"They all hate you now, you know."
His mother paced the room, her flawless face furrowed with hatred.
"Are you an idiot? A hundred bandits?"
He had gotten scratches along his hands. They were bandaged up.
"On top of failing to kill Roman, you couldn't even protect the Aedile brat as planned!"
She gnawed furiously on a fingernail. His face was downcast, dark.
"You tell me to trust you to secure the crown, but you can't even do something this simple." She swept a vase to the ground. It shattered into shards at her feet.
He hated her. He hated her with every drop of blood in his body, with every fiber of his being.
"Don't worry about it." His smile was on, as calm and pleasant as ever. "There's always some things that don't go as planned, but I have other weapons hidden up my sleeve." She stopped long enough to look at him, holding another pot.
How dare she act as if his success was chalked up to her. How dare she act as if she had claim on his throne. Once he succeeded his father, the first thing he planned to do was hang her up and lock her away. No use keeping something the Emperor found distasteful.
"His sister," Ieuan smiled. "The most precious jewel of all."
---
Thankfully, my shop had open rooms.
It was originally designed to have a home apartment above the offices, but because I lived with my family, the apartment was unused.
Roman nearly collapsed onto the sheets. I waved forward several maids, who worked to take off his coat, boots, uniform, and sword belt. When they touched the hilt of his blade, he grabbed it, startling them.
I wasn't surprised that they were scared of him. Although handsome and popular in his own right, Roman was known as cold, cruel, and distant. His resting expression made people wary, and his aura triggered their instinct to run. Most importantly, his presence as a killer was unmistakable. Even from afar, you could see that he had been drenched in blood before.
Well, whatever.
I grabbed his sword belt and threw it to the side. He glanced at me, looking hurt.
"You guys go give him a bath." I waved on more of the maids, and then smiled at Roman. "No use resisting, okay? These ladies are experienced." I jerked my head in warning to the maids. "Don't do anything weird." After all, he was handsome.
"Do you think I'm attractive enough to tempt your loyal maids?" Roman smiled.
"I think you should be more worried for yourself." I replied as the servants grabbed him and tossed him into the bath.
Thirty minutes later, he was clean. His once smudgy skin was so clean he looked almost sick. And when I drew closer, he smelled like a bouquet of roses.
"Aren't I your benefactor?" Roman sighed. "How could you torture me like this?" Even his nails had been trimmed. They really worked at him.
"Yes, yes you are." There was a doctor waiting to treat him, and after another half hour, he was bandaged up. Luckily, Roman wasn't too hurt, other than some scratches and bruises.
"Drink this." I pushed a porcelain bowl into his hands, and when he looked at me pleadingly, I began to force feed it to him myself. "It's medicine. It'll help you heal and sleep."
Roman squinted, trying to spit it out. I began battling his tongue with my spoon.
Eventually, I overpowered him and forced enough of it down his throat to the point that he became drowsy.
"Val," he sighed, blinking sleepily. "I lied. I trust you, you know? I'd trust you with anything."
"Sleep well," I murmured, brushing his eyes shut.
I put the medicine bowl to the side, and watched him breathe softly. I couldn't describe the relief I felt to know that he was safe, alive, and well. But what was I doing? I ran a hand through my hair. I couldn't come to my senses while looking at him and making eye contact. It felt like my mind was cleared only now, when he wasn't awake.
He killed my family. Murdered me. What was I doing, feeding him medicine and taking care of him?
But he had saved Ethan.
I clenched my fists, staring at his picturesque sleeping face.
Still, what was I doing?
---
Ethan healed quickly, and to our surprise, was up and bouncing in two weeks. Arthur, despite his hesitance to express it, was relieved.
I had only visited Roman once after that. It was when he was sleeping again. His cuts had healed up smoothly, and I wrote him a letter. According to my maids, he had only stayed for three days. He spent most of that time sleeping.
I hadn't gone to see Medea after that. I had promised to steel my heart, and I feared that even the opportunity to see Roman would shatter me.
Ethan, on the other hand, was as loyal and dedicated as ever. As soon as he woke up and had the energy to speak, he told us all about how Roman had saved his life. Roman had stuck besides him on the entire length of the trip and they had become good companions. "He's quite funny, you know," Ethan said to our disbelief. On the sixth day of the mission, they were ambushed. Bandits flooded in from all sides, and the troops were scattered. Roman, ever present at Ethan's side, had protected him as they fought the bandits. Ethan described Roman's military prowess in great awe and detail, like an enchanted child. "He's incredibly talented!" Ethan gaped. "A one in a million genius! Even if he hadn't saved my life, I would follow him after that alone!"
There it was.
I saw my father flinch at the same time I did.
"It's unfortunate that I got injured." Ethan sighed. "I'm sure it wouldn't have happened otherwise, but so many bandits seemed to target Roman in particular. The injury was more or less due to my own incompetence."
"You got back safe," my mother said. "That's all that matters."
I watched my father quietly as he left the room and went into his office. He'd be sure to mull over the results of Ethan's words. The Aediles had always historically been neutral, instead choosing to support the empire from afar. Even now, Arthur had already established himself as neutral by joining the first division of the imperial army. As compared to the first prince or second prince's troops, Arthur's division defended the empire as a whole. My father would likely come up with the same conclusion as before - to restore neutrality through my marriage. However, in the past, he hadn't brought it up until I was twenty, so I'd have some time before then.
Ethan's persistence with the second prince didn't stop. As he begun his training again, his chatter was filled with endless awe for Roman. It was annoying. At night, his ramblings haunted my dreams. Whenever I closed my eyes, all I could see was curtains of wisteria. It was also interesting seeing how different his admiration for Ieuan had been in the past. He praised Roman for his skill, dedication and determination, while he had complimented Ieuan for his gallant character and reputation.
Even when Ethan trained, he couldn't stop talking about Roman.
"Every move of his is precise," Ethan said while dueling with Arthur. I watched them from the sidelines, picking the best grapes out of a silver bowl. "There's no unnecessary movement, no wasted energy. His swordsmanship is flawless." If one nice thing came out of Ethan's injury, it would be the time spent together. Arthur made more of an effort to return home from the army, and we ate dinner as an entire family regularly on the weekends. Arthur had even offered to help train with Ethan, to recover the strength he'd lost from sitting inside for over a month.
I stiffened. It had been a month since I last saw Roman.
"His swordsmanship is quite different from yours, hm?" Arthur parried Ethan's blade and flung it towards the ground. He easily broke the hilt out of Ethan's grasp and pointed the tip of his sword towards Ethan's throat.
"That's unfair," Ethan huffed, reaching over for his hilt. "I'm still not quite yet healed, you know." He stretched his shoulder and I grimaced, imagining the pale red scar that would mar his arm forever.
"Didn't say you wanted to improve in order to follow the second prince?" Arthur glanced at his reflection in his blade. "You're far from it."
Ethan picked up his sword and lunged towards Arthur again. "I know!"
I popped another grape into my mouth. These days were so luxurious and relaxed, I almost felt bored. Scratch that, I definitely felt bored. Ethan and Arthur's fights weren't even entertaining anymore, since they were always so caught up in their own affairs. My businesses were also uneventful, since the boutiques had just released a new collection last month (due to Empress Medea's insistence) and it'd be a while before anything else developed. The mines, as per usual, were raking in money at predicted rates.
What did I even do before Ethan's first assignment? Read? Travel? No, every day back then was occupied with stress over Roman's reply.
I ate the last grape in my bowl, frowning at its bitter taste.