the hawk soared high into the sky. Florian followed it as if it were guiding him.
The drizzle soon turned into a heavy downpour. Florian’s anxiety grew in tandem. The diagonal rain constantly obstructed his path.
After a long ride, Rosella’s hawk finally perched on a tree branch.
Florian quickly leapt off his horse.
“Your Majesty!”
The moment he spotted Rosella unconscious and floating on the water, Florian plunged into the lake without hesitation.
“Your Majesty!”
He struck her cheeks a couple of times and then pressed his lips to hers without hesitation.
Like giving a dying life his own breath, Florian’s resuscitation was desperate and almost ritualistic.
“Please!”
Whether it was Florian’s desperate plea or fate itself, Rosella violently coughed, expelling the water.
Cough, cough.
Each cough made her chest heave. Her pale cheeks regained color. Rosella, lying on the ground, barely opened her eyes.
“Are you conscious?”
To Florian’s urgent voice, her dazed eyes slowly turned toward him. Her lips, once pale, were returning to their natural red.
“Where… am I?”
The place was unfamiliar.
The lake in Orante Forest was large and vast. Even ten years ago, when the Crown Prince had drowned there, it took a long time to recover his body.
The lake was wide, deep, and expansive.
Cough, cough.
Thinking of the Crown Prince’s death, Rosella coughed violently. The bloated body floating on the water came to mind as if it had happened yesterday. The thought that he drank that water made her gag.
“Your Majesty!”
Florian wrapped his arm around Rosella’s shoulders as she vomited with a flushed face. Rosella pushed him away with a scream.
“Ah!”
Her ankle had swollen from hitting something while falling into the water, and even slight movement caused extreme pain.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”
Florian lifted Rosella into his arms.
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden height, she let out a low scream.
“It’ll be more dangerous to stay here as we are. We need to move.”
The rain poured heavily through the thick branches. Their untethered horses had already disappeared, and Rosella’s hawk had vanished in the downpour.
Florian, carrying Rosella, entered the forest. In such a vast forest, there would likely be a hunter’s or herbalist’s cabin.
Feeling Rosella’s body temperature drop sharply, Florian quickened his pace. The heavy rain followed closely behind them.
Haah.
White breath escaped with every exhale. The darkness, deepened by the rain, made it impossible to gauge the time.
Florian paused, adjusting Rosella in his arms.
“There!”
Rosella, clinging to Florian, pointed with delight toward a corner of the dark forest. It was a small cabin, likely used by a hunter or herbalist. Florian hurried toward it, exhausted.
Luckily, the cabin was unlocked. Though shabby and a bit dirty, it was the perfect refuge from the storm accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Florian set Rosella down on a bed of straw.
“Ah!”
Despite his caution, her ankle seemed to strain, and she groaned softly. Seeing the furrow on her delicate forehead, Florian moved quickly.
“Stay still.”
Florian searched the cabin and quickly lit a fire. As the flickering flames illuminated the darkness, warmth spread.
Shhhh.
The rain poured even harder. Wiping her wet face with his hand, Florian turned to her.
“I’ll take a look.”
Without waiting for permission, Florian pulled Rosella’s ankle toward him.
“Ah!”
“The wound is deeper than I thought.”
“What… what are you doing?”
Florian removed his shirt, alarming Rosella, but regardless, he wrapped rough wood with his shirt.
“We need a splint. The wood is rough, and if we don’t wrap it, you’ll get hurt.”
Despite hesitating, Rosella allowed him to work. Florian’s skilled hands applied the treatment with precision. His large shadow flickered in the firelight as he moved around her.
After stabilizing her ankle, Florian examined the cabin. They could stay for a day or two safely, but that applied more to a hunter or herbalist. It was uncertain whether Rosella could endure that long.
Florian stood after a moment’s thought.
“I’ll go get help.”
“What?”
Rosella was startled by Florian’s words. Thunder cracked overhead, rattling her ears.
“The Emperor must have sent a search party knowing you were missing. He might even have come himself.”
“…Impossible.”
Rosella shook her head. By now, the Emperor had lost interest in her. With Gredi’s attention gone as well, Rosella was like a kite with its string cut—unsupported and unprotected.
The Empress’s position she held could be abandoned at a sigh from Emperor Mateo.
“Your Majesty.”
“I’m scared being alone here. Please stay with me.”
“But—”
“Please. I need you right now, Florian.”
Florian hesitated, then sat down. Venturing outside blindly could have made him a victim as well.
The two spent time in silence, the cabin filled only with their breathing, aside from the storm outside.
Rosella, glancing at Florian resting against the wall, finally spoke.
“Did you find the person you were looking for?”
In a small cabin, all one could do was talk. The rain showed no sign of stopping, and the silence was unbearable.
“…Yes.”
“You found them?”
Florian nodded silently.
“That’s a relief. You seemed to care a lot.”
Rosella bowed her head, hiding her face. She fixed her gaze on the flickering flames to hide her disappointment.
“I recognized them at first sight.”
“….”
“But I don’t know if they didn’t recognize me or were pretending not to.”
Florian awkwardly smiled, lowering his head. His hand scratched the back of his neck, full of lingering feelings.
“….”
“Just being near them makes me happy, but I can’t help wanting more—it’s troubling.”
“….”
“I feel like I’m becoming a burden to them.”
“….”
Florian turned to look at Rosella. Their eyes met in the flickering firelight. Both gazes held each other unwaveringly.
“I should leave before these feelings grow stronger.”
Rosella’s heart sank at Florian’s words.
His gaze at her was demanding—should he leave, or could he stay by her side?
Rosella was overwhelmed by the affection in Florian’s eyes.
If she hadn’t realized how he looked at her, it would have been a lie.
His gaze mirrored her own, and she had never received a reciprocation for her love.
Gredi despised her, and Mateo, intoxicated with the victory of taking what his half-sibling wanted, often forgot Rosella existed beside him.
“Ask. Ask her directly.”
Florian’s eyes widened. Surprised by her answer, he hesitated for a moment before turning toward her decisively.
“Your Majesty, do you wish for me to leave?”
“No. Don’t leave—come closer.”
The Empress’s words astonished him, and his eyes widened further.
“….”
Outside, the rain continued. The small cabin was a perfect refuge for them.
Florian crawled toward Rosella. The space was so narrow that stretching his hand brought him within reach.
“Closer.”
Obeying her command, Florian lost all restraint and pressed his lips to hers. Rosella, as if waiting, opened herself to him.
“Hhnn.”
She bit her lower lip, moaning. Wrapping her hands around his body, Rosella pulled him close.
Warmth poured over them. She didn’t hesitate to hold him.
“Hah.”
Even in brief breaths, Florian’s lips did not leave hers. Rosella, running her hands over his back, unfastened his belt.
“…Your Majesty.”
“You told me to come closer.”
Their soaked clothes were removed, and their heated breaths mingled at their lips. Florian moved closer as she commanded.
Every wet kiss tilted Rosella’s head back.
Lightning flashed, and thunder split the sky.
Rosella’s eyes, burning with desire, gazed blankly at the low, dirty cabin ceiling. Moans escaped her lips as she experienced satisfaction for the first time.
