May Every Wound Be Fatal - vanish into fiction

Bachelor Thales asked Reyna,

“Your Majesty, how was your night?”

But Reyna seemed not to hear his voice.

For several days now, she had worn a deeply pensive expression, as if lost in other thoughts, occasionally blushing in a peculiar way. Allin, who had already witnessed that suspicious demeanor for the third time today, blinked in confusion.

“Your Majesty?”

When Thales called her again, Reyna finally turned to him a beat too late.

“…Ah. What did you just say?”

With a slightly worried look, Thales asked again,
“Is your leg still hurting? Are you experiencing pain like before…?”

“No, it feels fine as long as I don’t move.”

At Reyna’s light shake of her head, the deepening lines on his face quickly eased.

“That’s a good sign. Then, would you try standing up?”

At the suggestion, Reyna’s eyes widened.

“Stand up…? Is that really okay?”

It had already been three months since her leg had been broken, yet every time she tried to move, a dull ache lingered, and she still had to change her bandages twice a day.

Seeing her doubtful gaze, Thales explained,
“Do not worry. The bone has mended to a certain extent. From now on, practicing putting some weight on it little by little will help your recovery.”

Reyna, still looking uncertain, glanced at Allin, who stood behind the scholar. It was clear, even unconsciously, that she was relying on her.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Your Majesty. I’ll support you.”

Indeed, being unable to move one leg was far more inconvenient than one might think. Reyna could hardly do anything on her own, and for months now, Allin had quietly been her hands and feet. Without realizing it, Reyna’s wariness toward her had naturally faded.

Taking Allin’s outstretched hand, Reyna pushed herself up. Allin smiled with emotion as she carefully guided Reyna’s right leg down to the floor.

A subtle weight settled below her knee, and for about a second, a faint pain flickered through her shin. Startled in advance, Reyna flinched slightly, and Allin looked up at her, holding her breath.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Reyna gave a slightly embarrassed smile. Reassured, Allin and the young maid each took one of her arms.

After taking a deep breath, Reyna finally placed her foot carefully onto the soft carpet.

“Ah…”

As she felt her weight gradually pressing down below her knee, her mouth fell open without her realizing it. Without the strength supporting her body, she might have collapsed on the spot.

But the pain was only momentary. Though her legs trembled uncontrollably, Reyna realized, to her amazement, that she could truly stand on both legs.

“Your Majesty…!”

Allin’s voice trembled with emotion.

“Ha…”

Overwhelmed with a surge of hope and joy, Reyna was briefly at a loss for words. She let out a dazed smile as she looked down at her legs. The anxiety that had always weighed on her—that she might never walk again—vanished in an instant. However, as her tension eased, strength drained from her body, and she could not stand for long.

“Try standing for short periods starting today. You may soon be able to walk again.”

Thales reassured her not to be discouraged. Seeing Reyna so overjoyed, he too seemed unusually excited.

“His Majesty will be very pleased to hear this news. I should inform him at once.”

Still absorbed in her own legs, Reyna quickly turned to Thales.

“No, don’t do that.”

“…Pardon?”

As Thales blinked in confusion, Reyna hesitated slightly—unlike her usual self.

“As for His Majesty… I would like to tell him myself.”

As she said this, her cheeks flushed strangely, and she looked almost giddy—like a seventeen-year-old girl in love.

Thales was a little taken aback but, as always, showed little of it.

“…In that case, he will be even more delighted. That is a very good idea, Your Majesty.”

However, Allin could not completely hide her mixed feelings.

Not long after the scholar left, Allin—who had been attending to various small tasks by Reyna’s side—quietly sat down on a chair beside the bed. Reclining slightly against her pillow while reading a book, Reyna glanced at her.