"The Imperial Prison Medical Center was really inside the prison. It makes sense, considering the name is 'Medical Center'... With such thoughts in my mind, I followed Hunter quietly into the prison. Thanks to Hunter, the prince, after a simple check, we entered the ward. The strong smell of cold disinfectant wafted from the Medical room.
Andrea was lying in the bed in the corner of the medical room. With a pale face, he was wearing a brown prisoner's uniform, and his body, exposed outside the uniform, was covered in bandages.
"Is he still unconscious?"
Hunter asked the doctor.
"He occasionally opens his eyes, but he's mostly asleep. The painkillers are strong,"
The doctor went into detail about how deep the abdominal injuries were and how severe the bleeding was, the doctor said that Andrea's condition was really serious.
"We've passed the critical stage, but honestly, the prognosis isn't very promising. Since he's a patient specially requested by His Highness the Crown Prince, the prison authorities are paying close attention, but... truth be told, there's not much we can do here."
Saying this, the doctor had suggestions about the facilities, medical equipment, and drug medications related to the Prison Medical Center. He seemed like a person with a strong work ethic, He held on to Hunter and started discussing it.
"I'll go out and talk."
Hunter said to me.
"5 minutes. Del."
After that, he and the doctor left. Except for the prison guards standing over the prisoners, only Andrea and I were left in the hospital room. Perhaps Hunter went out with the doctor on purpose. Give me a free 5 minutes.
I looked down at Andrea. Andrea and I stayed in bed for three days. However, I had become exceptionally healthy, receiving treatment in the Imperial Palace, including healing magic and divine power. Meanwhile, Andrea had barely survived with emergency treatment. As soon as he is able to move, he will head straight to prison.
"Are you an idiot...?"
Who would throw themselves to this extent for someone they don't even like? Moreover, his current favorability floating above his head was 97.
I flicked back the bangs covering Andrea's forehead. I saw a bandage covering his foreheadline to the scalp. One ear was heavily bandaged and blood-stained gauze was attached to the neck. When I lifted the prisoner's uniform, I saw that his abdomen was tightly wrapped in bandages.
"There are no empty spaces..."
From the wrists to the forearms, palms, fingers, legs, feet.....There wasn't a corner that wasn't injured.
He entered the Grand Duke's residence alone. Even though he suffered serious injuries while defeating all the Archduke's knights, he showed no hesitation in facing the Grand Duke. 'You have to acknowledge his skills,'
Hunter had said. He fought alone against 17. Well, considering the extent of his injuries, it seemed more like 57 opponents than 17.
"I've never seen someone so foolish and stupid."
As I continued to grumble to myself, the guards glanced at me as if I were acting strangely, however once discontent broke out, there was no sign of stopping.
"Why did Andrea disguise himself and enter the palace in the first place? And then, why did he get caught? Seriously, Andrea is really sloppy. And how does he manage to run two guilds?"
Andrea remained silent. The guards stood quietly, almost like objects. Hunter was still outside with the doctor. It meant there was no one to stop me.
When I asked him if he liked me, he insisted that he didn't, and now his favorability was almost at 100. Let's see if he denies it again when he wakes up.
I touched Andrea's right hand, which was clenched into a fist.
"Do you fight even in your dreams? Why are you clenching your fist? Seriously, I don't understand..."
As I tried to open Andrea's fist, it wouldn't budge. Only after prying open each of his fingers from the thumb to the little one, did the fist finally loosened. Anyway, his strength was surprisingly strong. I grunted and I carefully placed his hand back, and a small note came out from under his palm. It was a crumpled piece of paper, poorly written with messy handwriting.
[Andrea is quick-tempered. Don't fight with anyone. It's not good If you get hurt]
The writing was as if it was written by a child, with messy handwriting. I had written this note before, but why was he holding onto it? Why did you keep this? I vaguely remember tearing a sheet from a notebook and giving it to Andrea.
"When was this..."
