The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 36

Would I be content if I had just died then at the hands of my uncle?

 

While struggling to survive, Damian faced such temptations every time.

 

What if I gave up on everything?

 

 For as long as I’ve lived, no one welcomes my survival.

 

However…

 

I wanted to live.

 

I didn’t want to die in vain like this.

 

I wanted to be loved. I wanted to hear kind words.

 

I don’t want to suffer from loneliness anymore.

 

So please, just someone.

 

“Hold my hand.”

 

Oh my god.

 

At that very moment, Damian opened his eyes.

 

His entire body felt like cotton drenched in water, and he was gasping for air as if he’d been running for a long time.

 

But now…….

 

There was a small hand holding Damian’s hand.

 

“Your majesty, the Crown Prince!”

 

A weeping voice called out to him.

 

Charlize’s eyes were filled with tears as she looked intently at Damian.

 

As if he had finally escaped a long dark tunnel, he felt warm relief.

 

 “… … why are you crying?”

 

A terribly hoarse voice came out.

 

Charlize strengthened her grip and retorted.

 

 “Your majesty, I’ve been by your side the whole time because you didn’t wake up!”

 

 “Because of me?” said Damian.

 

“Of course! Did you know how worried I was?”

 

Damian raised the corner of his mouth.

 

Although my whole body is in agony, I have no idea if I’m even smiling properly.

 

I didn’t want to worry Charlize or see her cry.

 

Charlize continued to say more.

 

 “Huff, the fever is too high… … I can’t do anything.”

 

 “You can’t do anything?”

 

As I looked into those lilac-colored eyes soaked in tears, my heart ached.

 

Damian wiped the corners of her eyes with his trembling fingertips.

 

Tears continued to stream down her face.

 

“Why so many tears,” said Damian with a faint voice.

 

“You always stayed by my side.”

 

“….But.” uttered Charlize.

 

“You’ve done so much… …”

 

With his voice breaking off, Charlize sniffled and struggled to hold back her tears.

 

Damian’s strained smile grew a little darker.

 

“So don’t cry.”

 

He didn’t know whether his clumsy attempt at consoling her worked but fortunately Charlize stopped crying.

 

Charlize, who wiped her tears with her apron, clenched her fists and looked at Damian.

 

 “Hey, we need to get your temperature down.”

 

Charlize sat down on her seat.

 

Damian noticed something in the corner of his vision, there was a basin filled with water next to the bed.

 

Charlize soaked a towel in the basin filled with cold water and groaned as she squeezed the water out.

 

“Wait a minute… … Wait… … !”

 

Moments later, Charlize compressed the towel on Damian’s forehead.

 

Splat!

 

A towel soaked in cold water fell on his forehead.

 

“I guess I didn’t have enough strength, so I couldn’t completely squeeze out the water,” murmured Charlize to herself.

 

Drops of water trickled down the pillow.

 

 But Damian gave a small satisfied smile.

 

 “Thank you.”

 

“But this isn’t enough. I have to call a doctor……,” Charlize said in a worried voice.

 

 At that moment, Damian frowned disapprovingly, shaking his head.

 

 “It’s okay.”

 

 “Huh, but… …” 

 

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? Please keep it a secret from everyone that I’m sick.”

 

It was a rare, resolute voice.

 

Charlize couldn’t hide the frustration etched on her face and glared at Damian.

 

“Why are you sick all of a sudden? Was it the heat or something? Maybe a summer cold?”

 

 “Th-thats..” replied Damian.

 

“Besides that, when you’re sick you should get treatment. So why are you denying me from calling a physician?”

 

Questions came pouring in.

 

Damian hesitated for a moment.

 

Can I be really honest with you?

 

 “Because this is… … It’s not a cold, and it’s not a heatwave.”

 

However, contrary to his initial hesitation, his mouth answered straightforwardly.

 

Charlize’s eyes widened, surprised by what he said.

 

“Pardon?”

 

 “This, it’s a fever.”

 

“…fever?”

 

At the first word she heard, Charlize tilted her head.

 

A pair of lilac-colored eyes stared at him.

 

“What fever?”

 

Damian instantly fell into a state of confusion.

 

Normally, I would have pretended it was a cold.

 

Because ‘fevers’ were his weakness.

 

Why is it, when you’re in front of me… … do I end up being so honest?

 

Damian pursed his lips irritated.

 

‘…There was a saying that when the body becomes dull, the mind also becomes depressed.’

 

It seemed that the saying was true.

 

Without that, there was no way to explain his abnormal behavior.

 

Meanwhile, Charlize was still looking at him with an innocent face.

 

Should I?

 

I can’t.

 

But Charlize… … she’s the exception because she’s trustworthy.

