Chapter 24.
Things That Comfort the Night (2)
“Mmm…”
‘Ah, that’s refreshing.’
Cool water slid down her parched throat.
Even though she still wasn’t fully conscious, Illena gulped it down greedily, unable to stop herself.
‘How thirsty was I?’
She hadn’t even realized it before, but now that the water was in her mouth, it felt like dry, cracked soil drinking in rain.
She let out an involuntary, needy murmur.
“Mmm… more… more…”
“Wait a moment. I’ll get more.”
She couldn’t care less about appearances or pride right now.
Her body hung limply, as if she’d been beaten with a club.
It was the toll of having been tense all day.
She kept shivering uncontrollably.
“Here. Slowly… drink slowly.”
A large hand brought clear water to her lips.
Illena clutched that hand like it was a lifeline and drank desperately.
“Haa…”
A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
Now that her thirst was eased, the cold and exhaustion hit her with full force.
Instinctively, Illena leaned toward the nearest source of heat.
But a large hand quickly caught her.
“Don’t get too close to the fire.”
“It’s… cold…”
Somehow, beside the small oasis, he had built a campfire from gathered branches.
But it wasn’t nearly enough to thaw her frozen body.
As she kept shivering, Iago let out a quiet sigh.
Then, without warning, he scooped her up.
“W-what are you—”
“My body is warmer.”
He replied bluntly, sitting her on his lap and wrapping one arm around her.
With the other, he kept rubbing her cold hands and feet.
‘Is his body temperature naturally high?’
The warmth from his touch seeped into her bones.
At last, Illena let out a drowsy sigh.
‘Ah… I feel alive again…’
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that.
Once the desperate thirst and chill had eased, she finally became aware of her situation.
Right in front of her was what felt like a stone-hard olive-colored washboard — his chest.
And only now did she feel the large hand roaming over her arms and legs.
Suddenly, it struck her that she was alone with the Black King in an oasis in the middle of the desert.
Pressed right up against each other.
Could this… be one of those situations?
Now that she could think straight again, her mind wandered somewhere ridiculous.
‘Desert, Black King… romance…?’
“Why?”
His low, cold voice broke her thoughts.
“Ah! I’m sorry!”
I’m sorry for being a pervert!
Startled like a guilty thief, she yelped.
“You know you should apologize?”
He raised one eyebrow.
‘Huh?’
The unexpected response confused her.
No, he couldn’t have read her thoughts.
‘Oh… does he mean for making him come all this way?’
But that was probably the fault of that bespectacled aide of his.
If he was going to confront her about it, she was ready to fire back. She looked up at him defiantly.
“You can control the weather, can’t you? Then why did you create a sandstorm?”
‘Ah, that.’
“Were you trying to die?”
His voice was curt, tinged with what sounded like anger.
“…”
Illena pressed her lips shut.
Only the crackle of the fire filled the silence.
She thought he would press her harder, but he said nothing more.
Even so, despite seeming upset, his large hand kept rubbing her cold feet without pause.
It felt strange.
She had only ever known people who flattered her to her face while stabbing her in the back.
But this man, even while acting angry, was quietly caring for her.
Maybe it was that hand…
Or maybe it was just the shock of waking up in the middle of the desert.
Or maybe, for some reason, she just wanted to tell him.
“I can’t.”
Nestled in his arms, she suddenly spoke.
“What can’t you do?”
He asked quietly.
“That… weather-controlling thing.”
She stared into the campfire.
“Pathetic, right? I can’t control my own emotions. I can’t even cry when I want to.”
After hesitating, she added flatly—
“I have depression.”
It was only the second time in both her past and present lives that she had ever told anyone about her illness.
Her heart pounded.
“You know, that’s selfish.”
The words from the first time she confessed it came rushing back to her.
“…”
No response came now.
‘Knew it. I shouldn’t have said anything.’
She hid her sinking heart behind a practiced lie.
“So, I suddenly got amnesia, you see? Everything before three months ago is gone. And with it came the depression, which is nothing big, really—”
“You’re not pathetic at all.”
