Chapter 34 - CHAPTER 32. WHY DID YOU GET HIT WITH THE ARROW IN MY STEAD?

She quickly lifted her face away from her knees and turned her head towards the sound. She stared with an earnest expression at Lucio, who was slightly frowning. He looked as if he was having a nightmare, as his complexion didn’t look good, and he had cold sweat coming down his forehead.

Patrizia bit her lips, then ripped some of the underclothes she was wearing, to make it into a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead. The surefire way to not have a nightmare was to wake up from the dream. So this was why he had to hurry and wake up. No matter what nightmare he had, it would be better than this situation.

“Hmm… No…”

“…”

His condition was worse than she had thought, and Patrizia was terrified. She wasn’t sure why this man was being like this. She looked flustered and started looking for a solution to deal with it, but she had no idea what to expect.

So Patrizia had been thinking about it for a long time and decided to use the method that she and Nilla had used often when they had nightmares during the time they were young.

She laid down Lucio, who still groaned and seemed afflicted, on her knees and began to gently stroke his soft black hair.

Patrizia never thought that she would be doing this kind of action to this man even in her dreams, but she had no choice. Her mother had told her that she had also calmed Patrizia this way, so it would not be so ineffective.

Patrizia hoped that her actions would speed up a little more time for when he would wake up.

“Shhh, Your Majesty. It is fine.”

“Ugh… Haaa…”

“It is okay, Your Majesty. Take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale …”

Oh, what in the world was she doing right now? Patrizia felt a new sense of self-deprecation, but instead of expressing it, she remained faithful to her mission.

She constantly swept him with a gentle touch and released sweet and tender words from her mouth. Perhaps if Petronilla or Rafaella had seen this, they would have been shocked.

“Shh- Your Majesty…”

“Ah… no… please…”

“…”

What was this man dreaming about? Patrizia was extremely curious. What was he dreaming about that he would be suffering this much? She had never been curious about this man’s circumstances or stories, but strangely, she was curious about it this time. How on earth could a person sleep and dream while suffering? What dreams could make a person look so miserable?

This was a look and expression that she had never seen, and never had reason to see, ever in her life before.

“Ah…”

Then Patrizia, soon realizing that she was overly sentimental, shook her head firmly. Now was not the time to fall into these kinds of thoughts. First of all, she had to concentrate on waking him up. Patrizia gently stroked his cheeks once again with a slightly cold expression.

“Ah…!”

It was at this time that he opened his eyes with a weak moan. Patrizia suddenly made eye contact with him and faced Lucio’s dark eyes that held a much more surprised expression. At that moment, Patrizia was taken aback and called out to him without her knowledge.

“Your Majesty…!”

“…Empress?”

His voice calling her was breaking up a lot, and Patrizia didn’t like it for some reason. She pressed her lips ever so slightly and nodded her head. He looked at her for a moment with eyes that did not understand the situation, but soon remembered the previous events, and asked her about it.

“Why am I… Where are we right now?”

“Your Majesty was poisoned by getting hit by the arrow in my stead, and right now this place is a remote cave away from the hunting grounds. Since you have opened your eyes, we should return right away. Will you be alright?”

When she quickly explained the situation and asked his opinion, Lucio stayed still and nodded quietly. She raised him up carefully and then asked about his condition, “How are you feeling?”

“I am alright. More than that… If I was poisoned, it would have been difficult to get rid of the poison, how did you do it?”

“…”

Patrizia hesitated for a moment and soon replied, “I sucked out the poison myself, and since that wasn’t enough, I found the sculler flower while in search of herbs. You must have awakened from eating it.”

“You mean to say, sculler…”

He looked surprised, and Patrizia spoke to him in a slightly urgent voice.

“Your Majesty, I will tell you all the other things on the way. If we do not go back in time, the palace will turn upside down. For Your Majesty’s well-being, you must go back and receive proper treatment.”

“Yes.”

Patrizia gave Lucio the clothes he had been wearing. At first, the clothes that had been soaked by the water were almost dry because Patrizia had placed them near a fire that she had struggled to start. However, Patrizia was unable to wear anything else, as she had initially sent her clothes down the stream. Lucio discovered this and asked Patrizia in a puzzled voice, “Where did your clothes go?”

“Ah…”

Patrizia pondered for a moment about how she should explain, and then changed the subject as she thought talking about this would take time and delay them further.

“I will tell you about that as well while we are on our way. Please wear them first.”

“You wear mine.”

“Your Majesty.”

She didn’t want to verbally wrestle with this problem. He was a patient. Even if he had been threatened with assassination, and was without his clothes, she would have given him her clothes. She resolutely explained the seriousness of the situation.

“I am fine, and Your Majesty is hurt. Maintaining body temperature is more important to a patient than a normal person.”

“I am fine.”

What senseless words that wouldn’t work anywhere. Patrizia spoke to him with a shocked look.

