CH 9

“…A strange power?”

“Yes. It’s similar to divine energy, but not quite. I had a vague sense of it in the medicine as well, but now it’s clear. The sprinkler, the path I rode on the carriage, and even the furniture in the house, you must have made them all.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“Everything touched by your hands is radiating a strange light.”

“Hmm, light… I can’t see it, though…”

Why would that be visible to him? It didn’t seem like a lie, but I personally wouldn’t be eager to eat a glowing rice ball.

But wait, was it just my imagination? Somehow, the words the man just spoke felt oddly familiar. I silently observed him as his lips formed a smile.

…No, why does his smile look so beautiful? I found myself staring at him absentmindedly.

“It feels warm for some reason.”

“W-Well, it’s spring, so isn’t it natural? The sun is shining…”

My face grew hot. I quickly averted my gaze and gave a messy response. Even though I downed the refreshing carbonated water in one gulp, I still felt hot.

I thought I had calmed down, but I stammered again. Hearing that, the man made a sound and laughed. Then, he spoke in a rather serious tone, “I’m sorry. I lied about not remembering anything.”

I looked at him in surprise. He finally admitted to lying. I replied with a big smile after calming down, “It’s okay! Well, you know. Everyone has a past they don’t want to talk about.”

“Do you have one too, Miss Yuri?”

“Me? Um, no. I’ve been in the hospital, so nothing in particular…”

Actually, there was a memory I wanted to erase. After the accident, I would shout every day to my dad, mom, older sister, and older brother that ‘I should have died if this was going to happen.’

Even though I knew that when I said that, my mom and brother would cry, I pretended not to know. Even though I knew my dad and sister couldn’t sleep all night, I pretended not to know.

I was too young and the accident was too sudden. Later, I could laugh about it, but I’ve always regretted it until I died.

Since it wasn’t something I needed to bring up to someone who didn’t know about my circumstances, I forced a smile. But the man’s expression changed.

“If it’s a hospital, do you have any illnesses?”

“No, no. It’s not an illness. I had an accident, and my leg was injured. I couldn’t walk on my own and always needed help from my family whenever I wanted to go somewhere or do something. But suddenly, I ended up here… Oh, can you tell me your name now?”

I was really curious. What could his name be? Have I seen it in a novel before? I hoped it would be a unique and cool name.

Unable to hide my excitement, I eagerly asked, and the man smiled in a charming way.

“Well, it’s a bit embarrassing. I’ve never introduced myself like this before.”

“Oh, right. When I asked if you were famous, you couldn’t answer. So, um, maybe you have a high status? Duke, Marquis, Prince, Emperor… One of those, perhaps?”

The man nodded. Oh wow, what should I do? It was truly fascinating.

I knelt down and nodded, encouraging him to continue speaking. With a relaxed and gentle face, devoid of any coldness, he opened his mouth again, “My name is Radkiel.”

Radkiel, Radkiel. Does his angelic name contribute to his overall aura? His face seemed somewhat sacred, and it suited him very well.

Moreover, his name reminded me of a novel with a male lead who had the same name and appearance. The title of the novel was ‘The Savior of the Cursed Tyrant.’ Coincidentally, it was a romantic fantasy novel that I really liked.

My sister hated the title and criticized it, but my brother argued that it was the current trend. That memory suddenly came to mind, and a scene from the novel flashed through my mind.

[“Everything you touch was wrapped in a mysterious light.”

“….”

“…Somehow, it felt warm.”]

Those were the words the male lead said after imprisoning the female lead who tried to run away in fear of him.

…Huh?

A cold sweat ran down my back. It must be a coincidence. It must be an undeniable coincidence.

It seemed more plausible to think that I had met someone with the same name by chance rather than the absurd idea of being inside a novel. Besides, the male lead in the novel never fell into the sea or experienced a shipwreck.

I have a hobby of revisiting and pondering favorite scenes from interesting novels, comics, and movies. I had read ‘The Savior of the Cursed Tyrant’ six times, in particular. While I might not remember every small event, I had a rough memory of the major incidents.

“…Miss Yuri?”

As I remained silent for a while, the man looked at me with a puzzled expression.

