For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 58

Late at night, with a gentle rain falling, Ruan arrived at Ansena on horseback. A carriage followed, filled with doctors, nurses, and medical supplies.

As the rumors said, Ansena was under lockdown. A Vigilance Guard member standing guard recognized Ruan. “Oh! Captain…!”

“Shh!” Ruan put a finger to his lips and gestured to him. The guard quickly hurried over.

“By your clothes… you really went to the Imperial Palace?”

Ruan briefly explained what had happened. The guard’s mouth fell open. “That’s amazing!”

“Shh. Be careful what you say. Go tell the others the news. And tell them about my situation, too.”

“Yes, sir.” The guard ran back into Ansena.

A moment later, some familiar faces came out to greet Ruan.

“We heard you came from the Imperial Palace.”

“Welcome, Sir Knight.”

Ruan chuckled at their awkward performance and immediately played along.

“To be precise, Her Majesty Empress Aura sent me.”

“Please, come in.”

They led Ruan and the carriage into Ansena. The village, plagued by the epidemic, was quiet and gloomy.

“Where are the patients being kept?”

“We quickly built a quarantine facility and are having them treated there.”

“I doubt you can even treat them properly.” Ruan knew better than anyone that Ansena had very few doctors. In a situation like this, a quarantine facility would not be of much use.

The guard looked at Ruan with a strange expression. “Didn’t you know?”

“Know what?”

“This afternoon, the Imperial family sent doctors, nurses, medical supplies, and even drinking water. Oh, and people to clean out the reservoir.”

“…The Imperial family did?”

The guard took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ruan. It was an official document from the Imperial family, sent in the Emperor’s name, detailing the supplies and personnel they had sent.

What is going on? Why would the Emperor keep this a secret?

“…Let’s go into the headquarters and talk.” The Vigilance Guard members said. They could talk more comfortably there.

A little while later, they entered the headquarters.

“Captain…!” The Vigilance Guard members rushed over and hugged Ruan. “We were so worried about you.”

“We had no idea you would go to the Imperial Palace so quickly.”

“I had a lot of work to do. Is everyone doing well?”

They all nodded at Ruan’s question. “The situation in Ansena is getting better. Archduke Ryan of Sutra has also sent a lot of relief supplies.”

“Archduke Ryan?”

Ryan is the person Aura needs to meet. Why does he keep helping us?

But this was not the time to question it. The important thing now was the epidemic.

“How is the overall situation? Is it still spreading?”

“The doctors from the Imperial family are quickly examining the disease. The spread has stopped, and the patients seem to be in stable condition. We’ve only had them for a day, so we’re not sure yet.”

“I see. I’ll stay here until morning and then head back. If there’s anything else I need to know by then, please tell me.”

“So soon?”

“I have to go back and report to Her Majesty the Empress by noon.”

“Ah. Yes, sir. We’ll prepare a room for you.”

“By the way, why did the epidemic break out so suddenly?”

“The doctor said it was because of some bad bacteria that breed in the water.”

“You haven’t figured out why the reservoir water went bad?”

The Vigilance Guard members shook their heads. “We didn’t have time to check on that when people were collapsing left and right. But it is strange. It’s unusual for the water, which was fine before, to suddenly go bad like this.”

“And of all things, it had to be the reservoir that the Imperial family built for us… There was even a conspiracy theory that the Emperor was trying to reduce the number of Zenia people.”

“The Emperor? …That can’t be.”

He wouldn’t do something like that, especially because of Aura. From what I’ve seen… he seems to like her a lot.

“Yes. And with the Imperial family sending doctors right away, that kind of talk has died down a lot.”

But it seemed that their trust in the Imperial family was broken. It was easy to lose trust when they didn’t have a good relationship to begin with.

“Clean the reservoir thoroughly and use it again. We can’t give up on the water just because the bacteria spread once. But this time, have a separate group of people manage it.”

“Yes, sir. We will do that.”

Ruan spent the night in the temporary quarters. The next morning, he made one last visit to the quarantine facility.

The people looked much better. With enough doctors and nurses, they were able to quickly respond to emergencies.

Aura can rest easy now. She must be worried, so I’ll go back quickly.

Ruan left the facility and went back to his quarters. He grabbed his bag and raincoat and opened the door. A man was standing there.

He was tall with a pale face. He had silver hair and sparkling blue eyes. He smiled, but Ruan was on guard, a cold and ominous feeling coming over him.

“Who are you?”

“I heard the Empress sent someone, so I came to see.”