 

Leaning his head against the pillow, Damian opened his mouth with a raspy voice.

 

“You know that I inherited the power of the divine beast, right?”

 

“Yes, I know, but… …”

 

“Great power comes with a price.”

 

Damian explained in detail.

 

The power of the divine beast was a double-edged sword for him.

 

Had it not been for the power of the divine beast, it would have been impossible to survive the assassins and their ceaseless search for him.

 

Even the emperor took into consideration the power before sending an assassin.

 

However, due to Damian’s immature body, it was onerous to control the power of the divine beast.

 

As a consequence, every month to half a year, Damian would suffer from fevers.

 

By chance, the cycle was irregular, so I’ve been able to hold out by pretending it was a cold … …

 

“… … Ever since I’ve been suffering from fevers for about three years now.”

 

Damian despite being drowsy, managed to give a strained smile as to somehow disregard all he had previously said.

 

In fact, in this situation, there was no way to fundamentally subdue the fever.

 

Because it was impossible to drive the power of the divine beast from his body.

 

‘However.’

 

In an instant, Damian’s eyes narrowed.

 

Looking back, this current fever seems to be progressing quite lightly.

 

Usually, it was difficult to even stay alert until the fever subsided.

 

Why is that?

 

Charlize had been listening attentively to Damian’s explanation as if bewitched, was slow to speak.

 

Her voice was shaky.

 

“It’s always been like this… … you’ve always been sick?”

 

“••••••Huh?”

 

It was a question that caught Damian off guard, perplexing him.

 

Before he knew it, Charlize’s face was racked with guilt.

 

“I am… … I should have come to you sooner, Crown Prince,” said Charlize, anguish clearly written on her face.

 

“Lize, it’s not your fault.”

 

“No, it is my fault.”

 

Her eyes reflected her adamance as she said that.

 

“What’s wrong with me,” thought Damian.

 

He didn’t mean to make her feel guilty.

 

Damian lied in bed, puzzled on what to say but there was no time to dwell on what questions to ask.

 

It was because Charlize had jumped up from her seat.

 

“Crown Prince.”

 

“••••••Huh?”

 

“Isn’t it okay if I let her majesty, the empress know that your fever is different?”

 

At those words, Damian fell silent for a moment.

 

His ‘fevers’ was a very sensitive issue for him, it was of the utmost importance for it to remain a secret.

 

If word reached the emperor’s ears that Damian was ill on a regular basis, he would unquestionably exploit this weakness to kill Damian.

 

But what if she only lets the empress know that I’m sick?

 

“You’ll only tell her that I’ve caught a cold. Right?”

 

In that moment, Charlize earnestly spoke her mind.

 

Suddenly, her eyes were teary again.

 

“Until now, you’ve been lying to me that it was a cold.”

 

“I won’t let you do this, you need to see a doctor for medical treatment.”

 

In the end, Damian was bested by Charlize’s dogged persistence but mainly due to her puppy-like eyes.

 

In light of the Empress’s previous protection of Damian, it seemed that she was not in the least as hostile to him as the Emperor.

 

Besides, just seeing the trust Charlize placed in the Empress, astounded Damian. It was as immoveable as a boulder. It made him think, ‘Somehow… … I want to believe it too.’

 

Damian nodded, giving his approval for Charlize to tell the empress.

 

“… … If you really want to, do it.”

 

Then, Charlize’s face brightened up at his approval, ecstatic that Damian finally agreed.

 

Charlize opened her eyes and clasped her hands.

 

“I’m going now, I’ll tell the empress immediately and come back with a doctor!”

 

“Okay,” replied Damian in a now weary voice.

 

“Stay put until then. You have to pull yourself together!”

 

Charlize then dashed out of the room with all the speed her little legs could take her, looking back at Damian over and over again.

 

Damian watched her leave as he laid in bed in a collapsed position.

 

The fever brought about endless heat that caused pain in his temple while his vision began to blur.

 

Raising his hand towards his mouth and exhaling, his breath was still hot.

 

However… ….

 

‘… … Absolute serenity.’

 

Unlike his previous experiences, there was no tinnitus, similar to the buzzing of a bee, characteristic of a fever.

 

The world was silent.

 

His body was hot but his head was cool.

 

Damian’s judgment was relatively intact, and there was no sign of fainting.

 

‘Charlize… … Was it because you were by my side?’

 

Damian, who had thought so involuntarily, smiled faintly.

 

That’s an absurd guess.

 

Damian thought to himself, at very least just what kind of power does this little maid have to calm the fever?

 

Ah, Charlize told me to keep calm.

 

Damian’s fever caught up to him as his eyelids became too heavy to keep open.

 

Slowly closing his eyes, Damian looked forward to seeing Charlize again but also wondered how the empress would react.