It was the Empress's question: Was there anyone Seiana was interested in? Raymund secretly hoped she might be thinking of him, but Seiana was firm.
"Absolutely not."
While it was a good thing that 'he' wasn't the one implied, it also meant she didn't see him as a potential partner, which left Raymund disheartened.
Silence fell between the two women, but for Raymund, there was no silence.
[Is it just Raymund's unrequited love?]
[How vexing.]
[Normally, she would be an inadequate match for the Prince.]
[...No. If I let this girl go, Ray might be unhappy for the rest of his life.]
It was because he could continuously hear the Empress's complex inner thoughts. Her expression gradually hardened.
[I wanted to handle this as smoothly as possible.]
[But it can't be helped. I have no choice but to forcibly seat her beside my child.]
The Empress was determined to bind Seiana to Raymund's side using any means necessary, even if it meant revealing that he possessed special abilities.
Raymund's heart sank. He didn't want Seiana to find out he was a monster.
One might ask what difference it made since he was already dead, but he wanted her to know nothing until the very end, to think of him as a good 'person'.
Once decided, the Empress was unstoppable. The moment her lips were about to part—
'No!'
He felt something grab the top of his head and pull him upwards; his body soared into the sky. His surroundings blurred, and when he came to his senses, he was back in the forest where the demon nest was.
"Gasp!"
"Raymund!"
The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Aries's startled face looking down at him.
'Wasn't I dead?'
Unlike the lightness of his previous spirit state, he could feel the weight of his body.
"Are you okay? I rushed over when I heard shouting. Grandpa Violet was badly injured, and you..."
"I have to go."
"What? Where?"
Aries tried to grab him, but Raymund had already teleported. His head throbbed from moving such a great distance at once.
A high-pitched ringing filled his ears, and his forehead and nose felt like they would shatter.
He felt like he could collapse with a nosebleed at any moment, yet Raymund forced his heavy feet forward. Fortunately, the Empress's Palace was close by.
"That's enough."
He spoke to the Empress, who was about to say something to Seiana. Recognizing his presence, shock and fear filled the Empress's face.
The other palace attendants quickly prostrated themselves the moment they saw him. Some didn't just bow low; they practically collapsed onto the ground.
Raymund smirked, watching the Empress frozen in fear. She probably wished she could bury her face in the ground like the attendants, not wanting to see him... but unfortunately, as fellow royalty, she couldn't. He mocked her for that.
Meanwhile, Seiana amusingly started to bow along with the attendants, making him chuckle. He had clearly told her it was okay not to, but she seemed conscious of the others.
"Let's go."
He helped her up as she tried to bow and pulled her along. Seiana looked hesitant, wondering if it was okay to leave the Empress, but when Raymund applied some force, she followed him.
Her hesitant steps became natural once she realized no one was stopping her.
Raymund initially walked in a direction where there would likely be fewer people. He didn't want to show Seiana others screaming and collapsing at the sight of him.
'Where should I take her?'
In this vast Imperial Palace, there wasn't really a suitable place to take Seiana.
He had his own palace, but it was well-maintained yet empty of people, which Seiana might find strange.
He was pondering what to do when the hand holding Seiana's was pulled firmly.
"...Seiana?"
"I'm hungry."
"Huh?"
"The main course just came out, and I didn't even get a single bite."
"S-Sorry..."
Seiana pouted, glancing sideways at him grumpily. His vision had narrowed, but now that he thought about it, food had indeed been laid out on the table.
Realizing he had interrupted her meal, Raymund apologized flusteredly. Only then did Seiana grin.
"What about you, Ray?"
"Me?"
"Have you eaten?"
"...Not yet."
Actually, he had eaten, but it was outside, just grabbing some dry rations. It was more like staving off hunger than having a proper meal.
Seiana looked at Raymund with pity, then smiled brightly.
"Then let's go to my house. Let's eat there."
Since Raymund lived here, she could have asked him for food, but Seiana specifically suggested going to the Estarothe Count's estate.
She likely assumed he was being ostracized within the palace due to his poor relationship with the Empress and the previous attack incident.
'It's not entirely wrong, but...'
The meaning was slightly different. It wasn't so much poor treatment as it was people not knowing how to handle him, thus leaving him alone.
Whatever the reason, Raymund was pleased by Seiana's attention and nodded.
During the entire carriage ride to the Count's estate, Seiana stuck close to Raymund, as if comforting him.
'...My body doesn't hurt anymore?'
When he teleported to the Empress's Palace, his body felt like it was literally being torn in half, but now, he felt calm. The headache was gone, and the tinnitus had disappeared.
Usually, after using his abilities, he needed a long rest to soothe his aching body, yet it had completely subsided in just a few minutes.
'...I really do need Seiana.'
Being near her put Raymund at ease, both physically and mentally.
