How long had I been here?

My head throbbed as if I’d been crying for a long time.

“……?”

At that moment, I felt a strange gaze.

When I raised my head at the unfamiliar sense of déjà vu, Ainberg was staring directly at me.

“Your Majesty?”

He was sitting up, half leaning his back against the bed.

“Good heavens.”

Not only had he regained consciousness, but he was sitting up perfectly fine. I jumped up in confusion, completely flustered.

“I’ll call the doctor.”

“Stay where you are.”

What stopped me from standing was Ainberg’s low voice.

He reached out and grabbed my arm. His hand was smooth without a single wound, and his face looked incredibly peaceful.

“But Your Majesty…”

“It’s fine, just stay like this for a moment.”

“……”

I slowly sat back down, unable to take my eyes off Ainberg’s face.

He smiled gently at me and said:

“You’re panicking as if something terrible has happened.”

“Everyone is worried about you. Your Majesty was severely injured and…”

“Me?”

He asked, crossing his arms. Watching the fabric wrinkle against his bandaged arm, I nodded emphatically.

“Yes, and you couldn’t wake up for a long time.”

Ainberg raised both hands and shrugged his shoulders.

“Do I look sick to you?”

“No, not exactly, but…”

Normally I should have hated seeing this confident face.

“This is strange. You were definitely in critical condition.”

“……”

“How is this possible?”

“Believe what you see. I’m perfectly fine now.”

Ainberg added languidly, giving me a gentle yet confident smile.

Then, keeping his gaze fixed on me, he continued:

“You don’t look well.”

A large hand gently stroked my cheek.

Though I would have surely recoiled at this under normal circumstances, for some reason I had no desire to reject it.

No, I even placed my hand on top of his.

“How could I look well? Your Majesty lost consciousness and wouldn’t wake up.”

When I got that far, something welled up in my chest.

“…You said you’d return safely.”

When I spoke with a hint of petulance, the corner of his mouth twitched awkwardly.

I didn’t miss the opportunity and added one more comment.

“Liar.”

“I’m sorry.”

I hadn’t meant to hear an apology.

He had already erased his smile and was looking at me seriously. I bit my lip unnecessarily and spoke with a voice that didn’t match my feelings.

“You break your promises every time, so I can’t trust Your Majesty.”

“……”

Ainberg didn’t say anything.

Perhaps it was still too strenuous for him to speak consecutively.

After pushing him, I felt strangely regretful. Though he said he was fine, wasn’t he still a patient?

As I pressed my lips together, wondering if I’d said something unnecessary, he opened his mouth again.

“What should I do to regain that trust?”

“Pardon…?”

“I asked what I should do to make you trust me.”

Such a serious voice.

Faced with this unexpected response, I struggled to suppress my stirring emotions.

“You can faithfully answer my questions.”

I spoke calmly, tightly gripping the handkerchief in my hand.

‘I have no choice.’

I felt a bit sorry about bombarding someone who had nearly died and just barely regained consciousness with questions, but I might not get another chance like this.

“…Are those questions what you were saying to me earlier?”

“……!”

But my plan to make him uncomfortable hit a snag.

Instead, I was the one thrown off by his words.

“What? Wait, what did you say?”

I was the one left speechless by Ainberg’s last comment.

Did he hear everything I said?

Oh my.

What did I just say?

‘I keep having more questions for you, but I don’t even know how to ask them all.’

‘Even though you didn’t like me. If it was pity, just tell me so.’

‘Don’t run away so irresponsibly…’

As my body froze in embarrassment, Ainberg’s dark blue eyes persistently followed me.

“You seem to have many questions for me.”

“……”

“Go ahead and ask.”

“It’s embarrassing that you heard my mutterings.”

I wonder how much he heard.

I carefully spoke while glancing at Ainberg, who was slowly opening and closing his eyes.

My heart pounded as if it might burst.

“I merely heard an angel’s voice in my dream.”

But perhaps because I was overly flustered?

Ainberg uttered another ambiguous statement and slowly buried his head deep in the pillow.

Then he kept his eyes closed for quite a long time.

I stared at the back of the man’s head intensely enough to bore a hole through it.

