CH 188

Blink—

When Damia first opened her eyes, she saw attendants busy coming and going around her. And she seemed to have caught a glimpse of a doctor coming through the door.

Damia was puzzled because she did not know what was going on. But she was so sleepy that she fell asleep the moment she blinked and closed her eyes.

Blink—

The next time she regained consciousness, she saw the back of the man. With broad, muscular shoulders and a solid body, he was a man who could slay a beast with his bare hands.

However, his gestures as he stood by the window looked exceedingly fragile and anxious. Damia watched as he nervously prayed and swept his dry face with his hand.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

After a moment of doubt, Damia lost consciousness again.

Blink—

When she opened her eyes for the third time, she saw a rough-looking man resembling a gangster with blond hair and coppery skin.

‘Am I still dreaming?’

Damia blinked, trying to clear her dim, hazy vision, and found herself fixated on the shiny earrings that hung in his ears. The earrings reflecting the sunshine were blinding.

The tough-looking man who felt her gaze turned around and greeted her with a unique accent.

“If you’ve opened your eyes, please stay up. After three days of sleep, I think you’ve had enough slumber, eh?”

… … isn’t this a dream? I’ve slept three days now?

Only then, with a flash of surprise, did Damia come to her senses. Sitting up, she looked around.

“This is… … .”

“It’s a royal palace.”

Contrary to his unruly appearance, the rough man unexpectedly supplied a courteous and complete answer. As he said, a golden chandelier was hanging from the ceiling, and the splendid interior seemed familiar.

‘It really looks like the royal palace.’

One question has been solved, but there were many more. Damia asked with a sharp voice,

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

Instead of answering, the hooligan furrowed his eyebrows. Just when Damia was about to get a little scared by his harsh impression.

Creak— 

The door suddenly opened, and familiar faces came in.

“Oh.”

Heinrich was the first to admire Damia when she woke up.

“You are awake at last, Lady Damia. How are you feeling?”

“Fine, fine, thank you… ….”

Damia stuttered in the midst of confusion. Then she pulled the quilt up to her neck and asked Heinrich carefully,

“But—your Highness, why am I in the palace… … .”

Then Heinrich’s face distorted instantly—like he was reliving a terrible memory.

“Didn’t I tell you! I told you it wasn’t a big deal, huh?”

Heinrich, who had always donned a relaxed smile, shivered and opened his eyes in protest. The place where his gaze was directed was none other than behind him.

“Because someone made such a fuss! Asking the royal doctors council to be called in, or asking for more detailed treatment. If you hadn’t woken up today, a person would have died!!”

Heinrich, who had been so afflicted, recited his grievances full of feeling.

‘What is he talking about?’

Damia rubbed her eyes, her vision out of focus. And then she found a man with his body curled up as if he was attempting to hide from her in Heinrich’s shadow.

“… … Sir Akkard?”

Upon meeting his eyes, she noticed that he donned a complicated expression.

Of course, he was blissful that Damie woke up safely. He wanted to run to her right away, grab her hand and ask if she was okay.

But on the other hand, he was afraid that Damia would abhor it. His chest pounded in fear, lest a look of disdain would flash in her eyes when she saw him again.

Because of the two opposing reasons, Akkard stood frozen in place, unable to step forward or backwards. Finally, Heinrich, who saw the frustrating troublemaker, raised his voice in disapproval.

“What are you doing now? When you had been grilling people so badly!!”

And he wasn’t exaggerating; Heinrich really thought Akkard might grab him by the collar. Akkard had been completely blinded by his anxiety for three days.

That this raucous madman was currently shivering quietly like a child pupil now that he was in front of Damia— Heinrich found the contradiction abominable.

“Lady Damia, you can’t even imagine! ‘Why the hell hasn’t she woken up yet—it’s been three days?’ or ‘What’s wrong with your sleeping gas?’ and ‘If she doesn’t wake up together I’ll make sure that your precious alchemist—-… … Ugh!!”

“That’s enough, my lord.”

Akkard, who quickly covered Heinrich’s mouth, growled low. Heinrich expressed his displeasure with his frown instead of his mouth.

‘Rude bastard!’

In any case, this was enough to vent his anger. When Heinrich winked, Akkard removed his hand from his mouth. Heinrich, who was now free, complained right away.

“Ugh, why is it so salty? Was it because you were nervous and had sweat on his hands? Afraid Lady Damia won’t wake up… … ah! Alright!! Halt!!”

Akkard raised his hand to cover his mouth again, and Heinrich, seeing this, was disgusted and bit his tongue. Then, belatedly, he found the blonde ruffian and realized something with an ooh-o-o-oh look on his face.

“Come to think of it, Lady Damia, you’ve never met my alchemist, have you?”