' I could not hear anything!' and she screams from the bottom of her heart, for at least to let go of the fear that is now haunting her in every second passed. While trying not to loosen her grip on the princess.

She screams out, tapping the back of the princess as hard as she could so that she is not being drowned in such madness anymore.

" AAAA!!" and she desperately screams while hoping at least a clear word comes out so that the princess will come back to her sense. " AA!" but she is startled, as someone touches her shoulder from behind and makes her jolt frantically while pushing the princess and Arisha behind her back.

" Ssh, it's okay." and the golden eyes that she misses, looking at her while his big gentle hand brushes her cheek slowly. Tries not to shock her exhausted and alert body.

Irisha who still does not believe the person in front of her holds his hand to feel the realness of his existence. While looking at him with her miserable and paled face, she frowned painfully.

[ ... you are late.] as she slowly reaches him with her hands unconsciously.

" I am sorry." as he then embraces her gently while, at that moment when her skin falls into his body and she breathes his familiar scent. She feels sudden exhaustion as if the burden she keeps on her shoulder, breaks down in that second.

She closes her eyes, while slowly inhaling the air she could not take hours ago. Then, everything turns black while she feels the comfortable deep sleep, she was once seeking desperately.

***

.

.

' Who would have thought that he had such an expression?' even after spending years of her life, living around the man that she calls him older brother- she never once witnesses the time he embraces something so gentle as if he afraid if she breaks in his embrace.

The woman who loses her consciousness falls in his embrace and he holds her tightly. Inhaling deeply as he desperately longing for the woman for a long time. The crowned prince of the Empire Malum who is known for his wicked and merciless acts, kneeling while looking deeply into the woman who closes her eyes.

"... can you stand?" and he then stands up while looking at her and holding Irisha in his hand.

She nods.

" Are you hurt anywhere?" asked him while he looks at Arisha who is crying beside her.

and Arisha shakes her head fast, " No... but, sister-"

" She will be okay. I will make sure she is okay," he said. " ... can you walk alone?"

She nods, as she wipes her tears with her tiny hands. " I can." while then looking at her who is standing beside her, and holds her hand. It is quite surprising, but she does not understand why she lets her be. Either she is too exhausted to think, or the eyes of this girl who tries to hold her tears are too pitiful for her to ignore. Either way, she just holds her back while walking out of the dark cave.

and her golden eyes, widen for a second before it back to normal. '... You are agitated.' as she looks at the thick forest who is now turning into vast burnt land. There is no sign of the knights of Jahar except the burning smoke on the burning ground. '... He is.' as she also looks at the dragons that fly over the sky above them, which some perch in the nearest big trees.

" Come Arisha," he said while kneeling in front of the child and spreading both of his hands after he lies Irisha in the imperial big carriage. Where the Imperial Pharmacies already do some healing on her body. " You have to be treated too."

and she nods as she runs into his embrace without hesitation and hugs him as he is nothing wicked and just an ordinary man that she could entirely trust from the bottom of her heart.

'... could she looks at me the same way as she did to my brother?' she thought.

"... My Lady, is your body okay?" and the woman in the butler suit comes to her while bowing. " Do you need treatment?"

" No need," she said. " ... Just prepare the transfusion."

"... Do it in my carriage." her brother then added.

she looks at him, who is not looking at her but Arisha. Yet, she does not care much about it and just does what he said.

Then, inside the moving carriage of him while Arisha falls asleep deeply inside his embrace while completely facing his body. He also covers her with a blanket and makes sure she is not moving anywhere. A very unusual thing for her to see him like this, but, in a very strange way, she somehow understands that.

"... Why did you take a long time?" asked her while fixing her coat and looking at the hose of her blood transfusion.

and he, who still looking at the girl to make sure she is alright said. " ... You might not realize but, you guys were swiped far from the border," he said. " ... We had a hard time finding your track, and Ahava could not give any sign of your whereabouts because she was far too injured."

and she frowned, " How is she?"

"... the sorceress attack's purity quite high and they did injure her neck," he said. " Luke found Ahava fought them alone before their reinforce came."

"... That was why I felt, I lost her for a while," she said and gripped her hands tightly while looking so much in pain. "... I should've done better, I am so sorry..."

and Castra looks at her sister deeply who desperately embraces her regrets. "... Yes, you should." then hers hands trembling in the tiny body that many people adored and cursed at the same time.

and, she never expected any kind of kindness or sister and brother relationship between him and her. They both know how their relationship started from the beginning. This kind of treatment of him is what she normalizes from her entire life..." I know-"

" With your personality, you will end up learning the lesson in a hard way if you still act this childish. You always did since you were young." but never did she expect he could say something like that in front of her. While looks at him who looks at her too. Looking to each other with the exact eyes color that is shining in the darkness of this carriage with the exact hair colors that are fluttering by the sneaky wind from the window. " ... You need to realize that we have wicked blood in our veins. Don't be so idiotic and ..... just control your damn self."

Even usually she will blow up with this kind of treatment, in that time she is just silent. As she feels a tingling feeling inside her heart.

' I never thought you think about me.'

It is so strange, as she never felt something like this before. Even the blood that runs onto their vein is the same, yet never has she had sisterly feelings toward the brothers of her. To know that now, ... it feels truly strange.

