Chapter 8
‘I heard the Emperor is bedridden… Perhaps that’s why things are all right for now.’
After the Emperor fell ill, Iver’s position within the imperial family grew stronger with each passing day. He was the Emperor’s only legitimate heir, and he had eliminated the siblings who had threatened him, securing his position as Crown Prince.
‘But if they discover I’m here, wouldn’t his position be threatened as well?’
The danger of being discovered, and her fear of what would happen if she were, kept Annerose from stepping outside the conservatory.
However, as the suffocating feeling grew day by day, she had recently been plagued by that fleeting temptation.
‘Iver said I could leave the greenhouse. Maybe I should go a little farther…? Surely it would be all right if I only stepped just beyond the entrance, somewhere I won’t be noticed…? This place is so deep inside the garden that there isn’t anyone around anyway…’
Lost in thought, Annerose stood before the greenhouse doors. But despite what her heart wanted, her fear kept her feet firmly planted in place.
After several attempts, Annerose finally realized she still wasn’t capable of going outside. She sat down at the entrance to the greenhouse and gazed up at the blue sky.
It felt similar to the days she had spent in the summer palace at Parozera, yet somehow different.
No one came looking for her there. No one even knew she existed.
But in this greenhouse, there was someone who came looking for her every day.
Iver.
After enduring unbearable loneliness for so long, there had been a day when she finally allowed him to have her.
And from that moment on, his obsession with her only grew stronger.
At first, when they slept together, Annerose hadn’t thought that Iver’s feelings for her could be called love. Surely it had been nothing more than lust.
But the moment she met Iver’s eyes as he held her for the first time, a faint sense of regret stirred within her.
What had brought him to her was not simple desire, but deep affection. And when that affection went unanswered, it gradually transformed into obsession.
The Crown Prince who would one day rule the empire had not only hidden an ominous woman away — he had fallen hopelessly for her as well.
Whenever Annerose looked into Iver’s eyes, she felt as though she were ruining him, and guilt tormented her.
‘This is my fault. He’s become like this because of me. I gave him too much of my affection… I was simply so happy that someone had come looking for me that I couldn’t bring myself to push him away. I shouldn’t have done that…’
Whenever she closed her eyes, she could vividly remember the feeling of Iver holding her tightly. She could recall the warmth of their bodies pressed together, the sweet voice whispering in her ear, and the gentle touch of his fingers against her body and hair.
The more she remembered, the more those sensations refused to fade.
Annerose suffered from insomnia because of the nightmares that plagued her every night. But after spending the night with Iver, her exhausted body could finally fall into a deep sleep without nightmares.
That was why she had no choice but to wait for him each night.
Annerose used that single fact to draw a line around her relationship with Iver, denying her own feelings.
‘Our relationship is nothing more than one where we use each other. I must never fall in love with Iver.’
She desperately repeated it to herself.
‘Yes. This moment will pass quickly, too. There must be plenty of women around him, so he’ll soon grow tired of me.’
As the brilliant Crown Prince destined to lead the empire, countless marriage proposals would surely come his way. Once another woman entered his life, he wouldn’t come looking for her anymore.
So Annerose decided to take it lightly.
‘I just need to spend each day quietly like this. Until the world settles down.’
Annerose sat at the entrance to the greenhouse, taking a moment to clear her head as she breathed in the scent of a single rose. Before she knew it, she had spent a long while gazing up at the sky.
It was a high, brilliantly blue sky, clear and vivid. As though fascinated by the fact that the world continued to turn even without her, she reached a hand toward the heavens.
She could see the clouds slipping between her fingers. Even though she was doing nothing but staring blankly at the sky, time passed quickly.
Ever since becoming immortal, Annerose had grown numb to the passage of time. Amid the rapidly flowing hours, she always felt as though she alone were standing still.
It wouldn’t be long before Iver finished his duties. Annerose gazed absently at the time slipping past her.
‘I wonder if Iver will come today, too. If they discover that he’s been hiding me, he will be in a precarious position… What will happen if they find out I’m here? Won’t it cause problems for Iver? But even though I know I shouldn’t think this way… I wish he would come.’
The longer she remained alone in the greenhouse, the more often her thoughts would deepen.
And because those thoughts were filled with anxiety, Annerose abruptly rose to her feet and began tending the gardens, trying to hide her unease. The more she worked among the little flowerbeds, the more the scent of grass and earth clung to her fingertips.
‘It’s all right. Let’s not think about things that don’t matter. I’m safe here. I just need to hide who I am and live an ordinary life. As long as I stay quiet, no one will know I’m immortal.’
After repeating those thoughts about the greenhouse’s safety to herself countless times, Annerose accidentally pricked her finger on a rose thorn.
A few drops of blood fell, and the wound slowly healed.
Annerose quietly stroked the spot before turning her gaze toward the greenhouse doors.
The brilliantly blue sky had already begun to darken as the sun slowly sank toward the horizon. She approached the doors once more and gazed at the setting sun.
Another day was passing.
With a faint sense of regret, Annerose reached out her hand and gazed at the sky.
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