“…I will get better in a while, so please leave me alone.”
“That isn’t the case.”
A hand was placed under her knee, suddenly her body was in mid-air Alana was lifted by Emilio, who held her in his arms close to him. He looked slender, but from the feel of his body, and the muscles under his shirt, she knew he was well trained.
“I’ll take you to your room. Before that, I’d like you to answer a few questions.”
He looked down at Alana, staring deeply at her. Her long hair fell smoothly.
“You know me. You know that intruder two years ago was me.”
Unlike the graceful expression and voice, he spoke with a harsh and sharp authority.
“At first glance, you don’t seem to be an idiot. I don’t think you’ll go as far as to believe the story of a suspicious man like a researcher of the Millennium Empire and lead him to a deserted place like this. Now, Queen Alana. What are you planning? What’s your purpose? How much of me do you know?”
Alana closed her eyes under his sharp gaze. “Emilio, as you said, I knew the were the intruder.”
“Is that my real name?”
“As long as you call yourself Emilio, I will just call you that.” Alana raised her eyelashes which reflected him, with a mysterious gaze.
“Two years ago, you visited my room to bury me. I was confident that you would return someday.”
“Are you prepared to die? I don’t feel any emotions of fear from you.”
As Emilio said, she was calm. “I’ve always wanted to meet my end. That’s when you appeared.” she said quietly.
“…That’s right. I went to kill you. If you admit it then why? Don’t you care about the reason?”
“It’s not important”. Alana’s eyes remained closed, her breath fell gently.
Emilio’s nose came closer to Alana’s.
“I don’t care if you die, but why do you want to end yourself?”
“If I ask you the reason for killing me, you won’t say anything. I’m not going to tell you my reason either.”
“You say things like you know me. But you’re right. I won’t tell you why.” he stepped away. A clatter echoed along the corridor. “I can’t believe you wanted to die from the start, not beg for your life. You’re a strange person. Then, you can choose to suicide without bothering others. It’s a piece of cake. Die, right now.”
“If I could, I would have done it long ago. But I can’t harm myself. I can’t end myself with this hand, because I made a promise with an important person in the past.”
“You have no choice but to leave it to someone else,” he added, looking straight ahead. “Have you been waiting for me to die?”
“Two years ago, you appeared in front of me, in spite of tight security. At that time, I felt your clear intention to kill. I know that your wish lies in my death.” Waves on the surface of the lake could be heard lapping. When she looked up at his face, his gaze moved down to hers. The outline of his nose, cheeks, lips, and chin, and the glint in his eyes. Smooth hair. She thought it was breathtakingly beautiful to see that little light transmitting from him in the darkness.
─If this is the last thing I see, it’s not bad. Yes, it’s not bad.
“I finally understand now, why I didn’t kill you then.” his lips spun words.
Alana stared at them.