Chapter 13

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 13

Chapter Title: Lily Palace's Beloved Nuisance (5)

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Realizing his intentions, the strength drained from her jaw.

The finger she had been biting so hard slipped free. He let out a soft chuckle as he examined the teeth marks left on it.

"It doesn't even hurt. Think you could bite my finger clean off with that?"

Roxiana wanted to ask him.

Why was he trying so hard to keep her alive? Wouldn't it be better for Torkan if she just died? Keeping her around would only spark conflicts with Gania. What was the reason for saving a troublesome woman who had nothing to her name?

But before she could voice the questions, his finger slipped back into her mouth. This time, it carried a grape.

The mashed fruit slid across her tongue and down her throat. With his finger still inside to keep her from clamping her mouth shut, he fed her the grapes one by one.

The tangy sweetness of the fruit stirred her long-dormant stomach. A faint spark of energy returned to her body, which had felt like it was sinking into the earth to die.

"Live, Princess."

He gazed down at her with solemn gray eyes.

"I know you want to die. Life must feel unbearable. I get it—better than anyone. But still, try living. Even when breathing feels exhausting and repulsive, if you force yourself to keep going, something decent might happen once. Then something good another time. You'll find reasons to smile, and eventually, you'll think, Glad I stuck around."

"How would you..."

Roxiana pushed his hand away with both of hers.

"How would you know?"

Her raspy, broken voice trembled pathetically.

"How the hell would you know?"

Floyd stared silently at Roxiana, who could barely muster the strength to spit out those few words, let alone get angry.

A breeze blew in. Not from the open window, but starting from the closed bedroom door. It carried the air of Torkan, yet lacked the salty sea tang, brushing past Floyd's hair several times.

As if it wanted to smack the powerless princess in her stead.

Floyd glanced toward the empty bedroom door, then back at Roxiana.

"I know. No one else might, but I do. So, Princess, give life a shot."

Roxiana's face twisted. She grabbed his thick forearm with both hands and pulled it to her throat.

"I want to die, Your Highness. I really, truly want to die. Please, please, Your Highness. I'll do anything. Whatever you command, no complaints, no hesitation. Just please—when I die, throw me into that sea. Weight me down with stones so no one can save me."

Floyd pressed his lips tight, watching her desperate pleas. Incongruously, what caught his eye was the juice dribbling from the corner of her mouth.

He wiped it away with his sleeve.

"Alright, Princess. If you're willing to do anything, then let's make a deal."

Only then did light return to her darkened eyes, eyes that had been dying.

Who else regained their spark at the promise of death?

"But I don't need a sword, a shield, or even a fox spirit. Do something else."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Live."

"..."

"Let's live properly for one year. Eat, sleep, take occasional walks—like a real person. Just one year."

Roxiana's eyes wavered. Floyd thought they resembled a summer tree caught in a storm.

"Greet people when they speak, chat with them, go to plays sometimes, attend parties. Live like that for one year. That's what I want from you."

"And if... I live like that for a year..."

"If after one year you still want to die, I'll kill you myself. I'll bury you deep in that sea where no Adelia Flower can reach."

"You mean that?"

"I don't lie or make promises I can't keep, Princess."

Floyd's stomach churned at the hope she found in his promise to kill her. But he didn't show it. He picked up an apple from the tray, split it in half, and offered it to her.

"So eat. If you don't recover enough to stroll the garden in a week, our deal's off."

Floyd left the bedroom with a stern expression. Petria stood anxiously by the uneaten food.

"The Princess is done eating. Clear it out."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And..."

Floyd slowly surveyed the reception room.

"Call in the artisans. Have them fill the entire Lily Palace with Adelia Flowers."

Petria's eyes widened at the unexpected order.

"Fill it with Adelia Flowers...?"

"From tapestries to bedding, rugs on the floor, every vase—carve Adelia Flowers into everything. So wherever she takes her last breath, she can be embraced by the gods."

Floyd had told her to live for one year. She had to recover enough to walk in the garden within a week.

Roxiana clung to that promise.

If she could die without smelling the Adelia scent, she'd do anything. She was prepared to be his sword, shield, even the fox spirit moving for him—but mere survival? That was easy.

She had no appetite, but she soaked bread in soup and ate. At first, she couldn't swallow even a single piece. By the next meal, she'd finished a whole one. Little by little, her portions grew.

Sometimes her stomach roiled and she felt like vomiting, but she endured. She clamped her hands over her mouth and forced the rising food back down.

Petria sighed in relief at Roxiana finally eating properly, but to Roxiana, it felt like chewing sand grains, swallowing iron scraps.

After meals, she sat on the bed endlessly staring out the window. The sky was similar to the one from her bedroom in the Ider Palace, even if the place and air differed.

Gazing at the same sky as Kanta brought her family to mind, but sleep brought no dreams. She longed to see them even in dreams, yet her family, denied the gods' embrace, seemed too busy to visit. Each awakening drowned her in profound grief.

The thought of enduring this pain and despair for a year felt overwhelming, but knowing death awaited after made it bearable.

"Lady Roxiana. The bath is ready."

That morning too, she'd eaten soup and a piece of bread from the lavish spread, then sat blankly on the bed. Previously too weak to rise, Petria had wiped her down with a cloth. Today, Roxiana had insisted on washing herself.

She dragged her heavy legs off the bed. At the bathroom door stood an unfamiliar maid, holding a towel with a displeased expression.

"This girl will attend to your bath."

"It's fine."

Roxiana took the towel.

"I'll wash alone. No need to attend me."

"But Lady Roxiana..."

"I'll wash alone."

The maid snapped at Petria as Roxiana spoke firmly.

"She says she'll do it alone. We're done here, right?"

Irritated at the prospect of attending the Lily Palace's nuisance, the maid seized the chance and stormed off.

Roxiana wanted to smile reassuringly at the embarrassed Petria, but she'd forgotten how; her facial muscles wouldn't cooperate. She entered the bathroom as is.

True to a guest palace, the bathroom was opulent. Ceiling, walls, floor—all pristine white marble, carved with flowers, trees, animals. A massive tub featured a dolphin statue from whose mouth water flowed.

Beside it, a table and chair for snacks during half-baths. High windows with stained glass cast multicolored sunlight onto the water's surface.

Roxiana had never seen such luxury. Even the Ider Palace bath in Kanta wasn't this lavish.

Torkan really is wealthy.

The southwestern Hinassel region, now the Torkan Grand Duchy, had once been a near-abandoned wasteland. Too many rifts spewed magical beasts, and the rampant magic poisoned the land, uninhabitable.

Floyd Carlott Latan had turned it into modern Torkan.

The Red Tiger who exterminates magical beasts.

A title earned by slaughtering the beasts that overran the land.

Magical beasts were horrific, but their byproducts were invaluable, fetching high prices. Torkan's rapid rise to wealth among nations' elite was surely thanks to that.

Roxiana undressed and sank into the warm water.

What does fighting magical beasts feel like?

Roxiana had never seen one. Knights sometimes shared battle tales: even well-trained ones struggled against their strength and bizarre tricks.

The stories were scary yet captivating, sometimes keeping her awake. When she wandered the corridors late, fretting about beasts, Robert guarding the hall would smile gently.

-"Don't worry, Princess. I'll always be by your side. No beast will ever touch you."