His answer came so easily, so naturally.
Startled, Illena looked away from the fire to meet his gaze.
It was his usual expressionless face.
But there was no hint of contempt in it.
She stared at that handsome face for a while before asking slowly—
“…Do you even know what depression is?”
“Honestly, I’ve never heard of it before.”
He blinked.
“But whatever it is, you’re not pathetic. Not once, in all the time I’ve watched you, have you ever been pathetic.”
Illena lowered her head.
Ah… there it was again. That lump rising in her throat, the sting in her eyes.
And yet, no matter what, the damn tears wouldn’t come.
She swallowed that lump and some time passed.
Plop—
‘Huh? Rain?’
But she hadn’t cried.
She touched the droplet on her cheek in disbelief.
Then realized it hadn’t fallen from the sky.
“Why…?”
“It must have been hard… carrying everyone’s expectations… and yet not being able to cry when you’re sad.”
The Black King was crying.
Murmuring words she couldn’t tell were for her or for himself.
His tears fell on her face like raindrops.
“Ah.”
A small sound escaped her lips.
‘Beautiful.’
Even now, she found herself thinking that.
The amethyst-like eyes looking down at her. The reddened rims. The slightly furrowed brows.
‘Finding a man crying beautiful… I must be dangerous.’
Maybe Regulus wasn’t the only pervert — maybe it was her.
She let out a tiny laugh and reached up to wipe his tears.
“Why are you crying, Your Highness?”
“But… but…”
He sobbed audibly.
‘Ah… something about this…’
Watching him cry, she felt a sensation she hadn’t experienced in a long, long time.
That release — like something heavy in her chest was pouring out with tears.
‘And I’m not even the one crying.’
Illena tilted her head back to look at the night sky.
Maybe it was the countless stars above.
Even though the night was pitch-dark without a single light, it didn’t feel dark or scary at all.
They stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, for a long time.
Crackle, crackle.
The campfire’s sound spread softly through the quiet desert.
Illena poked at the flames with a stick.
Once her body had warmed up, she slipped out of Iago’s arms.
He sat beside her, knees hugged to his chest, sneaking glances at her.
After baring so much of their inner thoughts, an awkward yet strangely warm atmosphere lingered.
They sat like that for who knows how long.
Unable to stand the silence, Iago spoke first.
“You were driven out of the North, weren’t you?”
‘Ah… that’s not what I was expecting.’
He regretted it the moment he said it.
Illena flinched.
Now her thoughts tangled.
‘How much should I be honest? Can I trust him? This time?’
She almost fell into her old habit — weighing facts and calculating advantage — but stopped herself.
The desert. The star-filled sky. The warm fire crackling before her.
Such things dulled reason.
She spoke without thinking.
“Yeah. I was driven out.”
“…Bastards.”
Iago growled lowly.
His usually gentle eyes flashed cold for an instant.
‘That’s probably the harshest insult he knows.’
The thought made the massive man curling up into himself seem strangely cute.
After hesitating like a whining puppy, he asked carefully—
“Then… you really don’t remember anything?”
“Mmm. I remember my very early childhood, but not my time as a priestess. Just… well…”
She hesitated, then decided to tell the truth.
“Something bad happened at the end. So honestly, I don’t want to go back to the North.”
“I see. I understand.”
He accepted it simply, without asking what had happened.
Illena quietly studied him.
Despite being practically abandoned in the middle of the desert, she felt strangely warm inside.
“What about you? Why are you pretending?”
This time, she shot the question at Iago.
“P-pretending? What do you mean?”
“…”
“Ah, earlier — sand got in my eyes…”
Unable to bear her silence, he stammered excuses.
“…”
She said nothing, still poking the fire with a blank face.
“Y-you know there was a sandstorm earlier, so there was a lot of dust—”
“…”
Still, she gave no reaction.
“…Ugh.”
Finally unable to withstand the atmosphere, Iago let out a strangled groan and buried his face in his knees.
