Chapter 156
Isaac’s arm was tense with strength. It seemed even he hadn’t expected Killis to act so extreme, and a hint of panic was evident in his demeanor.
But as Isaac increased his force, Killis did the same. Blood dripped steadily from Killis’s hand, which gripped the blade barehanded.
The sight of blood soaking his forearm made me speak up.
“Stop. Both of you, stop.”
“I can’t—!”
“That’s enough. Isaac, could you put the sword away?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Isaac sheathed his sword. As the blade disappeared, the wound on Killis’s palm became starkly visible. The blood pooled so heavily that it was hard to see the injury clearly.
To bleed that much without showing any sign of pain—in a way, it was impressive.
“Let’s treat that.”
“But, Your Highness—”
“I said treat it first. And once that’s done…… come to my palace tomorrow. I don’t think we can talk any further today.”
I turned to Isaac and said, “Let’s go.” before walking away. The door, now hanging loosely on its hinges, caught my eye.
‘So that loud noise earlier was because of this.’
Not planning to linger, I quickly averted my gaze and moved on.
Once outside and a fair distance away, I let out a deep breath. A jacket was draped over my shoulders.
“You should cover yourself.”
“Ah…….”
When had I dropped it?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I’d dropped it.”
“It’s fine.”
His curt reply oddly put me at ease. Like the faint herbal scent wafting from his uniform jacket.
“Thank you for helping me. If it weren’t for you, things might’ve gotten dangerous. I know it’s hard to believe, but…… Killis wasn’t himself earlier.”
“Your Highness.”
His quiet call made me tense involuntarily. I tried to look at him as casually as possible.
“Are you planning to make Duke Yelpen your guardian?”
“I have to.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? We don’t know when something like this might happen again.”
“Some of the blame lies with me too. I allowed it to happen.”
I hadn’t wanted to say it out loud, but seeing Isaac’s reaction, I felt compelled to explain.
“We were kissing, and then Killis started acting strange. It startled me. But if we’re careful about that in the future, I think it’ll be fine…….”
I studied Isaac’s expression. It was as unreadable as ever.
“If that is Your Highness’s wish.”
His reply was as emotionless as ever.
Yet, for some reason, I still felt like he was angry. It was probably just my imagination, but it bothered me.
Despite my worries that Isaac’s affection might have dropped, it remained unchanged. That was a relief.
Instead, someone else’s affection had taken a nosedive.
[<Character> Killis Yelpen
―Affection: 87 / 100 (Intimate)]
I had seen the notification about the significant drop. I had seen it, but.
“This is too much of a drop…….”
Feeling somewhat hollow, I flopped onto the bed and buried my face in the pillow. Somehow, I had a feeling I knew what Killis would say tomorrow.
* * *
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. It seems I cannot become your guardian.”
That was what Killis said when he came to see me the next day.
Given the drop in affection, I had half-expected it and half-hoped it wouldn’t happen. I set down the teacup I had been nervously sipping from multiple times before he even spoke.
“Is this because of yesterday?”
“Yes.”
Killis placed his hands on his knees and bowed his head.
“After you left, I thought about it deeply and realized I’m not suited to be a guardian.”
“But isn’t that something that applies to more than just guardians? As my fiancé, there will be situations like that in the future too.”
“That’s…….”
Killis fell silent for a moment. After a brief pause, he spoke again.
“If you wish, you can annul the engagement. You don’t need to worry about losing your standing if you break it off. Even if you decide to annul it, I will do my best to support you.”
He still wasn’t looking at me. Given what happened yesterday, it wasn’t hard to understand, but it was still frustrating.
I let out a shallow sigh and spoke.
“Killis, let’s talk face to face. We should discuss what happened yesterday too.”
At my words, Killis hesitated before raising his head. I tried to speak as gently as possible.
“About yesterday, can I ask why you acted that way? I have my guesses, but it didn’t seem like it was entirely your will.”
“I know it sounds like a poor excuse, but I was confused too. The moment I kissed you, it felt like my body wasn’t my own.”
So Killis had also noticed that something was off about his state yesterday.
“Can you explain in more detail?”
“It’s hard to describe exactly, but it felt like something stronger than my own will took over. For some reason, I felt angry and resentful toward you. But at the same time, I didn’t want to let you go…….”
“Did that feeling come on suddenly?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. I had been feeling similar emotions before, so it’s hard to say it was entirely separate. But at that moment, it was much more…….”
“It?”
Was he talking about another will?
“……Never mind. Please forget I said that.”
Why did he stop there?
I gave him a look urging him to continue, but Killis didn’t elaborate.
“In any case, as Lord Isaac said, it’s my fault. Please tell me what you wish, and I will comply.”
Back to square one.
I was curious about what he had been about to say, but this was an important issue too, so I decided to let it go.
“My stance hasn’t changed. I still want you to be my guardian.”
“As I said earlier, if it’s about my standing…….”
“No. If I were only concerned about power, I wouldn’t have asked you to be my guardian in the first place. I would’ve chosen someone from a prestigious family, as others suggested.”
Killis couldn’t possibly be unaware of this. I had already mentioned it when I proposed the guardianship.
Truthfully, it wasn’t that I liked Killis enough to accept him. He was a character the system had designated as my ally.
Whether I liked him or not, if I wanted to see the true ending of this game, I had to keep him by my side.
I had never voiced this thought aloud, but Killis seemed to have sensed something. I wasn’t sure how he had taken it, though.
“Thank you for giving me another chance. I will strive not to disappoint you again.”
At least that was a relief. If he had refused outright, it would’ve been quite troublesome.
Killis stood up and approached me, bowing slightly. Suddenly reminded of yesterday, I flinched involuntarily.
I thought I hadn’t shown it, but he must have noticed. Killis gave a wry smile and took a few steps back.
“I’m sorry. I thought it was only proper to bow…….”
“Don’t worry about it. I was just being unnecessarily startled.”
“No, it’s only right for me to be more careful. And from now on, I won’t make any advances unless you ask me to.”
There was no subject in his sentence, but I immediately understood what he meant. He was talking about physical contact.
“You won’t regret saying that?”
“It’s fine. I’ll wait patiently until you say you want me.”
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