The sun had risen, yet she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink.

“…….”

“…….”

The shadow knights were no different.

The emperor still remained unconscious. As he tightly clung to her body without letting go, she had no choice but to lie down with him in bed.

Since the emperor had transformed into a demon, the shadow knights could not leave his side.

In the end, all four of them entered the same bedroom.

Serben leaned against the door, and Liyan sat down on the floor where he could see the bed.

It was surprising how calmly they found their places, as though they were not people who had suddenly intruded into someone else’s bedroom.

The strangest of them all was the emperor.

Holding onto her and losing consciousness, the emperor slept like the dead.

His breathing was barely audible. If his human appearance hadn’t slowly returned, she would have thought the emperor was dead.

Thanks to that, Rasilia had to watch over the emperor with wide open eyes, unable to move.

The bone fragment that had pierced his forehead was a horn. The emperor had been covered in blood because of the transformation of his body.

The protrusion of the bone fragment was much worse on his back. It was almost hacked to pieces. This was because the wings were much larger than the horns.

At first, she was shocked by the gruesome sight. She could understand the words “a pain that human flesh could not bear.”

“He seems to have almost returned now.”

Liyan, who had been staring intently at the emperor while sitting on the floor with his chin propped up on his hands, suddenly blurted out.

“……I see.”

Rasilia looked at the emperor anew, whom she had been watching without taking her eyes off him all along.

His face had almost completely healed. If they wiped off the bloodstains, he would not look any different than usual.

His back still had deep wounds, but the bone fragments that had torn through the flesh and burst forth had all gone back in. Other than that, there were black scales here and there around the wound.

The scales, carved like knives and stuck together, slowly became transparent and thin over time, and then disappeared.

“It would be good to at least wipe his face. Shall I call someone to bring a wet towel?”

Serben took his body off the wall.

“I’ll go. It wouldn’t be good to show him in this condition.”

He was referring to Lascal, who still had traces of the transformation.

Rasilia asked,

“But the fact about Bluemoon isn’t a secret, is it? If they’re people from Eliaden, they shouldn’t be unaware that the royal family has demon blood.”

“Still, there may be some confusion if they see it with their own eyes. …Liyan, will you continue to be by His Majesty’s side? Shall I bring some medicine on the way?”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“If you leave it, it will scar.”

“It’s just a scratch. Go.”

“Well, then.”

Serben left the bedroom.

Meanwhile, the emperor moved his head, and his bloodsoaked hair touched the upper part of Rasilia’s chest. Rather than being displeased, Rasilia found it ticklish and arranged the emperor’s hair.

“It’s really amazing.”

Liyan, who had been watching, said.

“Is that directed at me?”

“Yes, well. I felt it yesterday, too. Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of His Majesty?”

“Yes. The transformation, and the way he suddenly appeared last night. …And the fact that you endured His Majesty by your side all night.”

As Liyan said, no matter how hard the two knights tried, they couldn’t get the emperor off. The emperor’s body was different from ordinary humans even under normal circumstances.

When transformed, it was closer to a demon than a human.

“I’m not afraid.”

She was surprised. Not only by the changed appearance, but also by the thumping of the two knights.

But she didn’t feel afraid.

Even when the emperor came right up to her face, Rasilia didn’t feel that he was trying to harm her.

“There’s no reason to be afraid since he’s unconscious. He’s sleeping so deeply that he won’t harm others.”

“Hmm, a perspective I never expected. What about the appearance? No matter how you look at it, it’s not human, doesn’t it bother you?”

“I can’t say it doesn’t bother me. It’s clearly visible to my eyes that it’s very painful.”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, does it make your skin crawl or frighten you… or even look too ugly to you?”

Is this appearance scary?

Rasilia looked at the emperor, who was close enough to feel his breath.
뼈가 튀어나오고 비늘이 돋아난 모습일 때도 아파 보여서 문제였지 무섭지는 않았다.

어쩌면 그런 꿈을 꾼 탓일지도 모르겠다.

똑같이 비늘이 돋은 얼굴로, 몹시 애틋하고 다정한 시선을 보여 주던 누군가를 미리 본 탓에. 그리고 그 눈이 황제와 똑같은 금안이었던 탓에.

“I don’t think this face can be called ugly.”

Liyan mumbled with a trembling face.

“Uh……. That’s quite…… an unexpected answer.”

Rasilia tilted her head.

“Your Majesty is beautiful, isn’t it? Is it just my eyes?”