Ch.95Rose (7)

A week had passed.

I continued to stay at the palace, serving as the royal physician.

I wondered if it was too long to keep missing school.

But I didn’t need to worry about that part since I had already asked Selena for help.

After all, I had taken the position of head teaching assistant precisely for situations like this.

“You’re saying you’ll be absent for a while?”

“I don’t intend to refuse, but… I’m concerned that this has been happening frequently lately.”

“You shouldn’t neglect your duties as a student.”

“I won’t ask for the reason behind your absence. That was the condition of our relationship from the beginning.”

“I’ll just add one piece of advice: always take care of yourself.”

I received permission without much difficulty.

One might expect a teacher to be curious about a student who wanders off like this, but my mentor didn’t ask a single question.

She simply let me do as I pleased.

Choosing Selena as my backing was indeed a brilliant decision.

If it had been other professors at Gallimar, they would have been desperate to control my movements as they saw fit.

I found myself savoring this relief anew.

‘Thanks to her, I have freedom.’

Because of this, I could focus solely on my work here.

During the past week, I worked on two main tasks.

The first was obviously treating the rose, and the second was gradually taming the little prince.

Both were necessary steps when considering future episodes.

Since both required patience, I approached them slowly and steadily.

Of course, success didn’t come easily from the start.

“I clearly told you to get lost.”

“I don’t want any treatment, so don’t touch my body.”

“Just leave me to die.”

This was especially true with Elise.

While her older sister was gradually opening up, the younger one consistently maintained a cold attitude.

No… she seemed to grow sharper with each passing day.

Even though her physical condition was clearly improving, the girl continued to resist treatment fiercely, as if unable to accept this fact.

Because of this, I had to deal with her for several hours each day.

“Ugh… you piece of trash.”

“Treating an imperial princess like this… heh, do you think you’ll get away with it?”

“I’ll definitely kill you.”

When my gentle hands touched her pale skin, her hazy eyes glared back at me.

Beyond those empty pupils, even her killing intent shattered into emptiness.

When her sweet breath became ragged and her red hair was soaked with sweat, when the sticky scent of flesh permeated the surroundings, the girl would lie there completely exhausted.

Her pitiful eyes always reflected resentment.

“Drop dead.”

Though I seemed to be receiving unintended hatred, I had no intention of giving up.

The moment I surrendered, not even a glimmer of salvation would remain.

The death of the rose would lead directly to the tragedy of the little prince.

So even as I was pricked by sharp thorns, I continued to gently stroke the red petals.

Always with a smile on my face.

“You’ll get used to it soon.”

“I wish you would focus solely on recovery, without giving up on life or thinking too much.”

“I’ll help you by your side.”

“Even if Your Highness doesn’t want it.”

Taming cannot be accomplished in a single night.

Only by watching over a long period and putting in consistent effort can one make a beautiful flower bloom.

That’s the stage we were at now.

Rather than finding meaning in each other, it was the stage of planting meaning in each other.

Some patience was necessary.

‘Of course.’

That’s not to say there was no progress.

While the rose was still showing her thorns, the little prince was steadily coming around.

Sharlotte expressed her gratitude every day.

“The frequency of her seizures has noticeably decreased.”

“Her complexion seems to be improving too.”

“Yes… it’s all thanks to you.”

“Because you helped us. Because only you can save us.”

The effects of repetitive learning were starting to show.

Every time Elise fell asleep after treatment, we would have private meetings in the adjacent room for about two hours.

Ostensibly, it was to report on her progress.

In reality, it was closer to a process of building trust with the girl by increasing our time together.

I whispered whenever I had the chance:

“Your Highness need not worry about anything.”

“Just leave everything to me and wait patiently.”

“I’ll take care of everything.”

Words offering myself as someone to rely on completely.

Sharlotte, who seemed hesitant at first, now nodded blankly.

Perhaps because I was the only hope she could see.

Seeing her sister’s complexion improve day by day, the older sister had no choice but to follow the voice reaching her ears.

