To My Beloved, I Present My Exquisite Nightmare - Chapter 25

The moment she heard his voice, Laila felt the urge to turn and run away stronger than ever before.

But she approached the bed as if in a trance. Seeing the king’s face, shrouded in the gloomy atmosphere characteristic of a long-standing illness, she wanted to flee once more.

“Closer.”

Ord gestured very insistently. As if he wanted Laila to come and sit by his side. She mechanically moved her feet.

It was a strange feeling. Similar to when dealing with Eustar, Laila couldn’t sincerely disobey Ord’s words either.

Laila now stood barely a span or two away from Ord. Fear rose that his bony fingers might reach out and grasp her wrist at any moment.

“Kneel and pay your respects to His Majesty.”

The chamberlain, standing like a statue by the canopy pillar, said. At his solemn and authoritative voice, Laila unknowingly dropped to both knees.

Then Ord extended his withered hand, devoid of any vitality. Laila briefly kissed the back of his hand as a sign of respect. His skin was cold as a fish and dry as a dead tree.

“Raise your head.”

Laila did so. She looked straight at the king as if two invisible hands were gripping her cheeks and forcibly lifting them.

The chamberlain glared at her impudent attitude, but King Ord, unexpectedly, burst into laughter. It sounded like scraping rusty metal.

“You truly are a witch.”

Suddenly, Ord grasped her chin with his emaciated fingers. His abrupt action startled both Laila and Eustar, who was watching.

Ord spoke:

“Tell me, witch. Was your mother a witch too? Are you indeed a descendant of the first witch?”

Laila, her lips trembling with surprise and fear, spoke with a calm demeanor.

“Yes, Your Majesty. My mother was an excellent witch and shared some of her knowledge with me. My ancestors and I are daughters born from the first witch.”

“The Crown Prince says you can see what humans know, hear sounds that linger at the boundaries, and expose their ugly secrets to make them as weak as humans. Is this true?”

“It is true.”

Ord’s gaunt cheeks puffed out. She thought he was about to burst into laughter, but suddenly his face darkened, and he turned to one side, coughing severely.

“Cough! Cough, hack!”

“Your Majesty!”

The chamberlain rushed over in alarm, but Ord raised a hand to stop him. Laila remained kneeling in place, her eyes wide open.

When the coughing subsided, a dark thread of blood could be seen trickling down the corner of Ord’s mouth. He carelessly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at Laila with bloodshot eyes.

“If you are truly a witch, tell me. Can you tell how many diseases are in my body?”

Laila’s lips quivered in confusion. Among witches, some had the ability to examine a patient’s body just by touching them. But not her. She didn’t have such an ability.

“Your Majesty, I don’t have that ability. But if you tell me your symptoms, I can make a tincture that might be of some help to you.”

“Are you saying your medicine is better than the royal physicians’?”

Ord spoke mockingly, and Laila felt her cheeks burning.

At that moment, Eustar spoke gently:

“Those of true witch lineage are said to breathe prayers into their tinctures. While physicians may cure Your Majesty with precisely measured herbs, Miss Kristrad might be able to heal Your Majesty with prayers, wouldn’t she?”

“Prayers.”

Ord laughed briefly again, making that metallic sound. Then he glared at Eustar.

“I didn’t ask you, Eustar.”

His tone was overbearing and harsh. Laila momentarily felt antipathy towards Ord. And she was surprised at herself for feeling such emotions.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

Eustar’s response was compliant, but Ord’s expression didn’t seem particularly satisfied. At least not to Laila.

Suddenly, Ord burst into rough laughter. Despite laughing so loudly, this time he didn’t start coughing.

Ord stared intently at Laila kneeling before him and said:

“It seems your efforts to find her were worthwhile, Eustar. It’s the first time I’ve seen you defend someone in my presence.”

Eustar gave no reply. For a moment, a strange and tense air swept over Laila, Eustar, and Ord. An intense premonition that something was about to happen came over them, and cold sweat ran down Laila’s spine.

Ord said:

“Take this woman as your consort, Eustar.”

Silence fell. It was a dizzying stillness as if the entire room, no, the entire palace, had sunk deep into the ground in an instant.

It was Eustar who broke the silence that made everything before their eyes seem distant.

“Your Majesty, I did not seek out Miss Kristrad for such a purpose.”

