Chapter 61
Startled, Diana stumbled back, trying to retreat, as the man shrieked and hurled his body against the walls and furniture.
“Kyaaak!”
In the commotion, furniture shook, and a glass vase from atop a high cabinet fell towards Diana, who couldn’t dodge in time.
Thud—
A large, broad embrace pulled her in. With a dull thud, the glass vase hit something, then shattered on the floor with a crash.
“Are you alright, Your Grace?!”
“I’m fine. Administer a sedative to His Majesty.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
“Your Majesty! Calm down, Your Majesty!”
The urgent voices of people, someone’s screaming shouts, sounds of rough resistance—they all gradually subsided.
“Are you alright?”
Diana looked up at the owner of the firm arms that were still holding her protectively. Meeting those blue eyes, which held her along with a look of concern, the frantic pounding of her heart from moments ago began to settle.
“You weren’t frighten…… No, let’s leave this place first, Your Highness.”
“Okay.”
Diana nodded quietly and walked out into the corridor with him.
“How did you get here?”
“I climbed the outer wall and came in through the window…”
At her words, Viern’s eyebrow twitched sharply upward.
“No, it’s just… I was curious, since he’s my father.”
Diana quickly made her excuse, her fingertips brushing against the hidden key in her pocket to confirm it was there. Despite the commotion, she had thankfully achieved her goal, and a sigh of relief escaped her.
“……I see.”
However, Viern’s expression and voice as he answered were a bit strange. After staring at Diana for a moment, he began escorting her, slowly opening his mouth to speak.
“After losing Her Majesty Queen Anais, Your Highness’s birth mother, His Majesty Axion fell ill in his mind. The condition gradually worsened, and eventually he began showing signs of delirium.”
Diana’s ears perked up at Viern’s calm, steady explanation. It was the first time she was hearing a story about her father.
“In the beginning, the symptoms weren’t extremely severe. He would occasionally return to his senses, you see. However, he judged himself unfit to handle state affairs and entrusted the Regency to his younger brother, Grand Duke Rosent.”
That peace lasted for several years. But then, the Grand Duke died of a sudden illness, and as the newly adult Crown Prince took royal authority, chaos arose within the palace.
The Crown Prince detested his father, who had killed his own mother, to a terrible degree. Therefore, he halted the King’s treatment, preventing him from receiving proper care. As a result, not only did the King’s symptoms worsen drastically, but his physical health also deteriorated. Who would believe the story that the king of a nation grew so emaciated his bones jutted out, unable to eat properly?
After the Crown Prince’s downfall and Viern’s rise to power, the neglected King’s treatment resumed. His weakened health showed signs of recovery, but the illness of his mind still showed no sign of improvement…
“I see.”
As Viern’s explanation ended, so did the conversation between them. They had reached Diana’s bedroom without her realizing. Opening the door and entering, Diana, claiming tiredness, went straight to her bed and sank deep into it. As she did, she furtively pushed the key she’d hidden in her pocket between the pillowcase and the pillow. They wouldn’t check here.
She was feeling privately proud of having finally completed her mission when she sensed a presence, silently and imposingly standing right in the middle of the room. Glancing back, she saw Viern, who had followed her in, standing there with a dark expression, head bowed, not leaving.
“Duke? What’s wrong?”
Diana remembered that his expression hadn’t been very good ever since they left the King’s bedroom.
“Your Highness, I……”
He slowly began to speak, lifting his head. The moment their eyes met, Diana was slightly startled. Because once again, a look of torment had settled in his eyes.
‘Did it hurt a lot earlier?’
Diana recalled how he had taken the falling glass vase for her. She’d actually been worried about it since it happened, but since he showed no sign of it, she hadn’t been able to bring it up first and was just worrying internally. Ever since falling from the tree, she had been trying hard to hide her feelings for Viern.
“Maybe earlier……”
Just as Diana, unable to hold back her worry, reached a hand toward him to ask if he was in a lot of pain, he spoke.
“I was a coward. I thought everything would go back to how it was, if only Your Highness would recover your memories.”
“Huh?”
Diana’s eyes grew wide and round at the sudden statement.
“What are you talking about, Duke?”
“…….”
Unlike the flustered her, Viern’s face was deadly serious.
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