Chapter 88
No matter how sturdy a man from the Castrain family might be, if he slept in that position, there would be a hundred percent chance of a cracking sound when he got up.
“Straighten your back. Otherwise, your spinal surgery will cost at least 17 million won…”
As the soul of a former modern-day person who had lived hearing such warnings, I thought, well, he’s still the savior of my life, so I might as well fix his posture. At the very least, if he slept like that all day, his neck would be ruined.
Should I prop him up against a chair? Or just lay him fully on the bed? But the weight of someone asleep—or unconscious—is surprisingly heavy. Could I really move him properly with my scrawny arms?
Ah, whatever. I’ll just try. At the very least, I need to turn his neck. I reached out, debating whether to grip Raymond’s neck or just turn his head, and placed my hand on his cheek. Since one side of his face was practically buried in the bed, I lightly pushed with my palm. His head turned easily, but…
“…This feels really weird.”
Raymond, who had left his cheek entirely in my hand without resistance, felt so strange it made me uneasy. My own cheeks flushed.
Should I have just roughly grabbed his neck or shoulders and rolled him over? But he was asleep. I was trying not to wake him while fixing his posture. Ah, who am I even making excuses to? There’s no one here to hear me!
Carefully, I adjusted Raymond’s posture. The position that had clearly been terrible for his spine and neck was now much more comfortable.
At least, I wouldn’t have to worry about him rolling around, groaning “Ow, my whole body!” the moment he woke up. I felt a sense of accomplishment. Then, trying not to look at Raymond’s cheek or neck, I slowly got up. I retrieved the slippers scattered on the floor, stepped carefully onto the soft carpet, and quietly opened the door to check the surroundings.
Thankfully, the adjoining room had a balcony.
Planning to soothe my restless feelings with the night breeze, I stepped out without looking back and quietly closed the door behind me.
Creak…
After the faint footsteps had completely stopped, Raymond quietly opened his eyes.
The sound of the door closing and the careful steps on the carpet had been excessively cautious, as if worried about waking someone sleeping.
Even though he had just narrowly survived and been treated, it was him being tended to, yet he noticed every move.
During the time he had been nervously monitored, adjusted, and repositioned, he felt every touch. In fact, he had never actually been asleep.
The somewhat ridiculous position he had been lying in—Titania, unaware—was because Raymond had frozen mid-movement when Titania reached his nose to check his breath, and he had collapsed quietly without anyone noticing.
Before he could react, Titania blinked and checked her own state. He had no choice but to keep his eyes shut, pretending to sleep.
Raymond had saved Titania. High Priest Ilian, panicked, had poured his strength into healing her. But he had said something troubling:
“…Well, your Highness, it’s not that your healing powers don’t work, but, just like last time…”
It was clear he was uneasy about something but couldn’t pinpoint it exactly. Raymond, growing anxious, asked.
“What do you mean? Just like last time?”
“Strangely… the wounds healed, and you’re breathing fine…”
Ilian looked unsettled, as if he sensed something unpleasant but couldn’t say it outright.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me straight, whatever your speculation is.”
“…Well, it may sound cruel, but I always teach my novice priests this first when heading to the battlefield.”
His eyes were deep, the gaze of a teacher who had devoted his life to saving lives and sent his students into blood-soaked battlefields.
“Detach yourself from the ones who are already dead.”
“….”
“Divine power isn’t omnipotent. If someone is truly dead, you cannot save them. That is also the will of God… Healing powers mean nothing to a corpse. You’ll realize it when you try… Ah, this person is gone. There’s no point to my power…”
“….”
“However… last time, I thought it was just my imagination, but when I first infused power into Princess Titania… I felt a strange recoil, as if I were pouring life into someone already dead… It was very brief, and then her body began to recover normally, so I assumed it was a trick of the mind…”
Hearing that, Raymond couldn’t possibly sleep before Titania woke up. His heart felt like it was freezing solid.
But Titania’s behavior?
She worried about his back, looked at him carefully, and gently brushed his hair aside. The moment her fingers touched him, Raymond almost blurted out. The touch at his ear felt hot.
When he was awake, she had acted like a hedgehog trying to keep its distance. Now, knowing he was asleep, she approached calmly like a hedgehog flattening its quills beside its guardian. It was ironic.
Yet he didn’t dislike it. No—he liked it so much it was a problem. His heart raced so loudly he worried the sound would reveal him pretending to sleep.
…Does she not dislike me?
Is she a little concerned?
When her soft fingers caressed his cheek, gently pushed, and strained to move him with her arm and shoulder, Raymond was genuinely flustered, lips twitching. He even flinched slightly.
But Titania, focused on adjusting his posture, didn’t notice.
After positioning him comfortably next to the bed where he had been lying, she left with a proud expression.
She even found her slippers and skipped away lightly like a rabbit through the grass. Raymond thought she was cute and was caught off guard.
“…Titania.”
After confirming the door was firmly closed, Raymond buried his face in his own palms. So many emotions weighed heavily on his chest. He couldn’t put them into words.
The sun warmed his eyelids.
It was remarkably good weather. Considering the days of war they had endured just yesterday, it felt even more wonderful.
A gentle breeze came through the open windows. The hair of the one lying on the bed swayed lightly. On that perfect afternoon, the maid Barbara, a bright platinum-haired girl, looked at Titania with an awkward smile while giving her a cold glare.
“You have to finish all of this.”
Titania looked down at her lap with a sulking expression. The white bowl contained a visibly dark liquid, brimming and sloshing. Her face showed horror, as if she couldn’t imagine what had been put inside. Barbara, who had brewed the medicine as instructed by High Priest Ilian, knew that if she revealed its contents, Titania would refuse to drink it.
“…It’s too bitter.”
“You almost threw up last time from eating too much sweet stuff. This is the last dessert.”
Barbara pointed firmly to the tiny chocolate in the small glass placed next to the medicine bowl. Titania’s face grew even gloomier. Barbara had no intention of letting her off.
Barbara, who had cared for Titania since she recuperated in the empress’s palace, had been trained at the empress’s court from a young age. Her status was unquestionable, being the daughter of a maid brought from the Marquis of Integria by the Empress herself.
Superior to most noble-born maids and well-versed in etiquette, Barbara knew she would be a great help to Titania.
Barbara had thought the same. That the accident-prone princess threw herself into danger without hesitation, and yet Barbara, being “just a regular maid” assigned by the Empress, would still be able to stay by her side.
Barbara was no fool.
After all, expecting the princess to have no secrets while swinging swords and fighting monsters she had never even heard of was naive. Following the Castrain family like ducklings after their mother, giving them people to accompany her, treating them with a mysterious wall even while trusting them… she understood it all.
