The Butterfly Bracelet [Yandere Prince x Female Reader]

11. Fatigue.

"Vascini was founded when the Archduke Jacopo de Vascini and the five Dukes under his control rebelled against the King of Luccia. After a few months of tension, the King of Luccia and Jacopo reached a diplomatic agreement. Jacopo would be permitted to form his own country that could trade and form alliances with other countries independently from Luccia but at the price of swearing a certain amount of goods and money be delivered to Luccia every year, along with being Luccia's firm ally in all political matters."

Y/N's mind wondered as Ilidoro continued his boring lecture about Vascinian history. She tried her best to pay attention at first, but after the clocktower struck one, signaling that he had been talking for nearly three hours, she started to lose interest.

She reflected on the fun she had gathering flowers with Dandini. It had been several days since she had gone to the secluded garden. She had wanted to return and see him again, but Ilidoro had kept her so busy with her lessons that she had been unable to. Remembering his shy smile caused a blush to spread on Y/N's face.

"After the reign of King Jacopo I, there came the reign of King Arrigo I." Ilidoro continued, "after that, there was King Cennto I, his son became King Migllioro I. As you probably guessed it is a tradition for the heir's first name to end with an o. That brings us to the reign of the current sovereign, King Salvistoro I and his son, the future king- Y/N are you listening to me?!"

Y/N jumped, startled out of her thoughts by Ilidoro's sudden change of tone. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down.

"I know this is not exactly thrilling, but you need to learn it," Ilidoro reprimanded her, gripping the bridge of his nose. "Once you are married to the prince, who is the only heir to the throne, you will be expected to be competent in politics. Even if you are only going to be the spouse of the sovereign, you still need to know the kind of country you will govern."

"But I already know all I need to about this country," Y/N protested, thinking of the many things she had learned from her grandmother as well as the other servants at the castle.

"Is that so?" Ilidoro challenged her dully. "You don't even know why your own father is one of the five most wealthy and powerful men in the country. And you expect me to believe that you have the knowledge to help manage the kingdom?"

Y/N shook her head, much as she hated to admit it, she still had a lot to learn, and a little over two months to learn it. After a brief pause, she asked, "s-so, why is my father one of the most powerful men in the kingdom?"

With a small sigh, Ilidoro explained, "Your father is such a powerful man because he is the head of the House of Magnifico. The House of Magnifico is one of the five original families of Dukes that swore to support Jacopo de Vascini in his rebellion against Luccia. After Vascini became a country Jacopo, now a king, rewarded those families who had supported him with titles, power, and wealth."

"Fate is an interesting thing," Ilidoro mused, meetings Y/N's E/C eyes with his indigo eyes that had dark circles under them. "Had your father accepted you as his daughter, it is likely that you would have been presented to the prince at his upcoming birthday ball as a potential suitor, but because your father shunned you, it led to you meeting me and being brought to the castle to learn more about the prince and become the perfect woman for him. Fate is an interesting thing that way... Fate..."

Ilidoro's voice trailed off as he stared at the wall behind Y/N blankly, lost in thought. Ilidoro started muttering under his breath. Y/N tried to hear what he was saying, but he was speaking too softly. His eyes had a glazed look as he continued to gaze at the wall.

Y/N shifted in her seat uncomfortably, trying to get Ilidoro's attention, but he remained unresponsive. "Ili-Ilidoro?" Y/N said his name softly.

That jarred him out of his trance. It was Ilidoro's turn to jump as Y/N's voice returned him to the present moment. He turned his attention back to Y/N and said: "Sorry about that I got lost in thought."

Clearing his throat, he continued. "That was a very unprofessional thing of me to do- yes very unprofessional," he repeated himself. "... So, I suppose we should continue with your lesson... Yes, sorry, I'm rambling." Ilidoro's sentence trailed off, then he added. "What was I going to say next... I forgot..."

"You were going to continue my lesson," Y/N answered timidly, growing concerned for her teacher.

"Ah yes, thank you for reminding me," Ilidoro replied, flashing Y/N a thankful smile. "I don't know how I forgot that..." His expression grew pensive as he added, "and... What was I teaching you today...?"

"Historical politics," Y/N answered, truly worried about Ilidoro's health. "Are you feeling alright Ilidoro? You look exhausted, perhaps you should take the day off and rest."

"No-no, I'm fine," he replied, but his shadowed eyes, shaking hands and fatigued expression said otherwise. "Just a little tired, that's all. Shall we continue?"

Y/N watched him closely as he picked up the book he had been reading from. He squinted at it and moved it closer and further away from his face, as though he was struggling to get the text to focus.

After a minute or so he placed the book back on the table with a sigh and said, "I think I have a slight headache, so I am going to call your lesson to an early end. Please feel free to do as you wish for the rest of the day, just as long as you leave me alone."

Y/N wanted to insist that Ilidoro go see the court physician, but the look in his eyes told her that if she pushed him too far he would not be exactly pleasant. With one last worried glance at Ilidoro sat on the couch, Y/N retreated to her room.

Once inside she closed the door and sat down on the foot of her bed. She grabbed her hairbrush and started to work it through her hair absentmindedly as she reflected on her teacher's odd behavior.

Over the past few weeks, he had been growing increasingly volatile. He would lose track of what he was saying mid-sentence, the smallest of things would set him off, and at the same time, he had become completely lethargic and apathetic.

Well, he had been like that for as long as Y/N had known him, but whatever was bothering him seemed to have been getting worse as of late. Y/N may not have known the full extent of what was bothering him, but she wanted to help him however she could.

Y/N put her hairbrush down and simply sat in silence, trying to come up with an idea to help him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden crash from out in the parlor.

Y/N rushed from her room to see what had caused the noise. She found Ilidoro laying in a crumpled heap on the floor. Kneeling down next to him, Y/N shook his shoulders, but there was no response. He was completely unconscious. He must have fainted when he tried to stand up from the couch, and him hitting the ground is what she had heard.

Y/N placed a hand against his forehead and felt that he was burning up with fever. She tried to lift him from the floor, but it was impossible. "I need to get help," Y/N said as she stared at Ilidoro's unconscious face. "You need a Doctor."

A/N

Pour Ilidoro isn't doing so well. I guess that he pushed himself too far.

I have really missed working on this book, so I am happy to be back. ^~^

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~