When Raymund leaned his head on her shoulder like a child seeking comfort, Seiana rested her own head against his.
His mind, which had been turbulent with various thoughts, grew calm, yet his heart pounded as if it would burst.
Raymund's sudden, unannounced appearance nearly caused a commotion at the Count's estate, but Sincere came out and managed the situation, ending it as a minor incident.
"Ahem, if you had given us some notice before coming..."
"Oppa! I dragged him here on purpose!"
When Seiana defended Raymund, telling the complaining Sinclair it wasn't his fault, Sinclair looked betrayed. They had a late lunch, and as usual, the two stuck together, chatting softly, until the Count returned from work.
"Why are you here!"
It wasn't supposed to be his day to visit! The Count, having come home to kiss his daughter, jumped back startled upon seeing Raymund beside her.
"Her Majesty the Empress summoned me to the palace, so I met him there and we came together."
"...To the palace? Her Majesty the Empress summoned you?"
At this, the Count's eyes narrowed. His expression seemed to ask, with great impertinence, if Raymund had perhaps manipulated the Empress, but Raymund, being blameless, merely shrugged.
Seiana urged him to stay for dinner. However, joining the family's intimate meal would clearly make everyone uncomfortable except for the two of them, so he refused.
"Next time. I have something I need to do today."
"Hmm... Well, if you must. Okay. Travel safely."
After being seen off, Raymund boarded the carriage. As soon as he was inside, he used teleportation to arrive back at the Imperial Palace.
His head ached slightly, but since it wasn't as far as before, it was bearable.
Raymund appeared in the Empress's room.
The Empress, who had been resting alone in her room, jumped in fright upon his appearance. She instinctively covered her mouth, stifling a scream, but the fear was clearly visible on her face.
Raymund watched her and smirked.
'If only you had stayed by my side, even while fearing me...'
When she first rejected him, it felt like his world was collapsing. He desperately wanted back the unconditional affection he once received and missed the warmth of her embrace.
He had dragged his aching body, afflicted by the awakening of his abilities, to visit her, but the gates of the Empress's Palace remained closed. Gates that had always been open before.
Becoming someone with abilities didn't make horns sprout or wings grow; nothing about 'him' had changed, yet everything else around him had.
Ultimately, faced with everyone's rejection, Raymund had no choice but to change.
'If they abandoned me...'
Then he had to abandon them too. Clinging foolishly only brought him pain.
If only she had reached out to him back then, when he was at his lowest... Pretending to be nice now was merely self-satisfaction.
Besides, it wasn't what he truly wanted anymore.
Raymund looked down at the rigid Empress. Perhaps because she was sitting on the sofa, although she was an adult and thus taller, her presence seemed small to him.
'Or maybe she has just become smaller in my heart.'
And the space vacated by the Empress's diminished presence in his heart was largely filled by just one person.
Raymund wanted to be a good person to that one individual. Not some frightening, terrifying monster.
"Don't do anything."
Raymund warned her. The Empress's eyes trembled slightly, likely understanding he was referring to the events of the day. She looked incredibly wronged, yet too terrified to make even a single excuse.
Feeling this wasn't enough of a warning, Raymund had no choice but to add another word.
"Please ensure that I do not have to use my abilities on Your Majesty, the Empress."
He had used his domination ability exactly once after awakening his powers. Because he felt so wronged and hurt. He had used it on the nanny who had cared for him since childhood, pleading with her to look at him.
At his plea not to turn away, she had remained by his side as commanded, tears streaming down her face in terror. The grotesqueness of it had been a shock even to the young Raymund.
He wanted to release her from his control, but there was no way to undo the ability. Since staying by his side meant she couldn't turn away, she eventually had no choice but to retire.
The memory of that time amplified Raymund's aversion to his own abilities.
That's why he swore never to use it again...
But if the Empress continued to pursue her own desires, Raymund would have no choice.
Raymund's threat seemed effective; the look of grievance vanished from the Empress's face. The petulance of 'why don't you understand my heart' disappeared, leaving only the fear of looking at a monster. Raymund felt a smile creep onto his lips.
"I am satisfied with how things are now, so there is no need for you to try."
"..."
"This state is just right for us."
He couldn't say he didn't resent her, but perhaps if they continued like this, a time might come when it wouldn't matter anymore.
So please, he wished she wouldn't try to 'take care' of him and uncover things he had barely managed to bury.
'Because I don't want to get my hopes up only to be abandoned again.'
With those words, Raymund vanished, returning to his own palace.
Left alone, the Empress sighed, staring at the spot where Raymund had disappeared.
'That wasn't the face I wanted to see.'
She just wanted to make him happy... but she had failed. The Empress couldn't hold back and buried her face in her hands.
No tears came. Because she wasn't the one who truly needed to cry.
Comments Box