Chapter 101: Chapter 101

Their dinner was extravagant for the temple food. Obviously, the imperial chef who was included in the emperor’s entourage for this journey chose the best of the remaining ingredients to make the food.

During “The Night of Anthea,” the number of people as well as the access time was limited, so most of the dishes were arranged for them to eat conveniently without any additional help.

Although Marianne always had a helping hand during her life, she skillfully helped Eckart enjoy the meal. Compared to other servants and maids, she was quite good as far as serving his food was concerned.

Of course, there were some things that he was uncomfortable with.

“No, just stay still. Let me do it for you. Okay…try it.”

Just like treating a child, she humored him to feed him the soup.

“Wait. Let me wipe your mouth.”

Even though he didn’t both hands injured, she took the napkin from him kindly.

“Marianne, you don’t have to do this lowly service.”

“Well, it’s a special situation right now. You hurt your arm.”

“Are you forgetting that my left arm is fine?”

“I know, but Lord Kloud said you need absolute rest. That means you should not move at all. He asked to keep an eye on you because you are going to move around if I take my eyes off of you.”

Marianne put the meat, which had been cut into edible pieces, into his mouth, and put the other half in her mouth. Then she rinsed her mouth with wine quickly.

“Oh, please forget about what I just said last.”

Eckart looked a bit perplexed. But he chewed and swallowed the meat in his mouth quickly.

She grinned, looking at him with a satisfied expression.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Well…just about everything.”

Leaving alone Eckart, who frowned without knowing her intention, she took the rest of the food on the plates with a very pleasant expression.

Although the dishes were simple, it was kind of a full dinner served from appetizers to desserts. Among them, Marianne ate the most delicious grilled sea bass with fennel and crispy, smooth creme brulee. Despite his refusal to eat at first, he also tasted all the dishes on the plates. It was true that he had a bad appetite, but he tried to enjoy the food deliciously because of Marianne who had a fork in front of his nose, with her eyes sparkling.

When they were done, the priest who was allowed access came in with servants and had them clean up the table. The lights everywhere were all collected. Next came the tea they could have overnight, and a medicine tray prepared separately for Eckart and Marianne.

The sun had already gone down while they were enjoying dinner. Instead of the reddish sunset, the darkness of the deep mountains covered the inside of the temple. The torch on the table was the only source of light in the room.

“The wound on your back still feels painful, right?”

Despite the dim surroundings, Marianne asked, taking some opium and melting it skillfully.

“If I drink medicine, I can endure it.”

Eckart received the silver cup offered by her. The peculiar strong scent of opium tickled his nose. Still, he felt the scent was much less stronger than before, thinking it was refined, or perhaps its dose was reduced.

While he was taking the tasteless drug, Marianne quickly took her share of painkillers.

And then she approached the windows and opened some of them. The scent of the medicine that hovered in the room flew out, and the cool night air came in.

“How long are you going to hide it from others?”

“Well… even if I keep them out of the loop, they will soon find out naturally. Someone may already know.”

Eckart frowned because of the bitter taste of the drug left on the tip of his tongue.

Back on the sofa, Marianne poured tea in a moderately warm mug. It was flower tea that he could drink to rinse his mouth.

“When you return to the capital, please make sure I check your medicine by all means.”

While giving him teacup, she asked him a favor.

It seemed she gave him a notice rather than asking for his permission.

“Opium is a medicine difficult to use. It’s as dangerous as it is effective. I don’t want to leave it to anybody else.”

She didn’t say that because she was ignoring the talented doctors with the Imperial Medical Service. Of course, there may be moles planted by treacherous officials like Hubble and Chester, but there was a clearer and more direct reason. She knew how Eckart handled his pain: excessive patience and desperate disguise. For example, he would suffer because of an excessive dose. He might sit up all through the night pretending to be okay after taking much potent dose than the normal dose.

Perhaps the doctor would repeatedly remind him of the misuse of medicines, but he would most likely reject the doctor’s reminder, as he was notorious for being stubborn in the Aslan Empire.

So, there was only one way to ensure his safety as far as opium was concerned. Someone like her who could overcome his stubbornness, even with rude protests, could take care of his condition.

“… Sure, if you want.”

Eckart granted her request without agonizing long.

He was thinking about his priorities after his return to the capital.

Their conversation stopped for a minute.

Mariane looked at his profile, holding a warm mug.

A pale moonlight and the light of the torch cast a deep shadow along the outline of his bones. Along his straight forehead, straight nose, sharp jawline and slender nape, the shade was naturally spread like an ink painting. He seemed a little tired, but he was handsome.

She suddenly recalled what had happened in the crescent garden.

Late at night, she stared at this same face, contained in a large robe he was wearing. It was the first time she had seen him so close. After seeing his handsome face shining under the pure white moonlight, she thought he was a cold-hearted and handsome man like the maids said.

That was only a few weeks ago, and now she was already used to seeing him and meeting his eyes at a close distance.

Besides, she could now read his intentions hidden in his sober words. She could detect his considerations even when he pretended to be indifferent to her. She saw his face when he was desperately calling her feebly after almost losing consciousness. She also knew he patted her cheeks lovingly while she was pretending to be asleep.

In other words, she came to know about him too much.

Unlike Eckart, she was a woman who was honest with her feelings. She realized faster than he and agreed what was the power to drop her into hell and then bring her back to heaven instantly and where it came from. For she knew one’s unbelievably fragile but strong desires, which was called often called love, could make people so helpless and at the same time so strong.

“Your Majesty!”

When she called him, he slowly put down the teacup. She also put down the glass she was holding. He tilted his eyes and met her eyes. His eyes were cold-hearted but friendly.

She just made eye contact with him, but she was already choked with emotions.

“Aren’t you cold? I think I should keep the window open a little bit more…”

“I’m fine.”

Eckart answered, but he pulled a blanket from the corner of the couch. He unfolded the blanket with his left arm, which was uncomfortable, and even covered it over her shoulders as was in a thin dress.

“Let’s cover us together.”

“No, I’m fine…”

“I know you don’t feel cold, but just cover it together.”

Marianne deliberately insisted, and he dragged the edge of the blanket slightly over his knee.

In the end, she couldn’t help but laugh. A happy, innocent, lovely smile covered her white face.

As she felt good, the harsh reality and negative thoughts were pushed back. Instead, optimistic imaginations bloomed like flowers in her mind.

“You know, Your Majesty.”

She gently leaned her head on his shoulders. She felt the loose muscles of his body tightly strained.

“Priest Hilde, you know her, right? That apprentice priest with black, short hair and golden eyes, always following the cardinal.”

Marianne spoke casually. Like a chirping bird, her noble voice resonated throughout the quiet room.

“Hilde says you and I were born on a twin star.”

Eckart couldn’t understand her, but he couldn’t ask her either. It looked like her body temperature on his shoulders and arms was squeezing all the veins of his body.

“Oh, the word ‘twin star’ was coined by Hilde. She seems to call something so divinely linked two stars like that. She says that usually people with twin stars become siblings or lovers.”

Regardless of his pain at the moment, she just kept babbling, adding details.

“She said you were born on the star of God Airius, and I was born on the star of Goddess Anthea…”

Eckart barely could understand what she was talking about.

“Isn’t it amazing?” she asked, looking at his blue eyes intensely.

What the heck was amazing?

Amazing because a person born on earth and a star in the sky were entangled in the same destiny? Or was it amazing because an invisible force defended humans?