“I have never considered giving up!”
[Granting favor implies the promise of boundless reward in the future, does it not? Haven’t you already given up by deciding not to even bestow that future?]
“How can I bestow anything when the one I wish to favor is already dead?”
Baffled, she voiced her argument, to which Ulrim responded.
[You’ve given up, so he merely remains unconscious—but he is not dead.]
“…Not dead?”
Even with this hopeful news, she began to cry. Despite her claim of not giving up, her tears betrayed her shattered state of mind. Her resolve, though firm in words, was weakened after years of hardship as a political hostage in a foreign land.
[Do you truly wish to save him, Princess?]
“Yes, haven’t I already saved him countless times?”
Though Aisia added that one could not live while drowning in debt, inwardly, that wasn’t the case.
‘Simply, I don’t want to see him d*e anymore.’
[If you can bestow favor, would you wish to grant all the favor you can?]
“If it can save him, anything…!”
As her heart responded, Aisia nodded while crying, then looked to the heavens and cried out.
[Then swear the Royal Oath to him.]
“…The Royal Oath.”
Aisia Lil Shuhain whispered this, realizing what it meant.
At the same time, she felt her family heirloom pendant, gifted by her mother, shatter, signaling her return to the ruins.
“Princess! This is dangerous. I can’t continue the healing magic…?!’
Everyone was startled by Aisia Lil Shuhain’s sudden actions while maintaining the healing magic.
As the interior of the ruins began to interfere with the magic, causing unstable light, the healing slowly started stabilizing his wounds, stemming the bleeding and initiating tissue regeneration.
“What… how…”
The medical mage voiced his astonishment.
Aisia suppressed her heart’s erratic beats resonating through their connected lips, focusing solely on relieving his pain, despite the dizziness and sweat soaking her body.
‘Even if I regret it later, right now…’
As she silently repeated this, she noticed a slight easing of pain in Adolf’s expression.
The Royal Oath was proving effective, aiding in hemostasis and emergency treatment.
The surrounding soldiers watched with widened eyes, astonished that the Princess, who had been deemed powerless and infertile, could wield such a potent healing magic.
Most shockingly, the process of the healing magic itself.
As the light gradually dimmed, Adolf, though labored, opened his eyes with a slightly relieved look.
“Ai…sia?”
Trying to speak, Adolf’s lips barely moved, overlapped by something preventing him from vocalizing.
Realizing who it was, Adolf attempted to speak hoarsely, but Aisia quickly held his cheeks with both hands and gently spoke.
“Don’t talk.”
He silently closed his eyes and regulated his breathing.
Meanwhile, an officer set up a space for additional bandages and magical elixirs. Once Adolf Kareha’s breathing returned somewhat to normal, Aisia pulled away some distance from him, claiming it was sufficient.
‘This… Is this not the Royal Oath?’
Though the healing magic provided some emergency aid, it did not guarantee a full recovery.
A little while later, he eventually lost consciousness.
The officers and knights prepared a stretcher to move Adolf Kareha to a safer location.
Despite still struggling with her emotions, Aisia stayed close by Adolf’s side.
“Princess.”
A soldier cautiously addressed her.
“Are you alright? The monsters are subdued, and this hall is relatively safe now. We should rest here for a while.”
As she slowly stood, she realized she was somewhat exhausted herself.
“Then… let’s rest for a moment, until he awakens.”
She glanced at Adolf again.
Although he still appeared in pain, his breathing had steadied, bringing her relief.
‘What was that about “soft lips”…’
Thinking of her recent actions, her cheeks flushed red.
“To this person, I gave my first kiss… how absurd.”
Clutching her lips, she muttered to herself.
Although she didn’t reveal this in front of other soldiers, her heart was unexpectedly restless.
In the past, she criticized Adolf as a “cruel warmonger” and suspected he used her merely as a shield.
But now her perspective shifted. She began to trust and rely on him.
“Really… why am I nursing this man right now?”
She repeatedly pondered this within herself. Though she knew the answer, her pride wouldn’t let her admit it easily.
