Lilian of Turin

Brother-in-law, his sister’s husband.

As soon as a word that was no different from taboo popped out, an unusual air current began to flow in earnest. The air got cold enough that even Lily could clearly see it behind the curtains.

Should she stop this or not?

Lily hesitated, but fortunately, Shaw stepped in.

“Both of you, please stop. Isn’t Miss Lilian’s condition the priority? As His Highness knows, Lady Lily suffers from congenital hypomana.”

Shaw didn’t even say the words ‘incurable disease’.

‘Anyway, since the other side was already informed of the situation, there’s no need to say bad things again.’

Of course, he listened to the report of his loyal subordinate, but Damian didn’t know that Lilian had an illness or that it was incurable.

He didn’t know, but he pretended to know, and when he nodded, Shaw explained.

“To compensate, the Lord was supplying the Lady with mana periodically, but suddenly, that became impossible…”

Lilian, who had been listening quietly, was surprised. Is it impossible to transmit mana?

“Therefore, we had no choice but to ask for Your Highness.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s because Lady Lily has met someone more compatible than the Lord here.”

That’s why he’s here.

Lilian read between the lines in an instant. Damian also grasped the point at once.

‘Therefore…’

He wasn’t the only one who needed this woman.

Lilian needed him too.

“Aha…”

Damian’s languid exclamation felt like a caress down her spine.

Lilian shuddered a little involuntarily.

***

Having heard what to do, Damian didn’t delay. He immediately sat down on his knees on the floor beside Lily’s bed.

Through the curtains, Damian’s image was reflected closely. Lilian felt a bit dry-mouthed for some reason.

Damian requested.

“My Lady, please give me your hand.”

Inside the layered veil, Lilian hesitated a little.

She knew since she’s received mana from Cedric several times. But thinking that the other party was Damian, her hand strangely didn’t move.

Damian gritted his teeth as he stared at the silent curtains. It wasn’t that he was angry. He was just nervous.

He had a hard time talking about the sudden proposal when they’re as good as married.

It might be embarrassing that things have turned out this way.

‘Or do you hate me?’

Maybe she didn’t like the fact that he proposed to her in a way that wasn’t normal. Or maybe…

‘Am I too beautiful?’

As a man who knows how to judge his own beauty objectively, Damian has met quite a few women who said they didn’t like men more beautiful than them.

Of course, most of them were lies to get Damian’s attention, but…

‘Some people were sincere.’

Perhaps Lily’s taste were those who weren’t so stunningly beautiful and charming.

Isn’t prettier the better? Besides, he was handsome and beautiful even when he’s old, and he had the confidence to do so.

Even on the battlefield, there were many enemies who hesitated to kill because of his face and died.

Why can’t he tempt this woman right in front of his eyes when those fools can be bewitched?

It wasn’t even confirmed that Lilian hated beautiful men, but Damian was already feeling unfair and sad. He was in the middle of his thoughts.

Then a quiet voice came from behind the veil.

“I apologize for bothering you so much.”

“How could you say that?”

Damian denied with a single sentence. But Lilian still hesitated.

It wasn’t because she hated him like Damian’s delusions.

In her memory, Damian didn’t like Lilian very much.

Originally, indifference was the most passive way to express dislike.

For Damian, who had endured everything alone since he was born, it wasn’t a very unfortunate environment in comparison, but Lilian, who was weak in body and mind, would not have understood.

Besides, it must have been burdensome and annoying to ask for attention that he had never received in his life.

Lilian said she wanted to get along with her husband, whom she had to see all her life, and if possible, not offend each other.

So she had vowed that if she got married, she would never bother her husband.

Lilian, incapable of peering into people’s hearts, couldn’t even imagine how much he was screaming at the fact that Damian could legally hold Lilian’s hand as he found a use for his overflowing mana for the first time in his life.

In the end, Damian wasn’t the only one troubled.

“Stop saying that and allow me to help you.”

At Damian’s request, Lilian thought.

Yes, she is this person’s arranged marriage partner. If she dies, there will be no way to solidify the bond between Islar and the Crown Prince faction.

Damian had to save Lilian even for the sake of political strategy. This can’t be even more ridiculous.

Lilian sighed.

‘If I refuse to get helped in this situation, it’ll become annoying.’