It was the most perplexed voice she had ever heard from him. Laila stared blankly at Ord’s face. This man must be ill not only in body but also in mind. Otherwise…

“Whatever your purpose was is of no concern to me, Eustar. If you were to bring a real witch, I had intended to give her to you as your wife.”

At that moment, Laila rose in indignation.

“I am not an object!”

Eustar hastily pulled Laila back.

“Calm down, Laila.”

Ord looked at them, or more precisely at Laila, with a cynical smile. His sunken cheeks, devoid of any flesh, twisted grotesquely.

“If I say you are an object, you must become an object. If I say you are a beast, you must become a beast, and if I say you are the Crown Prince’s consort, you must rightfully become so. Do you know why? Because I am the pinnacle of this country, the King of the Sierou Kingdom, witch.”

The color drained from Laila’s cheeks. Then Ord burst into laughter once again.

“Aren’t you fortunate, Eustar? I had intended to give you the witch you brought as your consort, regardless of her appearance. Whether she had a giant wart on her forehead, a face scarred with smallpox, or rotten teeth and swollen gums.”

Ord twisted his lips.

“But isn’t this woman quite beautiful? Even her ominous black hair and blood-red eyes aren’t such great flaws. Such white and clean skin is not easy to find even among noble ladies.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Know this and withdraw. I will issue orders to the Minister of the Royal Household regarding the marriage, so it is my word. Prepare according to the appointed time.”

The moment his eyes flashed, the door behind them opened. Laila momentarily thought Ord was a magician, but it was the chamberlain who had opened the door. It was unclear when he had gone there.

“Leave.”

Ord said. Simultaneously, a severe coughing fit followed. Eustar grasped Laila’s shoulder and gently pulled her.

“Let’s go out for now, Laila. We’ll talk outside.”

The sunlight pouring into the corridor was warm and bright. The ominous and gloomy atmosphere of last night was nowhere to be seen, but Laila was trembling.

Her teeth chattered, and goosebumps that had risen from her nape to her waist wouldn’t subside.

“Laila.”

The moment Eustar’s hand rested on her shoulder, Laila twisted her body away from him. She felt his hand being flung from her body, and an inexplicable sense of guilt welled up from deep within Laila’s heart.

What is this? Laila thought. A feeling of wanting to wail came over her, but no tears came. It was an incomprehensible situation, an unfathomable emotion. It made her chest feel tight.

“Laila.”

Eustar waited until Laila calmed down, then carefully approached her again. This time, Laila didn’t avoid him. She just glared at him with a frown, as if struck by an incomprehensible disaster.

“I’m going back.”

At Laila’s words, Eustar slightly lowered his chin.

“You’re going back?”

“Yes! I’m going back.”

“Where to? Rizickers? To the place where people tried to burn your house and throw you into that fire?”

Yes. Laila thought. But the thought didn’t become words.

Rizickers, going back there! Even if she went back, who would welcome her? All that awaited Laila was the hideous site where her house had burned down, and the villagers who would this time surely try to burn her.

“It’s a foolish thought, Laila. You know that too.”

Eustar spoke as if he had read her mind. Laila, who had been rubbing her arms while trembling with anxiety, stopped moving and looked at him. Her eyes were bloodshot.

“Why are you trying to marry me off to you?”

Laila asked sharply. Eustar lowered his gaze for a moment, then smiled faintly with an inscrutable expression.

“My elder brother is not one to do things that would harm me.”

“Don’t say such nonsense. How can you say that after hearing those words just now?”

“What words just now? The words to take you as my wife? Those words are not harmful to me, Laila. Though they might be a bolt from the blue for you.”

Unbelievable. Laila thought. She stared at Eustar silently with her lips parted.

“How can you say such things?”

“Why do you think I can’t say these things?”

When Eustar asked back, Laila felt her anger rising. She couldn’t believe he was saying these things sincerely. It felt like being trapped in a cage and mocked.

Laila suddenly grabbed her hair as if to tear it out.

“Look closely! My hair, and my eyes! These can never be hidden. Or are you going to show me to others with a veil over my face? Are you going to put a wig on me or use magic to change my eye color?”

“I’m always looking at you, Laila. I was looking before, and I’m looking now. Probably will in the future too.”

At his gentle voice, the strength left Laila’s hands. Eustar looked down at Laila, hesitated for a moment, then combed through her disheveled hair with his fingers, tidying it.

Eustar said:

“What are you really worried about, Laila? That I, married to you, will be ridiculed by others? Or, that you yourself will become an object of ridicule?”