READING GUIDANCE
" This is a direct sentence in the present time."
" This is a direct sentence in the past time."
' This is a character's inner thought in the present time.'
' This is a character's inner thought in the past time.'
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the present time.]
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the past time.]
HAPPY READING!
After all, she always has a lovely smile on her face that feels so calming to be looked at every time he is with her. Her comfortable aura and composure make it easy for Edward to see why people surround her. She attracts them with her personality, always listening to others first and showing a caring attitude without any judgment. People easily find comfort in her.
It was also the first reason Edward fell for her in the beginning. Following this was how she integrated herself into a society filled with a thick conservative mindset. It was never anyone's help that brought her to the point where people saw her as she is. It was always her who stubbornly and brazenly stood in this thick patriarchal and hierarchical society to be recognized by everyone.
It was her and her bravery only.
'...and you are an amazing woman that I've ever seen.'
And he really does think so because, in the end, he is also the one who got inspired by her. The way he sees the world now feels so much different after meeting her, and it feels strange how Irisha's life could impact another's—like his—just because of her personality. Never in his life did he think such a thing could be so powerful. As humans are often weak with such wicked things, and he has seen many of them in his entire life, she easily broke that stereotype.
It hurts his heart to see such a person in this state.
The smile that always graced her face is gone. The brave and confident Irisha is nowhere to be found. Even on the day she first held his hand and ran—she was trembling as if the world was no longer something she could face.
He watched her on the sofa, staring at nothing, and his chest tightened. [ She's here... but not really here.]
He couldn't forget the bridge—the sudden grip of her hand, the way she pulled him along without a word. She had wanted to run, to escape something he wasn't sure even existed. He assumed that Crown Prince might come after her, though he didn't know if it was true—or if it was just her mind running ahead of reality. Still, he had brought her here, to his mansion, a place where she could be alone, safe from everything she might fear.
Even now, in the quiet of the room, she felt far away, lost in her own world. And yet, he tried to smile, soft and careful, as if a little warmth from him might help anchor her to the present.
'Why am I feeling so much pain whenever I see you like this?' And it will become worse, as he knows she will never ask him for help.
"... You have to drink your medicine," he said after the woman looked at him. She was pale before, but now she seems much worse. " ... I've already prepared some food for you. Eat it, okay?" He tries to give the gentlest smile he can.
She smiles weakly. [ I am not that hungry.] she says. [ Please don't worry about me.]
Then, the words hurt every time she says them.
'Even after all this, how can I not worry about you?' And the fact that she is the one asking him—shattered his heart eventually.
"... Arisha will be sad if you are like this," he said. " At least, you have to eat a little before she comes back from school."
Only by mentioning Arisha's name will the smile on her face be triggered. She shows a little bit of the emotion she always tries to hide from everyone, and Edward uses her little sister as an excuse to make Irisha rely on him more.
[... okay.]
And he smiles as he brings the food that has already been prepared by the maids to her room. She eats a little bit of the food. At least he tries to make her eat something before one of her episodes arrives. It has become a part of his life to prepare for these episodes, when she loses her way to breathe and seems to suffer. There is nothing people can do but let her take a strong sedative pill to calm down and sleep eventually. Yet, someone like him who usually does things for profit—finds himself not minding what he does for her, even knowing he might get nothing in the end.
.
'... or sometimes maybe, you will then see me?'
.
[ ... I am sorry for troubling you.] she says while smiling faintly. [ If Rosan has already come back from her business, we will go eventually.]
And he just tries to ignore the fact that her words bother him so much. "... We already talked about this," he says. "... You and Arisha can stay here as long as you want."
[... but he comes to you, doesn't he?]
And he takes a while to speak, as the term she talks about now annoys him greatly. "... You don't have to worry."
'As you should just forget about him,' because she is suffering every time she is with him. Just like at that time when she painfully looked at the wicked crown prince of this empire—because he was someone who hurt her so much, and Edward just wants to feel and believe it that way despite realizing that she could only show her emotions to no one but that prince.
'... but, you will open yourself to me too.'
.
slowly, but surely.
.
Because every time the episode comes, he will be there for her. He will be the one who holds her tight and tells her that everything will be alright, just like the previous episode he approached with Irisha. Then gradually, she will look at him.
.
slowly,
.
but... eventually.
.
" Mr. Edward, may I come in?" His butler knocks on the door to the room, and he stands up to see him. An old man in his butler suit waits for him at the door. "... There is an urgent report that I have to tell you."
Then he looks at him without his smile. " Is it him?"
" Yes. It comes from the Imperial Palace asking for a meeting with you. Yet, I don't know who is the sender."
"... You know I don't want it," he says, glancing at Irisha, who again looks at nothing. "... He will never be able to do anything as long as Irisha is here."
And the butler seems troubled. " But..."
" I don't want to hear anything more," he says. " Just keep an eye on Arisha. Bring her back after she is done with school, and don't say anything about it to Irisha," he instructs. The butler then nods in surrender.
.
And he sighs, 'Just go away, you fucker!' he wishes. 'She does not want to meet you, so let her be.' Just go away and let them be.