“Please state your name.”

“You’re more rigid than you look.” He held out his hand. “I am Ryan, Archduke of Sutra.”

The clock had long passed noon. Ruan still hadn’t sent any news.

Aura anxiously looked out the window. The rain was falling relentlessly.

He should have been here a long time ago. Is the situation in Ansena serious? Or did something happen to Ruan?

Aura finally left her office. Minah, who was following her, said, “Your Majesty the Empress, where are you going?”

“I have to wait for Ruan in front of the main palace.”

“In this weather?! You’ll catch a cold.”

“I can wait under the canopy. You don’t have to follow me.”

Aura left Minah behind. It wasn’t a good idea to show her subordinates how anxious she was.

As she left the main palace, a chilly feeling washed over Aura. She walked to the canopy and looked down the road leading to the main palace. Not a soul was in sight, let alone Ruan’s horse.

Aura stood there for a long time.

Splash…

The sound of the rain got louder. Even with the canopy blocking the rain, she felt like she was getting wet. The coolness turned into a chill that seeped under her summer dress.

“It’s cold…” Aura muttered without realizing it.

Just then, something was placed over her shoulders. It was a heavy, large coat.

She was surprised and looked to the side. Karl was standing there, his face expressionless.

“Why are you standing here?” Karl asked.

Aura looked away. Karl asked again, “Are you waiting for your lover?”

“…What about you?”

“I’m on my way to a meeting.”

“Then go.”

“How can I go when you’re shivering like that?”

Aura wanted to snap back, what does it matter to you? But she couldn’t, not with the warmth of his body on the coat or the worried look on his face.

Karl looked at Aura’s hands, which were toying with the coat. Her fingertips were white from tension and cold. He instinctively reached out to grab them but instead clenched his fists.

“The situation in Ansena is much better. The spread of the epidemic has stopped, and the people who received treatment are recovering.”

“…How do you know that?”

“Because I sent the medical staff yesterday. Before you even came to me. I received the report this morning.”

Her eyes widened. Karl added, “I’m not saying this to take credit. Or to tease you. I’m telling you because you look anxious. And your lover doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon.”

“Then… you lied to me yesterday?”

Karl sighed. “Yes. I can be childish, but I’m not the kind of person who would ignore a matter like that.”

“My goodness, why would you…” Aura put a hand to her forehead. Her rigid shoulders slowly relaxed.

She looked at Karl with resentment. But after a moment, she asked again, as if to confirm.

“So the people of Zenia started receiving treatment a long time ago?”

Karl slowly nodded. Aura muttered, “That’s a relief… Thank you.”

Karl’s eyes wavered slightly.

Every time this happened, he was reminded of a painful truth: how proud a princess Aura was. And how the fight from yesterday hadn’t even made a dent in that pride. And these were the very things that made Karl want Aura.

I want to hold her. Karl’s Adam’s apple bobbed. I want to kiss her.

He wanted their lips to touch. He wanted to entangle his tongue with the tongue that had spoken those words. He wanted to feel the nobility of the Aura he had saved with his entire body.

He wanted to tell her that he wanted her, whether she had a lover or not. He wanted to tell her that she was so noble that he couldn’t help but want her.

But he held back. The fights he and Aura had, the kisses, and the nights they had spent together had done nothing to help. It was time to put his pride aside in a different way.

“Aura,” Karl called her name softly. “I… I thought I was special to you.”

“…Huh?”

“No matter how much you hated me, how confused you were, or even if you had a lover.” His low voice mixed with the sound of the rain, but Aura could hear him clearly. “You sometimes kissed me first, you pretended you didn’t mind me sleeping in your bed, and you spent the night with me without refusing me.”

“…”

“That’s why I was so angry when you said you forgot that memory. I was afraid that maybe I wasn’t special to you after all.”

“That’s…” That’s not true. Aura swallowed the words.

“Aura. I was able to endure for three years without going crazy because of that memory.”

“…”

“Even when my life was on the line in Debela, regretting that we didn’t go to the hunting festival together… that felt like proof that I wasn’t a monster.”

“…”

“I’m not blaming you for not remembering. I’m sorry for acting so terribly. It’s just… damn it.”

Karl was frustrated. Fighting a monster would have been easier than this.

“Alright. I can’t be gentle like that guy, and I don’t know how to comfort you. I just want to say… that even if you don’t think I’m special… I’m okay with that.”

Aura’s shoulders were visibly trembling. Karl let out a shallow sigh and carefully folded the collar of her coat.

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