She’d have to cooperate. Damian is the one doing her a favor, but it wasn’t polite to make him ask for it.

Unaware that this situation was his perfect dream, Lilian slowly raised her hand and held it out through the curtains.

Finally, Lilian’s fingertips lightly intertwined with Damian’s.

The veil obscured her vision so distance control was a little vague. Damian caught Lilian’s hand that was about to slip between his fingers.

This was the only thought in Damian’s head.

‘Finally.’

His hand held Lilian’s hand again.

A tickling shudder ran down his spine, then slowly subsided. He thought of Cedric, who was watching as the tension went into his shoulder blades without even realizing it, and held it in.

That wasn’t the only thing he had to endure. Damian had to resist the urge to hold this hand that had finally been held back by him. And he wanted to kiss it reverently, in fact, for an ungodly amount of times and he had to struggle to resist the urge to rub his cheeks against the back of her hand.

He wanted a little more. He could ask for nothing more in the world if she could gently hug him with these slender arms.

It was premature. Damian announced in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Excuse me.”

Slowly, through his wrists, he poured mana very slowly so as not to frighten the fragile and slender body.

Then an amazing thing happened.

Lilian’s unfamiliar cool energy, which had been transmitted through the hand he held, began to flow into Damian’s body as if giving way to his mana.

It was cool but not cold. The energy that moved as softly and calmly as the owner melted Damian’s pain without a trace.

While Damian’s mana was in Lilian, the tinnitus went away while doing a round. The noise that seemed to be chattering about little monsters subsided and the headache slowly abated as the pressure in his brain decreased.

Is this how it feels to be able to breathe?

It seemed like a thin drizzle was falling on the desert, where the sand and dust were blowing.

It wasn’t enough to cool the heat that had burned him all his life, but it was terribly welcome.

Besides, it wasn’t just that.

Lilian’s body, which had rejected even Cedric’s mana, which couldn’t be more suitable since they’re siblings, was accepting only Damian’s mana.

‘I’m glad.’

Damian was genuinely happy about that.

He didn’t know if he can express all this wild and ferocious joy as mere joy, but it was.

‘Did the world suddenly decide to side with me?’

It was to the extent that he even had such a crazy thought for a moment on the topic that he had lived his whole life in pain.

It wasn’t easy to circulate mana in Lilian’s narrowed veins due to her lack of mana.

Especially for someone with strong mana like him or Cedric, it was frustrating and difficult, like holding a pen with only his fingernails.

But it’s good because it wasn’t easy. He can hold Lilian’s hand longer.

Lilian, completely oblivious to how terribly pleased Damian was, tried to retract her hand after some time.

Of course, to Lily, the flow of mana that soaked her empty cold body was comfortable and nice.

Moreover, unlike Cedric’s mana, Damian’s mana spread quickly through Lilian’s body. It didn’t seem like someone else, but like it’s hers.

‘But I can’t take away too much time…’

Lilian forced her eyes to stay open and tried to pull her hand.

“Your Highness, this is enough…”

“Shh.”

The kneeling position should be difficult and boring. Damian’s voice sounded more friendly than before.

“Please don’t take this time away from me.”

“…?”

What does that mean? It was really hard to understand. Lilian blinked for a moment. Even with that, she quickly became listless.

Ah, it shouldn’t be like this. His legs will hurt, so she had to tell him to stop…

“I’m really fine now…”

“But I’m not okay.”

Listening to him in a dazed state, Damian’s nice manner and voice was really seductive.

Even though she thought this shouldn’t be the case, she wanted to follow it.

“So please stay like this.”

But…

Fortunately for Damian, Lilian fell asleep as if under a spell. Perhaps it was because the ‘will’ contained in Damian’s mana, reached Lilian’s heart.

A bit of time passed after that, and finally, his mana filled Lily’s core to some extent.

At the same time, Damian’s condition improved to the point where he wondered if there was a day like this once in a month. It seemed like gravity had been reduced by about a third.

Lilian’s pulse on his fingertips was terribly slow. She seemed to be in deep sleep. Damian stroked the lovely, languid flutter with his thumb for a moment.

And whispered.

“Sweet dreams.”

It’s not long before I fall asleep with you. He swallowed the words in his heart.