Maybe she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“I’ll follow your words.”

Those unfocused blue eyes.

When the girl’s gaze held wavering emotions, I would stroke her head to reassure her.

The imperial princess didn’t push away the touch of a mere snake.

Instead, she gradually melted into that coolness, accepting the narrowing distance between us.

I would smile with satisfaction.

‘Going smoothly.’

This too was done with the future in mind.

The more Sharlotte depended on me, the easier it would be for me to use her.

High status is always useful.

As the illness showed signs of improvement, trust steadily built up.

‘Sharlotte… and Elise.’

Before long, I had become part of their daily lives.

***

Late evening.

A time when even the bright scenery outside had been dyed with darkness.

I was tidying up the surroundings after finishing a lengthy examination that had continued for quite some time.

The bed where the rose lay was a mess again today.

“Haa, haa…”

Hot breaths exhaled.

Red hair, soaked with sweat, was sprawled in disarray.

Perhaps due to her particularly fierce resistance today, her top, which usually just became disheveled, was now completely removed, exposing her pale flesh.

She wore no undergarments, leaving her practically naked.

Only the precariously placed blanket covered her body, hiding the protrusions at the ends of her soft flesh.

Perhaps due to the clearly exposed skin, a sticky bodily scent brushed against my nostrils.

“Haeu… ugh.”

“Well done.”

I speak to the exhausted girl.

A single phrase marking the end of the examination.

When I remove my hand that had been pressing on her abdomen, a moan escapes between her pale pink lips.

It was a plaintive echo she couldn’t quite suppress.

“Ugh.”

The treatment that had continued for a full five hours.

Perhaps from being pressed repeatedly, clear handprints remained on her stomach.

Elise lay there, twitching.

“……”

Her limbs, bound by shadows, didn’t move.

She seemed to have no strength left.

Her bloodless lips were the same.

Only her green pupils continued to stare at me.

Moisture glistened in her eyes, but that didn’t erase the feeling that she was glaring at me.

I respond with a refreshing smile.

‘How long will she keep reacting like this?’

It seems like she should be getting used to it by now.

I lightly flick my finger.

Tak-!

After a short bursting sound.

The messy scene is neatly organized.

The blanket, which had been damp with sweat, returns to its place, and the girl’s blatantly exposed contours are covered.

I quietly looked down at the bed.

“I’ll check again today.”

Then I reach out my hand.

The rose’s arm, still bound.

As I roll up the sleeve that thinly covers it, thick bandages appear beyond.

I remove the fabric with careful gestures.

Seureu-reuk-.

The bandage comes undone limply.

Only then do scars appear on the revealed wrist.

Lines drawn haphazardly like cross-hatching.

As if she had taken a knife to herself while I wasn’t looking, new wounds that weren’t there yesterday had taken their place.

I sigh with an “as expected” feeling.

“Your Highness.”

“What.”

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s not a good habit.”

“What’s it to you?”

Deliberately inflicting wounds on her body.

It had the effect of temporarily alleviating pain by releasing backflowing mana, but it was an act that did nothing to help with treatment.

Despite clear warnings, she couldn’t seem to stop.

“…It hurt too much at dawn.”

“Excuses won’t work. If it hurt that much, you should have called for me.”

I take ointment from the shelf.

As I apply medicine to the wrist marked with rain-like cuts, the rose turns her head away with an indifferent gaze.

An attitude suggesting the wounds don’t matter to her at all.

“It doesn’t even sting.”

She showed no will to recover.

Putting aside my bitter feelings, I ask a question I had been holding back:

“Do you truly not believe in hope, Your Highness?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

From what I had observed over the past week, she was like a flower broken by a storm.

Misfortune that had trampled her too thoroughly for her to rise again.

Elise had resigned herself to her fate.

Having battled illness for over ten years in a dark room, her heart must be filled with irreparable despair.

The faded, haggard look in the girl’s eyes testified to that time.

The rose seemed to no longer believe in hope.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something… whether you can really cure this disease or not, that’s not my concern.”