Duke has no freedom and has not yet become king. Meanwhile, Victor’s ambition to become king is so strong, he would sacrifice his own men to achieve it.
My body gets hotter and hotter, until I let out my anguish in a little moan. I hate it. I don’t want anybody to see me so weak…
I can feel everyone’s concern hanging in the air. Then my grandfather approaches me.
Huh? What is Grandfather doing here? Am I dreaming?
Victor’s hand on my forehead is replaced by Grandfather’s. My vision is so blurred, I can’t tell what sort of look he has on his face.
When he touches me, the pain gradually leaves, until I feel very sleepy. The fever is going down.
I can’t comprehend what he’s doing to me. Still in a daze, I drift to sleep.
“What did you do?”
Albert doesn’t answer Victor’s question. Sensing Albert wants some privacy, Victor gives Captain Marius the signal to send his men away. Captain Marius and Jurd steady their breath, stand, and leave with Lieutenant Neal. Meanwhile, with a snap of his fingers, Mark puts up a barrier of geometric patterns. He’s soundproofing.
“Since you three came all the way out here, can I assume you’ve figured out who this kid here really is?” Victor asks the silent Albert.
He slowly replies, “Ordinarily, she could have easily purified that amount of poison with her magic… She must have spent quite a lot of it.”
Albert gently strokes Alicia’s hair as he quietly looks at Victor. His gaze indicates that he knows everything.
Victor returns his gaze, albeit a bit frightened. “So will she be okay?”
“Yes. I sent my magic into her.”
“Just where does she even get all that magic from? She’s a freak.”
Kee, hiding in the corner, spreads her wings and flies before the men.
“That’s right, I forgot about you,” Victor says.
“Um—rude?!”
Cate laughs heartily. “You’ve certainly outdone yourself, Victor. Forgetting about the lake source, when it’s the very reason you came here in the first place…” His gaze drifts to Alicia.
With a little sigh, the fairy flies up to Albert’s face. “So what’s her deal?”
“Don’t ask me.”
“Huh? But aren’t you her—?”
“She didn’t exist when I came to Laval.” Albert cuts Kee off, a stern look in his eyes.
“Oh, you humans. You make everything so complicated.”
“Are we finished here?” Victor is the only one in the group who cannot understand what Kee is saying. From the jumpiness of his voice, it’s clear this agitates him.
“This prince sure is self-centered, isn’t he?”
“I think pushiness is a good trait in a prince.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Victor scowls.
Meanwhile, Mark snaps his fingers and releases the barrier. “You should spend the rest of the day recovering here,” he says.
Victor nods. “Understood.”
Noticing the secret conversation has ended, Captain Marius and the others run back to the group.
Lieutenant Neal stands before Victor, and with discomfort in his voice, he says, “So, um, Your Highness…”
“What?” Victor snaps.
“Is Lia, um…a girl?” Lieutenant Neal sounds quite troubled.
There is not a hint of panic on Victor’s face. Rather, his expression is one of surprise that it took this long for them to figure it out.
“Yeah.”
The quartet is stunned.
“Well, now that I know…she is awfully light for a young man. And she’s soft to the touch,” Captain Marius murmurs. He helped carry Alicia earlier.
“And I seem to recall her voice sounding a bit higher once when she spoke with you, Your Highness,” Ceres says, eyes wide.
“Is this for real? She really was a girl all along…,” Jurd echoes, equally baffled.
With a frustrated sigh, Victor says, “Why you didn’t figure it out sooner is the biggest mystery of all.”
“But, Your Highness, you never told us Bitsy was a girl,” Jurd interjects.
“I shouldn’t have needed to say it. It’s obvious.”
“But she’s got zero sex appeal,” Jurd protests.
“Still, she’s a goddess,” Victor whispers softly as he peers at Alicia’s sleeping face.
She’s fast asleep beneath the thick boughs of a tree, with Albert’s coat draped over her as a blanket. Everyone is captivated by her.
Her raven-black hair is still a little wet. It sparkles with drops of water. Her eyes are covered with a cloth, but her pretty nose and her thin, finely shaped lips are still on full display. Her face and body are tight and finely contoured.
Everyone there is starting to realize firsthand just how feminine she is.
“Pardon my asking, but…are you in love with her?” Jurd asks Victor brazenly. He seems to speak for everyone else there.
“Huh?” Victor frowns, a deep crease between his brows. “My type of woman has curves in all the right places, long hair, and a gentle disposition.”
“Th-then why did you risk your life to save her?”
“Because my father set his sights on her. I can’t let her die.”
“Is that really all there is to it?”
“Do you ever shut up? You guys should just go to sleep.”
He glares at Jurd. It’s unusual for cool and confident Victor to act this way.
“Understood, Your Highness.” And with that, he bows to everyone, says, “Good night,” and starts to set up camp.
Soldiers can sleep anywhere, anytime. Even on rocky ground, even in the cold, even in any position—they can still sleep.
“I suppose we should turn in soon, too,” Cate says.
Mark nods. Albert stays by Alicia’s side, peering at her face. Luckily, the soldiers don’t seem to realize what he did to her. They pass it off as him making Alicia feel better with some special method.
“Like you’d ever catch me falling for a brat,” Victor grumbles under his breath.
Albert shoots a look at him. Then he turns his gaze up to the sky. “The moon is particularly pretty tonight.”
In the pitch-black sky above Mortwood, the moon and hundreds of stars sparkle quietly. The moonbeams gently embrace the filthy girl as she sleeps.
Victor’s eyes widen at her divine silhouette. Then, in a very quiet voice, he whispers, “The girl chosen by the moon…”