…Yes, of course. It must be a misunderstanding!

That man was someone who didn’t like to eat octopus and ended up floundering and getting stuck on a window.

Furthermore, he smiled gently, was polite, shy, and somewhat timid. However, the ‘Radkiel’ in the novel had none of those characteristics.

He possessed a cruel and ruthless nature, mistrust in others, eccentric, obsessive, and lack of affection. He was a typical romantic fantasy novel male lead.

“Um, Miss Yuri…?”

Look at that. Despite constantly ignoring him, he just called my name politely. His gentle expression showed concern as if he was afraid he had made a mistake.

Unconsciously, I took a deep breath. Then, with a belated apologetic expression, I answered, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

“Lost in thoughts…? Um, if it’s not too much, I would like to know what you were thinking when you heard my name.”

The man blinked slowly, still wearing a gentle smile as he spoke. I knew it was impolite, but when I heard his name, I couldn’t help but think about it.

However, what if by any chance he was not just someone with the same name but actually the real Radkiel…? That would be a problem in itself.

While I was convinced that it was absolutely impossible to say it, the unease within me couldn’t be helped. As I remained silent, the expression quickly disappeared from his face. Then, unknowingly, my body flinched.

“Miss Yuri, actually, I am a prince from a small country who lost everything and fled due to a rebellion.”

He said with such a pitiful and fragile expression, his voice lacking strength.

Amidst the confusion in my mind, the man’s voice repeated over and over again. Rebellion, escape, prince. Rebellion, escape, prince.

“Ah, ah! D-Do you mean that’s why you kept saying you wanted to die?”

“Yes. I was betrayed by my subordinates who I trusted more than my family, and a bounty was placed on my head. That’s why I thought that’s what you were seeking when you saved me.”

“Oh, no. I really didn’t know who you were.”

“…But now that you know about me. I suppose you couldn’t say anything and could only stare.”

Under the sunlight, his golden eyes, which shimmered even more mysteriously, gradually filled with tears. As the man, Radkiel, blinked, tears trickled down his cheeks.

Seeing the scene resembling something out of a movie or drama, I was caught up in a moment before hastily handing him a tissue I had brought. However, he looked puzzled, as if wondering what it was, so I ended up wiping away his tears myself.

Although I was momentarily lost in thought and stared at him without realizing, I really didn’t want to see people crying.

Sighing, I gently pressed the tissue against his reddened eyes and cheeks. Carefully, I said, “Well, um. First of all, I apologize for continuously ignoring you. But that’s not because I found out about your true identity… or whatever it may be. It’s just that your name is quite unique, so, well, it feels like you’re someone from a completely different world than me…”

I couldn’t understand why I had to come up with excuses and blurted out that his name was quite unique. Seeing his melancholic expression as if he knew I was making excuses, I felt a surge of guilt.

Sighing once again, I decided to be honest and straightforward. I looked him directly in the eye.

“The truth is, there’s a book that I really like, and it features a terribly wicked emperor. But the thing is, that emperor has the same name as you, so it caught me off guard.”

“A wicked emperor… you say?”

“Yes. You know, when I read a book and a character with the same name as someone I know appears, it bothers me, especially if the character is a truly despicable person.”

This was a characteristic shared by my older sister and brother.

While my brother enjoyed all kinds of romance fantasy novels, be it novels, movies, dramas, or animation, the one genre he avoided was contemporary romance. He said that if a character with the same name as someone he knows appears, it ruins the immersion.

That was also why my sister preferred fantasy or martial arts novels.

In romance novels, it would be unlikely to come across characters with the same name as people around us, whether it was the male lead or the female lead.

As for me, it didn’t bother me much since I didn’t have any acquaintances and unless my own name or my family’s names came up. However, Radkiel… his name was something I had never encountered in any other novel, which made me like it even more.

Anyway, since he himself claimed to be a prince from a small country, he couldn’t possibly be… an emperor, right? Radkiel was an emperor, and he had never fled, so it couldn’t be, right?

Feeling a lump in my throat, I took another sip of carbonated water and began explaining, doing my best to alleviate his anxiety.

I didn’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings when things were finally getting better between us.