“Do you know how much I struggled for half a day to restore Your Majesty’s consciousness? If you do not want to make my efforts in vain, please follow my wishes. I am fine.”

“…”

Eventually, Lucio sighed shortly and followed her words. Finally, when everything was ready, Patrizia released Sally who had been tied and rode on her back with Lucio. In preparation for the unexpected, Patrizia chose to sit behind him, and slowly directed the horse onward.

“Giddyup!”

The horse started galloping fast. Soon the sun would set, and it would be more difficult to find the way. Even when the day was bright, it was difficult to find the palace due to losing the way in the deep forest, but when the dark came down, that meant being bound to the spot.

Then, if there were assassins that were tracking them, then it would really be over. Patrizia put a little more strength on her hand that held the reins.

“I think someone sent assassins to murder me.”

“…”

Patrizia started to talk about this casually, and when Lucio heard it, he said nothing. Patrizia noticed this and asked him, “You do not answer. Do you know the culprit?”

“There is no way. But… There is someone that I could guess did this. You are probably suspicious about this person as well.”

“…”

The immediate answer was not trivial. It was heavy. Patrizia confessed to him after biting her lips without realizing she did this.

“When Your Majesty lost your consciousness and collapsed, I asked the assassin at the end.”

“…”

“To tell me who is the culprit”

“Did he answer it so easily?”

“He did. Since he was really planning on killing me.”

Patrizia replied calmly, and then asked him, “Who do you think it is?”

“Is there any significance in my answer?”

“Yes, there is. I think I should definitely tell Your Majesty this one thing.”

Unlike her calm tone, Patricia’s voice was full of anger. Lucio could feel plenty of it. He spits out a name with a distressed expression.

“Rosemond Mary La Phelps.”

“…”

“Am I right?”

“Ah, my goodness.”

She muttered as if she was having fun.

“Now, Your Majesty has ‘finally’ learned about it. The fact that she will use any means and methods to harm me.”

“…”

“I do not know what Lady Phelps means to Your Majesty, and while I do not know it well, but I am aware of the fact that she is a precious person. Simple affection… It was not like that.”

His eyes were like that. There was something that could not be simply explained as affection between a man and a woman. Those who didn’t know about the situation could never be a part of it. That kind of bond. Patrizia then closed her chilled eyes and asked him another question, “Do my words seem like a lie?”

“There is a suspicion, but no evidence. Even if I believe in your words, punishment would be difficult without proof. Whoever it is.”

“I know this, Your Majesty. But even so, there is a distinct difference between Your Majesty knowing this truth, and not knowing.”

“…”

“I don’t know what kind of woman you see in Lady Phelps, but if you were looking at her as a saint, Your Majesty is wrong. Lady does not harm others. She would not even try to steal what belongs to others if so.”

“…”

“It is Your Majesty’s freedom to continue to care for her. I will not interfere with it as I had promised on the first wedding night. But Your Majesty, I have no choice but to change now. The second promise may be difficult to keep. Obviously I had told her that if she did not touch me, I would not touch her, but I never promised that I would stupidly stay still while being victimized by her.”

“…”

“I will thoroughly investigate the truth. If evidence comes out that proves that her sins are true, then… I do not have to say it for you to know.”

“Okay.”

It was the death penalty.

A mere Baroness had dared to get rid of the Empress of an empire, and it was the great Emperor of the country who suffered substantial damage. The sin was so heavy that it would be difficult to pay it back, even if the extended families were destroyed. Patrizia changed the topic with an emotionless voice.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Ask me.”

“Why did you get hit by the arrow in my stead?”

“…Are you curious about that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am very curious.”

She spoke in a steady voice that did not shake.

“Your Majesty does not love me, so there is no reason to get hit by an arrow on my behalf. Of course, I would be curious. Why you had gotten hit with an arrow in place of me…”

“I will put it as paying back a debt.”

“A debt?”

She asked in a voice that revealed she did not understand, and he replied quietly, “I could not publicize the previous matter, but I wanted to apologize for her. So I got hit in your stead. Is this a good enough answer?”

“…”

No, that was not a good answer. It was difficult to judge because she hadn’t seen his eyes, but Patrizia didn’t think that was it for the reason. Strangely, it wasn’t that she could think of any other reasons, but she still thought this way.

That was probably a given. Because even Lucio, who spoke these words, didn’t exactly know the reason why.

Afterwards, Patrizia drove the horse silently, and it was Lucio who opened his mouth again.

“You, didn’t you say you would tell me?”

“About what?”

“The reason why you don’t have clothes. You said you would tell me while we were on the move.”

“I thought you might have guessed because I told you earlier. I held onto Your Majesty and threw myself down the cliff. I pretended to be dead, and tore my clothes off to send it down the water, just in case the assassins would chase after us again.”

Whether it had worked or not, there has been no real movement for another chase yet. After Patrizia’s words ended, Lucio closed his eyes with a painful expression.