For A Princess

That night, Lesaric regretted the impulsive decision he had made. Watch over her? Why should he? They both knew that it would be an uncomfortable predicament.

Still, he had agreed to it, so he decided it would be better for both of them if he just watched from a distance for a few days before quitting. Everyone would understand. He knew that even if she was slightly different from royalty, she was technically still royalty, and they would understand if he chose not to watch over her.

The next morning, Lesaric stopped outside Delmore’s room. It was the door at the end of the hallway on the fourth floor. He took a deep breath before stepping inside.

The room was dark and it took some time for his eyes to adjust to the low light. According to the Deputy Director Bachlop, the princess liked to sleep in the room that was attached to the work station.

Lesaric looked around and noticed the striking golden hair in the dim light.

Contrary to what Bachlop had said, she was sleeping in a simple bed in her work station, and not in a connected bedroom.

Knock. Knock.

Lesaric intentionally tried to make some noise to let her know that he was there, but she still didn’t wake up. It didn’t make sense to him. He knew she wasn’t feeling well, so why was she sleeping in a place like this?

As he heard her breathe softly, Lesaric reached a hand out towards him. He didn’t know what to say to wake her, so he just relied on his touch. He carefully and gently tapped her shoulder.

Delmore groaned shortly before falling back onto her pillow again. Her hair, like golden thread, flowed down and revealed her pale face.

Lesaric finally opened his mouth to speak. “Princess.”

Delmore frowned at the sound of the low and unfamiliar voice. What is it? Who is it? You know I hate being called a princess. She forced her bleary eyes to open and met his gaze, staring straight into his penetrating blue eyes.

“Oh.” Delmore sat up and put her head in her hands, moaning at how her head was spinning. Her long hair fell over her face. Closing her eyes tightly and her mouth hanging open, she waited for her headache to go away. Why was Lesaric here?

“What is it?” she asked. “What happened?”

“I promised to stay at your side and keep an eye on you.”

It was only then that Delmore remembered what had happened. Jenjang, Vachen, and Bachlop!

She quickly opened her eyes and looked down at what she was wearing. Though she was drooling, the clothes she had on were modest and decent. Well, they were fine. Just ugly.

Lesaric glanced down at her before looking away and approaching the large window to draw the blinds. Only then did the morning sun light up the whole room. It all glistened in the light.

“Deputy Director Bachlop asked me to go to the Princess’ room around this time. Is it too early?”

“Don’t call me Princess,” Delmore cut him off bluntly. “I don’t like being called that. I’d rather be called by my name.” She stood up. “Anyway, I’ll go wash up. Have a seat.”

Lesaric turned to look at Delmore, but she had already gone to the bathroom. She was limping as she walked. Lesaric looked at her retreating figure before turning his gaze to her messy desk.

The wooden desk was large, but it was covered in documents and there wasn’t a single empty space. Traces of yesterday’s work were still there that she obviously hadn’t cleaned up.

With nothing to do, Lesaric approached the window.

One couldn’t really tell that the Central Research Center was part of the huge Libron Castle, but it was actually connected by a passage just a short distance away. So, the edges of the Libron wall were visible from her window.

A white castle, pure white with nothing to do with blood. Above it, a brightly colored barrier melted into the sunlight. Libron was not just known for its initial beauty, but because the castle had once been a beautiful work of art. It was ugly now because it had become rotten and dirty with the dead.

Although Lesaric looked calm, he was seething inside.

“Lesaric.” Delmore had finished washing up and called out to snap Lesaric out of his daze. He turned to her slowly. She was looking at him in awe because of how beautiful he looked in the sunlight. This was very objective of course. She grew up as the princess of Terrosa, so she had a clear sense of beauty. That’s how she knew that he really looked like God’s most elaborate creation.

“Vachen and Bachlop’s demands were unreasonable,” Delmore said as she averted her gaze. The man’s blue eyes were not very good for her heart. “It’s not fair for either of us to have you watch over me like this.” She frowned. “But everyone is worried, so I’d like to keep this up for two weeks at least. Besides, I lied about testing you, so it’s definitely more convincing if we stick together for a while. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes.” Lesaric looked calm. Or, at least, that’s what he thought he looked like.

Delmore smiled. “Alright, it’ll be uncomfortable but I’ll endure it. Oh! You can rest in the room next door.” Her voice brightened, relieved by his consent.

Lesaric silently walked over to a table quite a distance away from her desk and sat down. There were several books on the desk that didn’t interest him, but they wouldn’t be so bad in helping him kill some time.

As he picked up a thick hardcover book, Delmore suddenly remembered what she had to do and began to rummage through her drawers.

It has to be here! Someone must have cleaned it up. This is why there are rules for dealing with anything messy! Delmore frowned as she went through her drawers. “Ah, it’s here.”

It was a gray bracelet. It looked like it was made from metal, but it was actually made by bending four flat plates into a ring.

“It’s a power-limiting tool,” Delmore said.