MBYS 07

Chapter 7

 Time Remaining (1)

Her heavy eyelids lifted. What took shape in her line of sight was a familiar ceiling. It was her own room.

Sleeping at Kailus’s side last night was her last memory. The blanket at the foot of the bed was neatly arranged. Someone had clearly moved her here while she was asleep.

Eveline tried to sit up, only to let out a groan.

Muscle pain that weighed down her entire body rushed in like a wave. Her lower back screamed with pain as if every joint were breaking apart. The scenery before her eyes wavered due to the high fever that had not yet abated.

Knock, knock.

With the sound of a knock, the door opened.

Grace entered. Her wrinkled face remained as expressionless as ever.

“I have prepared water for you to wash.”

Supported by the maids, Eveline headed to the bathroom.

As the thin chemise was stripped away beneath the maids’ hands and her naked body was exposed before the full-length mirror, Eveline’s pupils trembled violently. Dark red bruises were deeply embedded everywhere Kailus’s hands had passed.

‘It has gotten worse…’

Upon returning to the room after finishing her bath, an unfamiliar elderly gentleman was waiting for her.

“I am Edwin, the attending physician of the Grand Ducal Residence. I have come by order of His Highness.”

The doctor sent by Kailus. He had kept his promise from last night.

“Now, please receive your examination comfortably.”

Leaving a brief nod, Grace left the room, and the examination began.

Without a word, Edwin pulled out a stethoscope and pressed the cold metal disc against Eveline’s gaunt chest. The space between his brows narrowed as he confirmed her irregular heartbeat. He then pressed down on her abdomen to palpitate it.

“…Ugh.”

Eveline bit her lip and swallowed a groan at the tenderness.

Edwin’s hand stiffened near Eveline’s lower abdomen. Pulling a small mana stone from his breast pocket, he brought it near the affected area. The transparent gem instantly discolored pitch-black, unleashing a burst of light.

“Ugh…!”

As the mana stone reacted, Eveline’s body twisted reflexively.

Pulling his hand back, Edwin stared at Eveline. Astonishment and horror lingered in his eyes.

“This is… impossible. Your internal organs… are necrotizing from the inside out. Mana has materialized and is eating away at your entrails.”

Eveline remained silent. For she, who swallowed the pain, knew better than anyone that her body was falling apart.

“Could it be… that you absorbed His Highness’s raging mana… that unrefined, raw energy with your bare body?”

Edwin asked as if he could not believe it. Eveline gave a small nod.

“What is His Highness’s condition like?”

Edwin let out a low sigh as he answered.

“His Highness’s mana is different from that of ordinary people.”

“…What do you mean?”

“There is a curse handed down through generations in the Grand Ducal Family.”

A curse. As Eveline’s eyes widened, Edwin nodded weightily.

“It is called the Curse of the Red Dragon.”

Edwin’s gaze directed toward the firmly closed bedroom door before returning to Eveline.

“It is a mana so vast that a human container cannot handle it. When he loses control because he cannot master that power, the mana in turn eats away at its master’s body from the inside.”

“Ah…”

So that was why she had been able to recognize him because of that unique mana.

“Regardless, for a young lady with such a body to…”

Packing his bag, Edwin stood up from his seat.

“I must report to His Highness immediately.”

“…You cannot.”

The sternly spoken voice halted Edwin’s footsteps as he was about to leave the room.

“You absolute cannot.”

The strength in her hand grasping Edwin’s clothes was weak, but the grey eyes looking up at him were desperate.

Edwin’s footsteps stopped.

“What do you mean by that? Reporting a patient’s condition is the duty of an attending physician. To dare deceive His Highness…”

Eveline’s cold voice cut off Edwin’s words mercilessly.

“If he learns the truth, His Highness will discard me.”

It was an undeniable fact. Kailus Demian. He was the ruler of the North, a cold-blooded man who would not even spare a glance for anything lacking efficiency and profit.

“…However, if you continue like this, you will die.”

Edwin shook his head.

“A year at most. It would not be strange if your heart stopped at any moment.”

“A whole year… remains, then.”

The corners of Eveline’s mouth lifted faintly.

“That is enough. Please… just let me fulfill my usefulness until then.”

“My Lady!”

“I beg of you. I have no place to return to. If I am discarded here… my life is as good as dead that very day.”

Eveline put strength into her hand grasping the hem of his clothes.

