Chapter 89

“Katrin.”

His voice called my name.

‘I feel like I’ll lose my mind.’

All I could do was stare at him with stiff eyes.

Soaked in water, yet looking like the model of a rain-drenched photoshoot, his handsome face and red lips were right in front of me.

“….”

A single drop of water slid down his sharp jawline.

Seeing that drop fall snapped me out of my daze.
It might have been just water from being wet, but it looked like a tear, and it made my chest ache.

“Does it… hurt?”

I remembered his status screen, with half the hearts gone, and asked in a trembling voice.

Etias, who had become emperor just as he had always wished, looked so fine and dignified.
But… had something happened?

“….”

Etias’ piercing blue eyes were full of me.

“…It hurt.”

My chest jolted at his words.

Etias Bon Clyde was not the kind of man to say he was in pain, even if he was suffering to death.
If he admitted it, then it had to be unbearable.

“Where? Where does it hurt? Why?”

He gave a faint, twisted smile.

“My chest… it burned like fire. It hurt so much I couldn’t sleep or eat.”

My heart sank hearing his desperate words.

“What about the imperial physician? You must have the best doctor after the revolution. Is it your lungs?”

I glanced at his broad chest.
In the original, Jeffrey Wissler had ruined his lungs, but here that hadn’t happened.
Could they have worsened in another way?

He shook his head.

“No.”

“Then your heart? Did you push yourself too hard and cause a problem with your heart…?”

“It’s not that.”

His quiet voice cut me off.

What should I do?
Maybe Elma Pharmaceuticals had a medicine that could heal him?

I was lost in thought when his breath came closer.

“Heal me.”

Without hesitation, I nodded.

“Just trust me. I’ll heal you no matter what.”

The moment Etias said he was hurting, all my careful plans disappeared.
My beloved was suffering.
He asked me to heal him.
Of course I would.

“I’ll never lose you again, Etias…”

For a brief moment, a faint smile touched his lips.
Then suddenly, his breath swept closer to me.

“…!”

His lips pressed against mine.
My eyes shook violently.

After about five seconds, he slowly pulled away.
His eyes, right before me, shone so brightly they felt like they would swallow me whole.

“…I feel like I can breathe again.”

My heart pounded wildly.

“But to be completely cured… I’ll need it endlessly.”

What kind of illness was this?

Softly, he whispered:

“Katrin. You.”

My heart thudded hard.

Before long, the water began to drain away.
The wildfire had been completely extinguished.

“We’re alive…”
“We survived!”

Thanks to the life vests, everyone had lived, cheering with relief.

Even Lucia, though unconscious, was still breathing.

“….”

But Heros stood before Etias, his face cold, clearly displeased with our reunion.
Dripping wet, they stared at each other and spoke in low voices.

“So you managed to sneak in here… Guildmaster of the Scavengers, Jeffrey Wissler.”

“Your Majesty, after all that support, isn’t it time you let go? Leave the young lady alone.”

“I’ll repay the support many times over. From now on, I’ll protect Katrin.”

“Then are the ones who set fire to this village truly Your Majesty’s enemies? Or… are you making her more endangered?”

Etias’ blue eyes grew colder.

The tension between them was like the beginning of a war.

Biyo gave a sharp chirp just as a sound rang from my watch:

HP: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♡♡♡♡

What?

This morning, I had only seen four hearts.
Now, two more had suddenly filled in.

Etias’ earlier words flashed in my mind.

“To be completely cured… I’ll need it endlessly. Katrin, you.”

My lips still burned from his kiss.

Through Biyo, I had learned hearts disappeared for mental reasons…

‘…But why would kissing him restore them?!’

Could it be—no, impossible.
Etias, loving me?

I shook my head.
I had treated him as an enemy, said countless cruel things.
How could he possibly feel that way?

The Etias I knew from the original was iron-willed, never distracted by women.
Surely, it was just lingering loyalty to a sponsor.
The kiss had been strange, but maybe the current pushed us together.

“….”

I took a deep breath and approached them.

“Your Majesty. Heros.”

Heros’ cold gaze was still locked on Etias.
He had always disliked how closely I supported Etias.
And my hiding had been because of Etias’ revolution’s success in the first place.

“For now, you’re both soaked. Let’s change clothes. You too, Heros—you’ll catch a cold.”

“….”

“See? You’ve even got a cut here.”

I reached for Heros’ arm, but Etias grabbed my hand instead.

“You’re soaked too, Katrin.”

Heros’ eyebrow twitched.
He stepped in with a cold expression, separating us.

“She’s right. You should change first, young lady. Over there, we stored clothes in waterproof tarps, and the villagers have set up temporary tents.”

“Honestly, you two… why are you so busy competing?”

Just as I was about to scold them, Etias chuckled faintly and changed the subject.

“So you had a divine beast… and used it to put out the fire. Truly incredible, Katrin.”

“Biyo!”

Biyo chirped proudly on my shoulder.

I coughed lightly and nodded.

“Well, I did prepare… but without Your Majesty, I wouldn’t have survived.”

The life vest had torn; that had been my fatal variable.
If Etias hadn’t arrived in time, I would’ve been a corpse.

“….”

I noticed Heros’ fingers twitch slightly.
He too had been searching for me desperately in the flood.
Seeing me with Etias must have given him relief.

Quietly, Heros spoke:

“…Then I’ll lend His Majesty a change of clothes as well.”