As the woman approached the bed and reached out her hand, Johannes quickly grabbed her wrist. The hand, suspended in mid-air, flinched and tried to pull back, but he did not release his grip. Her slender wrist was no bigger than a handful.

“Why is the princess here?”

When no answer came, Johannes reached for the shelf to light a candle. But she stopped him.

“There’s no need for that. I didn’t come here to disturb you… just lie down.”

It was hard to make out her face in the dark, but the voice that broke the silence was familiar.

For a moment Johannes remained stiff, but the hand that pressed gently on his shoulder caused him to collapse weakly onto the bed.

His mind still hadn’t fully grasped the situation. Only when he had obediently laid down again did the hand withdraw, and then he heard the sound of water splashing near his head.

Curious, he tried to shift his gaze, but the only thing he could see clearly was the metal bowl on the desk.

Rosalyn soaked a towel in it and held it out to him again. The cool sensation finally touched his heated forehead. Her careful hands wiped his brow and slowly moved down to cradle his cheek.

Although the sensation of cooling his fever was refreshing, Johannes swallowed dryly for another reason.

Dawn seemed to be breaking as the darkness in his vision began to lift. In the blue light of the early morning, the contours of her face slowly became clearer. Her eyes, deep set. The long lashes above them, the softly parted lips. And beyond that, the familiar scene of his room. It all felt like an unreal scene.

“You said you weren’t feeling well, right?”

She placed the towel in the metal bowl, then reached for something else and suddenly held it out to him. Johannes’ eyes immediately went to her hand.

“This. I got it from the healer, just in case.”

In the hollow of her hand was a small glass bottle filled with pills. The gaze that briefly lingered on her hand was withdrawn indifferently.

“I don’t need it, take it away.”

At the cold refusal, Rosalyn’s eyes faltered, unable to find an answer. But instead of stepping back, she pressed her hand forward more firmly.

“No. I won’t leave until I see you take it.”

“It’s fine.”

“Fine…!”

Without permission, Rosalyn suddenly placed her hand on his forehead, causing Johannes to furrow his brow. Despite this, Rosalyn just glared at him sternly.

“Look. Your forehead is burning hot.”

The determination in her voice was firm, as if she wouldn’t back down. There was no response, but Rosalyn opened the lid of the glass bottle with her own hand and held it out to Johannes. She seemed unwilling to withdraw her hand until he took the medicine.

As he continued to stare at her, perhaps misunderstanding his gaze, Rosalyn’s expression darkened.

“Is that it? You don’t trust me? You think I’m going to poison you or something?”

Hearing her question, Johannes lost the will to argue any further.

Johannes knew full well that Rosalyn was not capable of poisoning him. A woman who had crossed the walls and returned on her own would hardly try to kill anyone.

Realising this, he smiled hollowly, but Rosalyn, watching him closely, raised the pill to her lips. It was as if she wanted to prove that the medicine was safe.

At this point Johannes thought it would be better to just do as she asked and let her leave quickly. With a resigned look on his face, he snatched the pill from Rosalyn’s hand and swallowed it quickly.

He was about to tell her that she could go now, but when he noticed his vision clearing and the redness around his eyes, his expression immediately changed to one of confusion.

“Have you seen the healer?”

Rosalyn raised an eyebrow, as if wondering why he was asking such a thing.

“Of course I have. She came by earlier today.”

“What did she say?”

“She said there was nothing unusual… she mentioned that the first aid was done very well.”

“Then why were you crying?”

At the gentle question, Rosalyn quickly rubbed the area around her eyes with the back of her hand. It wasn’t something that could be wiped away like paint stains, but she hurried to erase it.

But despite her efforts, the area around Rosalyn’s eyes became damp again.

“You’ve been in pain since that day, haven’t you?”

Her voice trembled, sounding fragile.

“Because of me, things turned out this way for Kei…”

Johannes frowned as he looked at her.

If that was the only reason she was crying, he couldn’t understand it. Nobody had died and if the healer had concluded that there was nothing wrong with her body, what reason did she have to cry?

“You’re not going to die. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying.”

Rosalyn retorted, raising her voice. But the silence that followed was clearly filled with soft sobs.

“Besides, there’s no need to feel guilty. Protecting the Princess is just an extension of the duties I’ve been assigned.”

At his cold words, her wet eyes turned to him.

‘Extension of his duties,’ she thought as she wiped away her tears. That must be it. He was simply doing the Emperor’s will.

“That may be true.”

Rosalyn said, still with moisture in her eyes, and offered a faint smile.

The protection Johannes speaks of is clearly only temporary, lasting until the Emperor gives the order to kill her.

But the reason she feels foolish is that the protection she’s now receiving has never been so gentle.

The attacks are unpredictable, and whenever she gasps for breath in front of her father, violence follows immediately.

For her, protection had always been like that. Afraid that others would see her in such a vulnerable state, her father would lock her in the closet. On several occasions, under the guise of ‘protection’, he would beat her, claiming he was trying to cure her illness.

Vincent was no different. In his case, of course, it had nothing to do with family prestige, but simply the satisfaction he derived from seeing Rosalyn reduced to a state akin to that of an animal.

Just as the dark closet felt more terrifying than the struggle to breathe, for Rosalyn protection had always been nothing more than another means of forcing her to suffer.

But Johannes was different. Even when he saw her collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath, he didn’t turn away. He didn’t ignore her simple wish to see the lake at night. He didn’t abandon her when she was bitten by a poisonous snake on a lonely mountain path. And above all, the cloak he gave her at the Christmas ball was incredibly warm. All this felt so strange to her, and made her feel things she should never have felt.

A man who killed her father and would eventually take her life, yet ironically, he was the only one who didn’t look down on her and willingly extended his hand.

“I suppose the reason you didn’t call the healer is because you didn’t want the others to know you were with me outside the castle.”

Rosalyn muttered, her voice a little calmer. Then she thought suddenly.

‘If that’s the case, despite his kindness, all I repaid him with was harm. I am the one who hurt him, and it is my fault that he didn’t receive the proper treatment at the right time.’

As she bit into the soft flesh in her mouth, Rosalyn asked, “Is that it?”

“If that’s the case, would it be all right if I came by every evening to check on you, without insisting on the treatment?”

“Princess.”

In the end, it felt like the same conversation was repeating itself. Despite the ongoing exchange, Johannes remained calm and answered without raising his voice.

“As I said, what happened that day was simply an extension of my duties, so you don’t have to pay any price.”

“And neither do you.”

Her simple answer left them speechless for a moment. Instead of replying, Johannes turned to look at her. At his somewhat exasperated expression, Rosalyn smiled slightly.

“You didn’t consider the situation that could put you at risk, yet you still helped me get home.”

“….”

“Anyway, I’m going to die soon. No one would have blamed you if you had just left me there.”

Her soft tone carried a sense of resignation, devoid of any heat.

“So don’t make it so difficult. If you really don’t want me around, just get well as soon as possible. Then I really won’t come near you.”

It was said in a joke, but he didn’t smile. The smile that remained on Rosalyn’s lips slowly faded. It didn’t need any deeper meaning. In the end, it was all just to ease her own mind.