Where Kyle is dealing with a lot of unwanted and bewildering feelings and grows into a fit of rage when his suspicion arises.
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Episode 139. About 10 months (16)
Hans stood still and looked at the field quickly being cleared up. What he had planned didn't happen.
[Aim for the First Prince's leg. Well, if you miss and he gets fatally injured, it won't really matter...]
Hans lifted his hand calling the knight standing behind him. He wore a black eye patch over his right eye.
The knight, sporting snow covered boots, bowed deeply.
As a vassal of the Button Family, he'd become Hans's most eager hands and feet.
"We need to solve this quickly."
"What do you want me to do with the cabin?"
“Burn it.”
"Yes!"
The knight bowed behind Hans's back and immediately disappeared.
***
Inside the Hunting Ground Barracks.
It was the afternoon just before the sun was about to disappear behind the mountains.
"You will have to go to the mansion and apply it again. The wound isn't deep, but it's wide, so I think it will take some time to heal. I'll apply some rubbing alcohol right now…!"
Crack!
The barrack doors opened at once, and the afternoon winter sun suddenly poured in.
I saw the silhouette of a man through the light. It was Kyle, the Second Prince.
"Your Highness?"
At the sound of my startled voice, the people sitting in front of me quickly rose from their chairs.
"Ah!, greetings to the Second Prince, the light of the future."
Doctor Nolan and Lady Olive hurriedly bowed politely.
I, too, tried to hide my surprise and got up alongside them to salute.
"What brings you here ...?"
“That’s what I want to ask. First of all... Treatment."
"Pardon?"
"Continue the treatment."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The Second Prince slowly approached us. Standing in a daze, we all gingerly sat down at his command.
The young doctor, who was fine a while ago, had shaky hands.
"Hic! Hic...! Hic!"
Olive began to hiccup.
Putting aside the Prince's aura, I was surprised to see the head of the Military and general manager of the Security Department suddenly appear. It would have been strange not to be as he came in wearing his armour and sword.
The Second Prince approached the temporary stove and added a few more pieces of firewood. I wondered if he was aware of the awkward atmosphere.
Squeak!
He pulled up a chair close to us and sat down.
Arms crossed, he stared at us. His expression was so cold and dark that Lady Olive's hiccups got worse and the young physician's face was whiter than mine.
"Forget that I'm here and treat her."
Whether it was because he saw the doctor's trembling hands and bloodless face, the Second Prince said something as thoughtful as it was absurd.
How could he treat me as if you weren't there? Even if you weren't sitting just two steps away, with your stare and that frown… Even veteran soldiers would be frightened.
I was dumbfounded, but he was still a Prince. Since I was to become his Second Aide soon, it was better for me to stay still.
But why? Why was he angry? Was there something wrong? I saw Nick block the arrow, no one was hurt. Did something happen that I was unaware of?
As my thoughts started to drive me crazy, I looked up and faced the Second Prince.
"… Focus on the treatment. Nothing's wrong."
Seeing the fear in my widened eyes, he shook his head slightly.
"Ah… Yes, Your Highness."
Relieved, I focused on the treatment as I got accustomed to the stinging pain in my hand.
Only the sound of the fire and Olive's weakened hiccups filled the room for a while.
Maybe it was because it was so warm in the barracks, but the chills had disappeared at some point, and my physical condition improved.
Perhaps knowing that nothing bad had happened relaxed me as well.
After some time, the young medic finished his ministrations and stood up. The Prince, Lady Olive and I also rose from our seats.
He then proceeded to explain the precautions I had to take in a somewhat calmer state.
"Don't remove the bandage and keep your hand away from water for the time being. I'll check the wound again tomorrow morning and change the bandage. Please come to the medical office in the annex."
"I will, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to get treated quickly."
"Of course! It's my job…"
"Will tomorrow's treatment be enough?"
The young doctor's shoulders shuddered under the Prince's unexpected question.
"Pardon?"
"I asked if one more treatment tomorrow will be enough for her to heal properly."
Why are you asking that in such a scary tone? …. The young doctor is going to suffer a heart attack.
Unsurprisingly, the young physician bowed his head and had to press his hands tightly together so they wouldn't shake again.
"Well... No. I'll have to examine the progress tomorrow and decide whether further treatment is needed."
"What about the pain?"
"It will subside using the herbal medicine I prescribed. Isn't that so, Aide?"
"Yes, The pain is all but gone, thank you! Woohoo!"
The Second Prince seemed to look at me when I smiled, but I couldn't be certain because it was such a short glance.
"I see. Give your name and rank to the knight station outside."
The doctor raised his head in surprise.
"Oh, God, is there something wrong?"
"Overtime pay. My chief of staff will pay you separately."
Wow. Welfare benefits.
"I shall. Thank you, Your Highness."
“Are you affiliated with the Palace?” The Prince asked Lady Olive, who was discreetly standing behind the physician.