“So please let me die here. At least… as an existence needed by someone…”

Edwin looked down at her, lost for words. A gaunt frame, empty eyes lacking even a single grain of attachment to life.

A heavy silence weighed down on the room. After a long struggle, Edwin let out a deep sigh and slumped into a chair.

With trembling hands, he opened his bag, pulled out a brown glass bottle the size of a palm, and carefully placed it on the nightstand.

“This is a highly concentrated painkiller. It contains a large amount of poppy essence, so it will help you forget the pain, but it is equally dangerous. Beware of tolerance and addiction.”

Edwin stood up.

“To His Highness… I will report it as physical debility due to nutritional deficiency.”

Pausing just before reaching for the doorknob, he added:

“When it hurts so terribly you feel like dying, take only a single drop at a time. In excess, it becomes poison.”

“Thank you.”

Eveline bowed her head deeply. Turning to look back at her once more, Edwin left the room.

Along with the sound of the door closing, silence settled in the room once more. Eveline reached out and grasped the medicine bottle atop the nightstand.

The touch of the glass was cold.

One year. That was the time permitted to her.

Time at the Grand Ducal Residence was absolute isolation.

Outside the window was nothing but a gray snowfield; even the boundary between day and night was faint. The servants vanished like shadows after leaving meals, and the only thing seeping into the quiet room was the occasional sharp whispering that drifted through the gap in the door.

“Look at that woman’s appearance.”

“It’s a wonder His Highness seeks her out every night.”

“Shh, she’ll hear you. Mind your business, she won’t last long anyway.”

Pretending not to hear, Eveline pulled her knees close and curled up. Her unfocused gaze merely stared blankly into the empty air outside the window where snow poured relentlessly.

And when darkness swallowed the light of the world and red torches were lit throughout the fortress, Eveline headed toward the connected door.

“…I am coming in.”

Swallowing dry spit, Eveline turned the doorknob. The air beyond the door was different. A dangerous aura that pierced the skin lingered inside.

Kailus was always waiting for her, leaning against the bed or standing by the window looking down at the night’s snowfield.

He never bothered to string long words together.

“Come in.”

That low, short single phrase was the entirety of his permission. When Eveline approached, he opened his arms to welcome her. She submissively entered his embrace or held his hand.

The transfer of pain.

Inside Kailus’s body, a massive, unmanaged mana was always swirling. Fatigue, lingering pain, and sharp sensitivity flowed into Eveline through the points of contact.

Eveline bit her lip and swallowed her groans. Cold sweat trickled down her temples.

Even amid all that, her gaze remained fixed on Kailus.

‘There is still some left…’

Unfolding her trembling fingers, Eveline gently covered and pressed down on Kailus’s clenched fist, where veins bulged. With her thumb, she slowly stroked the rough back of his hand.

At that contact, Kailus opened his closed eyes.

His red gaze settled on the bloodlessly white hand covering the back of his own. A hand trembling precariously.

“…Bothersome.”

Along with a low murmur, Kailus flipped his hand over. His large hand instead tightly grasped Eveline’s hand.

It was a crude but firm support intended to hold and steady her trembling form. Hot heat transmitted from his large grip. That warmth brought relief.

Eveline’s trembling gradually abated.

Once a wave of absorption ended, Kailus’s expression softened gently.

“Phew…”

He let out a deep, satisfied breath.

Kailus’s gaze lingered over her pale, sickly face.

“It seems I have not paid you proper compensation.”

Eveline raised her lowered head to stare at him.

“…What do you mean by compensation?”

“Proper payment for your labor. Nothing in this world comes free.”

The corners of Kailus’s mouth curved upward.

“Tell me. What is it that you want?”

Reaching out, he tucked the messy hair clinging to Eveline’s cheek behind her ear.

“Jewels? Or a gown of the finest silk? If not that…”

His red eyes flashed chillingly.

“Shall I sever the head of that fellow you call a father who drove you to this state and present it to you on a silver platter?”

They were words thrown out lightly, but the weight carried within them was not light. If it were him, he could trample Count Roa’s residence and bring back a blood-stained head on a silver platter.

Eveline paused.

Eveline looked straight into Kailus’s red eyes.

It was an unwavering, yet tearful gaze.

“Please promise me.”

“What?”

“Until that final moment when my body breaks and fulfills its usefulness… please promise that you will never cast me aside.”

It was neither jewels nor revenge. Merely not being discarded. That was the sole reward she desired.

“…Only that?”

“Yes… that alone is enough.”