***
Carius was so anxious to see Liv, accompanied by only one maid, that he could not take his eyes off her until the moment she left.
He called for Jack Daemon, who was alarmed by Carius’s worry.
“The Empress went to the Prince with one of her attendants. She’s gone to take the carriage, so follow her at once and escort her. No……”
Carius changed his mind and stood up,
“I’ll go. Lord Daemon, take only your best men and escort me.”
Carius’s aide, who was standing beside him at the time, stopped him with a thoughtful look.
“Your Majesty, we are here today to celebrate the accession of the Empress. If both of you leave your seats….”
It was about who would lead the ballroom if the two protagonists were both excused from their seats. Carius only cast a steely glare at his worried aide.
“Don’t you know that nothing is more important to me than the well-being of the Empress and the Prince?”
Soon, Carius hurriedly out with a small number of guards. The guard, who had assessed the situation earlier, hurried back.
“Your Majesty. Due to a problem with the wheels of the imperial carriage, the Empress was crossing the Chabor garden. She’s gone!”
Then Lord Daemon hastily turned his head toward Carius.
“Your Majesty, if it’s the Chabor garden……..!”
Carius was struck with a feeling of unease. Immediately he shouted to Lord Daemon.
“We’ll be crossing the garden too. Hurry up!”
They quickly left the ballroom. The group began to hurry across the garden in a flash. It was at that moment when they walked in silence for a while, straining their eyes and ears. One of them who was escorting in front of them became startled. In their field of vision, they could faintly make out a collapsed form in the distance.
“Um, that’s……!”
The Empress’s maid, who had been hit by an arrow in the back, was lying on the ground, bleeding. One of the knights hurried to check the body temperature of the corpse. Then he turned his head and shouted firmly.
“It looks like she just died!”
Carius hurried over and looked around. Soon an expensive glass shoe came into his sight.
Karius froze in a daze in front of the shoe. It was obvious that it belonged to Liv.
‘No…..’
“I can’t see the Empress!”
Lord Daemon’s voice echoed through the air, and Carius finally came to his senses. Running along the path with the knights, they soon divided into 3 directions.
Two of the paths led across a small bridge outside the garden, and the other led to an empty building. Carius went in the direction his instincts led him.
“I’ll go this way. The rest of you spread out and find the Empress!”
“Your Majesty, it’s not safe for you to go alone!
It was Lord Daemon who stopped him. But Carius had already lost his reason.
“The Empress comes first. We have to find her as soon as possible!”
Carius hurriedly rushed towards an empty building.
Thump. Thump.
His heart felt like it was going to burst, but Carius didn’t stop. He just hoped that Liv was safe.
“Liv, please stay alive.”
How long had he been running? He could see a faint liquid drop at the end of the path he was running on. His feet came to a stop.
Carius lowered his upper body and used his finger to check the liquid on the floor. It was fresh red blood that had not yet clotted.
Carius gradually lost all sense of reason as impatience welled up in him. He swept his hair roughly and recited low.
“Liv, please…….”
At that moment, not too far away, he suddenly heard the sound of something being broken. It was the sound of someone wielding a sword.
Carius turned his gaze to the cold blade on his waist. He approached the building with his hand on the sheath.
He heard someone running quickly from that end. As the sound approached, Carius grabbed the unfamiliar figure from behind.
And slowly, the identity began to appear in his sight.
It was Liv with wavy disheveled white hair, and red eyes filled with fear. The one he had been looking for so desperately.
The moment Carius grabbed onto Liv, an arrow flew into the air behind her.
Carius didn’t have time to avoid it and pulled Liv back into his arms.
Whoosh.
The flying arrow tore through Carius’s red cape and went straight into his shoulder.
“Ugh……”
Carius was more in a hurry to check Liv than the arrow on his shoulder.
“I’m fine!”
Fresh red blood flowed down his shoulder. As Liv watched this, there was no time to worry, the assassin was soon running towards them.
The assassin, dressed in black and wearing a mask, hastily pulled his sword from his sheath.
“I’m fine. Hide behind me, I’ll stop him.”
Carius hid Liv behind him and broke the arrow on his shoulder with his hand. Soon his fierce gaze turned toward the assassin.
