“Your Majesty…”

His lavender eyes reflected a mixture of relief and flustered confusion.

Sirion, the imperial physician, hurriedly scrambled to his feet and began picking up the books scattered across the corridor, one by one. Despite nobody ordering him to clean them up, he was in such a hurry that the books slipped from his hands and fell softly back to the floor.

“I—I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I was just… thinking that I’d finally see you again today, after so long, and I—”

“And?”

“I—I got a little too excited…”

The admission seemed unbearably embarrassing. Sirion quickly averted his gaze and scratched his cheek. Watching him, Ailie smiled quietly to herself.

She bent down, picked up a book, and handed it to him. Startled, Sirion waved his hands, insisting that she didn’t need to do that.

Nevertheless, with so many books scattered about, she wanted to help in some way.

As she did so, her eyes naturally fell upon one of the titles.

[On Ways to Heal the Heart…]

The moment she read it aloud, she finally understood why Sirion had brought so many books all the way to her bedchamber.

Before she’d left on her leave, during her last consultation, he had said this: “Wounds of the heart will fester if you leave them alone.”

That she should confide in someone she trusted—before the injury rotted beyond saving. And that someday, when she could bring herself to trust him as well, she should tell him too.

“I promise I’ll make you well, Your Majesty.”

Those had been his words.

It seemed that, even while Ailie had been away on her leave, Sirion had continued searching for ways to heal her heart.

Even if it had been the Emperor’s command…

It was an earnestness that felt almost undeservedly touching.

“Sir Liton, could you take Breni inside and help gather the books? I’ll help as well.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Though if it’s just gathering books, I alone would be more than enough—”

“No. You went to all this trouble for my sake.”

She said it with a smile. Sirion, who had been diligently picking up books, suddenly lifted his head. Clear, pale-violet eyes met hers, lingering for a moment.

Perhaps because dusk was approaching, the tips of his ears were faintly red.

“Y-Your Majesty should be tired as well, so please don’t overexert yourself!”

“Alright. Breni, you rest for now.”

Liton and Breni carefully stepped over the scattered books and entered the bedchamber first.

Ailie stayed behind to collect them, occasionally glancing at Sirion’s earnest, youthful face. He must have been terribly flustered — several strands of ash-grey hair were stuck to his pale forehead with sweat.

During examinations, he was always composed and capable. Yet, like any newcomer, unexpected situations could still leave him pale and shaken.

A few minutes later, Sirion and Ailie were joined by Liton and several maids, who had rushed in at the sound of the commotion. The books were cleared away far more quickly than expected.

Liton excused himself, explaining that he needed to report to the knights regarding Ricciardo. Finally, Ailie and Sirion entered the bedchamber.

Breni, who had been waiting on the couch, offered a weak smile.

“Sirion, could you examine Breni first? She was confined in the tower for quite a long time.”

“How could something like that happen…?”

“There were circumstances. I’ll explain later.”

In response to Ailie’s gentle smile, Sirion nodded obediently.

He took a seat opposite Breni and began a careful examination using a medical magic tool. His lavender eyes, which had looked flustered earlier, now showed calm focus, as though none of the earlier chaos had ever happened.

Ailie sat quietly beside Breni, watching Sirion’s profile. When he noticed her gaze, color immediately bloomed across his pale face.

Ah, this must be making him uncomfortable.

She quickly averted her gaze.

“Her nutritional state isn’t good, and she’s severely fatigued. She should rest for the time being.”

“Yes……”

“We’ll need to monitor her until she fully recovers. I’ll prepare medicine regularly, so please make sure she takes it properly.”

Sirion spoke with a faint crease between his brows, worry evident, his pen moving swiftly across the page.

Truly—if they’d been even a little later, Breni’s life might have been in danger.

Just imagining what could have happened if Ailie hadn’t insisted made her eyes sting.

‘It would’ve been better if I’d saved her sooner, but this was the best I could do.’

Nevertheless, it was a relief that the remaining thieves had been captured and imprisoned in the Imperial Dungeon. They wouldn’t be causing trouble again.

They were the kind of people who would have caused problems sooner or later anyway. It was better to think of it as catching them early.

“Your Majesty?”

“Oh—I was just lost in thought.”

“You needn’t worry too much about Miss Breni. She’s very exhausted, but she’ll recover quickly. There are a few minor injuries, but fortunately nothing serious.”

His tone was calm and considerate; it was warm and reassuring.

He must have noticed the concern etched on Ailie’s face. She smiled softly and nodded.

Breni met her gaze; her round brown eyes seemed to say that she was fine and that Ailie shouldn’t worry. It was endearing — and heartbreaking.

Sirion jotted down a few more notes and took out several medicinal herbs. Then he turned his gaze to Ailie.

“Your Majesty, I will now examine your injury.”

“Oh, it’s not very deep. You could brew Breni’s medicine first and check me afterward.”