It has been more than a week since Irisha came to his mansion, all because of the urgency to run away from that prince. Yet, on that very day, the crown prince visited. The death stare was truly terrifying; he felt pain in his lungs and even saw all his servants collapse.
" I want to meet Irisha." And he tried to force his way in, pushing himself inside.
Yet, Edward stood in front of him. " You know she will not like it, don't you? ... Your Grace?"
" Who are you to meddle in?"
And he gasped with sudden pressure in his lung while somehow grinning. " Then tell me who you are to Ms. Irisha?" This made the prince twitch while strengthening his aura. "... yo-u, you could do it ... yet, it might just ... make Ms. Irisha despise you even m-more, Yo-your Grace..."
And the man somehow softened before he decided to leave, to the point that it annoyed Edward so much. Yes, it ignited a fury inside him in an abnormal way.
'Aren't you the wicked crown prince in this empire?' He is. As this fucking dragon's aura hurts Edward's lungs so badly. Yet, the most painful thing was seeing a mad man that people were terrified of, holding himself back for a mere commoner.
.
.
'Who is Ms. Irisha to you? And who are you to her?'
.
.
And it is really painful to think about it as Edward feels he has already found the answer. Yet, he just ignores it while pretending to know nothing. He keeps Irisha inside his mansion without letting her know about how the imperial knights now surround his mansion.
"... that fucking prince."
And it feels like a cold war between him and the wicked prince, all for this woman with her brunette hair. " Are you done?" he asks, now standing beside her while trying to fix her falling hair.
[ I am done.] she says, brushing his hand smoothly as if nothing is happening.
And Edward holds his feelings while looking away at the barely touched food.
[ You talked quite a while, is there something wrong?] She asks, her concern showing if it's regarding this matter.
Then he shakes his head. " It's nothing. I just asked the butler to prepare Arisha's desserts because she will be back from school soon."
Then she giggles faintly. [ You are really a good guy, aren't you?]
" I am," he says while smiling, again ignoring the guilt crawling inside him as if it is choking him.
.
.
"... It's really not the best time, is it?!" said Ray in disbelief while looking at his subordinate who looks at him in panic.
" But, the general really needs him to be present! The Jahar's troops are passing the border, and they need his orders!"
And Ray holds his head that feels so hurt. "How am I supposed to tell him with this strong aura of his?!" Because even though they are now far from the room where the crown prince is, his aura is strong enough to be felt. It pressed against them like a physical weight, sharp and biting, making every nerve ache as if the air itself was laced with pain. "I might die if I go to him now!" His mind was already preparing for the worst thing that was about to happen in this situation. "How about the emperor or the empress?" he looks at him expectantly as it is their only hope but—
"... Father already leads the troops to Jahar." The first princess then shows up suddenly. " Mother... also came with him."
And they both look at her who recently softened her aggressive demeanor with a light and bright expression. " T-then, what is your order, Your Grace?"
And she smiles vainly. " What do you mean? You already know how much he fell for Sister Irisha, don't you?" She grits her teeth at this fucked-up situation. " Ash has already gone too; he might be able to help. I also ordered the knights to guard him. Just make sure you look—Go," she says, turning away from them to the empty hallway leading to the wicked prince's room. Ray and his subordinate understand her meaning in a second and run away.
Not long after that, Ivy gasped as the aura she feels now is strong enough to threaten her. She tries to smile as she looks at the man with the same golden color and platinum hair as her—a replica of her appearance from someone she calls a brother. " You look like a mess, brother." And he really does as he looks like he has not slept for days. His death glare is so dreadful. " You cannot go anywhere," she says while spreading out her hands in front of him.
Yet, his glowing eyes look at her with a deathly gaze.
She gulps. "... Y-you have to stay here."
And he smirks. " I am not ... in such a mood to talk, ... right?" he says, and Ivy understands it's a threat for her not to bother him.
" ... Y-you still can—UGH!" Yet, a strong aura attacks her lungs as if it's squeezing her badly. " B-brother—" She holds her chest tight to alleviate the agonizing pain. " ... Bro-ther!" She looks at his eyes miserably, hoping he wakes up.
Brak!
And she collapses as soon as the pain goes away. Her knees lose strength as well as her mind, yet she tries to stand up. " D-don't go!" she begs, but he is not turning away. " Sister Irisha will not like yo—"
" SHE IS THE ONE—" And his scream, painfully trembling, stops Ivy. She looks at his hands, which are tightly clenched, leaking blood. "... She is the one who despises me, isn't she?" And he walks away with a painful feeling that even Ivy can understand.
.
... Because the dragon loves his treasure entirely.
.
It is to the point that a dragon would choose to take the pain instead to make his treasure happy. For an unknown reason, Irisha chooses to go away from him, leaving his proud brother in a miserable state. Irisha keeps him out, which makes him unable to do anything other than drown in his pain.
"... But you cannot, brother," Ivy says, trying to stand and run to the nearest balcony. " AHAVA, COME!" She calls her dear one. " Bring me to Sister Irisha!" As the first princess then jumps into her saddle smoothly, she flies fast as if time is her enemy.
.
' I believe in you.' She was once not, but now she is.
She now believes in the woman who once embraced the mad princess tightly and cried for her.
.
.
' I believe in you...'
And she truly does,
.
' So please, help my brother.'
***