Chapter 101
For a brief moment, at the sight of the man throwing his whole body, Lynette called out to him as if screaming.
At the same time, the door burst open and knights rushed inside.
The instant she fell into Euphen’s arms, there came a brutal crack. Everything happened in the span of a heartbeat.
Several voices cried out almost simultaneously.
“Your Highness!”
“Haah…”
He let out a long sigh. Lynette instinctively tried to turn her head, but a large hand came up to block her view.
At that same moment, the man flinched and then pulled his body away a beat too late. Only the faint ache lingering across her body told her that she had truly been in his arms.
“Don’t look.”
What had become of the man in black?
Euphen put his body between her and the intruder.
“Your Highness…”
“Take him away. Now.”
He ordered the knights. Without protest, they formed a wall with their bodies and carried the assassin out. She could not see what became of him, but since not even a scream was heard, she could only assume he had been killed.
That chilling sound she had heard just before… had it been the snap of a neck?
Only after the man whose fate was uncertain vanished from sight did Euphen step farther away from her.
“…I’ve gone and used my strength again.”
Lynette silently reached out her hand. He gave a bitter smile.
“You used it to protect me, didn’t you?”
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place.”
Would he be saddened if she said she was glad it had been her who was threatened, rather than him? The words reached the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them back.
If the assassin had gone straight to Euphen’s chambers instead, wouldn’t he have been injured? The thought that he might have been hurt, was far more unbearable to her than the fact that she had almost died.
“All I know is… you saved me.”
She stretched her hand farther and clasped his. This time, unlike before, he seemed to have held back his strength. The pain was no greater than usual.
But after squeezing her hand with all his might, he abruptly let go. Then, with a sorrowful expression, he gazed at Lynette in silence.
“In that state, I can’t treat you.”
Only then did she realize just how much of a wreck she was. She turned her head slightly toward the mirror, and gasped.
Her hair was a tangled mess. A bruise, already darkening purple, was blooming on her cheek. Blood from a nosebleed had smeared her lips and chin, staining them along with her clothes. Having slammed her face against the floor, her nose was red and swollen.
Seeing it with her own eyes made the pain catch up all at once. Her scalp throbbed, her head ached where it had nearly been torn at, and when she touched it, she felt a sizable bump forming. After struggling so desperately, her body now felt limp and drained.
“I-I’m fine…”
She tried to pretend she was all right, but with such an appearance, it was impossible to be convincing.
Euphen called for the royal physician. Even at this late hour, a middle-aged woman arrived at once, and when ordered to examine someone other than the prince himself, she showed not the slightest surprise.
Feeling Lynette’s nose, the physician said it was not broken, thankfully. Hearing that her head had been struck hard, she asked several simple questions, then advised a follow-up examination in a few days’ time. Handing her a pleasantly fragrant ointment, she instructed her to apply it regularly to the bruised areas.
While Lynette spoke with the physician, Euphen stood a short distance away, quietly watching. As he listened to their conversation, his brows drew together.
“If you’re in pain anywhere, you must say so. Don’t just insist you’re fine.”
“There isn’t anywhere in particular that hurts…”
“Where else did that bastard hit you? Are you truly unharmed elsewhere?”
“Yes.”
“…If you can’t say it because I’m here, then I’ll leave. But I’ll have you examined from head to toe instead.”
“I really am fine!”
Lynette raised her voice in a rush. At this rate, she would be made to strip down completely for an examination.
“It’s the truth.”
Still doubtful, Euphen crossed his arms. Watching the exchange quietly, the physician calmly brought the situation to a close.
“You must be badly shaken. Take this. Rest well for the next few days.”
“Yes.”
Lynette accepted a small, round pill. Medicines made for the imperial family usually carried a pleasant fragrance, but this one reeked bitterly of herbs.
Unable to put it in her mouth right away, she hesitated. Euphen’s sharp voice cut in.
“What is that?”
“A sedative. Since she is so tense, she may experience muscle pain later. This will ease it.”
Only then did he give a slow nod.
The moment the pill touched her tongue, its bitterness spread across her mouth. Lynette winced as she forced herself to chew and swallow it down.
“I’ll return for another checkup in a few days.”
The physician spoke calmly and left the room.
Euphen sank into a chair across from Lynette with a weary sigh, his gaze fixed on the ointment jar resting on the table.
“…I can’t even apply medicine on you.”
There were no words that could comfort him. Lynette’s lips trembled faintly before she curved them into a small smile.
“It’s all right. This much I can do on my own.”
She deliberately answered with cheer, scooping up a generous amount of ointment and rubbing it onto her cheek. The assassin had struck her so hard that even her own touch made it hurt.
If it was going to sting this much regardless, perhaps she should have asked him to apply it for her instead.
She stifled a wry laugh.
Euphen, silently watching her, stood and returned with a handkerchief dampened with water.
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