“His Majesty has been very concerned.”

“…….”

Benate truly had a talent for leaving Ailie at a loss for words.

With a sense of resignation, Ailie looked up at Sirion as he stepped closer to examine her. He brushed a gloved hand carefully against the back of her neck.

“May I ask how you sustained the injury, Your Majesty?”

“I was ambushed while trying to save Breni. The kidnapper put a blade to my neck—that’s when it happened.”

“To dare lay a hand on Your Majesty……”

“Still, Sirion—could you not stand quite so close when we speak?”

…The distance was far too close for conversation.

She could hear his breathing clearly, and her vision was filled with nothing but Sirion.

‘My face feels hot.’

Ailie pressed the backs of her hands to her cheeks, trying to cool them down.

Of course he needed to come close to examine the wound on her neck, but did he need to stand so close just to talk?

It didn’t seem intentional at all. The moment she mentioned it, Sirion paled and looked so startled that he stumbled back several steps. He even collided with the table between the couches, which creaked loudly as he retreated in near-panic.

By the time he had fled all the way to the door, his ghostly pallor had turned a vivid red. Seeing him like that made Breni laugh.

“Sirion? It’s fine now. You can come back.”

“I—I’m sorry, Your Majesty…!”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Come on.”

She said it with a smile. Hesitant and fidgeting, Sirion slowly made his way back.

She’d thought this before, but Sirion truly resembled a small, frightened animal caught before a hunter—or a predator.

‘…I wasn’t trying to scare him.’

At last, Sirion seemed to calm down. He took a deep breath, sat back in his place, and began scribbling something with his quill.

Once he’d filled in about half the page, he spoke again in a quiet, careful voice.

“I’ve been making mistakes because I let myself get carried away. From now on, I’ll stay properly focused and won’t slip up again. I won’t disappoint you anymore.”

She had never been disappointed to begin with.

It was a remark as earnest as Liton’s.

Ailie studied the calm lavender eyes for a moment, then suddenly asked a short question.

“What were you so carried away about?”

“Because today is the day I get to see Your Majesty again.”

He’d said that earlier, too. But if she were an imperial physician about to examine the Empress after a long absence, she thought she’d be nervous rather than excited. One mistake could have disastrous consequences.

Noticing the faint confusion in her pale, rose-colored eyes, Sirion added softly.

“I’ve wanted… to see you for a long time.”

After saying that, he averted his gaze once more; his embarrassment was plain to see.

Ailie let out a soft laugh and nodded.

It had been four weeks since she left for Erdei and even longer since she last saw Sirion.

During that time, he had been reading and studying, searching for ways to heal her heart. Of course he would want to see her in person to find out if any of it had helped.

That was why he had been so excited. She understood now.

Sirion stared blankly at his notebook for a moment, then suddenly lifted his head, his eyes lighting up as though he had just had an idea.

“With just a little care, it should heal quickly. But if it worsens, it could become a problem, so I’ll come by often to check on it.”

“Often?”

“Every day. Without fail.”

He declared it with unmistakable enthusiasm.

Ailie stared at him in surprise, then let out a small laugh.

Even he must know that an injury this shallow didn’t warrant that much attention.

‘He really wants to help me.’

And that was fine.

There were many things Ailie wanted to tell Sirion as well. She’d shown Ricciardo her wounds after following Sirion’s advice, and thanks to that, the long-standing injuries had begun to heal quickly.

So…

“Alright. If you do that, Breni will recover faster too.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be counting on you.”

Before long, she’d be able to show her wounds to Sirion as well.

***

Early the next morning, Ailie wandered quietly through the Imperial Palace.

Only a few servants had woken up and begun their duties, and the palace was shrouded in silence.

Usually, waking at this hour would mean turning over and going back to sleep, but perhaps because she had only just returned to the palace after such a long time away, sleep evaded her.

After tossing and turning for a while, she finally decided to take a walk. That was how she had slipped out of her chambers.

The palace had a certain charm at this hour, yet it was unbearably dull all the same.

“Up so early—working hard, I see.”

Out of sheer boredom, Ailie spoke to a maid she passed in the corridor. The maid, who had been walking with a drowsy, unfocused expression, jolted in surprise and bowed at once.

Looking as though sleep had fled her entirely, she hurriedly stammered out an explanation before scurrying away.

‘I wasn’t about to scold her for spacing out.’

She had only been looking for someone to talk to. Outside the palace, that might have been easy—but inside the imperial palace, waking early offered very little to do.

Having gained nothing in particular, Ailie resumed walking.

‘Come to think of it, Ricciardo is in the imperial capital.’

However, she had no idea where he was staying.

Should she go back to her chambers and try to sleep again?

With that thought, Ailie turned around to retrace her steps.

Clang!

The sharp sound of steel striking steel rang out somewhere nearby.