When she was initially taken prisoner to this place, she believed he wouldn’t show any mercy.
However, each time on the battlefield, instead of harming her, Adolf repeatedly sought ways to treat her, recalling these facts only made Adolf Kareha’s lips appear tempting.
‘Tempting, you say?’
Smack!
Aisia Lil Shuhain slapped her own cheeks to compose herself.
Every fact she remembered was upending her worldview.
“Was his reason for treating me really that?”
She murmured, then silenced herself.
If she continued pondering, it felt like all the hatred she had so long believed in would crumble into nothing.
After a short while, the soldiers cleaned up the area and set up a temporary camp.
Wounded soldiers rested in safe spaces between stone pillars, while those in agony were given emergency treatment and barely managed to regulate their breathing.
The officer dispatched search parties to confirm no more monsters were nearby, and some soldiers checked for traps around them.
Aisia secluded herself in a corner adjacent to a narrow passage, keeping watch over Adolf’s resting form.
Despite dried bl**d around his mouth and stained bandages on his arms, he appeared to be safe for the moment.
As his breathing gradually stabilized, his once painful expression softened.
“If His Excellency awakes, notify Her Imperial Highness the Princess.”
The medical mage approached and greeted her.
“He must not move strenuously until fully conscious.”
She quietly nodded in agreement.
After the medical team left, only dim lantern light remained in the hall.
The flickering flames cast dancing shadows onto the stone walls, with broken debris scattered among ancient inscriptions on the altar.
“I made a Royal Oath to this man…”
She looked down at her own hands. When someone from the Royal Family of Liberia makes an oath, the mark of “Liberia” appears on their palm.
After expending her magic force during the recent effort, she could still feel a tingling sensation in her palm.
“And yet, I doubt he truly recognizes me in a deep way.”
But while denying this, she couldn’t help but acknowledge his feelings towards her.
“Compassion, sympathy, and even deeper emotions… does he harbor them for me?”
The mere thought of these words made her chest stir.
Not knowing another’s heart, Aisia Lil Shuhain realized, was far more complicated than imagined.
“What to do with these unfamiliar feelings?”
She whispered to herself.
Eventually, fatigue caught up with her, and she leaned back against the wall for a brief nap.
How much time had passed?
The faint sound of soldiers moving nearby and the murmurs of wounded comrades supporting each other reached her ears.
For a brief moment, it felt like she had drifted off to a light sleep and then woke up quietly.
“Princess.”
Somebody approached her gently.
“Did you manage to rest a little?”
“Yes,” she replied with a slightly raspy voice.
“I got a little sleep. Is it still safe here?”
“For now, yes. No monsters have appeared, and no additional traps have been discovered.”
The soldier bowed slightly.
“But we must leave here soon. Our supplies will grow scarce if we linger too long.”
“Understood.”
She stood up while glancing at Adolf Kareha lying nearby.
He still seemed to be deeply asleep, with only the sound of his breathing faintly audible.
How many thoughts and concerns lingered behind his calm expression?
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from this strange feeling.
The officer cautiously approached and shared a small story.
“In truth, General Adolf said he would take any risk to treat Your Highness. We all found this very difficult to understand… but that’s just the kind of person General Adolf is. He never abandons any responsibility he takes.”
“Responsibility…” she softly repeated.
She couldn’t help but ponder, responsibility for what?
As she recalled his previous words, “Everything I do is for you,” though once unbelievable, now she considered it wasn’t just empty talk.
“Understood.”
She gave a short reply, then slowly walked towards Adolf.
The officer retreated respectfully after looking at her for a moment.
“I never thought I’d end up caring for you like this…”
She quietly murmured while kneeling down.
Looking at the still-unconscious Adolf, her heart started racing again.
“Still… it’s really fortunate that you’re alive…”
Among the swirling thoughts in her mind, she was relieved that his breathing had become much calmer and more stable than before.
She could feel her originally unstable magical powers now radiating warmth, seemingly evidence that the Royal Oath had fulfilled its function to some extent.
Despite the warmth creeping into her heart, she continued to be surprised by her own feelings.
And she whispered softly.
