May Every Wound Be Fatal - vanish into fiction

The King had arrived without warning when she had barely regained consciousness. Since she was in a state of delirium and he had kept his head bowed while weeping, Reyna had been unable to see his face properly until now.

Upon finally seeing his face, even through the dim light, Reyna was struck with astonishment.

That is to say, although it was not entirely clear due to the darkness of the surroundings, the King was far more…. no, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.

His features looked as solid and smooth as a stone statue. The edges of his hair glowed golden as they caught the orange light. Beneath neat eyelashes that similarly held a golden tint, his eyes—which were likely blue—shimmered with a beauty that felt profound.

However, his impression was much sharper than what she vaguely remembered.

Deep fatigue sat heavily upon his sunken eyes and gaunt cheeks, and because he never seemed to smile, he gave off a melancholy aura that made her feel as though she should not speak to him.

Regardless, Reyna could not take her eyes off him.

Perhaps sensing that blatant gaze, he surreptitiously turned his head the other way.

Reyna felt a sense of disappointment and regret, but she felt she should not bother him any further. Since she could watch the back of his head to her heart’s content without having to mind his reaction, perhaps it was for the better.

Yet, she feared that even like this, he might change his mind and leave abruptly. She stealthily grabbed hold of his sleeve.

As if this much was acceptable, he offered no reaction. The terror of unfamiliar things and her vague fears receded like an ebbing tide, and a pleasant drowsiness crept in.

Her eyelids were heavy. She wanted to look at him just one more time, but she could not open her eyes again. Just before falling into a deep sleep, Reyna murmured in her slumber.

“I do not think I will have bad dreams this time.”

“…….”

“I wish you would visit me like this tomorrow as well.”

He gave no answer until the very end, but for the first time since regaining consciousness, Reyna fell asleep without fear.

Reyna opened her eyes naturally to the hot sunlight and a tickling breeze.

How long had it been since she had woken up without being pushed off a cliff by anxiety or nightmares? The tranquility, which felt as if it did not belong to her, was quite strange. She was blinking her sleep filled eyes blankly when she heard Allin’s voice, which sounded oddly excited.

“Oh, you are awake. You woke up later than usual today, didn’t you?”

She did not want to admit it, but now her voice felt more familiar than Karla’s. At the moment she frowned slightly because that fact felt strangely unpleasant.

‘…Wait a moment.’

Suddenly, the events of last night came back to Reyna, and her eyes widened.

Reyna hurriedly looked around. As if last night had all been her dream, there was no sign of the King, let alone a trace of his presence.

‘But he was clearly by my side….’

Allin noticed Reyna’s confusion.

“His Majesty returned before the sun rose.”

“…I see.”

For a moment, Reyna, who had fallen into anxiety fearing it was all a dream, breathed a long sigh of relief while simultaneously feeling a strange sense of hollowness.

The day began later than usual.

Reyna secretly expected that something would have changed. However, contrary to her expectations, the scholar Thales was the only person who visited her that day as well.

She managed to maintain her cleanliness with wet cloths since she could not enter a bath. To regain her former appearance as quickly as possible, she forced down the food Allin brought. Once that was done, the scholar would visit, and the pain that felt like tearing raw flesh would follow.

Reyna became helplessly exhausted and went limp.

Her body, weakened to the extreme, grew tired easily even without moving. As her cold sweat dried, her eyelids kept closing regardless of her will, but Reyna endured without sleeping.

Finally, the sun set. Allin, noticing that Reyna had waited for the King all day, lit the lamps in the room and quietly withdrew.

Reyna did not close her eyes for a second, not knowing when he might come. However, the night was far longer than she thought, and her body and mind were too weak to endure such a long time.