The journey to her room was rather suffocating. She pretended to sleep by closing her eyes, but that only made Rhys mood sour. So she found herself stealing a few glances. He has eyebags under his eyes, has he not been sleeping?
Unfortunately she didn't get a chance to question him since she spotted her room not too far away. Upon seeing them the guards seemed startled but quickly said their greetings before leaving.
The moment Rhys put her down so she could unlock the door, he glanced around the room puzzled.
"You...don't sleep in here do you?"
"Uh, there is a bed in my office."
Rhys sighed deeply. "I see, so that's why you look so thin and pale. Your mana is all over the place too."
"I-I'm fine Rhys--so, you can go back and train the soldiers-"
"It's fine, rather they just joined me when they saw me practising. So it isn't official."
"I see, thank you."
She felt a bit embarrassed being guided to her own bed like a child. But at the very least it was better than him carrying her like earlier. Lyn tried to fall asleep but she felt self-conscious with Rhys in the room. So before long she found herself polishing her sword.
"So, I have to ask. When did your sword become like that?" Rhys asked.
"Hmmm, I think it was the battle a few years ago. Master said it absorbed some rare minerals during the fight. Now it truly lives up to the name the phoenix sword since it is pure red."
"I see."
"-and what about you? When did you start carrying a blue sword--" Lyn paused in mid sentence.
Hold on a moment, a blue sword?!! Lyn immediately sat up and looked at his sheathe. Rhys looked troubled but pulled out his sword.
Her eyes widened when she got a proper look. It's a blue sword with a rose on the hilt. It resembles her sword, except the colour is different.
"H-hey, you know this has no particular meaning."
"Master told me that there are restrictions on the magic I can infuse in this sword, because I haven't connected it with the other half." Lyn paused. "What exactly does he mean by connect, do you know?"
Rhys sighed deeply. "I thought by now you would have more knowledge regarding the sacred arts."
"I do. Since I became the Queen, I have learned a lot. There is nothing that restricts me anymore. But this sword is a rare weapon. The last person who used it was centuries ago. Moreover when I first obtained it, it was pure white and had no colour."
"I see, so the Mist Kingdom still restricts knowledge on rare weapons." Rhys awkwardly looked away. "Well, remember what I taught you when you were still a Princess regarding two people's magic combining?"
What he taught- Lyn paused for a moment and felt her cheeks turn red. Eh?
"M-Maybe I should get a new sword."
Rhys coughed. "Maybe you should. I mean your other sword is the one passed down to all the rulers of the Mist Kingdom right?"
"Yes, it seemed like mother left it behind with a note saying for Lyn."
At those words Rhys laughed. "What a Queen she was, she is supposed to leave the sword behind for her successor."
Oh he laughed, somehow it seems different to her. Is it because she has regained her memories now? But when Rhys laughs, she feels different.
"Rhys, you should sit down."
"Huh? I'm fine standing."
"No, sit down." Lyn said firmly.
Rhys seemed puzzled by her words but nodded and sat down on her bed. The moment he did she rested her head on his lap and Rhys sighed deeply.
"I wondered what you were doing. My Queen is this a new form of harassment?"
"I am tired, let me rest for a bit."
"Then if your tired rest your head on a cushion, that should be more comfortable."
"I don't want to move now."
'I want to ask him about his travels. I still don't understand very well, if we had mutual feelings. Why did he erase my memories?' Why did he return several months after disappearing, only to erase her memories and then leave?
It would be better if she could just get angry at him. But, after remembering everything, even their wedding day. How could she possibly get mad? Back in the church, he vaguely told her regarding her memory loss. But he didn't say he was the one who caused it.
Right at that moment what emotions did he feel saying that to her?
'I treated him so cruelly.' It is far too late to regret what she did, but she can at least start making it up to him, before he leaves her again.
The promise he made about being her knight only till the war ended remained firmly in her mind. It's upsetting, but she understood why he said it. If he remained any longer, it would only hurt him.
_______________
For the next few days they repeat the same routine. Rhys catches her watching him from the window, and brings her to her room. She ends up convincing him to stay, and gradually they start getting closer again.
'Kazuya hasn't appeared before me since.' But it only makes sense for him not to show. As the one who cast the spell on her, he must know that she has regained her memories now. He is taking a wait and see approach.
Her gaze fell on Rhys who was looking through the cabinet of potions.
"I have to say this is quite amazing. Did you start collecting potions? Or do they provide you this stuff because your the Queen?"
Lyn blinked hearing his words. Oh, that's right he wouldn't know.
"Are they well made?"
"Yeah, even I would have a hard time making these."
"Alright, I heard those words loud and clear. Now you should praise me."
For a moment Rhys looked at her puzzled and she giggled. "I made it, it seems to be up to your standards?"
"You, why did you bother learning something like this?"
"Did you forget mr Knight, I was always interested in this stuff."
"That's true, you'd always watch over me whenever I made potions." Rhys gaze softened. "I didn't teach you as much as I could have, but you remembered the basics well."
"Of course. More importantly, I'm tired."
Rhys sighed and walked over to the bed and once again she used his lap as a pillow. He gently caressed her hair and then her cheeks.
"You were attending meetings all day, and I heard the elders lecturing you."
Lyn sighed deeply. "It's only natural. I did leave the Kingdom without permission, and I even handed over authority to a King from another Kingdom."
"But they didn't get mad for too long?"
"Allen handled everything perfectly, to the point that only a few people knew I had left. There were rumors in town but since I was still doing my duties, those rumors faded away."
*Unedited*