‘Just how much did this guy actually hear?’

But soon I shook my head.

‘No, never mind.’

If Ainberg was talking about angels, he was clearly under the influence of strong anesthetics and sedatives, unable to distinguish between reality and dreams.

Ironically, as he closed his eyes again, something like courage that had faded began to bloom.

‘This might be a chance that won’t come again.’

If his body and mind were weakened, I might be able to hear much more honest thoughts.

“Your Majesty.”

I want to know if the person I’ve known until now is the real you, or if there’s a truth I’ve been missing.

“You took care of Miamo.”

Ainberg didn’t say anything, keeping his eyes closed.

Wondering if he had fallen asleep again, I reached out my hand but then withdrew it.

I was about to think that it would be fortunate if he had fallen asleep, and it wouldn’t matter if he hadn’t.

“Why?”

A clear voice rang in my ear. I calmly continued speaking.

“I heard that after Your Majesty left, Miamo wouldn’t eat or drink anything.”

Though I was speaking indirectly, I wanted to know why he had grown attached to my cat when he didn’t like me.

I carefully opened my mouth again.

“I didn’t know you liked animals.”

“I don’t particularly like them.”

“If you don’t like them, why did you keep the Empress’s cat?”

Ainberg still kept his eyes closed.

Even when he answered intermittently, he kept his eyes closed and spoke just loudly enough to be heard.

I wasn’t sure if it was right to have a conversation with someone in this state, but…

“I’m someone who can’t stand discomfort.”

“Was it so uncomfortable for you to leave the Empress’s cat alone?”

That’s unexpected.

The Emperor who fears nothing and roams battlefields without hesitation is tender-hearted enough to be bothered by a single cat losing its owner and being left alone?

‘You expect me to believe that?’

It would be much easier to believe if he said Miamo had some special ability that made him want to keep her.

“…I had to do at least that much.”

“……”

“Would that have been an appropriate answer?”

Once again, I was the one left speechless.

Somehow, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

It reminded me of our conversation in the artificial garden last time.

Then, as now, he made me feel like I was misunderstanding everything.

His attitude of subtly digging into the truth while suggesting that what I saw wasn’t the whole truth.

Perhaps that gave me more courage.

I tightly gripped what I was holding and slowly raised it.

“This handkerchief, is it yours?”

When I asked the question, Ainberg opened his eyes again.

“Yes.”

Ainberg looked back and forth between the handkerchief and me, then answered concisely.

That brief answer was enough to create ripples in my heart.

“Why do you have this?”

Despite knowing it was an inappropriate question for the situation, despite knowing it wasn’t suitable for me to ask right now…

I abruptly asked him.

“Because it’s mine.”

Ainberg answered with his eyes closed.

His voice lacked emotion, perhaps because he was still weak.

“Liar.”

I shouldn’t have said that last word, but my unintended honesty made Ainberg open his eyes.

“…Liar?”

I hurriedly stood up and placed the handkerchief on the table.

The bloodstains on the corner and its crumpled state reminded me of myself, making me feel miserable.

As my chin trembled and I breathed heavily, Ainberg grabbed my wrist, looking somewhat surprised.

“I’d like to know why you’re angry.”

I didn’t have the courage to turn around and face Ainberg again.

I didn’t want to see his face, nor did I know what expression I should wear.

Even so, I wanted to say this.

“Because it’s not yours.”

“Why do you think that?”

“The Empress gave it to you as a gift. But you threw it away, so why do you have it again?”

I got too excited.

I shouldn’t have said that last part.

But I couldn’t take back words already spoken. As I stood with my back turned, chewing my lip in embarrassment, Ainberg spoke again.

“How do you know about that?”

Then I heard the rustling of bedsheets behind me.

When I turned around, Ainberg was trying to get up.

I rushed to him.

“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t move yet.”

“I’m fine.”

“Please stay lying down at least until the doctor comes.”

Just as I was hurriedly pulling up the blanket and trying to make Ainberg lie down again—

“You.”

Ainberg’s voice held me in place.

“……”

“Don’t forget, my true feelings have never changed, not even once.”