I opened my mouth, but my voice didn't come out, as if something were stuck in my throat. At first, I thought it was the penalty again. Why is this happening, why can't my voice come out? Then, my cheek felt itchy, and when I scratched it, my fingertips got wet.
"....."
It wasn't a penalty; it was just tears. As if waiting for me to realize, tears began to fall.
"Oh, damn... Why am I crying..."
It was unfair. I was angry. Why should I cry? It was Andrea's fault for doing such a foolish thing. Why am I.....because he left first, pretending not to know his true feelings.
But ever since I went to the palace, I had been worried about Andrea. If Andrea had come with me to the palace from the beginning the conflict with the Second Prince wouldn't have happened if he hadn't left me alone in the first place.
From the moment he was in Sablum, he had an excellent talent for always sticking by my side even at a distance. He would lazily lean on me, and when I dozed off, I would find him giving me a shoulder or, thinking he had momentarily gone somewhere, only to see him lying on the sofa reading a book, occasionally checking me out of the corner of his eye.
The same went for the Duke's mansion. In that bedroom I was kidnapped, Andrea had a tough time getting to me.
Magic, prayers, pride... People tend to follow a routine for their lives, whether they like it or not. The routine of doing what you've been doing every day, the certainty that you will continue to do it tomorrow. That's what everyday life is.
However, Andrea didn't have such a daily routine. There was no routine that he had to do, no magic to devote passion to, no prayers to offer, and no pride to uphold. For him, there was only me. Even without a favorability rating of 97, it was clear. This man probably, no, definitely loves me.
"Why bother reading the note? I told you not to fight with anyone, not to get hurt. It's a promise, so... then... you should keep the promise. At least pretend to protect it..."
My throat was choked with sobs and words were mumbling in my mouth. With no strength to stand, I sat down, holding onto the bed railing, and lowered my head, sobbing. a soft gentle voice fell from above.
"Prince Del."
Hunter, who had silently entered the room at some point, looked down at me. His eyes were filled with deep sadness.
Oh... as soon as I saw Hunter, I cried louder like a child. He turned around and gestured to the doctor and guards, who hesitated before finally leaving.
Hunter turned back, kneeling down on one knee. He gently pulled me, who was crying pathetically, into his embrace. His large hand patted my back slowly.
After crying for a while, my emotions relaxed a little. As soon as my crying subsided, Hunter took me out of his arms.
"Are you okay?"
"...Yes. I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry about?"
"That... even if His Highness did something wrong to me, I cried in your arms because of another man. I'm sorry."
Hunter's expression became strange as he listened to my words. Eventually, he smiled slightly.
"When you said you'd give me a week, you truly are fair."
Even in this situation, he replied with a joke. His violet eyes widened slightly as he muttered in amusement.
"If I were to ask you to marry me in exchange for clearing the guild leader's charges, I think you might probably accept it as it's not a bad deal."
He tossed a light-hearted joke that was uncharacteristic of Hunter...
It's actually a good deal, isn't it? Clearing Andrea's charges attempting to assassinate a member of the royal family in exchange for a two-year marriage. It seems like a reasonable deal. I pouted my lips, and Hunter laughed more louder than before.
"You just thought it might be okay to marry me, right?"
"Well, no, I mean..."
"I might have wronged you, but I haven't committed any serious wrongdoings, and you quite like me a bit, and compared to Andrea being imprisoned for the rest of his life while suffering from fatal injuries, our short marriage is rather a trade-off."
Is this person serious...?
"And, as I said, you are a very fair person."
His smile fading from his face, he added in a small, unmistakable voice, "I should take this chance." When only a faint smile on his face remained, he added in a low but clear voice
"But, Prince Del, no one wants fairness in love."
[Ok I feel bad for Hunter... he waited for Del hoping he'd return to him only to find him in another man's arms. He really loved Del and I'm kinda annoyed at Del for avoiding and kinda ignoring it. Man is like an abandoned puppy TwT]