***

Then again, she looks at the similar ceiling she was once looked at. She sighed, in the darkness of the familiar room with the familiar scent. While she is remembering the memories of what just happened.

' It hurt...' to be exact, her whole body is now hurt so badly. As she slowly wakes up and realizes that Arisha sleeps while curling up near her body. She is surprised but ended up smiling. Brushing her hair gently before being startled a little bit by a warm hand that is now touching her cheek.

Then her eyes soften while looking at the golden eyes that are now looking at her sincerely. She then smiles, weakly. As she realizes how hard to push him away now. [ I am okay.] and, even he is not talking and only looking deeply into her eyes, the expression of him, show his worry for her. [ So, don't look at me like that.]

" I told you for not doing something that will hurt you." and he did say it while his expression show the seriousness of his statement.

and she giggles, [ How could I know Jahar's Knights will attack a place that I hope to be my day off destination?] then he looks at her as if he is now can not take her joke. Strangely, it is not affecting how she looks at him. As every time she looks at his golden eyes, she will be remembered by the struggle, the pain, and the miserable princess back then.

' Are you too, struggling right now?' but she could not ask, and just being comfortable with his touches to her cheeks. With his refreshing scent, and his tenderness that somehow makes her heart racing and her cheeks blush.

"... Tomorrow, I will call the Imperial Pharmacy again," he said while brushing her hair to the back of her ear with his hand.

[... am I not being healed before?] asked her. [ I thought, I was.]

" Yes. You were," he said. " I will fix your bandage," he said, while then standing up and bringing a small box from the table near the entrance door. Bring the box and a chair near to the side of his bed, while sitting close to her.

She then jolted, quite hard when he holds her wrapped right foot and put it on his thigh.

" Tell me if it's hurt," he said.

and she frowned painfully while looking at her foot inside his hand. [ ... Then why am I still injured if Imperial Pharmacy already heals me?]

" What do you mean?" asked him, " You mean that by their treatment you will eventually be healthy?"

[ I did.]

and he giggles, " You are silly. Then what the point of our hospital project if people could easily be healed by them." he asked and somehow, she enjoys seeing his usual smile right now. "... Human has a limit to allowing such power into their bodies. Light power is a pure power that could neutralize the abnormality inside the body, but if you exposed continuously- it will change the mana movement inside your body and it could be dangerous." he said while stroking her foot gently, " So... tomorrow, and for several days, you will continue to be given treatment."

and she looks confused, [ Am I that injured?] she feels hurt of her entire body, but on the surface, there is no such injured.

"... You broke bones," he said. Yet, already realize that it is not something Irisha fond to talk about so, he turns away while his hand still stroking her foot and ring the bell near the bedside table. " You have to drink your medicine too," he said. He then turns away to the back of the entrance door while the butler named Ray came in. They look like they have a talk about something for a while before he then put her foot back, and stands. Brushes Arisha's hair and fix her blanket. " Seems like she will not wake up for a long time."

She who somehow, stunned by his action toward her sister looks at him. [ Is there something wrong?]

" Both of you still not yet eaten something since we arrived."

[ Ah. Just let her sleep for a while.] she said while brushing Arisha's hair. Who then looks at him, [ They will bring the food here? Is it okay?]

and he tilts his head. " Why not?"

And Irisha just smiles, of course, he will answer it that way. [... Then, I will go to the bathroom first.] As she then opens the blanket that covers her and looks at him while saying. [... Is there, something I could use to walk?] kinda awkward to ask that to the prince of this empire but, nothing she could do in this situation.

" Come here." but he just said that, while he spreads his hands that she looks confusedly. Until Irisha realize that he holds her waist as he then holds her into his embrace.

she startled and looked at him frowning. Holding his wide shoulders while panicking. [ What are you doing?!]

Yet, he just looks at her and just smiles. Saying something she could not understand, [ Can't talk?] and she tried to interpret as much as she could.

Then he smiles, handsomely. " Yes, I can not talk." that makes her blush while awkwardly burying herself inside his embrace. Then she buries herself even more after she found out that there are so many ladies-in-waiting in front of his room.

[ You should go away!] then she grumped. After being put into the toilet. She blushed so hard until the redness of her face spread out into her ears.

he seems to giggle, but he hides it in his serious expression of him. " Why are you so embarrassed about this thing?"

[ How could you are not?!]

" You are in no place to comment as you are a patient."

and she glared at him. [ Then just bring me a lady!]

then he giggles while looking at sulky Irisha. " Yes, I will," he said. " ... She will tell me if you are done."

[ I can go back by myself!!] but, the prince already turns away and left her in the very extravagant bathroom that has the same size as her living room.

Then, when the lady comes and waits for her to do her business. She then calls the damned prince that she welcomes with a glare.

[ I will invent a wheelchair.]

" People already invented one," he said while spreading his hands to her. " But no one in the palace needs it in the first place."

and she becomes grumpier, but still accepts his hands of him while surrounding her hands onto his neck when he easily lifts her.

She then looks at him who is smiling annoyingly. [ I am mad at you, Your Grace!] while then embracing him and burying herself inside him as she tries not to let others see her in this state.

.

.

She just does not know. How the people work in that shift, find it lovely to see the wicked prince that they always terrified of, act sweetly to a woman they admired.

***