“Who hired you into trying to kill the Empress?”
The assassin only grinned at his words.
Carius looked at him and tried to reach for his sword again. The assassin took the opportunity and lunged at Carius without hesitation.
Carius, who had dodged the assassin’s sharp blade by arching his upper body backwards, immediately sank his body to the floor and kicked the assassin’s leg.
The assassin lost his balance and fell to the floor. Carius took out his sword and closed in on him.
At that moment, the assassin rolled to the side to avoid it and stood up quickly. That was when the assassin’s stern gaze landed on Carius’ heart.
“Your Majesty!”
The knights hurriedly rushed in front of Carius and each drew their sword to confront the assassin.
The assassin stared at Liv, hesitated to leave without his target, soon fled madly toward the immediate rear. The knights then immediately chased after him.
Carius grabbed his shoulder and knelt down on the spot, loosening his strength.
“Your Majesty.”
Liv rushed over and hugged him. Carius’s blood was dropping incessantly.
“Your Majesty, wake up, please…!”
Carius scanned Liv’s face slowly, barely grasping his darkening vision. Then he murmured quietly as if he was relieved.
“I’m glad. Liv……….”
His gentle voice echoed affectionately in Liv’s ears.
Carius slowly stretched his bloody hand and touched Liv’s face, and soon lost consciousness.
Liv, whose gaze fell on dropped hand, completely went blank.
****
After the attack on the Empress, the Imperial Palace was still abuzz with rumors.
The doctors had been treating Carius’ injuries for days. It seemed as if the doctors were trying to calm Liv, who was holding only Carius’s hand, nervously next to him.
“We’re giving His Majesty antibiotics to prevent the sutured area from festering, so don’t worry too much, Your Majesty.”
“But, why is His Majesty still unconscious……..?”
“The wound is very deep and recovery is slow. We’re doing the best we can, so don’t worry, Your Majesty.”
Liv said firmly to the doctors.
“It’s not enough to do your best. He must wake up. You understand!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. ……….”
Soon the doctors left, and Liv stared at Carius as he lay there with his eyes closed. All his black hair was just wet from how much he had been sweating for days.
Lord Daemon who was beside her said cautiously.
“The Empress has not been resting for the past few days either. She’ll need to rest for her wounds to heal.”
Liv, whose entire nervous system was directed at Carius. She had left the wound on her shoulder untreated.
Liv turned and stared at Lord Daemon.
“Since the assassin fell in the river, you couldn’t find his background?”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“So you still haven’t found the maid who sent the false message about the Prince?”
“…”
According to what she heard through Jane, the Prince went to bed early that day.
Liv had an intuitive guess as to who was behind the incident. It was just a frustrating situation with only suspicion and no physical proof.
Addressing her thoughtfully, Lord Daemon said curiously,
“Your Majesty, there’s actually one strange thing.”
“What is it?”
“There was a faint light yellow sticky liquid on the arrowhead and the tip of the blade. That’s what’s bothering me.”
“Poison…?”
“I looked it up and it’s holy water.”
Actually Liv thought something was suspicious as well. It wasn’t that the arrow that punctured her shoulder that hurt, but rather the reaction in her heart.
“It’s holy water to sprinkle on the dead….”
‘I am like two different people who have died and come back to life, and maybe…………..’
Liv bit her lower lip and then gradually raised her eyes and looked at Lord Daemon.
“Show that arrowhead to the priests. They may know the answer.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With a strange expression on his face, Lord Daemon took the order and walked out.
Liv turned her head again to stare at Carius. Cold sweat was beading on his forehead. She wiped the sweat away with a damp handkerchief she kept nearby.
Seeing Carius’ brows furrowed in agony, Liv couldn’t help but burst into tears.
She murmured in a low voice.
“Why did you sacrifice yourself for me?…I’m nothing…”
She was the one who had turned away from his love and held another in her heart, the one who had been only focused on revenge, the one who had never thought of his heart.
But he had never let go of her.
Liv ended up bowing her head in front of him. She couldn’t even wipe the tears from her cheeks.
She only squeezed the wet towel in her hand tightly and mumbled.
“What am I, the one who said I would only use you……….”