Startled by the question, as if she never expected the Prince to talk to her directly, Lady Olive hugged the cape tightly to her chest.
Even though she had been through many things today, her eyes seemed clearer.
"Pardon? Yes. I'm Olive Benson, a Third Aide temporarily dispatched from the Palace."
"You're Count Benson's daughter."
"Yes, Your Highness."
“I heard you fell together, are you unhurt?”
Olive, whose face turned red in an instant, bowed her head as if thrilled.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking."
“Thank you for everything. Why did you come to the Hunting Grounds?”
"I was on the way to deliver this cloak to the First Prince at the Empress's orders."
The Prince's gaze rested for a moment on the splendid cloak and then briefly nodded.
Immediately after that, he called the guards outside the barracks and told them to prepare a carriage and ordered Olive and the doctor to wait outside until the carriage arrived.
I followed them and greeted him.
"Then I'll get going too..."
"Wait a minute!"
Had I misheard that the Second Prince's voice, which was calm until a moment ago, had become low and rough again?
I carefully examined his face. It was definitely quite different from when the medic and Lady Olive were talking to him. The young woman scurried out of the barracks with worried eyes and whispered farewells under the unusual atmosphere.
"... Then, I'll wait outside."
The barracks door suddenly closed, and silence instantly fell.
He was obviously angry, but I had no way of knowing exactly what was causing it. I looked at his face while slowly sitting back down on the chair.
The Prince, who poured water into a glass and handed it to me, sat down in the opposite chair.
“Your hand, really… Are you okay?”
"Oh, yes. The pain is gone. I think he's a great doctor. Hehe."
“Are you laughing?”
"What?"
This time he was really angry.
Why?
***
"Why are you angry, Your Highness?"
Kyle grew angrier. Seeing her asking him that with puppy eyes and a pale face sent him into a rage.
He couldn't stand to see her sitting there with her ashen visage.
He was furious to see bandages around her small white hand and was even more irritated that he had to watch this woman pretend that her wound was inconsequential and laugh it off.
But what upset him the most was his own helplessness after seeing the wound was bigger than he'd expected, and his inability to control his raging feelings.
Desperation flooded him.
This feeling, which he’d never felt before in his 27 years of life, was confusing and embarrassing.
Until now, he had always prioritized one goal in his life.
To be sitting on the throne as the highest power in the Empire and cut out the rot and decay instilled and controlled by the Toulouse Family.
It was the most beautiful way to get his revenge.
Then, this stranger came into his life, unexpected and unannounced.
She swept in like a hurricane and broke his grip, instilling strange and hurtful feelings where his control once reigned.
A very bizarre and awkward feeling.
A peculiar and uncomfortable sentiment that was hard to grasp.
He quietly clenched his fist. His nails dug into his palm, but it was fortunate since the pain cleared his mind.
"… I usually get angry when my subordinates don't value their bodies."
He spoke slowly as he remembered, but looking at it, it was also true.
"Oh, I see. I didn't think you'd care so much about your subordinates... Thank you, Your Highness."
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"No way. I mean it."
"I don't feel any sincerity, but I'll believe it."
"Haha. I was just too impatient, as I was in a rush to do something when I should have been more careful, thus I created this problem. From now on, I will act more cautiously."
As he stared at her smiling face, the strange feeling rose again.
Kyle got up from his seat and looked aimlessly around the barracks.
He desperately needed a drink, but there wasn't any alcohol present. Instead, he found something to stop this unfamiliar emotion from running wild.
Fire.
He went to the already burning heard, put in two more pieces of firewood, and stared intently at the flames.
The feelings were gradually restrained.
After some time, Kyle, having regained some composure, calmly articulated his thoughts.
"... You're in the middle of a serious situation.”
"You're right. There is a devil..."
"What do you mean, a devil?"
She smiled holding back her laughter.
“On Lackton Street, the carriage in the Capital city center, in the Durben Club... You always fall, including on the Hunting Grounds today.”
"Haha. I know. Come to think of it, I'm in a lot of situations."
"Why are you always entangled in dangerous situations like that..."
Kyle suddenly raised his head at the sudden thought.
And slowly looked at Tara.
[… I was on the way to deliver this cloak to the First Prince on the Empress's orders.]
He remembered the words of Count Benson’s daughter and they engraved themselves in his mind one by one.
And soon, a very different kind of anger violently engulfed his entire body.
'The timing of bringing the cloak to the First Prince was so... What if Tara hadn’t knocked down the Benson girl, what if he hadn't shown up on time, and she brought the cloak to him?'
He turned towards her.
Was this suspicion reasonable? Was it too much of a leap? No, it was possible. A likely hypothesis!
"Why are you looking at me like that...!"
“Are you deceiving me?”
"Pardon?"
In an instant, anger filled his heart. He was also infuriated with himself for taking so long to notice this strange occurrence.
"... What is this? Tara Elias, who are you?"