“Please don't touch him, he's dangerous.”
Fenric's gaze, which was fixed on the pile of papers, turned smoothly to Prisippi, as if he had never looked anywhere else.
“Just leave it as it is.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Fenric's expression distorted.
In that brief moment, Precipe's finger was pricked by a shard of glass, and blood began to seep out of it.
“…”
When no response came, Prisippi instinctively looked at Fenric.
His expression was strange – stiff and disturbed in a way she couldn't quite place.
…Was this teacup something precious to him?
Even in this position, Prisippi found herself thinking a ridiculous and laughable thought.
“...I'm injured,” Fenric finally said.
"What?"
“Your finger.”
Yes.
Only then did Prisippi realize that she had cut herself with the glass. I muttered inattentively.
“There's nothing serious.”
She forced him to smile, and moved her lips to reassure him.
“I've had much worse injuries than this. A little scratch like that doesn't matter at all—!”
...It's not painful at all.
She couldn't finish her sentence because Fenric suddenly grabbed her hand.
“…”
As he looked at the blood, which was the same crimson color as his eyes, Fenric frowned.
Precipe was right. The injury wasn't serious, it was just a minor scratch. For someone who had suffered from hanging, almost complete death by freezing in an ice prison, and being shackled with iron shackles, this was nothing.
However, he was upset, not with Precipe, but with himself.
For some reason, the thought of her getting hurt was unbearable.
He'd seen her suffer more than enough...too much, in fact.
“…”
Fenric gently grasped her thin, bony fingers, then slowly wrapped his hand around her delicate wrist.
Her pale, almost transparent skin revealed pale blue veins, and her slender arm looked so fragile that it might bruise at the slightest touch.
Perhaps this was the reason why even now, as she stood before him, I felt as if she might disappear, as if they might return to square one.
He felt as if the past, when he couldn't get close to her or talk to her, might happen again.
This constant worry had been haunting Fenric ever since Prisippi had come to the palace.
Maybe this was the reason. Perhaps he constantly wanted to get closer to her, to make sure that she was really by his side, to touch her, to feel her warmth – convincing himself that this was not a mistake.
His warm hand moved to her wrist, and began to approach slowly, when—
“Um, Your Majesty...”
“…”
"I'm really fine. And… I don't want to get you bloody…"
Her soft voice brought him back to his senses.
At some point, Presibe gently pulled her hand away.
Fenric looked silently at his now empty hand, which bore a stain of her blood.
After a moment, he turned his gaze to her again, and his expression quickly returned to its usual calm.
"I'll call a doctor. Even a small cut could cause problems if it gets infected."
"No! It's okay. I'll just ask Hana to take care of it. A little ointment will do the trick. No need to see a doctor."
Prisippi muttered, her face a little redder than it was earlier.
“Besides, there is something I wanted to ask you about...”
“Ask me?”
“Nothing important! I already asked Hana, and she said he might be in the library.”
Fenric's eyes narrowed slightly.
“Um, can I use the library for a while?”
Prisippi's cautious voice made Fenric shake his head as he responded, "I don't mind. I told you before, you're free to use it however you want. Whatever it is."
“Oh, thank you.”
“But why do you need it?”
Since she mentioned her question to Hannah, maybe this wasn't just an ordinary book. Since she had gone out of her way to ask this question, the question had to be more specific.
“I wanted to get a map of Atiluia.”
"…map?"
“Yes, well... there's no special reason...”
Prisippi paused for a brief moment, deep in thought, and then continued talking as if she had just come up with a plausible excuse.
“I've been trapped in the tower for a long time... I'm curious about the outside world.”
“…”
"Of course, I know I can't wander around as I please. The culprit hasn't been caught yet, and they brought me here for protection since this palace isn't exactly safe. But I thought looking at the map might satisfy some of my curiosity."
Ever since I got this game, it's been set entirely in the Royal Palace, which is the main setting. She was familiar with the layout of the palace, thanks to the game system, which provided a map, but she was limited to the palace grounds.
But the outside world was a mystery. Even before the advent of Freedom, she could only travel abroad accompanied by other characters, and even then, her movements were limited to dialogue options. There was no way for Preseppe to learn the geography of Atiluia.
So, it seemed like a good idea to examine the maps to find places that might contain clues about the real protagonist.
"I see. That makes sense."
Fenric, who had been quietly listening to her, finally spoke up.
“First, you can use the library as you wish. Feel free to look at maps, read books, or even take it to your room if necessary.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Secondly, as I said, it is too dangerous to go out now. It is my duty to ensure your safety.”
There are still other male characters remaining.
Dietrich, Ivan, and Siegfried.
With the exception of Dietrich, the others had not yet met Precipe, but were already interested in her – thanks to the settings imposed by the system.
In this case, confronting them will only cause trouble. Fenric had to prevent this from happening.
“And thirdly.”
“…”
“Do you remember the bet we made last time?”
"bet?"
Prisippi paused, her expression puzzled.
[Then how about we make a bet?]
Oh, that photo from the day the statue crashed.
[If this incident causes you trouble, I am the loser. But if it is resolved quietly, you are the loser. The loser grants the winner one wish. What do you think?]
At the time, she had no idea things would end this way. She didn't think Fenric would win, and she also didn't think she would have enough time to fulfill his wish with the Ice Prison event approaching.
I completely forgot about it.
“That's the real reason I came to see you,” Fenric said.
“…”
“In the end, I won, and now that you have some free time, it's time to fulfill my wish.”
What exactly was he planning to ask for, after laying all this groundwork?
…she wondered but realized that Fenric already knew that her current situation was not ideal.
Moreover, someone with as much power and resources as Fenric wouldn't ask for anything onerous. Even if he did, you wouldn't be able to give it to him anyway.
Presibe agreed in understanding and asked, “Of course. A promise is a promise. Please, don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best.”
"anything?"
“Well… yeah. As long as it’s something I can manage.”
Fenric smiled weakly.
“Okay, then I will make my wish come true tonight.”
“So...what's going on?”
“I will come to get you at dusk.”
"Pardon?"
“Hannah will help you prepare in advance, so you don't have to worry about anything.”
Fenric continued, ignoring her confusion.
“Why don't you tell me now?”
“My wish can only be fulfilled at night.”
...at night?
Prisippi tilted her head, puzzled by Fenric's vague statement.
“Okay, I'll see you later.”
And with that over, Fenric left the room, leaving Prisippi behind, who still looked confused.
But he didn't leave completely.
“…”
Standing in front of the closed door, Fenric slowly raised his hand.
His crimson eyes stared at the imprint of Precipe's blood on his palm, the emotions he had not shown in front of her swirling deep inside.
Quiet sadness, bitter anger, long directed at others, and an intense, undeniable obsession.
Fenric looked silently at his hand before balling it into a fist.
The sticky feeling of her blood sticking to his skin didn't bother him at all.
With Prisippi's trace captured in his hand, Fenric began to slowly walk away.