Truth be told, it was not an easy thing to do at all. Ian had already been building muscle at his age and now that he had a hard time walking and leaning on her, all his weight went to Artemis and it took a bit trying to navigate among the manor. It was a good thing that her body instinctively knew where to go or else they would have spent all day trying to find his room.
Artemis arrived at Ian's designated room and immediately placed him on the bed as gently as she could. Ian laid in the bed with a red face, his breathing irregular as he tried to get rid of the itchy feeling in his throat. Sweat rolled down the side of his face from the pain. She stared at him for a few moments with a frown, the guilt in her heart never disappearing. After a while, she sighed and was ready to call for a male servant to attend to him and change his clothes.
She stood up and was ready to leave when she felt a warm hand grab her wrist from the bed. She turned to look at Ian and saw him sitting, eyes open.
"You're still here?" Ian asked, his voice husky and strained from the wine.
"Yes, Your Highness. I was just about to leave after calling someone to change your clothes. Please have a good rest tonight," Artemis nodded her head and gently pried off her hand, trying not to appear as rude.
"Hm…" Ian contemplated her words and his eyes appeared distant as if thinking about something. Suddenly, he turned his gaze back to her, which was sharp and piercing, contrasting with his countenance that still looked flushed. He was evidently drunk. Artemis felt a shiver down her spine as she saw his interrogating gaze.
"Yes…?"
"You're not going to try anything in this situation? It's the perfect time to try and threaten me," His words were spoken as if it was another person that he was talking about. His sapphire eyes were frigid and cold, reminding Artemis of a lonesome wolf seen in the middle of the night. Her eyes trembled and like a broken doll, repeated the lines of the novel.
"Your Highness, please think carefully. What benefit would I have if I threaten you? Especially if we have our engagement too. It will only bring me down if I do something."
The silence was deafening after her response and Artemis stood beside his bed, waiting for the time to finally get out of the suffocating room. After this line, she was sure that Ian would then spill out his feelings about being an imperial family and the start of Artemis' obsession. However, as Ian slowly spoke his words, the unfamiliar reaction made her confused.
"No, I'm sure you could use me for something if you just carefully looked. You know about the latest news from the church, right? They give out an irresistible title and merit for whoever turns in someone wielding the dark element," Ian turned to look at Artemis, self-reproach evident in his eyes. Perhaps it was the wine that made him chatter about so unnecessarily, but at this moment, he just wanted to let everything out that he had bottled inside for so long.
If his sober self heard his thoughts, he would surely be berating himself for being so stupid. Spilling out self-harmful secrets to someone he barely knew, especially being a noble of high status was just plain foolish.
Artemis had her mouth slightly opened with a dumbstruck look on her face. What was wrong with Ian? Why was he not saying his lines correctly? This was a reenactment of the novel right? Why was he talking about the church and the dark element suddenly?
"Yes…? I have heard them, Your Highness. Anyone who turns in a dark element wielder would be rewarded the title of 'Savior' and given a piece of land under the church and merits them a status above commoners yet lower than the nobles. As for nobles, they are also given the title alongside special status inside the church."
"As expected, you are really educated," Ian gave her a bitter smile, "If you want to, you could also be a Savior right at this moment."
…?
Artemis furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Ian. Become a Savior at this moment? Then, must that mean that…
"You're…?"
"Correct, Lady Francia. You are truly a brilliant person. I'm a wielder of the dark element. Does that surprise you?"
Artemis was surprised to the point of opening her mouth.
'Sh*t! What does that mean? This wasn't included in the novel at all! Ian was not supposed to wield this element! What's wrong with this dream?'
In the novel, Ian was a powerful character, being the male lead and all. He wielded the three most powerful elements in the continent, air, lightning, and fire. Because of this, he had been recognized to be the most powerful magic wielder in Fardenheit, their country. Along with this, Ian was a recognized child of the heavens, blessed by the gods with their purity. This was confirmed by the Saint of the church because of his blessed white mark in his back. Therefore it was impossible for Ian to wield the dark element as he had the blessings of the gods, proving that he has one of the purest auras out of all. Unless this dream of hers was now deviating from the plot of the novel and creating its own scenarios.
Artemis sighed as she looked at Ian, her chest heaved and as she thought of a response to say, Ian suddenly furrowed his eyebrows and turned to look at her. Something inside his eyes snapped out of his drunken state and everything he had just said dawned back on him. He opened his mouth, eyes dark and trembling.
"…out."
"Yes, Your Highness?"
Ian gritted his teeth, his flushed face evidently becoming redder as the moment went on. He can't believe his utter foolishness. Just what on earth had prompted him to spill out evidently one of his most dreaded secrets? He had pledged in himself that he would carry this sickening burden of being a dark wielder till his death, yet what happened? Because of his momentary lapse of rational thinking, he had shot himself and led one of the most powerful families in Fardenheit to hold his weakness as possible blackmail material.
"…get out!" Ian felt his head pound painfully just thinking about the possible outcomes of his misjudgment. The dukedom of Francia was always known to be a loyal ally of the imperial family, even with their powerful status they had never thought of this as a way to gain more power than the imperial family. For that, Ian was temporarily relieved, yet the fact that his weakness had been revealed to a person that he had no confidence of fully knowing irked him to no end. Situations where he had no control of things always bothered him greatly.
Artemis flinched at his firm and sharp shout, her eyes trembling in momentary fear. Even in her muddled mind, the instinctive desire to leave the suffocating room overpowered her confusion and she immediately took this chance to leave.
"Your Highness… I-I'll immediately be leaving. Please have a good night of rest," Artemis ran straight for the door and as her hands touched the cold graze of the golden doorknob, she suddenly turned her head to face him. She did not know whether it was out of the adrenaline coursing through her body at the moment that she said this, but Artemis did not care. At this moment, she had a strong will inside her to somehow appease his misunderstanding.
"This matter… If you'd like, we can talk through this tomorrow. I'm sure that His Highness is momentarily confused. But do not worry, I swear in the name of the Francias that I will keep this secret deep down my heart."
And just like that, Artemis rushed to open the door with her thoughts racing.